So, Tell Me About Driving In italy!

[tennisWalt Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tennisWalt]

I have driven in Scotland, England, France, Germany, and Austria without too much trouble. Including driving around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on a Saturday afternoon. But that is another story about why I did that.

We have a timeshare exchange at Residence La Ferriera, in the medieval village of Loro Ciuffenna in June 2008.

Residence La Ferriera - Il Borgo -

I know that in order to enjoy this area of Tuscany we will need a car. Yet, I have heard that you don't want to drive in Italy.

We want to see Rome and the Amalfi Coast in the 2nd week of our trip. I will not be driving in Rome, but what about the Amalfi Coast and the rest of Italy?

Walt

[Ireland's Call Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ireland's Call]

If you have managed the Arc you will be fine Walt.
You have an advantage over me , in the like all Italians you will be driving on the wrong side of the road !.
Seriously like everything just go calmly , ignore those who try to bully and plan your journey well in advance to give good time

Enjoy !
G

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I loved driving on there autobaun. I hit 200Km a few times and had people moving out of the left lane for me to pass. I prety much drove between 165 to 185 KM. In miles per hour that is about 100MPH and hitting a top speed of 125mph. Now driving in rome sucks and driving in the Almalfi coast is breath taking but slow. Be sure to go to Positano and take a ferry to both Capri and Sorrento. Naples was no big deal, Pompai was hot. Make time to go to Assisi, Sieena, Pisa and Florance and do not miss Venice.

[CNYTraveler Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CNYTraveler]

Fun stuff!

I've driven the Amalfi Coast and there are all kinds of twists and turns, one lane areas, buses, and Italian drivers (who drive FAST!). I found that it took me an hour to get fully used to the style of driving, as there is a lot of acceleration and deceleration (I would guess you need to negotiate 30+ curves per mile driven). I genuinely enjoyed the drive and would do it again in a heartbeat.

My only caution is for people that are "nervous drivers" -- this could be stressful because of the level of concentration required & relatively fast pace.

[chs225 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chs225]

Here's a good web site to visit concerning driving in Italy. As long as you saty out of the big cities it isn't a problem but tha Amalfi is scary
Slow Travel Italy - Transportation Overview, driving, sample train fares

from there link to the driving in Italy

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

We took the bus down the coast from Sorento, and we left the car in a lot at the end of the subway line for Rome. We took the train to Sorrento and stopped at Pompii. From Sorrento, we took the bus. The problem we saw with driving the coast was that the driver really doesn't get to enjoy the view, hence our use of the train and the bus. The car was perfectly safe in the lot. An added benifit was that the train and bus for both of us probably cost less than the gas would have to drive down and back.

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

We've driven all through tuscany, including Florence and then drove down to Sorrento and all through the Amalfi area. The drive in Tuscany was nothing...Southern parts, the roads are narrow and winding.
Frank mentioned Positano..we did all the small towns throughout that region..one word of caution...read the parking meters very carefully..they monitor the meters closely and we had 2 fines in 1 day..~$180.00. One time we were 5 minutes late and the next town we read the meter wrong and only put in 1/2 the money, so we were quite late on that one.
Have fun on your vacation!! I Love Italy!

[PCItaly Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PCItaly]

Driving in Italy

I live in Northern Italy near Milan and have driven a hire car from Naples to the area around Sorrento. In Southern Italy you must hire a small car. Anything larger than a food Fiesta is too big for the roads. The motorway may be three lanes but they are very narrow. The Italian police have now discovered speed cameras and anything more than 5km/h over the limit you may be flashed and 10km/h you will be. Doing more than 100km/h in a 90km/h zone is a fine of 150 euro. There is much less road rage compare to Britain. Italian drivers will let off steam by shouting and waving their arms/ and hands. They do not jump out of their cars and attack other drivers. Plan your route in advance. If you can use public transport. Trains are cheap. The circumvesuviana line goes from Naples to Sorrento so you don't need a car to visit Pompei or Herculaneum.

[joycapecod Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close joycapecod]

You'll have no problems driving in Italy. Rome can be a little difficult, but I've driven there, Florence, to Venice and in Assissi (the walled part). No problem. The Autostrada is lovely and it is an excellent highway.

If you've drive in other high density cities you will have no trouble at all. The Italians take their driving seriously, so do understand that prior to getting behind the wheel.

You will love the Italian countryside; I did the same trip in June 2005.

Best regards,

Joy

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Walt,

If you are driving in the mountains at all, watch out for the fog. You will be lucky to see your windshield wipers! It can be very dangerous so be careful.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

Never look another driver in the eye, if you do, they 'win.'
Especially true around Naples.

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

You shouldn't have much problem in Italy, even on the Amalfi coast (we found the reputation to be worse than the reality) but plan on public transportation inside the cities, just park at a nearby train station. We once drove around inside Florence, because we had reservations at a hotel with a parking lot - it was a big headache, never again. I agree it also got intense on the way into Sorrento on the outskirts of Naples. La Ferriera is quite rural, driving is no problem at all there, but see if the resort can make you a little map to the parking lot of the train station to Florence - we wished we'd had one, we wasted over an hour driving in circles. After passing on the autostrada, get right back over into the right-hand lane- cars materialize out of nowhere and will ride right up on your bumper if you are relaxed and take your time.

We just returned from Scotland, Wales & Ireland - Scotland & Wales were not bad, but found driving in Ireland more generally difficult and tiring than Italy, for comparison.

[CNYTraveler Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CNYTraveler]

Follow up re: Amalfi Coast

I drove the Amalfi Coast off season (it was December) and I suspect the traffic was relatively light. The drive might be more annoying in Summer when the level of traffic (including tour buses) will be much heavier. The reason I bring up buses is they have troubles with certain turns and need your lane to make the turn.