Tips on driving the Amalfi Coast - October
 

My husband and I will be in Naples for a few nights and plan to tour the Amalfi Coast for 4 nights, driving on our own. We have not chosen a base to stay on the Amalfi Coast yet. I'd like to hear coments from those of you who have driven yourselves around the area. Many thanks.

We based in Sorrento because it's a larger town with plenty of area to walk around at night to restaurants and shopping. In addition, the ferry to Capri was a short walk from our hotel (the Bellevue Serene). I think driving around the Amalfi Coast was great fun, beautiful and relatively easy, given the time of year you're going. We were there in November and the crowds were light.

Duct tape your head
Hold on tight
DRIVE.........
:)

Seriously we drove in Oct. 1999 and didnt have alot of problems..It was fun.
You must have a sense of humor and nerves of steel...

Having driven there several times, I'd personally recommend staying in a small town (like Amalfi) and driving to the areas you want to visit.

As for the actual driving, I can only warn you to constantly think ahead, drive VERY defensively, and never take for granted that there is nothing around the next curve. I don't mean to frighten you, because the actual driving isn't all that bad; you just need to pay a bit more attention to the road, to your lane, to the traffic coming up behind you, and to the potential of traffic ahead.

Thank you all for responding. My husband will be doing the driving -- will he be able to enjoy the scenery or will he have to concnetrate on the road too much -- i.e., are there stops along the road to pull off and gaze?

>are there stops along the road to pull off and gaze?< YES. You'll find many opportunities to do this. I suggest adding Massa Lubrense to your menu...

If he tries to drive and watch the scenery you will end up hitting either a bus/truck (they take part of your lane too) or the cliff wall at the side of the road. The Amalfi Drive is easy as long as 100% of your concentratin is on the road (as it should be ANYTIME you're in the car. But most people don;t do this - that's why we have so many accidents.)

For him to see the view you will need to stop in the towns or various pullovers/driveways.

Also- really the best view of the drive and th towns is from one of the ferries taking you from one town to another.

We always stay in Sorrento - since we usually go to Pompeii and Naples as well as take the hydrofoil to Capri. But if you want to stay in one of the smaller town it shouldn't be that much of an issue - since the traffic is lighter in October.

Just be sure to ask about the local rules at your hotel (ie if you are approaching a curve and hear a horn honking you should honk back- since this means someone is coming at you using both sides of the road - usually a wide vehicle - but sometimes just someone driving fast.) Also - be very careful of the blind driveways.

I've driven the Amalfi Coast several times. On my last visit to the area, I decided to forget about getting a car and just took the buses & ferries...nothing could be simpler.

The main hassle with the car is finding somewhere to park it. It takes up a good portion of your travel time seaching for a place to park. Trust me, it is extremely difficult and a major hassle.

The buses are frequent, cheap, & drop you right in the center of town.

Our favorite routine was to travel down the coast by bus, then travel back up the coast by ferry.

You can do this if you base yourself in Sorrento, which I recommend. Sorrento is a good hub for train, ferry & bus connections, and has a wonderful nightlife.

Gemini, I agree with Jim about the difficulty in finding parking. We were in Sorrento during the first week of Nov, 05 and rented a car for one day.

We loved Sorrento, lots to do in the evening and easy access to the train for Naples and Pompeii. We didn't have time for Capri although the weather was fantastic.

Ron and I rented a smart car, so we were driving a really small car. Our plan was to stop to see Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Well, we drove through Positano and then through Amalfi without finding any place to park. We never "hovered" around any parking lots but just drove on to the next town. We finally stopped in Atrani, which was a charming little town, parked near the water and took the BUS to Ravello.

I found someone very helpful with the parking ticket in Atrani; you had to scratch off all these numbers (dates and times) and we were in a big hurry to catch the next bus, so she did it all for me.

My only caution about being in the car was not the coastal road which was a breeze to drive, but the number of scooters and how unpredictable they were. Too many times we came close to hitting one or they seemed to come too close to hitting us. It was very stressful and I'm usually very comfortable on the road.

I really enjoyed our stay in Sorrento, much more than I had expected. I hope your visit lives up to your expectations also. Deborah

Deborah,

Glad you got to see Atrani, if only by accident!

Were you traveling on a weekend day? I wouldn't have imagined there was so much traffic in November.

nessundorma, actually it was Friday, Nov. 4th. Granted we didn't make alot of effort to really seek out parking. In Positano people were just pulling off the coastal road, parking and walking down the hill so we knew we didn't want to see the town that "badly" and in Amalfi we pulled into the large parking lot near the water, found no parking but lots of cars waiting for spots. I'm embarrassed to say we never even found the town of Praiano, but we did see a great looking "earth home" overlooking the water somewhere near Praiano ;;) Deborah

I never found Praiano either! (But I wasn't looking very hard.)

One issue about driving the Amalfi coast in October or November is the shortness of the days. I can't imagine driving the Amalfi coast road in the dark. Aaaaargh! I think things are rather dead during the winter months--but evidently not so much that finding a parking spot is easy.

I actually found that driving on winding rural roads in Italy at night was easier because you could see the lights of oncoming cars and motorcycles from quite a distance, rather than have them just show up right in front of you from around a blind curve!

What I was not used to or expected was the poor lighting on the roads and in town on the streets at night. There were so many scooters lights in and around us I felt like I was in the midst of a video game and we were the targets ;;) The previous statement is a slight exaggeration but not much ;;) ;;) Deborah

I got used to the Vespas driving in Liguria, where they swarm around you like mosquitoes at every traffic light, and very often occupy both lanes of two-way roads as if they were one-way roads -- and you're the one suddenly going the wrong way!

But I quickly discovered that I should just let the Vespas beat me to the light and that, miraculously, they would all fall back single file on their own side of the road no matter how little space there was (as we were all traveling 80kmph.

To me driving in Italy is not unlike driving in New York City, where you stay out of trouble by moving with the flow of other drivers, not observing the "rules" of the road.

When I come back to the states from Italy, I have to remind myself not to hang U-turns across four lines of traffic or park on the sidewalks.

However, I didn't rent a car in Amalfi because I hadn't heard it was much fun.

Oh, but it is fun to ride the coastal road in a car. Especially at night when all is dark and only the moon shines on the water making it light enough to discern images.

Off season it is wonderful to ride the coastal road too.

Your hotel should arrange parking for you, some places have parking and others have parking services.