Naples Capodichino. The gateway to a coast that has no airport of its own.
Nothing on the Amalfi Coast has a runway, and Capri is an island. Naples is where the aircraft stops and the real logistics begin, which is why this arrival rewards planning more than almost any other in Italy.
The airport
Capodichino at a glance
- CodesNAP / LIRNCapodichino, unusually close in at about 5 kilometres north east of the centre of Naples.
- RunwayOne runway of about 2,628 metresTakes light, midsize, super midsize and most heavy jets, with the usual performance checks on the largest types on a hot day.
- Private arrivalsHandled in a general aviation area on the fieldCommercial and private traffic share the airport. Your operator appoints a handler and passengers are processed away from the main hall.
- The other fieldSalerno Costa d'Amalfi (QSR / LIRI)Reopened to scheduled flights in July 2024 with a runway extended to about 2,000 metres. Closer to Amalfi and Ravello, and a general aviation terminal is part of its published development plan.
Naples is busy, close to the city and hemmed in. It is a working airport rather than a polished private one, and the handling is the part that makes it feel calm. What you notice as a passenger is the drive that follows, and that is where we spend our attention.
Journey times
From Naples to the bay and the coast
| To | Quiet roads | July and August |
|---|---|---|
| Central Naples, Chiaia and the seafront | 15 to 25 minutes | 25 to 45 minutes |
| Molo Beverello, for the Capri ferries | 20 to 30 minutes | 30 to 50 minutes |
| Pompeii and Herculaneum | 30 to 45 minutes | 45 to 70 minutes |
| Sorrento | 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | 1 hour 30 to 2 hours |
| Positano, on the SS163 | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 | 2 hours to 2 hours 45 |
| Amalfi and Ravello | 1 hour 45 to 2 hours 15 | 2 hours 30 to 3 hours 30 |
| Salerno and its port | 1 hour to 1 hour 15 | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 |
| Rome | 2 hours 15 to 2 hours 45 | 3 hours 15 or more |
Realistic ranges, not promises. The SS163, the Amalfitana, is a single carriageway cut into a cliff with buses on it, and in high summer a coach meeting a coach can stop the road for twenty minutes. Cars in Campania are arranged through operators we know; our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester.
Getting to Capri
Three ways, and none of them is a road
Capri has no vehicle route from the mainland, and private cars are restricted on the island in any case. The standard arrival is a car from the aircraft to Molo Beverello in Naples, twenty to thirty minutes on a good day, then a hydrofoil crossing of roughly fifty minutes, with a private boat as the more comfortable version of the same idea. In high summer the sailings fill and the quay is chaotic, so the sailing is booked around the flight rather than hoped for afterwards.
The quick answer is a helicopter. A flight from Capodichino to the heliport at Damecuta, above Anacapri, takes around fifteen to twenty minutes, and a car meets it on the island side. It turns a half day of connections into part of an afternoon, and in August it is often the difference between arriving for dinner and arriving for the end of dinner.
The third route is by sea from Sorrento, which is around twenty minutes across. That suits clients who are already staying on the Sorrentine peninsula, or who are joining a yacht rather than a hotel. If a boat is involved, give us the berth or the quay and we will plan the car to it. See yacht charter and helicopter charter.
Planning it well
What we ask about first
Six things that shape a Naples arrival.
- The final destination, precisely. Positano, Praiano, Amalfi and Ravello are minutes apart on a map and an hour apart on the road
- Whether the hotel is reachable by car at all. Several of the best addresses on the coast end in steps, a lift shaft or a porter with a trolley, and we would rather tell you that now
- The luggage. The coast road is not a place to discover that the cases did not fit. A second car is a common and sensible answer
- Whether a boat or a helicopter is part of the plan, and which quay or pad
- The date. August on the Amalfitana is a different road from May or October, and the table above reflects that
- Whether Salerno makes more sense for the flight. For Amalfi and Ravello it can save an hour of cliff road at each end
Onward
Around a Campania trip
Request a quote
Tell us the arrival
Date and time, tail number or operator, passengers and luggage, and the hotel, villa or quay. If Capri is in the plan, tell us whether you would rather cross by boat or fly, and we will quote both honestly. We come back with a clear price and a drive time we believe in. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Naples arrivals
Are these your own cars?
No. Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. In Campania cars are arranged through operators we know, and one person at Odyssey holds the aircraft, the car and the boat together.
How long is the drive to Positano really?
An hour and a quarter on a clear morning in May. Well over two hours on an August afternoon. We quote the range rather than the best case, and we will tell you which end of it we expect.
Can a car take us to Capri?
No. Capri is an island with no road link and heavy restrictions on cars once you are there. It is a ferry, a private boat or a helicopter, and we plan the car to the right quay or pad.
Should the flight go into Salerno instead?
Sometimes. For Amalfi, Ravello and the Cilento it can remove a long stretch of the coast road. Your operator will tell you whether the aircraft suits the runway, and we will compare the two drives for you.
Can the car come to the aircraft?
Where the airport permits it for your movement. Otherwise the car is at the handling agent's door. We confirm before you land.
Can you arrange the aircraft or the yacht?
Yes. See private jet charter and yacht charter.