Amalfi Coast road trip: plate rules, parking and a 4-day itinerary

Route Naples Airport (Capodichino), Italy → Salerno, Italy

Distance 79 miles

Estimated fuel $21

An Amalfi Coast road trip from Naples airport to Salerno is only about 79 miles, but the odd/even plate rule, ZTL cameras and €8-an-hour parking shape every day. Here is a 3 to 4 day itinerary plus what American drivers need, including the IDP.

An Amalfi Coast road trip covers about 79 miles from Naples airport to Salerno: west around the Bay of Naples to Sorrento, then over the Sorrento peninsula onto the SS163 Amalfitana through Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, Ravello, Minori, Maiori and Vietri sul Mare. Three to four days is the right length, but the driving itself is the least of it. Between Positano and Vietri, tourist cars face an alternating odd/even number-plate rule from 10am to 6pm on peak days (every day in August and September in 2026), parking runs about €5 to €10 an hour in the big towns, and camera-enforced ZTL zones send fines to your home months later.

Amalfi Coast road trip at a glance

Item	Detail
Route	Naples airport, Sorrento, Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, Ravello, Minori, Maiori, Cetara, Vietri sul Mare, Salerno
Distance	About 79 miles (127 km) one way, including the Ravello detour; about 42 miles more to return from Salerno to Naples airport
Trip length	3 to 4 days
Plate rule section	SS163 from Positano to Vietri sul Mare, 10am to 6pm on listed days
Typical parking	€8 to €10/hour in Positano garages, €5/hour at Luna Rossa (Amalfi), €2.50/hour or €15/day in Ravello
Best months	April to June (especially May) and September; weekdays in May, June and October avoid the plate rule
Fuel estimate	About $21 one way, $32 with the return to the airport (32 US mpg, explained below)

Distances are OpenStreetMap routing between town centers. Expect every leg to take far longer than apps suggest in season.

The odd/even plate rule on the SS163

Since 2019, an ANAS ordinance (340/2019), extended by the coastal towns' own ordinances, has limited non-resident cars on the SS163 Amalfitana in peak periods. According to the Comune di Praiano and the Distretto Turistico Costa d'Amalfi, the rule covers only the SS163 between Vietri sul Mare and Positano, roughly 40 km through Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Atrani, Amalfi, Conca dei Marini, Furore and Praiano. Other roads, including the Sorrento side before Positano, are not covered.

How it works

Hours: 10am to 6pm on restricted days. Outside those hours you can drive freely.
On odd-numbered dates, cars whose plate's numeric part ends in an odd digit cannot use the road. On even-numbered dates, cars ending in an even digit cannot. Italian plates look like "AB 123 CD": the digit that counts is the last one of the number block (3 in that example).
Exempt: residents of the 13 coast towns plus Agerola, vehicles displaying a disabled badge with the holder on board, taxis and NCC (hire-with-driver) cars, emergency and police vehicles, and two-wheelers.
Hotel guests: guests with a booking at a hotel, B&B or other registered accommodation may drive only to arrive on check-in day and leave on check-out day, and must show the reservation. Any other trip by car is subject to the rule.
Large vehicles: anything longer than 10.36 m (34 ft), including vehicles towing trailers, is banned from 6:30am to midnight all year, per the Distretto's English summary.

When it applied in 2026

Period	Days restricted (10am to 6pm)
Holy Week to Easter Monday	Every day, March 30 to April 6
Liberation Day to May Day	Every day, April 25 to May 2
June 1 to July 31	Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (plus May 30 to June 2)
August and September	Every day
October	Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

The 2027 calendar had not been published at the time of writing. The pattern repeats each year but dates are reset each spring, so check the Distretto's page or ask your hotel.

Planning around it with a rental car

As the Distretto notes, you won't know your plate until pickup. Ways around it:

Use your check-in and check-out days, when the hotel exemption applies, for the long drives between bases.
On restricted days, drive before 10am or after 6pm, and use buses or ferries in between.
Base yourself in Sorrento or Salerno, outside the restricted section, and day-trip by bus or ferry on bad-parity days.

On fines: Italy's highway code (article 7) sets €87 to €344 for ignoring a traffic suspension or ban, and €83 to €332 for entering a ZTL. Amounts can change; treat them as indicative.

ZTL zones and camera fines

A ZTL (zona a traffico limitato) is a restricted-traffic zone, usually a historic center, open only to permit holders during posted hours. The US Embassy in Italy explains the trap: cameras record plates at each entry, nobody stops you, and you only learn of the fine when the notice arrives. Fines should be sent within 360 days, and they are cumulative: each pass through a camera is a separate violation. Rental companies pass your details to the authorities and typically add an administration charge.

The highway code sets the ZTL fine at €83 to €332 per violation. On this route, the small centers of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello are largely closed to visitor traffic, and Amalfi added a staffed traffic-control program (Viabilità Amica) from April 2026 running 9am to 7pm, according to Napolike. Hours vary by town and season, so the rule is simple: if you see a round red-and-white sign with "ZTL" or "Zona Traffico Limitato" and the gate says "varco attivo", do not enter. If your hotel is inside a ZTL, ask it to register your plate with the town before you arrive, and never follow your GPS through a gate.

Parking reality and costs

Positano.com, a long-running local guide, puts the average across the coast at about €8 an hour, with very few free spaces and most free street parking reserved for residents. Its current figures:

Town	Where	Price
Positano	De Gennaro and Mandara garages, closest to the pedestrian center	€8 or €10/hour
Positano	Blue-line street meters (rarely free in summer)	€3/hour
Praiano	Blue-line street parking; La Praia garage near the beach	€2/hour; €3/hour
Amalfi / Atrani	Luna Rossa garage, cut into the cliff between the two towns	€5/hour (8am to 7pm), €4/hour overnight
Amalfi	Port area, Piazza Flavio Gioia	€3/hour
Ravello	Large lot beneath Piazza Duomo	€2.50/hour or €15/day
Minori, Maiori, Cetara	Waterfront or port parking	€3/hour
Vietri sul Mare	Two town lots behind the beach	€2/hour

The only free parking near Positano is up the hill in Nocelle and Montepertuso, with a bus down. There is no parking near the Furore fjord. The source page doesn't date its prices, so budget generously. Hotels with parking are worth paying for; reserve the space well in advance.

3 to 4 day Amalfi Coast itinerary

Day 1: Naples airport to Sorrento

Pick up the car at Naples airport and take the A3 toward Salerno, then the SS145 along the bay through Castellammare di Stabia and Vico Equense to Sorrento, about 32 miles. Sorrento is outside the plate-rule section, so it makes an easy first base.

Day 2: Sorrento to Positano and Praiano

Cross the peninsula to the SS163 and drop down to Positano, about 10 miles. If it's a restricted day for your plate, leave before 10am or rely on your check-in exemption if you're moving hotels. Garage-park, walk down to the beach, then continue to Praiano, where parking is cheaper. Overnight in Praiano.

Day 3: Amalfi and Ravello

Drive past Conca dei Marini to Amalfi and park at Luna Rossa, which has a tunnel into both Amalfi and Atrani. In the afternoon, climb the narrow road to Ravello for Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone, and park beneath Piazza Duomo. Overnight in Ravello or down in Minori.

Day 4: Minori to Salerno

Follow the coast east through Minori and Maiori, past Capo d'Orso to the fishing village of Cetara, then Vietri sul Mare and Salerno. Drop the car in Salerno, or return to Naples airport on the A3, about 42 miles.

Three days instead? Combine Days 2 and 3 by staying in Amalfi, and do Positano by ferry or bus rather than by car.

Bus and ferry alternatives

Many visitors use the car to reach a base and then leave it parked.

SITA Sud buses run the coast road between Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and Salerno. The COSTIERASITA ticket costs €10 and gives unlimited SITA Sud travel for 24 hours from first validation across the coast and Sorrento peninsula towns, including Salerno. Validate it on first use. Schedules change seasonally (a winter timetable started November 2, 2026), so check SITA Sud's notices.
Travelmar ferries connect Salerno, Vietri, Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Amalfi, Atrani and Positano. Travelmar says some service runs all year, though summer schedules are much fuller, and sailings can be cancelled in bad weather. Check its next-departures page the day before.
Taxis and NCC drivers are exempt from the plate rule, which makes a hired driver the expensive but stress-free option for the busiest days.

Best months to drive the Amalfi Coast

Positano.com calls April to June the best time to visit and May the best month, with lower prices than July and August; September is also good once most visitors have left. For drivers, the plate calendar adds a second filter: weekdays from early May (after the May Day block) through July, and in October, are unrestricted apart from holidays such as June 2, while August and September are restricted every day.

For American drivers in Italy

Licence and International Driving Permit

The US Embassy in Italy says Americans visiting as tourists who intend to drive should obtain an International Driving Permit before leaving the US; the alternative it lists is an official Italian translation of your licence. Get the IDP. AAA is one of two organizations the State Department authorizes to issue it. AAA charges a $20 permit fee (plus photos), won't issue one more than six months before its start date, and the permit is only valid alongside your US licence. AAA also notes that rental companies may require one even where the law doesn't.

Driving side, speed limits and tolls

Italy drives on the right, like the US. Signs and speedometers are in km/h. General limits from the highway code (article 142):

Road	Limit	In rain
Autostrada (motorway)	130 km/h (81 mph)	110 km/h (68 mph)
Main extra-urban road	110 km/h (68 mph)	90 km/h (56 mph)
Secondary roads, including the SS163	90 km/h (56 mph), usually signed much lower	90 km/h
Towns	50 km/h (31 mph)	50 km/h

The coast road itself is toll-free. The A3 Naples to Salerno motorway charges a fixed toll at the barrier rather than by distance (Italian motoring site SicurAUTO reported €2.30 to €5.90 by vehicle class in 2024), and from May 2024 its operator stopped accepting Visa and Mastercard at the booths. Carry euro cash for the toll.

Insurance and the car

Basic liability cover comes with every Italian rental, but the damage excess can be high. Before buying the counter's top-up cover, check in writing whether your credit card's rental coverage applies in Italy. Book the smallest automatic that fits your luggage; mirrors and wheels take the punishment on the SS163. Photograph it at pickup, and consider a dash cam for a record of any scrape.

Fuel cost estimate

Italy's Ministry of Enterprises (MIMIT) reported a national average self-service petrol price of €2.010 per litre on November 1, 2026. At the European Central Bank's reference rate of $1.1267 per euro (November 4, 2026), that is about $8.57 per US gallon. A small rental averaging 32 US mpg in stop-start coastal traffic uses about 2.5 gallons over the 79 miles, so budget around $21 for the one-way route and about $32 including the drive back to Naples airport. Prices and exchange rates move, so treat this as a ballpark.

What people who've done it say

A highlight, with nerves. In a 2023 Rick Steves forum thread, a couple in their 70s who drove the coast for two weeks in September 2019 said it was "one of the highlights of our trip," with some hair-raising moments. After waiting over an hour in Ravello for a bus that arrived full, they used the car everywhere, though they weren't sure they'd do it again. Others there put parking at around €30 a day.
The bends aren't the problem; traffic and parking are. In a 2024 thread about a May trip, one frequent poster said traffic rarely lets you exceed about 30 mph, so the curves are manageable, but finding parking at each stop is the real issue. Another, who has driven it several times in spring and fall, called it challenging but not terrible; a third found renting in Salerno much easier than in Naples.
Ravello's road tests nerves. In a 2022 thread on off-season travel, a poster who based herself in Salerno with a rental car turned back halfway up to Ravello on the narrow two-way road with no shoulders. Others in the thread said buses still run regularly off-season because locals use them.
The parity rule confuses everyone. In a 2023 thread on the plate rule's return, posters found it counterintuitive that odd plates are banned on odd dates, and read the hotel exemption as covering arrival and departure only, which is how the 2026 rules spell it out.

Common mistakes

Assuming a rental car is exempt. It isn't. Only arrival and departure days are covered for hotel guests.
Misreading the parity. Odd plate, odd date, 10am to 6pm: stay off the SS163.
Following the GPS into a ZTL. The fines arrive months later, one per camera pass, plus the rental company's fee.
Not budgeting for parking. At €8 to €10 an hour in Positano, a long lunch adds up fast.
Bringing an RV or towing. Over 10.36 m is banned from 6:30am to midnight.

Bottom line

The Amalfi Coast is a short drive and a long planning exercise. Rent the smallest automatic you can, get an IDP from AAA, and time your trip around the plate calendar: weekdays in May, June or October are easiest. Use check-in and check-out days for the long hops, drive early or late on restricted days, use buses and ferries in between, and never pass a ZTL gate. If you've driven California's Pacific Coast Highway or Scotland's North Coast 500, expect a far shorter route with far denser traffic.

Sources

Last updated November 5, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.