advice needed for trip to Amalfi Coast area in October

I think Sorrento is the best town for a home base. Boats go to Capri about every two hours. We hiked to the lighthouse which is on the far end of Capri. It may be a good value, as Rick suggests, to hire a driver to from Sorrento to Positano and Amalfi. The buses get crowded. Positano is built in a steep hillside. We took a hiking trail from near the bus stop that went up over the hill. We also took separate day trips to Pompeii, Mt Vesusius/and Herculaneum.

Thanks , we were thinking of some of those side trips, just wondered if others thought Sorrrento was good home base. Thanks for suggestions, and about the driver too!
(I had also posted to fodor's, but was working too fast in my copy and paste mode, I guess - oops I should have said" Fellow Travelers!! ;) )

We stayed in Positano 2 weeks ago and it was super busy with tourists and hot and humid. If we did it again, I'd stay in Sorrento and Ravello. Loved Ravello!!!!!

If at all possible, I would fly into Naples Capodicino Airport. You next best would be Rome Fiumicino if you can get a direct flight.

Itinerary…

2 N Naples. Archeological Museum & Pompeii?
The city itself is fantastic for wandering.

Ferry from Naples-Capri. Either as a day trip on the way to Amalfi, or if time allows 1 night.

Ferry Capri-Amalfi. 3 nights.
3 beautiful hikes from Amalfi.
Path of the Gods, path of the Mills, path of the Lemons.

Ferry from Amalfi-Salerno pick up car for drive to Brindisi.

This keeps you on a straight line itinerary.

This is an interesting suggestion. However, I wonder if it will be tough to visit Capri, because we'll have all our stuff ( vs a day trip). Sounds like you're suggesting Amalfi as the home base location. The hikes sound great, too. I assume we are doing our traveling over the water so will not need to do driving until we leave for Brindisi by car rental .

Another, different angle to consider: We will rent a car to drive to Puglia and spend one night somewhere close to Brindisi or in Brindisi where the bike trip begins. My questions: Since we will be renting a car at the end of our Sorrento stay, will it be worthwhile to rent the car when we arrive in Sorrento?. We could drive to Pompeii and explore the AC area by car. I know there are t challenging raffic and road conditions, but my husband is a competent and confident driver who has driven in many European countries- France, Monaco, Croatia, Italy, Spain etc - so what would you who know the area suggest?
Thanks!

Please specify date--Amalfi Coast ferries end at the end of October (this varies according to needs and weather). However, October is still high season, and I would not want to drive--traffic is bad, parking is scarce and expensive. Three nights is awful tight for the area--could you get a flight to Bari or Brindisi instead? Lecce is lovely and would be a nice pre-bike tour stop.
If you are not visiting Naples or Pompeii, I would not stay in Sorrento. Why do long day trips when you could stay ON the Amalfi Coast--if that is your desired destination.

I'm sorry to sound preachy, but you are focusing a little too much on the car while north of your tour group meet-up. You are making an American assumption that the freedom of the open road will give you the best experience. Aside from the only road, one lane in each direction from Sorrento to Amalfi, Sorrento is a housing location chosen precisely for its daytrip and transit options. Sorrento is not at all like, say, Positano, but it has good transport.

Every night (late May, not quite high season) we saw 25 or more cars lined up to enter the underground parking lot near our outlying (Ambasciatori) hotel in Sorrento. That was partly because Sorrento closes some streets nightly for the Passeggiata, and also because there is no place to park downtown anyway. Although I don't want to mislead you into thinking Sorrento is a beach-town (it isn't), you need to think of the American beach towns that make it impossible to park, as a business model. In the case of the Amalfi Coast, it's also simply a complete lack of on-street spaces (for street route decisions made 100 years ago), and cliffs that limit commercial parking lots to 30 spaces at the most.

You also have to allow for the municipal busses that can't make it around the mountain turns without waiting for oncoming traffic to clear, or have to back and fill to make it. No one is saying that your husband is less of a man because he doesn't drive the curvy roads without guardrails, like James Bond does in the movies. They are telling you, rather, that you will waste time and sit in traffic. Remember how Walter Matthau (in A New Leaf) pulls his racing Porsche (?) out of the garage where sludge was removed from the rocker arms, and onto a completely stopped Long Island Expressway? The Porsche specialist mutters to himself, "I wonder what he does to her?[the car.]"

Some ironic Naples comments. I recommend Naples, but you need more research:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/surviving-naples

As another 70+ couple who are both retired and who have decided when travelling, to spend a little more time in each place. In October 2019 before COVID, we flew into and out of Naples.
Our trip was: Naples 3 nights, 2 full days so Day 1, Archeological Museum early, walking around exploring in afternoon. Day 2 early train to Heraculeum, lunch there and bus up to Vesuvius and train back to Naples. Early next day, ferry to Capri for 2 nights. Luggage to B&B, walk to East end Villa Jovis and walk around Capri Town. 2nd day scenic boat trip around island (Blue Grotto was closed due to water conditions), bus to Annacapri and walked around. Next day took mid-morning ferry to Sorrento for 3 nights. Next day took the local bus to Termini and hiked / walked down to SW end of Peninsula. 2nd day laundromat, walking around the Town and down along the waterfront, checked out the ferries to Amalfi and had a late lunch down there. Next day ferry to Amalfi and bus up to Bomerano, at end of Walk of the Gods. Next day did Walk of the Gods and checked out Positano and and took ferry back to Amalfi (long line for buses to Amalfi and didn’t fancy lining up in the heat.) 2nd day, bus down to Amalfi and bus up to Ravello. Walked around there and had coffee on the square before hiking down to Amalfi, for late lunch and drinks looking out over the water.
Again, early morning, bus down to Amalfi and ferry to Salerno where we picked up a rental car for Puglia trip 8 nights, ending up in Naples.
Long way of saying, take your time and just experience southern Italy. A bike trip should be a good way to see and experience that area. It slows you down. There are too many things that are designated as ‘must sees’ but we read the suggestions and take our time. We’ve been to Italy 3 times and this October will be our first time in Rome. A few years ago we did a bike & barge trip in France which was a good way to see part of the Loire Valley at the start of that trip.

Capri is easily done as a day trip, there is a luggage storage facility in Marina Grande it’s a souvenir shop with the words "deposito bagaglio left-luggage" above the door. It's located to the left of Bar Grotta Azzurra which is opposite the ferry. Cost is around 3-4€.

Ferry timetable.
https://www.capri.com/en/ferry-schedule

Use the fast ferries from the Molo Beverello port.
Travel time 50 minutes.

From Capri to Amalfi is 50 min. Shorter than a ferry, bus, or private driver from Sorrento.

If your wish is to explore the Amalfi coast, stay on the coast. Amalfi is the transportation hub of the coast. Ferry’s will get you much faster to more towns than busses.

Travel Mar ferry timetable.
https://www.travelmar.it/_download/travelmar-223.pdf

Pros & Cons of Amalfi coast towns.

https://italybeyondtheobvious.com/amalfi-coast-towns-where-to-stay/

thanks for all your many ideas. All helpful thoughts.