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For details on drive times and all, see the page devoted to the famous coastal route SS163, the Amalfi Drive linking Sorrento to Salerno via Positano, Amalfi, and the other towns along the coast.
However despite the fact that it is called "The Amalfi Drive," take my advice: Seriously consider whether you really want to the Amalfi Coast by car.
There are many reasons not to drive the Amalfi Coast yourself.
The traffic is hairy, the parking tough to find, and as the driver you will miss all the views while you white-knuckle the steering wheel and dodge oncoming buses that take up both lanes as they come barelling toward you around blind curves.
Not fun.
Put it this way: I drove the Amalfi Coast once. Just once. Ever since, I have taken the bus or a bus/ferry combo. It's much more relaxing that way. » more
If you do drive, heed this tip:
You can, of course, do the drive "backwards," from Salerno to Sorrento, but hardly anyone does.
Why?
Because when you go "the correct way" from Sorrento to Salerno, you'll be in the right lane of a highway cantilevered out over the coastline, with no opposing traffic to block your view and your window seemign to hover right above the cliffs plunging down into the surf.
If, instead, you ride "the wrong way" from Salerno to Sorrento, rather than enjoying thrilling postcard views you'll spend much of the trip staring at the raw rock of a cliffface that is speeding by distressingly close to your window.
Planning your time: Budget at least a day for the Amalfi Coast. Simply to drive the coast without getting out (except to change buses in Amalfi) takes at least five hours—that's three hours touring the coast from Sorrento to Salerno, plus another hour on each end to get to and from those gateway towns.
If you do want to pack it all into a single day—and actually stop and get out in a few towns—it might be best to just book a tour that picks you up at your hotel, gives you time in each of the main Amalfi Coast towns, and returns you to your hotel 6–9 hours later:
Otherwise, it makes far more sense to spend at least one night on the coast.
If, however, your schedule doesn't have that much leisure time, might I suggest riding the first leg—from Sorrento to Positano to Amalfi—taking a quick spin around Amalfi town, then catching a ferry either back up the coast to Sorrento or over to Capri.
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This article was written by Reid Bramblett and was last updated in May 2015.
All information was accurate at the time.
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