Naples car hire recommendations

[Wanderlustnearorfar]

Hi all we are trying to find a car hire recommendation for Naples as the ones we have looked at seem to have horrendous reviews. Thank you

All the big companies have offices there. Hertz etc. You can book through BA, Ryanair, easyJet etc.

There was a car hire place inside the train station. Can't remember the name but we didn't have any problems with them.

I’ve looked at booking through a big airline website however their reviews are horrendous for all of the ones I’ve looked at

We hire cars from Naples several times a year as we have a house down there. We now always use Hertz as you get what you pay for in Italy.
The driving is ‘interesting’ so worth having a good company behind you.

They are possibly the most expensive there but we have never had a problem with them.

Thanks for the feedback. We are still in two minds and unsure who to book with hertz has some terrible reviews on trust pilot and I’m hearing awful stories online. Would rather go for higher protection and be covered thanks all

You are brave

@Ginfordinner do you have an experience to share? As this is the first time we are travelling to Naples and are unsure what to do

More than 10 years ago, but it was an eye opener driving in Naples. Traffic lights are meaningless. You needed to assert yourself into intersections! My DH has lots of experience driving in Asia and he was ok, but we found it challenging. The advice at the time was to m ake sure you have somewhere to lock up your car overnight - hotel garage or similar - and take lots of photos when you park or hand over to the valet.

More than 10 years ago, but it was an eye opener driving in Naples. Traffic lights are meaningless. You needed to assert yourself into intersections! My DH has lots of experience driving in Asia and he was ok, but we found it challenging. The advice at the time was to m ake sure you have somewhere to lock up your car overnight - hotel garage or similar - and take lots of photos when you park or hand over to the valet.

we used Avis.
Avis were lovely.
Naples was a nightmare
the car hire people were amazed that we brought the car back in one piece

If you do not NEED a car in Naples
and do not have a guaranteed secure (locked) parking space
do not get a car there

I Loved Naples by the way
but their driving is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had several holidays in Italy and would not want to drive there. I am a confident and competent driver at home. Driving around Naples and the Amalfi coast is not for the faint hearted.

Thanks for all your feedback. We are planning on doing Pompei and have already booked our accommodation which we will need a car to travel to as it is around one hour away from Naples. We will look into hertz and avis. im actually starting to worry about the car hire fortunately it won’t be me driving

Are there lots of car thefts in Naples?

If you are going to Pompeii,
go to Oplontis FIRST
and get the triple ticket

Oplontis is astounding - Villa Poppea, possibly Nero's Mum's house

but more to the point
you arrive at Pompeii with a ticket so walk right past the awful queues ;-)

When we drove in Naples (well DH did actually) it was a constant game of mariocart .... there is no other way to think of it

If you have the car, go out to Bahia
Solfatera is closed but the incredibly badly signposted archaeology park is worth a visit
AND
go to the Flavian Amphitheater at Pozzuoli - as big as the Rome Colliseum but infinitely more chilled
AND
grab a coffee at the Temple of Serapis to see how much the sea level has changed

PS, my DH who did the driving reminded me to make sure you get an Italian satnav in your car ....

German Satnav says ... turn in 200m
UK satnav says .... turn in 100 m
Italian satnav says turn now

Driving is horrendous and terrifying in that part of Italy and there’s a good train to Pompeii from Naples.

@ListeningQuietly some brilliant suggestions here thank you.
will let you all know how it goes we are due to travel in March. Hopefully as we are staying about an hour from Naples it won’t be too bad wishful thinking and all that

Wanderlust
If you are staying outside Naples you should be fine
we found the roads in the area to be just fine
it the city itself that is madness
(reversing up a crowded motorway when they miss a junction etc)

with a car you can explore and enjoy

if you have to go in, park at the edge and walk - its flat so 1 km is easy

the eateries around Castel Dell Ovo are cheap and cheerful and there is parking and the view is good

depending what side of Naples you are, up towards Gaeta is interesting
and of course climbing vesuvius (take the car up as far as you can) is a must

Buy excess/collision insurance BEFORE you go, ie in the UK. There are specialist insurers here who sell it very reasonably. We were told to get it by friends who lived in Italy when we visited Naples and they were great when we had a prang on the road between Naples and Sorrento.

I can’t remember the name of the company we used but it really took the stress out of the car hire part of the holiday.

I wouldn’t drive in Naples. The road are busy, narrow and the locals don’t obey the traffic laws. It’s crazy. The circumvesuviana train will take you to Pompeii and Herculaneum and you don’t need a car in the city at all. The area around the station is dodgy especially after dark and there are pickpockets a plenty, many on mopeds. Avoid them and there is so much to see and do, a true cultural experience!

TBH with Avis we did not.
We had a E250 excess and did 1000km
and as DH insists I tell you all
he did not get a single scratch on the car and Avis told him that he was a very good driver
but it was the one time he really thought we should have taken it out
Neapolitans are INSANE !!!