hank you very much NYTraveler. I really like your idea of leaving Rome early and taking the train to

A note from Fodor s: As of February 1, 2013, Fodor's Travel, a division of Random House, has replaced our privacy policy with Random House's single policy. Please take a few minutes to read our updated Random House, Inc. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
We will be arriving in Rome on May 4th and after spending a few days in Rome we will be traveling to Positano by train or bus arriving there on May 8th. We would like to tour the Amalfi coast and also visit Pompei before car rentals in las vegas leaving the area on May 12th to travel to Umbria Tuscany probably by rental car. What in your opinions is the most expedient car rentals in las vegas way. To visit Pompei from Positano? Since time is precious and limited, are we better off hiring a car and driver for a 1/2 day or can we accomplish it as well another way. Thanks in advance for all your valuable imput.
If you leave Rome early in the am you may want to take the trains (regular train to Naples, then local to Pompeii) store you luggage and see Pompeii before continuing on the Positanto by train and bus. But do allow at lest 4 or 5 hours for Pompeii (seeing the whole places takes way longer but that will give youa start) and check the times of the buses going from Sorrento (end of line for the train to Positano.
If it were us we would rent a car on leaving Rome and use it on the Amalfi peninsula and then on to Tuscany. But you need to make sure your hotel has parking (rare) or can arrange it for you. This will make it much easier to tour the hwole area without being stuck with bus schedules or mobbed buses.
hank you very much NYTraveler. I really like your idea of leaving Rome early and taking the train to Naples, storing car rentals in las vegas luggage and taking train to Pompei and then continuing on to Positano by train or bus but my wife and I are over 65 and since we want to see Pompeii and Herculean do you think it would be quite a bit by the time we got into the hotel at Positano? car rentals in las vegas Also I had tentatively decided not to rent a car and drive to Positano as I did not want to have the driving distract me from the scenery. I did think about renting a car and driving when we leave to go to Umbria as I would have already appreciated the scenery. Your input on these thoughts are very valuable to me.
Just reread your post. If it's within your budget, yes, hire a driver for a day. I can highly recommend one we have used many times: Giovanni Gargiulo of Toursofitaly.com . He's based in Sorrento, and he and his son, Giancarlo, car rentals in las vegas are both good choices.
Thanks very much Weadles. I like the idea is wonderful and while the budget is important, we have a limited amount of time and at age 75 I don't know if I will get back. 1 post said to do what you recommended but have the driver pick us up at the Rome hotel rather than taking the train to Naples car rentals in las vegas with pick up there. What do you think?
Oops-another question for Weadles or someone car rentals in las vegas else. After leaving car rentals in las vegas Positano we are going to spend 4 days in Umbria car rentals in las vegas and Tuscany. I don't know if it's possible but would like to rent a car in Positano and drive to Umbris lunching and visiting towns like Orvieto, Todi and Spoleto and then continuing north to lodging for the 4 nights to use as a hub to visit Umbrian Tuscany towns: Perugia, Assisi, Cotona, Gubbio, Siena, San Ggimignano, Arezzo and Greve in Chianti. maybe I'm trying todo too much??????????
I would not recommend renting a car in Positano because the driving in that area is scary. When we left the Amalfi coast for Puglia, which was a driving trip, we picked up the car in Salerno. car rentals in las vegas Sorrento is another option. You would just need to take the bus to one of those places, but there is room underneath for luggage so it is doable.
But you do need to be confident, assertive drivers - and used to maneuvering in small space and parking in very small parallel park places. (This may be a challenge to people from the US who are used to bigger cars, much wider roads and huge parking spaces.) Living in NYC our driving and parking conditions are much closer to what you find in europe - than in the wide open spaces.
1. Can we rent a car in Positano. Iam a very confident, aggressive Chicago driver an d would have no qualms about driving from Positano to Umbria if it is possible, saves time and is more direct than having to travel to Sorrento or Naples before renting a car. If it is not more direct and would not save hours than I wouldn't bother-I would sit back and relax and leave the driving to somebody else. My whole idea is to be able to get to southern Umbria for lunch and touring before going higher into Umbria to lodging for onte or more nights before car rentals in las vegas touring Tuscany.
car rentals in las vegas Weadles, thanks again-just retread your post about being picked up by Giovanni or son at Naples train station and going to see Pompeii, leaving luggage in car, and on to Positano. If you did this about how much was the cost of the car and driver?
We never did it this way, so I'd hate to quote you the wrong price. I think you're better off contacting the Gargiulos directly and/or some of the other area drivers often mentioned on this forum for pricing.
I am not sure you can rent a car in Positano - you will have to see if there are any rental car outlets there. We had a driver pick us up and drop us at a car rental place in Sorrento and then we drove to Umbria. It took the better car rentals in las vegas part of the day, only stopping for lunch.
It's six of one. half a dozen of the other when it comes to where you rent the car. It is a longer car rentals in las vegas drive from Positano to Salerno than it is from Positano to Sorrento, however, it is a shorter drive from Salerno to Umbria than it is from Sorrento to Umbria.
No matter where you pick up the car, you can't pick it up any earlier than about 9am, because that's when the rental offices open. Since it is just under a 4 hour drive to Orvieto, even if you don't get lost, you should probably count on eating lunch somewhere en route.
As for your overall wish list of Tuscan and Umbrian towns, Perugia generally requires a full day (partly because of the time it takes to get into the city and park). Assisi, Arezzo and Siena are also time-consuming places to visit. Both Gubbio and San Gimignano are a bit far flung, requiring extra hours on the road. Greve in Chianti is a pin speck and centrally located, Cortona is pleasant but without a lot of sights, so it's not hard to fold it into any trip.
It's not clear what you want most from your Tuscan car rentals in las vegas and Umbrian touring. If you would like to visit the artistic and historic highpoints -- Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto and Siena -- they all take time If you were attracted to the area so you could enjoy some scenery and hilltowns, that is easily done.