Amalfi Coast with a Rental Car: A 5-Day Itinerary

Why a Car Changes the Plan, and Where It Doesn’t Help

Renting a car on the Amalfi Coast is a choice about freedom, not about ease. The coast road, the SS163, is a narrow, cliffside route with tight hairpin turns, and in July and August it slows to a crawl for hours at a time. On top of the traffic, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello all operate ZTL (zona a traffico limitato) zones that ban unauthorized vehicles from their historic centers. Drive in without a permit and the fine arrives by mail months later, cameras and all. If you want a fuller picture of what the road itself involves, the driving guide to the SS163 is worth reading before you book the car.

This itinerary is built around that reality. It uses the car where it genuinely helps — reaching Sorrento, and getting to Minori and Maiori, which stay less congested than the big three — and it deliberately routes around driving directly into Positano, Amalfi or Ravello in peak season. Instead, you park on the edge of town and finish on foot or by local bus. If a car sounds like more hassle than it’s worth, the car-free alternative covers the same ground using SITA buses and ferries.

Day 1: Arrival in Sorrento

Most rental cars are picked up in Naples, so your first day is really a transition day. Sorrento makes the best base for it: it’s the only town in the wider area connected to Naples by train, the Circumvesuviana, so it has real infrastructure to absorb a car even in high season, unlike the villages further along the coast.

Once you arrive, head straight for one of the paid parking areas on the edge of the historic center — there are several a short walk from Piazza Tasso — and leave the car there for the rest of the day. Sorrento’s old town is compact and entirely walkable, and there is no reason to move the car again until tomorrow. Wander the lemon-scented lanes around Corso Italia, look out over the cliffs at Villa Comunale, and settle into the rhythm of the coast before the driving starts in earnest.

For dinner, a hands-on introduction to the region’s food does double duty as a relaxed first evening.

Join a pizza-making class in Sorrento to learn the local dough and topping techniques before you spend the rest of the trip eating your way along the coast.

If Sorrento is where you’re basing yourself for more than this one night, the where-to-stay guide compares it against sleeping directly on the coast itself.

Day 2: Driving to Positano

This is the day the SS163 first shows its character. The drive from Sorrento to Positano isn’t long in kilometers, but the road narrows, bends back on itself repeatedly, and shares space with buses, scooters and delivery vans, so budget considerably more time than the distance suggests. Leave in the morning before the heaviest traffic builds.

Positano does not allow general traffic into its lower center, so the plan is to park in one of the higher-elevation lots above town — several sit along the main road before it drops toward the sea — and walk down from there. The descent through Positano is steep and stepped in places, all lanes and boutiques stacked above the beach, and it’s part of the experience rather than an inconvenience. Just remember that whatever you walk down, you’ll walk back up to reach the car later, so pace the day accordingly.

Spend the afternoon at the water. If you’d rather see the coastline from a boat than continue by road, this is the moment to build that in.

Take a boat trip from Positano toward Capri for a look at the Faraglioni and the coastline from the sea rather than the road.

For a shorter option that stays closer to shore, a mini-cruise between Positano and Amalfi covers both towns without adding driving time. Positano’s beaches are not the free stretches of sand some visitors expect — most of the best sections are paid lidos — so check the Positano beaches guide before you plan a full beach day around them. If you’re weighing Positano against the alternative base further along the coast, Positano vs. Amalfi lays out the practical differences. Return to the upper parking lot before dark; night driving on the SS163 back toward Sorrento or onward to your next stop is best avoided if you can help it.

Day 3: Amalfi and Ravello

Today covers two very different towns that happen to sit close together. Amalfi, at sea level, gave its name to the whole coast and to the Amalfi Republic that once controlled Mediterranean trade routes; Ravello sits roughly 350 meters above it, perched on a ridge with no beach of its own.

Drive toward Amalfi and, again, don’t aim for the town center itself. Look for parking on the approach roads or at the edges of town before the ZTL restrictions apply, then walk the last stretch in. The Duomo di Sant’Andrea, with its striped facade and cloister, anchors the town, and the Amalfi Cathedral guide covers what to look for inside. Amalfi is also the historic home of papermaking on the coast — a tradition specific to this town, not to Positano or the others — and the small paper museum makes for a quieter hour away from the seafront crowds.

For a guided walk through the town’s history and architecture, a walking tour of Amalfi is a practical way to get oriented without wandering aimlessly through the same three streets.

From Amalfi, the road climbs to Ravello. There’s no beach here — if you want the water, you’d need to come back down to Amalfi or Minori — but Ravello trades that for gardens, views and a genuine sense of quiet above the coastal bustle. Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone both look out over the water from terraced gardens; the Villa Cimbrone guide and Villa Rufolo guide cover the specifics of each. Parking in Ravello is more manageable than in Amalfi or Positano, but arrive with a plan rather than circling: use one of the lots just outside the historic core and walk in.

Book a guided walk through Ravello if you’d rather have the gardens and viewpoints explained on the spot. For why Ravello works so differently from its coastal neighbors, see why Ravello has no beach.

Day 4: Minori and Maiori

After three days navigating parking restrictions in the coast’s most visited towns, Minori and Maiori are where the rental car earns its keep. Both sit at sea level, both are reachable without the ZTL headaches of Positano, Amalfi or Ravello, and both see noticeably fewer visitors than the big three, even in August.

Minori has an easy, unhurried seafront and a genuine pasta-making tradition tied to the town; it’s worth a slow morning rather than a rushed pass-through. Maiori, just next door, has the longest sandy beach on this stretch of coast, a rarity here given how much of the shoreline is rock and shingle. Park along the seafront in either town — spaces are still limited in peak season, but nothing like the scramble further along the coast — and spend the day moving between the two towns at a walking pace.

The Minori and Maiori beaches guide breaks down which stretches are free and which are lidos. If you’d rather not drive at all today, the SITA bus guide covers the same route by public transport, which is worth knowing even on a driving trip, since bus access into the ZTL zones sometimes works when a private car simply can’t.

Day 5: Back to Sorrento

Your last day retraces the route back toward Sorrento, either to return the car or to continue by train from there. Build in extra time for the drive itself — the SS163 doesn’t get faster on the way back, and afternoon traffic toward Sorrento can back up as day-trippers head the same direction.

If there’s a stop you missed, this is the day to fit it in on the way past, but resist overloading the schedule: the point of ending in Sorrento is to hand back the keys (or park it for good) without a late scramble through mountain switchbacks. Once the car is off your hands, Sorrento’s train connections to Naples and beyond make it a clean handoff point for the rest of your trip.

For those tempted to extend the loop further along the coast toward Salerno, a tour connecting Salerno and Ravello is a way to see that stretch without adding it to your own driving.

Should You Actually Drive This Route?

The honest answer changes with the season. Outside of July and August, a rental car on this itinerary is manageable: traffic is lighter, ZTL enforcement is the same year-round but the streets you’re navigating to reach the edges of the zones are calmer, and parking is easier to find. In peak summer, the calculation shifts. The SS163 can turn a 20-minute drive into well over an hour, and the temptation to push into a ZTL zone “just for a minute” is exactly how visitors end up with a fine. If your trip falls in July or August, seriously consider parking the car in Sorrento or Salerno for the middle days and using SITA buses or ferries to reach Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, saving the car for Sorrento, Minori and Maiori where it causes the least friction.

FAQ: Renting a Car for the Amalfi Coast

Can I drive into Positano, Amalfi or Ravello?

You can drive to the edges of all three towns, but their historic centers are protected by ZTL zones that block unauthorized vehicles. Park at one of the lots above or on the approach to each town and finish on foot; driving into the ZTL without a permit typically results in a fine sent by mail after the fact.

Is the SS163 dangerous to drive?

It’s not inherently dangerous if driven carefully, but it’s narrow, winds constantly along the cliffside, and gets congested with buses, scooters and delivery traffic in high season. Go slowly, use pull-offs when locals want to pass, and avoid driving it after dark if you can.

Do I need a car for this itinerary at all?

No — the same five destinations can be covered by SITA bus and ferry, and many visitors find that less stressful overall. The car-free itinerary guide covers that version of the trip.

Where should I park in Positano?

Look for the paid lots at higher elevation along the main road into town, above the beach level. There is no practical way to park close to the waterfront in peak season, so plan for a walk down and a walk back up.

Is parking easier in Minori and Maiori than in Positano or Amalfi?

Yes. Both towns have seafront parking that, while still limited in summer, is far less competitive than trying to find a spot near Positano, Amalfi or Ravello. This is part of why they fit well on a day built around driving.

When is the SS163 least congested?

Early mornings and outside of July and August are the calmest times to drive the coast road. Midday and early evening in peak summer see the heaviest traffic, especially near the entrances to Positano and Amalfi.

Can I take a rental car onto a ferry between coastal towns?

No — the ferries that connect Amalfi Coast towns, Capri, Naples and Sorrento carry passengers only, not vehicles. If you want to skip a stretch of the SS163 by boat, you’ll need to leave the car parked and reboard it later, or arrange a driver to move it separately.