Amalfi coast Itinerary

I don't know why Naples is so ignored--yes it is a little "rough," but so is Rome in some ways, certainly so is Bari. It has thousands of years of history, so surely there would be something of interest. It is the total opposite of the Amalfi Coast, but that is why I think they make a good pair--excitement and culture in the big city, peace and nature in a small village.
I love Puglia, but I would not waste time traveling by bus and train on a short trip when you could be enjoying Naples, an island, and the coast, all right there and easily linked by train and ferry. Perfect for the week+ you have!

I completely agree with valadelphia.

Hi Kristine, are you flying home from Rome? If so, I would give it a couple of days at the end of your itinerary since this is your friend’s first time to Italy.

My adult daughter & I were at the Amalfi Coast last September. We stayed at Salerno for two nights and took a quick train over to Paestum to see the well-preserved Greek ruins. Then we spent three nights at Amalfi, doing day trips to Ravello & Positano. We both enjoyed all of it, but we wouldn’t have wanted our entire trip to be just the Amalfi Coast.

If it helps, here’s the details in our trip report:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/mother-adult-daughter-italy-trip-aug-sept-2022

I find Sorrento a very convenient home-base for everything around the Bay of Naples, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. You've got maybe 4 day trips that be interesting: Capri, Pompeii, Naples, Amalfi Coast. In the evening Sorrento is a great place to be and relax. 7-9 days? May be a bit much. Do you have enough time beyond that to give Rome a visit? As many times as I've been there, it never gets overdone (I wanted to say 'old' but hey, Rome is very 'old'). Sorrento is also quite affordable (IMHO).

Give us some more information and I bet you'll be getting lots of really useful advice. We love to share our experiences!

We spent 9 nights in the area
Sorrento 4
Amalfi/ Ravello 3
Salerno 2

I regret not seeing Naples. We had planned to day trip but skipped due to pouring rain

Thanks for the help here.
I am taking notes to some of the great advise. I was thinking we could base ourselves in Sorrento and take day trips to Pompeii, Capri, Positano, Ravello and even Naples then head up to Rome for a few days. I feel like a trip to Italy without seeing Rome would not be complete. I never tire of seeing it myself but then again I love almost every place I have been in.

Take a look at Mondo Guides
www.sharedtours.com

We did Pompeii and Capri with them
Both excellent and very affordable

The Capri day was so much fun

By train, you can reach Naples from Rome just as fast as from Sorrento. That involves a Freccia from Rome and the Circumvesuviana from Naples, so the Rome-Naples ticket will definitely cost more. A very quick look online suggests that ferries don't run frequently between Sorrento and Naples in April, so I'm not sure the ferry (which would be the fastest alternative) is a really practical option.

I'd echo earlier recommendations to spend some time in Naples. We were there last April, and only spent the night in Naples before heading to other places around Naples Bay/Amalfi Coast. I regret not spending a few more days in Naples proper, but will use that as an excuse to return. For your itinerary, something like this might work:

Naples 2-3 days (one day could be a ferry to Ischia for the day)
Sorrento 4-5 days (with day trips to Capri, Pompeii, Amalfi, etc.)

BTW, all the ferries were running in early April last year. We went from Sorrento to Ischia, Naples to Sorrento, and Amalfi to Capri, and it was gorgeous.