I met a guy in Cinque Terre who went to SE Raleigh High School, I went to Saint Mary's. We wound up being great friends. And he had slept in the train station (in the utility room, in fact) while in Cinque Terre.

Enjoy! Have fun! And try to meet as many people as possible. You never know how small this world is.

3/15/2015 8:02:58 PM

Planning a 3 week trip this summer, concentrating on the west cost of Italy, mostly Rome and Naples. Flying into Dublin for a few days, then flying into Nice maybe. From this thread, it seems Cinque Terre is not to be missed, so was planning on driving there from Nice (stopping in Genoa), then continuing south. Gf's grandfather is from the island of Iscia (off coast of Naples), so that, Rome and Cinque Terra are the only must dos atm...looking for any general advice, especially for the itinerary. Was planning on staying in a mix of AirBnb and cheaper hotels/hostels.

6/3/2018 1:17:13 PM

having a car in the cinque terre sounds rough (but maybe if there's somewhere you can park and leave it for the days you're there it would be ok?) -- otherwise consider the thello train from nice to genoa then a regional train down into CT...

6/3/2018 1:53:36 PM

Yeah I read there's a train station you can park it at

[Edited on June 3, 2018 at 1:55 PM. Reason : Can't really decide on trains vs a car]

6/3/2018 1:54:48 PM

I'm also going to europe this summer (reykjavic, munich, budapest, rome, florence/tuscany, cinque terre, and lisbon).

You may want to get a hotel/airbnb asap for cinque terre, things were going fast when I booked - a lot of the stuff available wasn't very nice.

6/3/2018 11:31:47 PM

Agreed. Since AirBnB is the current go to, they definitely dry up fast vs hostel beds. Thanks.

6/3/2018 11:37:22 PM

^^ wow quite a trip, how long will you be in europe? i've been to 5 of the 7 but all on separate trips...

^ if you need any nice / côte d'azur recommendations i'm happy to try to help out (i'm currently working in monaco and living in southeast france ~1.5mi from the italian border)

[Edited on June 4, 2018 at 4:15 PM. Reason : un petit chapeau sur le 'o']

6/4/2018 4:13:49 PM

^it was 18 days but Delta held me back a day. I'll post in the Iceland thread since I'm here now

6/21/2018 10:12:58 PM

Has anyone driven in Italy?

I was there 20 years ago and remember it being a harrowing experience times...not sure I'm up for it again but am considering.

7/25/2018 3:03:38 PM

I have. With an SUV, no less. Was pretty insane driving through Genoa with all of the motorcycles and tiny alleyways. Wouldn't repeat the experience, and I'm fairly sure it's 10x worse in Rome.

7/25/2018 4:33:51 PM

I definitely won't drive in Rome or Naples, but considering driving from Naples to the Amalfi coast.

[Edited on July 25, 2018 at 8:03 PM. Reason : This was pretty helpful - https://jalopnik.com/a-beginners-guide-to-the-insanity-of-driving-in-italy]

7/25/2018 8:01:32 PM

^^ why did you rent an SUV? should have gotten a small sedan/hatchback.

7/25/2018 8:38:33 PM

Yeah, I realize that. The rental car company we rented from in Nice insisted that because we were Americans, we had to have an SUV to properly enjoy the French Riviers and she essentially forced us to accept a free upgrade because she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Driving from France to Italy was easy, but once we got to Genoa, I realized what a bad choice an SUV was

7/25/2018 10:47:05 PM

We had an Audi hatchback when we were there in Fall of 2015. Picked up when we departed Milan and made our way to Positano with stops in between in Cinque Terre, Montepulciano, and Rome. I think we actually ditched the car when we got to Rome and rented another when we left, but my memory is failing me. We definitely avoided city driving, but the brief bit we did in Rome was...interesting. Those roundabouts were pretty much free-for-alls. I would recommend the drive as the views are amazing, but I also just love being behind the wheel.

Only setbacks I recall were a fender bender in Bagno Vignoni and parking. That was one of the two places we traveled in Italy where communication was difficult. The parking situation in Positano was crazy due to the terrain. I imagine it is similar throughout the Amalfi coast. We parked in a garage on top of the mountain and trekked down to our hotel. I remember the garage being pretty expensive, but there really was not an alternative. It is quite amusing to see all the bellhops lugging all the guests' luggage down the steep alleyways to the hotel, though.

Quote :

"but considering driving from Naples to the Amalfi coast."

The views on that drive are worth it for sure.

[Edited on July 26, 2018 at 10:15 AM. Reason : .]

7/26/2018 10:14:46 AM

Thanks for the info. Do you remember any times you got nervous, like sheer cliff drops on one side of the car, crazy hills where you had to look out the window, or anything like that?

From what I've seen the Amalfi coast road looks pretty good, I'm just assuming it'll get busy AF in late August when I'll be there. W might take buses instead (staying in Sorrento), and would avoid the parking situation that way too...dunno.

As an alternative we might rent scooters to get around locally, and then buses for longer hauls.

7/26/2018 10:34:26 AM

Quote :

"Do you remember any times you got nervous, like sheer cliff drops on one side of the car, crazy hills where you had to look out the window, or anything like that?"

Nothing that I recall when I was driving. The roads are pretty winding, though, and there are a bunch of massive buses and cars pulled off on the side of the road taking pictures. I never felt unsafe, however. The only time that was a little nerve-racking was on a bus going up Capri. That drop off was insane and I don't recall there being much of a barrier. I would have preferred to drive that myself.

7/26/2018 10:47:44 AM