Transportation to and around the Amalfi Coast
 

Next May, we will be arriving by cruise ship in Civitavecchia and then spending a week touring the Amalfi Coast area before flying home from Naples. We want to be based for the week in one city but have not made a decision as to which city. We are thinking about Positano or Sorrento.

We would like to hear from readers as to the choices of transportation between the port and either of these cities. We are in our 60's and will have 4 pieces of luggage so we are concerned about our ability to travel by train with all the burden of lifting luggage. I also understand that a car and driver can be a very expensive proposition. We are leaning to renting a car for the ease of travel. Would this be less expensive? Does anyone have rental agency suggestions? Obviously, they must have a location near the port.

Finally, I would like to have your opinion as to the pros and cons of driving around the AC as opposed to public transportation.

The best bases in the Amalfi Coast area when relying on public transportation are: Sorrento, Amalfi and Salerno. Positano is not as good a base, and Praiano and Ravello are even worse.

In May, in addition to the hourly SITA buses between Salerno and Sorrento (connecting at Amalfi), there will be hydrofoils and small ferry boats operated, respectively, by Alicost and Cooperativa Sant'Andrea. There may or may not be any direct hydrofoil service with Naples at that time (this year, the direct service by Metro del Mare was only between July 1 and September 15).

Bear in mind that the SITA buses can get VERY crowded in May, and consequently you want to also consider the boat services during certain times of the day (e.g. between Amalfi and Positano, or Positano and Sorrento).

If you want a base for seven consecutive days, and are relying entirely on public transportation, I would choose either Sorrento or Amalfi. Sorrento has the edge in terms of proximity to Pompei, Ercolano, Naples and Ischia. Amalfi is better situated for Salerno and Paestum.

You should look into the possibility of purchasing one of the following transportation tickets:

1. UNICO COSTIERA 3-day ticket for 18 Euros (essentially covers SITA buses between Salerno and Sorrento, plus Sorrento city bus services); or
2. UNICO CAMPANIA 3-day ticket for 20 Euros (covers many buses, subways, funiculars and commuter trains within the entire Campania Region, check website for full details);

or the 3-day CAMPANIA ARTECARD "tutta la regione" which will give you 3 days of transportation within the Campania Region, plus limited museum entrances.

The hydrofoils and ferry boats are NOT covered by any of the aforementioned tickets. Nor are the buses and funiculars on the Island of Capri, which has its own fare scheme.

There are a couple of direct trains from Civitavecchia to Naples, without a connection in Rome. More likely, you'll need to connect in Rome (to either Naples or Salerno). There is also direct bus service from Rome to Sorrento which avoids the connection in Naples. Once you decide on your base town, I can tell you the best transportation options there from Civitavecchia or Naples.

Better to rent a car of rely on public transportation: a very controversial question, as you'll see from reading threads on this and other websites. A majority of travellers (especially older citizens) prefer not to drive, even though using public transportation efficiently requires careful planning.

www.coopsantandrea.it (Salerno/Amalfi/Positano ferry boats)
www.alicost.it
(hydrofoils Salerno/Amalfi/Positano/Sorrento/Capri/Ischia)
www.metrodelmare.net (hydrofoils between Naples and A.C.)
www.sitabus.it (SITA buses)
www.unicocampania.it (Unico Campania tickets)
www.artecard.it (Campania Artecard)
www.vesuviana.it (Circumvesuviana trains)
www.ferroviedellostato.it (Trenitalia trains)
www.marozzivt.it (Rome/Sorrento bus)
www.curreriviaggi.it (Rome/Sorrento bus)

See also:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Campania.html

Your problem is quite common and there is no easy nor perfect answer. We had the same problem in May of 2010 and picked 2 locations---actually 3 with our time in Naples.
I would not try to drive. Sorrento is the most convenient base for P0mpeii and Capri day trips. The best thing we did was to pop for pro drivers to and from the airport and from Naples to Praiano---to our apartment. We used the local SITA bus for day trip to Positano and Amalfi.
Here some pics to get you excited. You can also click on my name for the trip report. BTW, we are in our 70s.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=4481

Was there in May

Elected for 4 euros to take the Circumvesuviano to Sorrento

www.hoteldelfino.com awesome hotel free shuttle great views

over Capri Ischia paid $80 www.otel.com sea view great deal

better than amalfi also visited Pompeii close

SITA bus is a couple of euros from there to amalfiweb.com

nice quite vertical expensive cliffs view pretty no islands

ok for me not as convenient for price.

tigercarrentals.com good personal experience in the past

but expensive and can get scary playing tag with big buses

on those little roads and Naples drivers for me are some of

the worst in the world take ALL the insurance.

Happy Travels!

Amalfi

Leeg:We were there in september 2009,and really enjoyed the Amalfi Coast(as a matter of fact we are in our 60s also).
We were really happy with our chpoice of Amalfi as a base for the whole week,with easy access everiwhere via public transportation.Also,Amalfi is the best base to reach Ravello,which you cannot miss.
If you want to read my detailed report; you can go through:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...1-to-oct-3.cfm
Enjoy your planning and your trip!!!!

Um, Civitavecchia is the port for rome - so you are hours from the Amalfi Coast. If it were me I would rent a car and base myself in Sorrento _ but be sure your hotel has parking (most don;t).

that way you can go from the port directly to Sorrento (not having to take the train fro Civitavecchia to rome, then rome to Naples then Naples to Sorrento - then whatever (bus?? or taxi?) to positano.

Sorrento is a larger town (positano and Amalfi are very small towns) and has more to see/do - as well as being closer to the archeo museum in Naples, to Pompeii and Herclanuneum and has good ferry service to both Capri and down the cost.

>Positano is not as good a base, and Praiano and Ravello are even worse.<

Ravello is isolated.

However, Positano has ferry service to Capri, Sorrento, Naples, Amalfi and Salerno as well as buses to Sorrento and all of the towns on the AC road all the way to Salerno.

Praiano has the orange bus to Positano and various little towns, and is on the SITA bus route from Sorrento to Salerno.

((I))

I would expect the traffic in May to be relatively light.

This doesn't guarantee that you won't be caught in traffic by some tour bus driver making his first trip down the Coast Road.

We very much liked our stay at www.lesirene.com

((I))

The problem with Positano (and Praiano) is that, while serviced by the very same SITA buses which originate and terminate in Amalfi, it's sometimes difficult to BOARD the buses in Positano (and Praiano) going in either direction, because already overfull on arrival. Sometimes, the bus driver will not even open the front door to take on more passengers! This can be true from late April through October (and worse still during the peak of the summer season). For that reason, Amalfi is easier because you can be amongst the first to BOARD the SITA buses going either east to Salerno or west to Praiano/Positano/Sorrento.

Fortunately for Positano, there are ferry boats and hydrofoils going up and down the coastline from April through October (no better or worse than Amalfi). Travellers are advised to carry the boat schedules with them as a useful alternative to the SITA buses.

Praiano has no boat service, so there's one less option (you need to bus to either Positano or Amalfi to board the boat).

Ravello is less convenient because it requires a special bus ride up the hill from Amalfi (meaning a bus connection in Amalfi). Also, the bus to Ravello (which seats only 35) is often crowded.

Positano is often preferred as a base because it's more upscale than Amalfi, plus has better views as it is perched on the hillside. But strictly in terms of utility of public transportation, Amalfi has the edge.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. Your information is greatly appreciated.