Amalfi Coast

I stayed in a town between Sorrento and Positano called Sant'Agata Sui Due Golfi. IT was a small town with bus service to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.
The 2 bus stops were about 1/2 mile walk. You could walk to Sorrento in about 40 minutes.There was also many walking/hiking trails - some strolls, some more strenuous, starting right in the town. From Sorrento, you can catch the train to Pompeii and Naples for a day trip. Positano, Amalfi, Ravello are also a day trip by bus
We rented an air BNB -there are also a few hotels

Definitely do the Mama Agata cooking class in Ravello and hike the Path of the Gods !

If you stay in one of the Amalfi Coast towns, you may end up spending a lot of time standing in line for crowded buses or ferries. 3-4 days in one of the towns would be fine for sure. You might consider a few days in Salerno or Sorrento. Sorrento is good for visiting Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples by commuter train and Capri by ferry. Salerno is good for visiting some of the AC towns near it by bus or ferry, Paestum's Greek temples by bus or train, even Naples and Pompeii by train, though the ancient Pompeii site is 1-2 km. from the train station, while the commuter train from Sorrento stops just a few meters from the entrance to the sight. Of them all, Salerno is the least touristy and has the best centro storico and a large sandy beach.

Along the Amalfi coast, we've enjoyed staying in the town of Amalfi, but preferred staying in Atrani, which is much smaller and an easy walk to Amalfi. Even if you don't take the cooking class suggested above, do take time to visit Ravello. It's stunning. I think that Sorrento is a nice town to spend a few days in and it works well for trips to Capri and Pompeii. It should be a good option for cooking classes as well. It seems like the ideal location for cooking classes (or food tours) in the region would be in Naples.

Matera, Cilento coast, Maratea
or Matera, then Puglia (* better if you can fly into Naples and out of Bari or Brindisi)

Amalfi Coast is pretty touristy, but you can find your moments. I think staying in someplace other than Amalfi town or Positano would help with that a bit, but it also makes it more difficult to get around. It’s going to depend on how much you want to see versus staying put and relaxing. I loved Atrani as a homebase. It felt very local, but had some great restaurants and was a quick walk to Amalfi which made getting around the region a breeze. Ravello would also be a good choice. It has people day tripping up there, while you’ll be going the other way.

If you intend on seeing Pompeii, Herculaneum or Naples (and I recommend them all) then I strongly suggest staying on that side of the peninsula for a couple days. You don’t want to be day tripping all the way around the peninsula each time. Sorrento is definitely touristy but not in a tacky way. Some folks recommend Vico Equense (sic).

The main way to avoid the touristy crowds is to get an early start each day. Generally, everyone is on their way to somewhere else on the Amalfi Coast. If you can beat them there by a couple hours it is massive.

Well, 12 days--let's call it 11 nights--and the fact that you don't want to revisit places, begs the Amalfi peninsula, Naples, and maybe parts of Calabria or even over to Matera/Alberobello in Basilicata.

Thing is, you don't need to spend all 12 days on the A.C. I think a week will be enough, especially given that it will still be plenty busy there in September. You can see Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Capri, Salerno, Paestum, Naples, Pompei, Ercolano, and then some. Maybe 4 days base in Sorrento, then 3 days in Salerno.

Problem with going over to visit the caves in Matera and the trulli houses in Alberobello is that it takes time to get there and back, unless you plan to fly into Naples and (as stated above) out of Bari on the east coast--then it might make sense. Otherwise, you can book to fly in & out of Naples, and after Salerno take the train to a place I'm visiting on our next trip--Maratea--I believe 2-3 hours south on the Tyrrhenian coast, for a couple days. Looks beautiful, and relatively unscathed by tourism.

Enjoy your planning!

I agree that Matera is too far to combine with the AC. I liked Sant' Agata, but you have to understand that it's nowhere close to a beach. It's like staying in New Jersey to visit New York City. (I mean, to save hotel money ... ) Because YOU gave the AC priority for this trip, I would suggest that you look into whether Naples, Caserta, Salerno, and UNESCO WHS Paestum are of interest to you. Also note that there are three smaller ancient sites (on a Five-Site, Three-Day ticket) in the Pompeii group. But only if ancient life or art is of great interest to you. Or if you have been to the Getty Villa in California.

As noted, the AC itself is not worth 12 days. While I'm certain that Sant' Agata and Vico Equense are two of the cheapest places to sleep, this is generally an expensive area, and one that books up MONTHS in advance during most of the calendar year. Because it is very hard to get to Rome in time for your flight home from the AC (please remember this), also consider things you couldn't get to in Rome (for a night or two before flying home), like Villa D'Este or Hadrian's Villa.

We don't know anything about Sue or how she will travel yet, but with 12 days to work with, how is Matera too far?--it is three hours from Naples by car, and I am sure there is a bus.
As I read it, she is looking for places in addition to the Amalfi coast.