mama_mia

Our Italy trip will start in Sulmona, where we will have a car. From Sulmona, we will head to Amalfi or Ravello (actually thinking of Punta Civita hotel for stay). We have 5 nights left at this point. We plan to visit Amalfi and Ravello and possibly Salerno (I am interested in the churches in these towns).

My husband will probably take the 6 AM flight out of Naples and I will train to Rome. We will probably need to stay that last night in Naples, then, which is fine since I would like to see Santa Chiara and Archeological museum.

Question: Should we keep the car and drive from Sulmona to Salerno, ditching the car in Salerno before our Amalfi stay, or should we keep it through Amalfi stay?

My question concerns driving difficulties in Salerno/Amalfi area. Will it be a headache?

ekscrunchy

Much depends on the time of year. If you are not speaking of high season, you should have no trouble having a car in the Salerno/Amalfi area, and driving between the two points, providing you have some experience driving in Europe.

There is a large indoor parking garage in Amalfi, and the B&B should offer free parking..have you checked? (If they do not, the Hotel Floridiana in Amalfi does offer free parking)

There is at least one public lot at the entrance to the town of Ravello, from the Amalfi road.
I expect that parking in Salerno will present the usual annoyances of parking in an Italian city. But we could research further about this. ARe you speaking of visiting the Duomo in Salerno?

The question then becomes..where will you return the car? I would not advise driving in the city of Naples, although the drive from Amalfi to the airport is not difficult. When you factor in the return of the car, the easiest plan might be to give it in in Salerno before heading to Amalfi.

mama_mia

Thanks for the response. We will be there in late April 2013. Yes, I was hoping to visit the Duomo in Salerno.

The hotel I am looking at has a bus stop just outside the door, so perhaps we can drop car off in Salerno and bus to Amalfi area.

ekscrunchy

Sounds like a plan. You may have to take 2 buses..one to Amalfi from Salerno, and another from Amalfi up the hillside to your hotel. Punta Civita looks to be located on the route from Amalfi to Ravello. But you may be able to walk there from the bus stop along the Amalfi Drive, and thus would not need to second bus...

http://www.puntacivita.it/whereweare.html

packed

You can park inside the gate at Punta Civita. There may be a small charge. You may also be able to park on the street. To get to Punta Civita you do need to take a second bus or do an uphill walk. (Going into town, downhill the walk is easier if you don't want to take the bus). There is a stop at the base of the mountain and you catch the second bus there. The bus stop near Punta Civita is very close. We always have a car there, but frequently take the bus because parking in town is scarce and expensive.

I actually wrote the first review for TripAdvisor for Punta Civita about eight or nine years ago. For some reason it has dropped off a long time ago. We have been back probably six times. The views can't be beat from this location and Roberto and Nada are very special people. This is a real Italian family and you are on a beautiful spot that has been in the family for many years. You'll pinch yourself and try to memorize all of the gorgeous scenery.

We have done the drive from Sulmona to the Amalfi coast and it was very doable, as Ekscunchy said, if you have experience driving in Europe.

mama_mia

Sorry, I missed your response, Packed. This is helpful info.

pizzocchieri

At that time of year, I would keep the car the whole time. You can drop it off in Sorrento or the airport in Napoli (or Salerno as suggested, if the office opening hours work for you).

I've never stayed at Punta Civita, but I once stayed in a location along the Amalfi drive with great views and no restaurants. At night, I had to walk along the Amalfi drive, before and after dinner. Next time, I'd pick a town to stay in.