The first time I rode the SS163 was on a borrowed Honda CB500F in October. I’d been told to ride it early, but I’d had a long dinner the night before and slept until 09:00, hit the road by 10:30, and spent the next four hours behind a sequence of tour buses, each unable to overtake the one ahead. I averaged maybe 18 km/h between Vietri and Positano. I saw the road but I didn’t ride it.
The second time, I set an alarm for 05:30. Coffee at 06:00, on the bike at 06:30, on the SS163 by 07:15. The road was empty. The sun was rising over the Tyrrhenian. I rode the 50 km to Positano in 90 minutes with maybe four cars passing me in the opposite direction. That ride is one of the great motorcycle hours of my life.
That’s the gap. The Amalfi Coast at the wrong time is a frustrating slog. The Amalfi Coast at the right time is among the best 50 km of motorcycle road in Europe. This guide is about getting the timing right. Amalfi coast motorcycle touring rules — including the regulatory rules (plate alternation, ZTL zones, length restrictions) that favor motorcycles over cars and create the strategic opportunity for two-wheel travel here.
The Road Every Rider Wants — And What Nobody Tells You About It
The SS163 Amalfitana is a 50-kilometer state road built into the cliff face of the Sorrento Peninsula’s southern coast. It connects Vietri sul Mare on the eastern end to Positano on the western end, passing through Maiori, Minori, Amalfi town, Praiano, and several smaller villages. The road was completed in the 1850s under the Bourbon kings of Naples and hasn’t been widened since.
The geography is what makes it. The Lattari Mountains drop directly into the Mediterranean Sea. Villages cling to terraced slopes above tiny harbors. Lemon groves climb the cliffs. The road carves through the cliff face, sometimes blasting through tunnels, sometimes hugging the seaward edge with vertical drops to the water 100-200 meters below.
What nobody tells you in the postcards: the road is genuinely small. Two lanes wide in places, less than two lanes wide in others. Tour buses meet at hairpins and one has to reverse 200 meters to find a wide spot. The road would never be built today to the same specification. The drama is the same reason the road struggles with modern tourism volumes.
For motorcycles, the small road is the entire point. A bike that’s 70 cm wide handles the hairpins where 2-meter-wide cars struggle. A bike that’s 2 meters long fits where 12-meter tour buses don’t. The road favors riders over drivers in a way that almost no other famous coastal route does.
The Motorcycle Advantage: Why Bikes Beat Cars on the Amalfi Coast
Three structural advantages that make motorcycles the right vehicle for SS163.
Plate alternation exemption. Italian authorities introduced an alternating-plate restriction in 2022 to manage tourist car volumes on SS163. The rules in 2026:
- June 1 to July 31: Saturdays, Sundays, and bank holidays only — alternating plates 10:00 to 18:00
- August 1 to September 30: Every day — alternating plates 10:00 to 18:00
- October 1 to October 31: Saturdays and Sundays — alternating plates 10:00 to 18:00
The system: cars with odd-numbered final plate digits drive on odd-numbered dates, even-numbered plates on even dates. Motorcycles are exempt from this restriction. Bikes ride the SS163 every day.
Length and width restrictions. Vehicles over 6 meters long or 2.1 meters wide face restrictions on the SS163 from 06:30 to midnight year-round. Vehicles over 10.36 meters long are completely banned. This effectively eliminates motorhomes, large camper vans, and most tour buses (though smaller “minibus” tour vehicles still operate). Motorcycles are well below all length thresholds.
ZTL zone exemption. Positano and Praiano operate ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) restricted-traffic zones in their historic centers. Private cars are banned 06:30 to midnight in peak season. Motorcycles can enter freely, park in designated bays, and access the town for shopping and dining.
Combined: a motorcycle in summer can ride the SS163 every day, access Positano’s historic center, park where cars can’t, and avoid the worst of the volume restrictions. The cost difference between a one-week Amalfi motorcycle rental and a car rental pays back in the avoided friction alone.
Understanding the ZTL Zones
Positano’s ZTL zone covers the entire historic center down to the beach. Restrictions:
- 06:30 to midnight in summer (April through October)
- Private vehicles (cars) banned without specific permits
- Motorcycles permitted
- Residents and authorized commercial vehicles permitted
- Parking only in designated bays at the ZTL boundary
Praiano operates a similar ZTL on a smaller scale. Amalfi town’s pedestrian center is informal — there’s no formal ZTL but the narrow streets effectively exclude cars. Motorcycles can ride into and park within most of the town.
For riders: stay in a hotel within Positano if you want walkable access to restaurants and beaches. Many hotels have negotiated motorcycle parking. If you stay outside Positano (Praiano, Amalfi town, Salerno), ride in, park at a designated motorcycle bay, and walk the historic streets.
The SS163 Amalfitana: Section by Section
Vietri sul Mare to Maiori
Eastern end of the SS163. The road starts at sea level in Vietri, climbs along the cliffs past Cetara (small fishing village with excellent seafood lunch), and descends to Maiori. 20 km. The least dramatic section of the SS163 but a good warm-up — fewer tour buses than the western half, more parking, easier hairpins.
Maiori to Amalfi Town
12 km through Minori (smaller and quieter than Amalfi, worth a coffee stop) and into Amalfi town itself. The town of Amalfi was once a Maritime Republic; the cathedral (Duomo di Amalfi) dominates the small Piazza del Duomo. Park at the harbor and walk the town for an hour.
Amalfi to Positano — The Technical Section
15 km. The most-photographed and most-challenging section of SS163. Continuous tight hairpins, narrow widths between rock walls and cliff drops, sequences of switchbacks with views directly down to the Tyrrhenian. Praiano sits midway — a small village with a coastal church (San Gennaro) photographed obsessively in tourism imagery.
This is where motorcycle skill matters. Slow speeds (30-40 km/h average), aggressive line discipline in the corners, and full attention to oncoming traffic. Hairpins are blind — assume something is coming around every one.
Positano to Sorrento Peninsula
After Positano, the SS163 continues west to the Punta Campanella peninsula tip and connects via SS145 to Sorrento. This section is paved and pleasant but less dramatic — a way out of the Amalfi system toward Naples and the inland network.
Alternative Mountain Roads Worth Riding
For riders who want to expand beyond SS163 and avoid coastal traffic, two inland mountain roads provide excellent alternatives:
Chiunzi Pass Provincial Road (SS366): Climbs from the Amalfi side up over the Lattari Mountains and down to Pagani on the Naples side. 25 km of mountain riding with views back to the Amalfi coast and inland to Vesuvius. Quiet outside Sunday afternoons.
Agerolina Road (SS366): Connects Amalfi town to Agerola in the mountains above. Tight switchbacks, steep gradients, and the famous “Path of the Gods” hiking trailhead at Agerola. Worth riding round-trip in a single morning.
Both roads are not subject to the SS163 plate-alternation restrictions and provide alternatives during the busiest SS163 hours.
Amalfi Coast Riding Checklist
What you actually plan for the SS163 specifically:
- Downloaded ZTL zone map — Positano, Amalfi, Praiano boundaries (0 g)
- Ride Tuesday or Wednesday — fewest tourist buses (0 g)
- Ride before 10:00 or after 18:00 for emptiest SS163 (0 g)
- Low-profile luggage — wide panniers will struggle on tight hairpins (0 g)
- Fuel up in Salerno — petrol scarce along coastal route (0 g)
- Camera mount secured — every corner is a photo (100 g)
The fuel point matters. SS163 has limited petrol stations — typically one at Maiori, one at Amalfi town, possibly one between Amalfi and Positano. All are small, expensive, and sometimes closed. Fill in Salerno before riding east, or in Sorrento before riding west. Don’t trust the coastal stations to be open when you need them.
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Best Time to Ride the Amalfi Coast
Mid-April to late May: Best window. Wildflowers, lemon harvest, daytime 18-23°C, sea still cool but warming. Tourism present but manageable. Plate-alternation rules not yet in force (start June 1).
September: Second-best window. Warm sea (24°C), stable weather, harvest season for cheese and wine. Plate-alternation applies daily but motorcycles exempt.
October: Quieter than September, weather still pleasant. Plate-alternation weekends only. Many restaurants and seasonal hotels close mid-October.
June and early July: Daytime hot (28-32°C), beach scene active, more tourists. Manageable on weekdays.
Late July through August: Avoid. Peak heat (35°C+), peak tourism, peak prices, plate-alternation daily, restaurants overcrowded. The Amalfi Coast at its worst.
November through March: Off-season. Many businesses closed. Weather variable, occasional storms. Roads quieter but the experience reduced.
Where to Stay as a Motorcyclist
Three strategic options:
Salerno (eastern anchor). Larger city, more motorcycle parking, cheaper accommodation, easy SS163 access. Less atmospheric than coastal villages but practical for a touring base. Ride west into the coast each day.
Amalfi town (middle). Central position on SS163. Walkable old town, restaurants, harbor. Some hotels offer motorcycle parking. Premium pricing but justified by location.
Sorrento (western anchor). Not technically on the SS163 but at the road’s western end. Good access to Positano, also positioned for Capri ferry, Pompeii, and Naples side trips. Cheaper than Positano, less crowded than Salerno.
Avoid Positano itself unless your hotel includes parking and you’re willing to pay premium rates. The town is genuinely beautiful but parking is scarce and expensive even for motorcycles.
Internal Connections
This guide is the deep dive that complements the broader Mediterranean route content:
- Best coastal motorcycle routes Mediterranean — Amalfi in context of other Mediterranean options
- Europe motorcycle border crossing documentation — getting to Italy from elsewhere in Europe
FAQ
Five common questions are answered at the top of this page. The short version: motorcycles are exempt from the car restrictions, ride before 10:00 or after 18:00, pick Tuesday or Wednesday, bring narrow luggage, fuel up in Salerno.
Whatever your version of an Amalfi visit, the amalfi coast motorcycle touring rules picture in 2026 strongly favors riders who plan around the volume restrictions rather than against them. The car drivers fight for permits and queue for parking. The motorcycle riders ride straight through. Use the structural advantage.
Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you buy gear through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are motorcycles really exempt from the Amalfi Coast traffic restrictions?
Yes. The plate-alternating restriction (odd/even license plates allowed on alternating days) applies to cars, not motorcycles. Bikes can ride the SS163 every day during the restriction periods (June-September weekends, all of August and September, October weekends). Vehicle length restrictions (over 6m or 2.1m wide) effectively ban tour buses and motorhomes from much of the route — motorcycles unaffected. ZTL zones in Positano and Praiano also exempt motorcycles. This is the single biggest reason to ride the Amalfi Coast on two wheels.
What time of day should I ride the SS163?
Before 10:00 or after 18:00 in summer. The middle of the day (10:00-17:00) is when tour buses run, day-tripping cars from Sorrento and Salerno arrive, and rental cars from Naples Airport hit the road. Early morning gives you the cliff road essentially empty with low sunlight on the sea. Evening gives you golden-hour light and traffic clearing. For most riders, an 07:00 departure from Salerno or Sorrento to ride Amalfi as the day starts is the ideal.
Can I park a motorcycle anywhere in Positano?
More easily than a car, but not freely. Positano's narrow stepped streets exclude all motor vehicles from the historic center. Motorcycle parking is available in designated bays at the entrance to the town — typically €5-10 for a day. Some hotels have private motorcycle parking included with stays. Don't leave the bike on the SS163 itself — police ticket and tow regularly. Park in a designated bay or at your accommodation.
What size luggage works on the SS163?
Narrow. The Amalfi Coast's tight hairpins, especially in the Positano section, are challenging with wide hard panniers. Soft panniers (Mosko, Enduristan) or compact hard cases (Givi Trekker Outback 37L max) work. Wide tour boxes (Givi 58L+, Touratech panniers) catch on hairpin apexes and risk scraping walls. If you can leave luggage at a hotel base in Salerno or Sorrento and ride the coast unloaded, do it. The road is genuinely better unburdened.
Is the SS163 too technical for a beginner rider?
Not technical in the off-road sense — it's paved throughout — but mentally demanding for inexperienced riders. The hairpins are tight, the drops are vertical, the road is narrow with oncoming traffic, and passing tour buses requires reading the road well ahead. A rider comfortable in mountain riding (Alps, Pyrenees) handles SS163 fine. A beginner whose only experience is highway cruising will find it intimidating. The right preparation is a few hours of practice on similar tight-hairpin mountain roads before tackling Amalfi.