Rome to Amalfi - any cool towns to see on drive down?
 

We are headed to Italy at the end of this month. We are in Rome for 3 days and then renting a car and driving down to the Amalfi coast (more specifically staying in Conca Dei Marini) for 6 days. We do have a parking spot at the apartment so plan on taking public bus most of the time along the coast, but thought it would be an exciting drive down to the Amalfi and easier to take the car if we wanted to stop somewhere along the way.

My questions are:

Are there any cool towns we should check out on the drive down to Amalfi? Google maps has us going down the highway on E45 through Naples. Our GPS in the car may tell us differently, but any towns off the main road we should check out? Also, worth stopping in Naples and/or Pompeii?

This will be our first time to Italy so any tips or recommendations are welcome!

Thanks!

Naples is definitely worth stopping at, as is Pompeii but you won't see much in the time you have available, unless you make it a really long day.

The drive from Rome to your hotel is at least 4 hours on its own and that's allowing for the fact that you're travelling in early October and the road will be much less busy. There are any number of places that you could stop at including:

Frosinone--nice lunch stop
Caserta--Royal Palace, Old Palace, Aqueduct
Naples--need a lot more than an hour or two
Pompeii--at least 3 hours]
Herculaneum--at least 2 hours

Once you've got on the main Sorrento road, head for Castellammare di Stabia and take the SS366 across the hills to

Sorry, pressed enter in error...to your hotel.

Again, it depends what time you want to leave Rome and what time you want to check in. As far as the car is concerned, you may well use it at time of the year as the roads will have calmed down on the AC by then.

Why don't you plan to have lunch in Itri? You can look around and stretch your legs climbing to the castle. It will make a nice break from the driving.

But beware of leaving anything in your car that you do not want stolen.

You will be busy trying to concentrate on the incredibly windy narrow roads. Good luck

Montecassino is near your halfway point, and not far out of the way. It is the site of one of Europe's oldest monasteries, founded by St. Benedict in the 6th century. It eventually became one of the most important abbeys on the continent, and had countless manuscripts, books, and works of art.

In the later part of WWII, it was the site of a big battle, and destroyed by Allied bombs. Fortunately, many of the precious manuscripts were saved, but not many of the works of art. After the war, the abbey was painstakingly reconstructed. It stands high above the surrounding plain. In addition to visiting the abbey, which is truly beautiful, you can see memorials to the troops who died there.

Sermoneta is also about halfway, and is one of the prettiest towns in Italy, in my opinion, with a large and well-preserved castle. It would require that you drive along the coast, which is a longer road.

The Royal Palace at Caserta and the amphitheatre at Capua are both on the way however think CAREFULLY about stopping anywhere with luggage in the car.
It is very common for vehicles to get broken into when they are left unattended in tourist places, even in autogrills when refilling with petrol (gas). I would caution against stopping anywhere on the way and make sure someone stays with the car when you buy petrol.