When planning our trip to the Amalfi Coast we were debating whether to hire a car or not. Usually when we go on holidays outside of the big cities, we love to hire a car. The car provides us with complete mobility and absolute flexibility to do what we want when we want, allowing us to explore those far away places and away from the crowds, that are often quite inaccessible by public transport. However, for the Amalfi Coast we decided differently based on what we read on many different travel forums.
When we finally made it to the Amalfi Coast, I think husband was relieved that we didn't hire a car. Everything about driving on the Amalfi coast seemed stressful. Firstly the roads are extremely narrow and windy. Often cars are millimeters from each other…. I was freaking out just watching this!! There seems to always be a traffic bottle neck for entering and leaving a village on the coast (especially Positano and Praiano). Amalfi coast drivers seem to know that buses are the gods of the road, which means that often cars need to reverse backwards in order to allow the on-coming bus to maneuver a curvy section of the road… this incredible Italian maneuver requires both sides of the road!!… In addition, parking looked like a huge headache …. Car parks are expensive and getting to them involves negotiating Italian Amalfi traffic (double trouble!!). We saw cars parked all along the road about two kilometers from Positano…. What people do for a free parking space!!
Having said that, the buses on the Amalfi Coast are brilliant! BUT…. they get really busy and quite often no seats are left. We are not spring chickens and standing on a bus that negotiates these windy roads is not our idea of fun!! Keep in mind that we were holidaying in the Amalfi Coast in mid May… Definitely not yet high season… I imagine in high season, getting a seat or even managing to get onto a full bus would be an issue.
And then there is the issue of whether you want to enjoy the spectacular views that you get from these Amalfi Coast roads…. OH MY GOD!!! They are incredible!!! If you are a driver, my guess is that you wouldn't even know that there is an incredible view as you would be too focused on not getting your rented car scratched or dented or tipped over into the Mediterranean Sea… Being on a bus allows you to enjoy those incredible views….. One day, we took the bus from Praiano to Sorrento, not for sightseeing in Sorrento but for the journey itself…. It is wonderful!!…. Being on an elevated bus and sitting on the sea-side of the bus was indeed one hour of heavenly pleasure!!! If you get prone to car sickness, the Amalfi coastal drive would be a challenge in any type of vehicle.....
Now some people are incredibly brave and drive cars on the Amalfi Coast. Check out Mom The Muse's wonderful blog. In this blog, a family not only drive on the coastal road but drive up to Ravello, the scariest road of them all!!! And they survived to tell their story and it is a wonderful one, especially if you are travelling with kids!
So what is the verdict?? Drive or not to drive the Amalfi Coast??? That is the question!!
