We will be in Italy this June, and we have planned to rent a car to drive down the Amalfi coast to Pisotani. It is suicidal? Or just winding narrow that you need to be super carfull?
The driver won't get to see much and shouldn't be looking anyway, it's a busy road. We took the bus from Sorrento and sat on the right side and it was wonderful.
The only reason I could see for driving would be to keep stoping wherever possible to look on the way down and there aren't many places to stop.
I would suggest riding the bus and getting in line first and sitting one behind the other by the window, you'll be higher and can see over the edge better.
As Barb mentioned, I was able to ooh and ahh over the spectacular views but my poor husband was white-knuckling over getting around the tour buses that were taking up the entire road. Then, when we got to Amalfi we couldn't find a parking space. So we drove back to Positano and parked the car (our hotel had parking privileges in a garage), then took the boat down the coast....it was very relaxing and we both got to oooh and ahhh.
My husband, Brad has driven this road countless times. (I keep dragging him back to Vietri for more ceramics.) With the traffic and tour buses, you are never going more than 10-25 KPH, with frequent stops, as buses take turns around the curves. There are chances for the driver to see the breathtaking views without the passengers hanging on for life with white knuckles. It is much improved from 10 years ago, and IMHO NOT a big deal for a relaxed driver. Try it!
Candi, on the other hand (would that be OTOH?) you might want to read the page out of my trip report (you can click on the highlighted topic under my name) and go about half way down the page entitled: "I Looked Into the Eyes of the Angel of Death and Saw It Was Our Bus Driver".
Thank you all for you replies. Well, I am not actually driving it myself, my soon-to-be jusband is the driver. He is a very confident that he will be ok, so I guess we will be doing it.
You'll have a great time. The advantage of the car is that you can stop when you want to (parking permitting), and take your time. That also gives the driver a chance to see a bit. And you also would then not have to deal with the crowded buses in June.
If you have enough time, you might want to try it both ways - drive it once (and do your ceramic shopping while you have the car!), then another time take the bus from Positano to Amalfi, and the boat back. It's a good way to get different "views" of the coast.
I agree with some of the other folks here that the huge tour buses can be the scariest. I wrote an article about my experiences driving on the Amalfi Coast last spring (and I've driven lots in Italy, never really bothered me). Here it is:
Ha! Great question and there was an article in the NY Times about it this Sunday! It was actually located in the sports section for some odd reason! My husband loved driving it but I was terrified! I will say to pull in your side mirrors before you start.We were so glad we did!
Posts: 835 | Location: Nashville, TN USA | Registered: 11 September 2002
Candi, I'm sure you'll be fine. I agree with Palma that it's not a big deal for a confident driver. My husband is the one who does the driving in Italy for the two of us and he didn't find the Amalfi coast any more challenging than many places we've visited.
Actually I found the taxi ride that we took on the Amalfi coast to be the scary thing. Through a strange set of circumstances we ended up sharing a taxi ride with another couple from Amalfi to Positano. I was sitting in the passenger's seat and the taxi driver kept engaging me in conversation and looking at me while talking and taking some of those hairpin turns pretty quickly. I'm not usually nervous about car rides, but that one was pretty wild!
It is not suicidal at all. If you are looking for suicidal try Mallorca Ca Calobra, there were no garde fou and the two direction road is large enough for 1.5 cars. And believe tour buses do pass there. Junt honk and go forward.
Amalfi coast road is quite large enough in comparison.
I just came back from the Amalfi Coast and agree that the drive would not be suicidal, just highly annoying. The guard rail is a cement or stone wall about 2 feel high and it would be difficult (though not impossible) to go plummeting down, unlike highway 1 in California where there are some pretty scary stretches with almost no barriers. And, why pass the tour buses? If they're going too slowly for you, that gives you all the more time to enjoy the view with an excuse for going at a pace where you can do so. As to riding the SITA buses, the trouble is that even when I was there, in April, there was always such a long line for the bus that you were happy if you even got a SEAT, much less a coveted sea-side window seat. So I can only imagine what the line must be like in June!
The only way to insure the view without irritation is to shell out some pretty big bucks for a driver. From Positano to Sorrento cost 50 euros. I'm not sure what the whole drive costs, but there are plenty of price and driver guides here and in other sites.
Posts: 70 | Location: Chicago, USA | Registered: 26 June 2005
just to add my 2 cents. we just came back and my husband drove. the problem really isn't the drive(he drove it before and we lived to tell) if the driver is confident in his/her skills. the problem is parking and traffic. very fustrating. you can't stop where you want. you spend hours going nowhere. the next time i go it will be with a driver. a little on the pricey side as previously mentioned, but i found a reasonably priced limo service with great drivers at,"amalfi-drive.com". we used them for our Pompeii tour. you would love them!
Posts: 60 | Location: boston | Registered: 11 March 2005
I've always been slightly surprised when I hear comments about how scary or suicidal it is to do that drive. I quite like it. As other people noted, you're not going fast... the big buses are a pain, but I don't see anything very scary about it. I guess maybe because I am used to driving Big Sur?
