Okie

We are considering braving it and driving the Amalfi Coast. How is the parking in the towns. Are we crazy??

Weadles

In a word, yes. I would NOT advise driving the coast. Take public transportation ( buses, boats between destinations) so that you'll have pleasant memories of your trip.

Buon viaggio!

HowardR

The answer depends on when you are going! So, when are you going?

Okie

We are leaving Sept 24 and will be gone until Oct 3.

HowardR

A tough call. We were there later in the fall and the driving and parking were not much of a problem. I'm not sure how busy it is then. I would think that the only ones who can give an accurate response would be anyone who has actually been there at that time.

Patrick

I would disagree with Weadles. We were there in the height of summer and drove to stay in Sorrento and also in Positano. We did not find the coast drive to be horrible at all -- yes, busy, and the driver can't look and drive. On the other hand we DO have horrible memories of the trip. It was the day we left the car in Positano and took a boat to Amalfi, but it got rough and the return boats were cancelled. We stood in line for hours to get a bus back to Positano and all the busses were FULL. We finally caught on that to get on one, you had to push everybody out of your way and force your way onto the bus, leaving the others behind. I'm not good at that and hated doing it, but there seemed no other way. Then we stood jammed into the bus all the way back, getting tossed about against everyone.
I would never rely on public transportation there again. And just the other day someone else posted how crowded and awful the busses were.
We're going back next summer and will certainly get a car again.

gktravels

Thank you for posting your experience. It just solidified our decision.

We are actually leaving tomorrow for Italy and have finally decided to drive along the Amalfi coast despite all of the negative things we've heard (I too posted a question on this sub. a few weeks ago), so your comments are a refreshing change and have now reinforced our thoughts exactly. Even before reading your post the thought of sitting (worse crammed) in a bus did not seem appealing to, us so we figured we would rent the car there (I have heard that this is more expensive but, oh well) then drive around a bit and get a feel for things. If it gets too tough then we figure we can return it.

Karen

Weadles

I know it's too late, but I just have to add my two cents here... We were in Sorrento this July, and it took us nearly two hours to navigate the equivalent of six or seven city blocks in New York. Also, an Italian friend wanted to visit Positano in late August, but had to turn back because it was closed to all parking for the day. I've heard the nightmare stories about the SITA buses, too, but frankly, they've never been a problem for us. And neither have the boats.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

uhoh_busted

I think you should not have as much a problem as you would if it were earlier in the summer. We were there in May and we found parking not difficult at all, and you just have to be patient regarding the hairpin curves and waiting for busses to get 'round them so that the rest of traffic can flow. It's not too horrible. My husband is kind of strange...he actually enjoyed it. Don't think we would have tried in June or July though.