Positano Travel Forum

Hello just a few quick questions
How far (by car) is it to get to Postiano from the town of Amalfi? We have booked accomodation in Amalfi but from what I've read, Postiano and Sorrento are the places to see - am I correct?
ALso is Pompeii closer to Naples or Amalfi? Is it worth getting pre booked tickets (we will be going in July)

Thank you

Amalfi to Positano is maybe 30-45 minutes driving time depending on traffic. Far more important and better to visit than Sorrento is the amazing village of Ravello, quite near Amalfi. Go just east of town, take the turnoff for Atrani and head up the hill. Spectacular. Atrani is a very nice seaside village itself by the way.
As far as access to Pompeii, Naples is probably less time than Amalfi because of the nature of the roads. From Naples, an autostrada, while from Amalfi a very scenic but winding road with hills and no direct route. From Amalfi the shortest mileage is a road from Ravello that goes over the mountain but I have been told it is a slow drive. The easier drive from Amalfi requires driving over to Vietre and picking up the autostrada north. Longer but perhaps quicker and certainly less stressful.

Good info there from nicolaitan. I'll just add that I'm really into driving when I travel to Italy, but the first place that I found that it just isn't worth the effort is the Amalfi coast. I looked into this question before we went there in the early fall and I was told that if I like to drive anywhere else, Amalfi isn't going to be daunting, but I found out otherwise. On the day that I drove into the Amalfi Coast, a car coming from the other direction hit my car with his/her side-view mirror. Then, later in the day, after checking into our hotel in Amalfi, I drove to Positano, but there was literally no place to put the car, so I had to leave Positano and go back on another day...by bus...which crashed into the side of a mountain and the glass on one side of the bus was all broken.

The result was that I left the car for the next ten days in the hotel parking lot and used other transportation. There are buses running to just about everywhere from the town of Amalfi. Getting to Ravello, that nicolaitan recommends is a MUST DO. You can walk up to it...it can be daunting, especially on a warm or hot day...or you can take a bus from Amalfi. To get to every other place on the coast, I'd recommend taking the boat. They, too, leave from the town of Amalfi. That gives you great views, breezes and speed.

Positano is about 45 mins from Amalfi by car. Positano and Sorrento are both nice places to visit however don't miss out on a morning in Amalfi . Also, a drive up to Ravello can be nice with breathtaking scenery from the top of the cliffs.
Pompeii is closer to Naples. Its about a 2 hour drive from Amalfi.

a couple of words of warning about driving along the coast road - people drive like idiots. Too fast, overtaking on bends, pulling out of side roads regardless of whats coming and darting in and out of the traffic at high speed on the motorway in Naples. Keep your wits about you at all times.

Also, Parking in Positano can be a real pain so get there early. If you have to park on the top road there is a round town bus that passes every half an hour which goes down to the centre which may prove a gonsend rather than walking back up as its REALLY steep.

every responder makes a valid point. I did drive along the Strada Nazionale (the 1-lane-each-way coastal mountain road) in May 2007 for 6 days. I was based in Positano, so I paid 30 Euro/day for garage. We went to Amalfi, but could not find parking, until we happened upon a guy "scalping" parking spots behind a restaurant along the main road. Since we kept the car keys, I took a chance, and it was no problem. In the less-crowded Minori and Maori, we quickly found parking meters (carry lots of Euro coins!). I've seen giant tour buses pass each other while the drivers merely retracted their rear view mirrors while never missing a drag on their cigarettes. SOmetimes they close the road, for a brief period, for "rocce sporgente" (falling rocks). The biggest driving nuisance was not the car or bus drivers, but the VESPAs who cut you off, even when a car is coming from the opposite direction. Being a complete stranger to the roads there, I chose to return to Positano before dark, as there are no lights along the Strada Nazionale. I'm sure all the responders here would agree that the Zita municipal buses do Not run like clockwork! If they don't send a bus in the morning, and you've got to wait 1 hr for next one, it ruins your itinerary for the whole day. If you are a good driver, and you like a challenge, I still would rent a car.

footstool has correctly summarized the SITA bus schedules - etched in jello.
We drove all over with a base in Positano in a rented car ( of course our hotel had a car parking lot which helped a lot ) and really encountered very few of the difficulties described by many, and this was peak season when we visited last. The bus and local drivers know the highway perfectly and know where to look ahead around the curves for oncoming traffic, so I think a lot of the fears are overblown. In the villages like Positano and Priano, the road surface is pretty bad so one has to go slow. And between villages the road is well paved and plenty wide enough if one drives with care. Up to Ravello, there is one nasty stretch about 1/4 mile with a hairpin turn. Otherwise that road is fine also. Don't be afraid to drive - the benefits are worth it.