hi fellow travel experts,<BR><BR>i have a couple questions i hope fellow fodorites can answer:<BR><BR>1) i will be traveling the third week of may along the amalfi coast with sorrento serving as a base, can anyone tell me if parking is difficult or not along the coast, especially positano, amalfi, ravello, vietre etc? also, how expensive is the parking? i really hope may is not too overloaded with tourists...<BR><BR>2) if i'm taking the car to sorrento from rome, what would be the approximate travel time? Some websites suggest 3-4 hrs but didn't refer to time of year..<BR><BR>3) is pompeii open on sundays? given an option between leaving from naples or sorrento to pompeii, from the perspective of public transportation, which would you choose?<BR><BR>4) ok people...some of you must have taken good pictures of the amalfi coast, particularly the drive itself, so can anyone post urls to showcase their pics?<BR><BR>a couple of my friends have said bus would save alot of headache but the drive does seem intriguing after tallying up the votes in this forum...man, deciding whether to drive in amalfi is like figuring whether i should take my car from the 'burbs to manhattan...<BR><BR>any help is GREATLY appreciated,<BR>mike<BR><BR>

hi there,<BR>parking is always difficult in Italy. And along the Amalfi coast it is terrible. Those villages are not so gig and they have not space. It is a little game and You need luck. Last year cost were about 1500 - 4000 Lire, dont know how prices rised up since the Euro. <BR>4 hours will be ok from Rome to Sorrento, if there is no traffic jam and You use the toll highways.<BR>Pompeji is open all days, but sundays are rush hours there. You wanna drive the amalfi coast, so why dont You drive to pompeji. Had no probs with that so I dont know public transportations there.<BR>have fun<BR>Gar<BR><BR><BR>PS: Drive carefully and use Your horn.

In the town of Amalfi, there is parking below the town at the end of the beach at the west end of town. We were there in July 2000 and had no problem parking there later in the afternoon. Don't remember the price but it was the only place in town.<BR><BR>In Ravello, when you are entering the town after the winding drive, there is a lot below the plaza. if you are planning to visit the same day as Amalfi, and you have a good parking spot, then I would consider taking the bus as it is not worth the hassle of parking again. The views from Ravello are priceless.

Hello Mike,<BR><BR>2). 3-4 hours is right.<BR>3). Yes it's open. 30mins by train from either Sorrento or Naples, so take your pick.<BR>4). The best site I know for photos is:<BR>www.capri-exclusive.com<BR>Click on 'Surroundings'. <BR>Not mine - unfortunately. I wish they were!<BR><BR>Personally I reccommend bus/ferry rather than car.<BR>The disadvantage of driving is that the driver really doesn't get to see much when you're passing other vehicles with inches to spare.<BR><BR>Also, with the added height from a bus, you get to see views which you miss from a car.<BR><BR>If you go by bus, for best views make sure you sit on the right-hand side from Sorrento. <BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve<BR><BR>

Mike,<BR><BR>An option I would recommend it to hire a driver. Also, don't bother with Vietri (I'm assuming your interested in ceramics), focus on Ravello for these types of purchases. A driver can just drop you off and meet you after a specified time, recommend restaurants and they will deal with the traffic and can pull over for the beautiful vista's, all in air conditioned comfort. This is the only way to go IMO.

Hi Mike,<BR><BR>We traveled the same time period two years ago.<BR><BR>1. Never had a problem finding a parking place.<BR><BR>2. Stick to the toll roads. The roads are actually very good.<BR><BR>3. Yes. Either will be about the same if you use public transport. Personally I would drive.<BR><BR>4. There is no way a series of pictures can do justice to the Amalfi Coast. One needs to experience it - it is unique.<BR><BR>Rent the car - you will not regret it.<BR><BR>Have Fun

Oh boy are you in for the ride of your life !!! 2 years ago we drove from Pisa to Sorrento. It was alot of fun. Be prepared though. On the main roads on Amalfi there are no shoulders to stop on.When you see a place you want to stop at, pull over as far as you can. Get out and go.<BR>In the towns like Positano there are a few lots where you can park.<BR> It is a only a few hours to Sorrento from Rome. What you read is correct.<BR> You will love Italy and be sure to try the Limoncello in Sorrento. It is superb....<BR> Janda

Mike--much has been posted on this forum about driving the A. Coast. will try to find and top for you postings from my experiences late last May. it's an exhilirating experience--IF you enjoy driving! parking was no real problem last year; follow the instructions posted by others for Amalfi and Ravello, use the parking garage on the right side on the way into downtown Positano just before you get to the city center. all other towns are small enough (obviously excluding Sorrento) to not be a problem.

thanks for topping, az! i actually tried to sum up the votes from that discussion and i'm leaning on the rental especially for trips to ravello..<BR><BR>janda, when you said there are no shoulders how did you manage to pull aside and stop to appreciate the view? or do you mean that if you can squeeze your car in any space, it's for anyone's taking...<BR><BR>btw i remember reading here that there are guard rails right?..so how bad can this be?!<BR><BR>also, since i will be driving from florence, does anyone know of a good roadmap..i always like the michelin series but last visits to three different b&n stores all came up empty..<BR><BR>lastly, did anyone catch the 'visions of italy' southern style in the pbs tonight? i think it should be a recommended viewing for anyone starting to plan on an italy trip..too bad i missed the northern part a couple months ago; it would have been interesting to see how they covered tuscany

Hi Mike!<BR><BR>I would vote for public trans. We took the bus all the way down & back & forth between Praiano/Sorrento. We liked being able to enjoy the views & not worry about the driving. This was in March!<BR><BR>Even then, when 2 buses had to pass, all traffic had to stop & back up while the 2 buses found a place to squeeeeeeze past each other. I don't know how they do it! The drivers only had 2 inches between the buses!<BR><BR>You will also notice (IF you're not driving) that many of the buildings have gouges out of them from passing vehicles. Same with the cars. You'll see lots that are side-swiped & missing rear view mirrors. More reasons not to rent.<BR><BR>Buona fortuna!

Mike,<BR>I had a hell of a time driving around Positano and Ravello. Especially Ravello - its a wonderful fairy tale land but my own experience findng my hotel parking lot was crazy. Good luck.<BR><BR>Also, not that you asked but, if get a chance drive south a bit to Paestum. This town was totally cool with fantastic beaches and Greek ruins. Its a place that the Italians keep a secret. I guess they don't like the fact that the Greeks left some fantastic ruins...

I find driving around Sorrento and on the Amalfi drive to be fairly easy. I like the flexibility a car gives you. You can stop where you want and see things not possible when traveling by train. <BR><BR>We used pay lots usually for a few dollars. I will top my driving post for you

thanks for the topping, dean! i think this forum is great but the fodor's search engine is a bit quirky..single word search seems fine but putting a couple of words it goes dizzy...<BR><BR>mark, thanks for the info! alot people (incl. guide books) said paestum is great but it's hard to squeeze it in since we're doing amalfi on 2 days..offhand w/o a map, how far is paestum from amalfi? i think it's around salerno but dunno about how long a drive might actually take...<BR><BR>