Hi there,

I am doing a breakdown of how much $ it will cost to be on a train vs. renting a car. Our itin is Rome >Amalfi Coast > Florence > Rome in early september - We have been to all three areas and I know that driving on the amalfi coast can be harrowing but the thought of getting on a train, and even a private driver to naples and then back to naples, train to florence just feels really limiting.

i guess my question is - would it be feasible to just park the car in sorrento for 3 nights and pick it up on the way out of town? or does someone know of a place to park in positano? we really don't want to be limited by the train this time around although i do know it is a beautiful way to see the country as well.

thanks in advance,
elizabeth

<<but the thought of getting on a train, and even a private driver to naples and then back to naples, train to florence just feels really limiting.>>

If this seems too limiting then rent a car, drive between destinations and park it until needed again. Your hotels in Positano, Florence and Rome can recommend nearby parking. In making your decision, do weigh in the frustration of driving in cities, finding the hotel while driving and getting there without breaking the driving restrictions, paying for parking, tolls, gas. Everyone is different, so you just need to know what works best for you and decide.

Have fun!

This board is really against people doing their own driving in Amalfi or the cities, so you need to be aware of that.

It is not really harrowing to drive on the Amalfi coast, but it can be quite a traffic jam.

IF you are determined to rent a car, you should rent a place in Positano with parking. Is it too late to make those arrangements? I don't see the point of picking up a rental car in Rome and parking it in Sorrento if you are staying in Positano. You'll be "limited" by buses -- which is a lot worse than being limited by trains.

Some of the cost comparisons depend on how many people are in your party. If you are doing cost comparisons, you need to contact Amalfi drivers and know the cost of driving you to the Amalfi coast and around the Amalfi coast.

As for Florence, there are many places to drop off a car before reaching Florence.

In general, it is easier to have a car on the Amalfi coast (or in Tuscany) if you don't book lodgings in the mega-tourist destinations, but instead stay near them and use a short jaunt on public transport to day trip.

But plenty of people drive a car to Positano -- but in early September, you need to book lodgings that have access to parking.

The hotel I stayed at in Amalfi offered free parking; there must be others that offer this as well.

I believe there are also public lots in Amalfi and Positano.

http://www.hotelfloridiana.it/en/dovesiamo.html

We were in Florence, Rome, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast. The only time we had a car was for the Tuscany portion of the trip. You don't want to drive in Florence or Rome so I guess I would rent the car in Rome, drive to Positano and back to somewhere outside of Florence and then use trains to FLorence and Rome.

Meant to say we were in Florence, Rome, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast last September.

Thanks everybody. I think we are going to take a train from Rome and have a private driver take us to our hotel (we are staying at villa franca in positano) and then on our way out we will pick up a car in sorrento, drive to our hotel which is outside of city center in florence (with guaranteed lot) and then drop off at roma termini as we want to explore tuscan country side to and from. dropping the car off at the train station in rome actually might be the craziest part of this plan as it will require a headache trip into rome but at least we won't have to take train into the city from the airport. has anyone else done this? we are staying 2 additional nights in rome so want to minimize our interactions at the airport. i've been to italy several times but it will be my first time driving. i do remember thinking the last time i was on amalfi (3 years ago) that I would NEVER drive there so maybe I should just stick to that as there is so much to explore by SITA.

We've done that a couple of times -

1) it was May, when the coast road wasn;t crowded - but fun to drive
2) we stayed in sorrento, wher eour hotel had free parking
3) this was the start of a longer road trip (we saw several towns in Tuscany or Umbria on the way to and also from Florence) and we continued on - through Germany i=for one trip and vis Swizz to paris the other - so a car made sense based on days in the countryside and small towns

For what you are doing you will be paying rental days for a car you wo;t be using as well as parking fees (which I assume will be in excess of $35 per day). Agree that car gives more freedom - and we don;t really care that it costs more - but don;t know if that workd fo ryour trip.