VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
Renting a campervan in Naples: head south to the Cilento
Why to skip the Amalfi Coast in a motorhome and aim for the Cilento instead: Paestum, Palinuro, stopovers and campsites, and a one-week budget from Naples.
Let's be blunt: the Amalfi Coast is one of the worst places in Italy for a motorhome. A narrow road, size and traffic restrictions in season, impossible parking. The good news: an hour south of Naples begins the Cilento, a magnificent coastal national park that is, unlike Amalfi, perfectly suited to vanlife.
Stop 1: Paestum and its temples
100 km from Naples, three of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world stand on a coastal plain. Several stopovers and campsites sit under the pines within 2 km of the archaeological site, at €15–25 a night. Go early — the light is superb and the coaches only arrive at 10 am.
Stop 2: the Cilento coast
Agropoli, Castellabate (the village from the film "Benvenuti al Sud"), Acciaroli, Pisciotta: a string of hilltop towns and coves linked by an easy coastal road, with terraced olive groves running down to the shoreline. Camping infrastructure is dense — the Cilento is a historic Italian family destination, with dozens of beachside campsites.
Stop 3: Palinuro and the interior
Cape Palinuro and its cliff-face caves, the Arco Naturale beach, and to finish, the wild interior: the Calore gorges, the Padula charterhouse (UNESCO), and park villages where €20 buys a meal made of the produce that earned the Cilento its status as birthplace of the Mediterranean diet.
Practical markers
- Campervan in Naples: €75–120/day in summer, among Italy's gentlest rates; compare Yescapa, Goboony and Indie Campers on Van-Comparator.
- A typical week: 400 km, €70 of fuel, €20 of tolls, €120–180 of overnight fees.
- June and September beat August, when coastal campsites sell out — book ahead or aim inland.
- In Naples itself: leave nothing visible in the cab and prefer attended car parks while sightseeing.
For the return leg, the inland A3 motorway brings you back to Naples in under two hours from Padula — leaving time for one last pizza before the drop-off.