A ten-day loop from Naples: Pompeii, the Sorrento peninsula, the clifftop SS163 via Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, then the temples of Paestum, the Cilento coast and the Certosa di Padula. On the Amalfi Coast in summer, alternating number-plate rules and sky-high parking push you to leave the car for the SITA bus; further south, the car becomes essential.
Road route calculated from the stops (OpenStreetMap). Driving times assume no stops and no traffic: add time for photo breaks.
May-June and September-October, avoiding August, when the alternating number-plate rules apply every day on the SS163. From mid-November to mid-March, no plate restrictions, but short days.
🚗 54 km · 1h05 of driving from Naples
Car picked up at the airport. The tolled A3 to Castellammare (bring cash), then the clifftop SS145, often busy.
🚗 31 km · 40 min of driving from Sorrento
The SS163 Amalfitana via Positano and Praiano: a narrow clifftop road where you pass SITA buses on the bends. Alternating number plates on certain days, 10:00-18:00.
🚗 71 km · 1h15 of driving from Amalfi
The rest of the SS163 via Atrani, Maiori and Cetara to Vietri, then Salerno and the toll-free SS18 south.
🚗 87 km · 2h10 of driving from Paestum
The Cilento coast via Agropoli, Santa Maria di Castellabate, Acciaroli and Velia: winding provincial roads, overlooking the sea in places.
🚗 239 km · 3h15 of driving from Palinuro
Back north on the toll-free A2, via Padula and Pertosa, then Salerno and the tolled A30.
🚗 38 km · 40 min of driving from Caserta
Skip the Cilento and Caserta: Naples (2 nights), Sorrento (2), Amalfi (1), Paestum (1). Back to Naples via Salerno and the A3 motorway.
| Small car, typical price | ≈ €23 a day (Kayak, Naples airport, Sept. 2026) |
|---|---|
| Car hire only, July (most expensive month) | ≈ €37 a day |
| Car hire only, January | ≈ €15 a day |
| SUV, typical price | ≈ €52 a day |
| Vehicle | A small city car: on the SS163 you pass buses and coaches, and spaces are rare in Positano and Amalfi. |
|---|---|
| Where to pick it up | Naples-Capodichino airport, as you leave Naples, which is best seen without a car. Desks at car park P5, free shuttle. |
| Insurance | Damage (CDW) and theft cover included as standard in Italy, with an excess of €500 to €2,000; excess waiver optional. |
| Age and card | 21 minimum as a rule, surcharge under 25. Physical credit card in the driver's name. |
| Fines | The rental company passes on every ZTL or speed camera fine and charges an extra €40 to €60 admin fee. |
⚠️ Rental cars are not exempt from the alternating number-plate rules on the SS163. Note the last digit of your plate when you set off.
Any valid European Union licence is enough, with no International Driving Permit. Other licences: check whether an International Driving Permit is required.
As in mainland Europe. Dipped headlights compulsory outside built-up areas, day and night.
110 on expressways, 50 in town. In the rain: 110 and 90. Licence held for under 3 years: 100 and 90.
Zero for under-21s and drivers who have held their licence for under 3 years.
From Positano to Vietri. On even dates, plates ending in an even digit are banned; on odd dates, the reverse. Rental cars not exempt.
With a booking on the coast, only the arrival and departure journeys are allowed on those days.
Camera-controlled centres in Naples, Sorrento (19:30-04:00, April to October), Amalfi (Piazza Duomo) and Ravello.
COSTIERASITA ticket: unlimited buses from Sorrento to Salerno, including Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. In your name, to be validated.
Flat fee Naples-Salerno. Visa and Mastercard refused at the barriers since May 2024, still the case in March 2026.
Phone in hand at the wheel: a fine and a licence suspension of 15 days to 2 months from the first offence.
≈ €2.15 per litre of petrol, €2.34 for diesel (self-service)
Price recorded in September 2026: it changes every week, sometimes by 10 to 20 cents in a month. Today's price: Osservaprezzi carburanti (Italian ministry) →
⛽ 520 km at 7 l per 100 km: about €80 at September 2026 prices, to share between passengers.
MIMIT national average of 24 September 2026; €2.25 and €2.42 on motorways. "Fai da te" (self-service) costs less than "servito".
| A3 Naples-Pompeii-Salerno | €2.30 flat fee per car, unchanged in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Naples Tangenziale, if you use it | €1.05 flat fee |
| A2 Salerno-Padula | Toll-free (ANAS) |
| A30 Salerno-Caserta | Ticket toll, payment on exit |
| Private car parks in Positano | €6 to €10 an hour, €30 to €60 a day in summer (2025) |
| COSTIERASITA bus | €10 for 24 hours |
| Pompeii | €20 (Express), €25 (Pompei+), 2026 |
| Paestum and Velia | €15 from March to November, ticket valid for 3 days |
| Royal Palace of Caserta | €18, plus €1 online booking fee |
| Alternating plates SS163, spring 2026 | 30 March-6 April and 24 April-2 May, 10:00-18:00 |
|---|---|
| Alternating plates SS163, summer 2026 | 30 May-31 July: weekends and public holidays |
| Alternating plates SS163, August-September 2026 | Every day from 1 August to 30 September |
| Alternating plates SS163, October 2026 | Weekends of 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25 and 31 October |
| Cars on Capri | Non-residents banned from 30 March to 2 November, then 28 December-3 January |
| Sorrento ZTL | 1 April-25 October 2026, 19:30-04:00, public holidays 10:00-13:00 |
| Royal Palace of Caserta | Closed on Tuesdays and on 25 December |
| Pompeii | Closed on 25 December and 1 January; last entry 17:30 |
Allow 10 days for this loop of 6 stages and 9 nights: Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi, Paestum, the Cilento and Caserta. In 7 days, keep Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi and Paestum. Two nights on the Amalfi Coast are a minimum: the SS163 is slow going, and Ravello or Positano are better visited by bus.
On the SS163, from Positano to Vietri, from 10:00 to 18:00: on an even date, plates whose last digit is even may not be driven; on an odd date, odd ones. In 2026: weekends and public holidays from 30 May to 31 July, every day in August and September, weekends in October. Rental cars are not exempt.
Only to get to or leave your accommodation, with a booking on the coast. The rest of the time, take the SITA bus: the €10 COSTIERASITA ticket covers 24 hours of unlimited travel from Sorrento to Salerno, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello included. A tourist caught breaking the rule paid a €60 fine in Amalfi in 2025.
About €330 of car hire in July (€37 a day, Kayak average), about €80 of petrol at September 2026 prices for about 500 km, ten euros or so in tolls, and parking: €6 to €10 an hour in Positano in summer. Entry: €20 at Pompeii, €15 at Paestum and Velia, €18 at Caserta.
No. In 2026, non-residents' vehicles, including rental cars and foreign plates, are banned from landing and driving on Capri from 30 March to 2 November, then from 28 December to 3 January. Leave the car in Sorrento and take a ferry from Marina Piccola.
Not with a valid European Union licence. Other licences: check whether an International Driving Permit is required. Rental companies usually ask for a minimum age of 21, with a surcharge under 25, and a physical credit card in the driver's name. Zero alcohol for licences held under 3 years.
Driving rules, prices and closures checked in September 2026; hotels checked on OpenStreetMap and then on Booking. Rules change: read the official source before you leave, and check your own government's travel advice for the country. Stop photos: Wikimedia Commons, authors and licences under each image.
Off We Gooo road trip guide · offwegooo.com/en/road-trips/amalfi-coast · by Pierrick, updated 1 October 2026
