Driving the Amalfi Coast
Ok, the title of this thing is a bit misleading. We didn't exactly pilot our rental car along the Costiera Amalfitana; we got a professional to drive us.
Yes, we were taken around in a rather stubby bus from citrus-blossom perfumed Sorrento to the open air shopping mall the Italians call Positano, then on to maritime powerhouse Amalfi. The road was wide and curvy. On the straight bits, haphazardly parked cars funneled traffic into a challenging bottleneck. This did not discourage our driver, who plowed straight ahead without incident. Italian roads hold more cars than you can imagine. Who needs space between the mirrors when you have those great views?
Beyond Amalfi, the in-progress clean up of some rock fall made us turn back. Yes, the bus was turned around smartly--only two up and backs and we were once again zipping down the road to Amalfi, where an interesting visit to the Duomo dedicated to St. Andrew awaited us.
I asked our driver if he knew which cars contained tourists. "The ones going real slow," he said.
Bottom line: It's not dangerous to drive the Amalfi coast. Just pay attention and avoid weekends at all costs.
More: See a Map of the Amalfi Coast.
Comments
Your post reminds me of the time I drove my mother-in-law to Sorrento in my American van. She kept asking me if I knew what I was doing. I think she was hoping I’d give up and take her home.
Another time, I drove a friend’s family up Vesuvio to climb the volcano. I thought the road was pretty decent, but my passengers were clearly dubious about driving up, up, up. Suddenly a huge tour bus barreled down the hill, barely missing our van (the same one). “See!” I said. “They got up there, and we can, too!”
Thanks for the memories.