Amalfi Coast, Pompeii September ( early / Mid)

Hi there, great you've decided not to rent a car, in September you will just sit in traffic! With a larger group, you could consider a Mondo shared tour on the AC, (it's somewhere in a link below). Unless you need to stay in Naples, you could continue straight to Salerno & base yourself there for the AC. Just day trip along the AC, or better yet due to crowds, take a boat tour.

If you based yourself in Salerno, on your way back to Naples you could stop in Pompeii, there is luggage storage at the main entrance near the Cirumvesuviana. (But check how to get from the Regionale train you'd take to Pompeii to the main entrance, I think it's a 2-K walk.) Maybe worth it just to take a taxi. One of our party is not super fit at the moment, Pompeii will be tough on anyone who's not fit. It has very rough terrain, huge steps, crowds to maneuver around. I'd take a detailed look at Pompeii streets on line. I worked out for months to prepare for Pompeii, wore hiking boots and used hiking poles, my strategy is here - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/great-trip-to-pompeii-naples-over-new-years-december-26-january-2nd-2026

This area has been discussed a lot on the Forum and perhaps take a look & come back with detailed questions? Hope that's helpful!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/capri-and-almafi-coast
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/pompeii-and-herculaneum-at-a-slower-pace
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/getting-around-amalfi-coast
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-7-nights-itinerary-help
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/one-week-on-the-amalfi-coast

We were planning to rent a car but I can see posts advising against

Right. The coast is a mess of stop-and-go traffic in the high seasons (it will be VERY busy in the fall), parking is scarce, and there are odd-even non-resident license restrictions for driving the main coastal road AT ALL during certain months/holidays/weekends/hours, including the entire month of Sept. Good info on those restrictions and the headaches of a car on the coast in general here:

https://www.theroadreel.com/driving-the-amalfi-coast/

Use the ferries whenever possible. They're not a great choice to Capri from Salerno - where you're most likely to find 'mid-range' (whatever that means to you) accommodations in the coast, especially at this late date - as they take nearly two hours one-way from there but anything to avoid the roads is a plus, IMHO, You can't of course, use them for Pompeii, which is accessible via battered, inexpensive commuter trains from Sorrento, Naples, Salerno and some other locations.
Ferry will also be VERY busy in Sept, and tickets won't necessarily be inexpensive for 4 people.

Pompeii: we were in our 50's when we last did the scavi and didn't find it all that difficult to trek about as some others have seemed to but how difficult or not it'll be for your gang depends on what "not super fit" means. Yes, surfaces are very uneven so you have to watch your feet, there's little shade, and it's likely going to be uncomfortably hot in mid-Sept. Other than the slope from the Scavi-Villa dei Misteri train station to/through the Porta Marina entrance, it's otherwise pretty flat. I read that the two other entrances (which we didn't use) have less or no slope to manage but may be less convenient depending on where you're coming from, such as Salerno. Suggestion? Browse online photos and youtubes for what you'll be dealing with. Here's a good start (from Porta Marina):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaJPcKLyXLQ

It is hard for us to know the fitness level of your party. Pompeii requires walking and standing for at least two hours over rough terrain. There are really no places to sit and you will quickly be taken to task if you are leaning on or sitting on the ruins.

I am going to be so bold as to say that if you are looking for a relaxing beach experience, the Almafi Coast is not the place you are looking for.

As mentioned above, you are really late to be booking for September, so secure lodging asap. You may not have many choices at any price range. It will still be hot and very crowded, there's no shoulder season anymore.
Where are you coming from and going to after? That would be helpful. For instance , if you were flying out of Rome, I'd suggest splitting your time with Naples and Salerno. But you would need to be in Rome the night before the flight.
In any case, have a great trip!

Great thanks all !
Dissapointed but very helpful - have decided we need to go with a new plan.
Yes late booking ...but that's life sometimes ....
Fitness determined by one person with a medical condition sadly. Pompeii will have to wait.
Travelling from, we will be in S.oFrance and so will from Nice...looking for direct flight somewhere ...easy terrain, mix of historical and beach/ pool etc.
Back to the drawing board....

Ah, that's a great adjustment. You wouldn't have to fly, you could take the train from Nice / S of France to any number of gorgeous places. Had you considered staying in S of France? Or look into non-Cinque Terre beaches either north or south of the CT? Here's an excellent recent Trip Report about the South of France that might give you some ideas.  https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-speaking-french-in-provence-solo-with-public-transit

You might start a new thread with ‘Looking for a relaxing beach experience (anything else?) within a reasonable distance from Nice, either in France or Northern Italy'. Just link this thread so people can see your thought process. Good luck! PS, this just popped up on the Forum & thought you might find some ideas here - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/nice-to-italian-riviera