7 day Rome to Sorrento?

Have you/they been to Italy/Rome before? What are everyone's interests?

Rome to Sorrento by train (via Naples and the Circumvesuviana) is simple enough and makes perfect sense. Biggest question is how to split your time between Rome and not-Rome.

It'll be hot. Hopefully you are all used to that (but take it easy even if you are used to heat...wandering around Pompei on a sweltering day in August is gonna test anyone's heat tolerance).

You might look into flying in to Rome, then on the return flying out of Naples, saving you the time of heading all the way back to Rome. Whether that works cost-wise or schedule-wise for you, you will need to investigate.

If Rome must be the entry/exit point, go to Sorrento on arrival and do your days in Rome at the end of the trip. This saves you one hotel change

How you allocate the time at each locale depends on your personal preference and what you want to see/do

I agree with Joe. If you're flying round trip to Rome, go immediately to Sorrento and then return to Rome. I wouldn't allocate fewer than 2.5 days to Rome (i.e. the day you travel back to Rome plus the 2 full days before the day of your flight home).

7 days for all that, good luck.
You need 4-5 days alone to do justice to Rome. If you must, do at least 3-4 nights in Rome. Sorrento is a good choice for day trips to Capri and Pompeii.

I wouldn't allocate fewer than 2.5 days to Rome

Sally, I'll even push that to 4 nights/3 FULL days due to the August heat and high-season crowds. Both can be VERY wearing so not having to sightsee at a dead run helps manage both. It also allows you a little flex time to explore away from the mobbed, most-visited attractions.

BUT what attractions you should visit are also up to personal preference. I could easily spend weeks in Rome without boredom - just the churches could keep me busy for months - but her treasures may not be your 'thing' so maybe 2.5 days will do ya. Otherwise, I'd travel directly to Sorrento upon Sat. arrival, spend Sunday and Monday exploring Capri (1 day) and the Coast (2nd day) and head back to Rome on Tuesday, doing Pompeii along the way, (morning, at the opening hour!) Check your luggage at the train station, which is right in front of the main entrance, or the free cloakroom at the scavi site itself.

Any chance of flying home on Sunday instead of Saturday? That would give you another day to work with for 4 nights in Sorrento and 4 in Rome. You don't say where your home is but we can arrive at our nearest airport (MSP) the same day we fly out of Italy. Really, I'd try to push for that extra time if at all possible.

I'll comment that accommodations for 7 adults could be challenging so it's a task that should be tackled ASAP.

To visit Capri, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii from Sorrento (all in different directions) you'll need 3 days, either 3 full days or 2 full days and much of the third day. To increase your time in Rome to 3 full days, head there on Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday morning. A week seems like a lot of time to visit 2 locations, but there's so much to do and see in both that the week will pass quickly. In August, it's best to plan a morning visit to Pompeii.

Remember that August is vacation month for most Europeans. This will be a supremely crowded visit. Your schedule is just, doable, but will require cooperation from a large group. You may wish to book a private van for the Amalfi Coast day, and tell the driver (not likely a trained guide) which towns you want to see. We used our hotel’s land partner, and charged it to our room.

When you visit Capri and Pompeii, you may decide to give everyone their homeward ticket and break up after entry to see those vast places. You have a lot of detail research to do. (Just to pick an example, in Sorrento, Circumvesuviana tickets are sold by the newsdealer to the right of the station entrance. The station has no ticket booth. Validate your tickets in the platform machine before you board.) Booking a Sorrento hotel is urgent. Sorrento books up at least six months in advance. I don't approve of AirBnb or use it, so I can’t advise on whether your place might suddenly get cancelled. That would be a big problem for August and 7 people.

Wow thanks friends for this great advice! I see that it’s going to be tight but I think we can make it work. Great tips about going from Rome to Sorrento first then day trip from there and hir Pompeii on way back to Rome. And leaving Sunday instead of Saturday. We are flying from to Boston! As for what we want to do, I think traveling with young adults they like to do/see more . They will enjoy museums, cathedrals but will not linger for long so I think we can do this. Two years ago we did Dublin, to Galway to dingle in 7 days so being on move is ok. In Ireland we drove and definitely do not want to do that so learning about the trains is important. And finally, I was definitely planning on Airbnbs with a big family seems more economical than two rooms in hotels but am now concerned about reliability from a comment? You all are awesome, thanks so much for your awesome advice! Looking forward to figuring this all out over thanksgiving weekend with kids home!

In Sorrento check out Ulisses Deluxe Hostel (https://www.ulissedeluxe.com/it/). It's a very nice hotel that I've stayed at several times. It's called a 'hostel' because it has a few very large rooms - I think sleep 6 or so. Most of the rooms are 'normal' doubles and it does not feel at all like a 'hostel'. It's on the edge of the old town, about 5 minute walk from the shops/restaurants. You might find that one of the big rooms for the kids plus a double for you might be economical.

I agree that Rome 'deserves' several days. But not everyone is into large cities. I've been with a couple different friends who were very happy with only 2 nights to hit the highlights. I've personally been many times, sometimes for a week or more and loved it but if time is very limited there is no reason you have to spend several days. That said, my first trip to Rome - mid summer, with kids - we were only there two nights and I really didn't like it at all. Had the same experience with both London and Paris. I've been back to all these cities many, many times now and absolutely love them. But these major cities with so much to see can frustrate you if you only give them limited time on a first trip, especially if you have not done a lot of research and don't know what to expect. And I'm saying that as a city person (grew up in NY), for people not used to large cities it can be even worse. Still, I think for your trip I would give the bulk of the time to the Amalfi area.

Sally, to build on what Isabel posted, people who haven't given Rome time enough to get to know her and space in which to catch their breath too often form a negative first impression. If time is so short that you can barely get your bearings + spend those limited hours stuck in the middle of the tourist mob all day... Add August heat and it's enough to make even the most avid traveler wonder what the $#$%## they got themselves into!

So I usually counsel first-timers for more versus less, if possible, so that they don't come away hating what is really a wonderfully fascinating city. :O)