Well, we are only about 10 days from departing and I was giving some thought of how to get to Positano from Salerno.

We will have a car but I have also heard the parking is not easy nor is the drive along the narrow coastal roads.

For those who have done this, what's your recommendation...drive and brave it or take another mode of transportation?

I checked the bus but that's a 2 hour ride one way! I could drive back to Rome in 2 hours!

What are the thoughts on this one??

There is the Metro del Mare hydrofoil from Salerno MOLO MANFREDI (across town from the train station, near the Jolly Hotel) to Positano at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.. Travel time is one hour and one-way fare is 7.00 Euros.

http://www.metrodelmare.com/

There are also ferry boats to Positano from Salerno Piazza della Concordia Dock (near the train station), but I don't know whether they operate at the end of April. Try calling this number in Salerno: 089.872950

BEWARE: Don't confuse the two docks: MOLO MANFREDI and PIAZZA DELLA CONCORDIA are at OPPOSITE ends of town, more than 2 kilometers apart.

TIP: The hydrofoil/ferry service can get rough in heavy seas, and is also subject to cancellation in bad weather. By contrast, the bus service is rarely cancelled (usually only for strikes).

THE SITA BUS: Travel time is 2 hours, EXCLUDING the mandatory connection in Amalfi. Buy a "Unicocampania Biglietto Orario Extraurbano E5" at the Salerno train station newsstand for 2.90 Euros. The ticket is valid 140 minutes after obliteration in the little stamping machine on the bus. Bus service is DAILY, including Sundays. Buses depart from directly outside the Salerno train station every 30-60 minutes. Travel time to Amalfi 75 minutes; plus an additional 40 minutes from Amalfi to Positano. You MUST change buses in Amalfi. You can place large suitcases in the underfloor luggage compartment.

www.sitabus.it

How rough is it? Judith gets seasick looking at the water!!

For me, I'd love it... for her??? She can handle river cruises and calm waters.

Other alternatives?

Drive. The road is not that bad, and the views are to die for, so drive slow, watch for narrow parts of the road for buses,they know how to get past you so do as they ask and you will have a great drive. There are at least 2 car parks down the bottom of the internal one way street.

We usually drive...but...you're not going to be much faster than a bus :-) becasue you will be stuck sitting behind them :-) of course, I say that becasue it is usually my husband who drives :-0 last time, he gave up and parked in Maiori and we then took the SITA bus...which is oddly fun and relaxing and convinient! Next time, we will probably leave the car in Salerno (but we would be doing it only for the day) and just relax and enjoy the view from the bus. We have asoert of been there, done that attitude towards driving the coast...it is definately worth doing at least once though!

I agree with Musetta.

Cars are convenient, of course, and if you are a confident and fearless driver you might prefer to take the car. Just be aware, though, that the driver has to concentrate really, really hard and generally can't enjoy the wonderful scenery and panoramas.

We drove from Salerno to Maiori and then local bussed it to everywhere which allowed my husband to enjoy the views and not have to worry about the parking.

Next time we'd probably leave the car in Salerno.

but it's just what you feel comfortable with, really.

Maybe you could wait and see how rough the seas are? We watch the Positano webcam and the sea has been smooth as glass lately. We frequently visit Positano and took the ferry from Salerno to Positano in April of last year. It was convenient and the sea must have been smooth as I cannot remember it being rough at all. It is also such an interesting view we do not usually get on the bus. We will be in Positano a little later this year, May 2-6.

do you happen to know which ferry co. you took??? we were i Positano at the begining of April last year and they laughed at us when we asked if there was a ferry to Salerno :-) as they only run in high season...also had to take the bus to Sorrento to get out to Capri. We will be back in September and I hope to go out to Positano and maybe Capri...will be leaving the car in Salerno and I was unsure if the ferries would still be running.
Thanks for any tips!

p.s. where do you usually park in Salerno whe you take the ferry?

I do not remember the name of the company and we were traveling probably the middle of April rather than the first part. Perhaps that made the difference? We also did not drive to Salerno. We had visited Sapri which is below Salerno and had taken the train to Salerno. It is not a bad walk, even with luggage to the port to catch the ferry from the train station. Sorry I am not more help.

If you walked to the dock from the Salerno train station, with luggage and all, I wager that you departed from the Piazza della Concordia dock (400 yards), and NOT the Manfredi dock, which is clear across town (2 kilometers) by the Jolly Hotel.

You can walk to the Piazza della Concordia dock in about 5 minutes.

REMEMBER that there are two different docks in Salerno from where there is boat service to Amalfi/Positano. DO NOT CONFUSE THEM!

The sea should not be very rough and if it is rough the service will not operate and as GAC writes the main boat/ferry dock in Salerno for Amalfi is at Piazza d.Concordia