Amalfi Coast Tour - help me pick an option!

So you are doing two day trips from Rome to Naples?
Do you have any interest in seeing Pompeii? That is the main difference I see.

I'm torn...I am interested in Pompeii but are the other options better? I wouldn't mind terribly missing it if I'm spending time doing something equally enjoyable.

They are just so completely different it is hard to answer for another--to each their own, but you are comparing one of the most famous places in world history to three tiny villages that take minutes to see. I would not enjoy a day trip because to me these are places to savor, so just a stop by would not be satisfying. No time to sit for hours over a glass of wine as the sun sets, that kind of thing. Also * in summer you will be sitting in traffic in that car, no way around that!
I would not choose any of the three over a family history exploration. It is so hard to plan an Italy trip because there is just so much to see: hard decision always have to be made (even after multiple visits)--good luck!

It would be a lot of driving in heavily trafficked areas. The roads on the Amalfi Coast are winding and up and down and can often cause motion sickness. The ferries run in summer and it may be more enjoyable to take a ferry from Naples to Sorrento for example. From Sorrento you can take the train to Pompeii or a ferry to Capri. The Amalfi Coast deserves several days, so if you could pick a base and stay a few days that would be ideal. The views from the ferry of Positano and Amalfi are gorgeous. In Amalfi town you can take a bus up to Ravello for beautiful views also.

From your options I would choose Option 2, otherwise just a day trip from Rome to Pompeii and then stopping in Naples to see the Archeology Museum on the way back to Rome.. Wishing you a great trip!

I have an Option 4:

Private tour to visit Ravello (2 beautiful villas with other-worldly gardens}.

Instead of Pompeii, have the private guide take you to Oplontis and Stabiae - a total of 3 luxurious villas also buried by Vesuvius, but practically deserted compared to Pompeii.

https://www.hotelvillacimbrone.com/about-us/

http://www.villarufolo.it/home.html

https://pompeiisites.org/en/oplontis/

https://pompeiisites.org/en/stabiae/

Of the three, the wine tasting and Sorrento is the least interesting. Pompeii… you’ll be hitting that at midday in August. Private tour or no, it’s going to be brutally hot and crowded. So, I guess as the question goes option 2 sounds best. Personally, I think Naples itself is a full, rewarding and long day trip in itself and would resist the temptation to add on.

So the tours you're looking at are all 8-9 hours not including time to get to Naples. When would you explore Naples itself? Honestly, unless you're already planning to do so, what you're trying to do would require at least one overnight stay, unless you've decided not to spend any time in Naples other than arriving and leaving via rail.

We're all different (and that's OK!) but it would involve entirely too much time sitting/looking out windows versus more engaged sightseeing for me. If you do go ahead with one of the car tours, make sure any of you who suffer from motion sickness take their tried-and-true anti-nausea meds. Those AC roads can be murder on touchy stomachs!

All of that said, I'd sure go with a Naples +Pompeii or Herculaneum day trip versus the coast. Either scavi may be more engaging for active young people than riding around the coast in a car, regardless of the summer heat. If you went with that plan, I'd get to either Pompeii or Herculaneum at the opening hour to do your sightseeing before the worst of the heat, and then return to Naples for the rest of the day/more sightseeing. Are your parents reasonably mobile? (I'm almost 70, have been to Pompeii twice, and would have no issues getting around the ruins.)

So-based on our actual experiences, these are the times these trips really take.
1 hr- Rome to Naples train
2 hr - Naples to Sorrento by car
9 hr - driving the AC Coast , including The three towns
2 hr - Sorrento to Naples by car
1 hr- train to Rome.

This is a brutally long day. Actually, Positano is all high-end shopping- need a new Rolex? I'd skip it. The AC by car is not good for anyone with car sickness. The nine hour drive has you in the car for half the trip,
And, the AC towns are much prettier as seen from the water.
Perhaps spend an overnight? But it's still a lot of traveling. It's hard to describe the congestion in the areas south of Naples. The infrastructure has been sadly neglected , there's no quick of efficient way to get anywhere. After the crowds and heat in Rome ( the Pope's Jubilee), you're taking on the crowds and heat in the AC. Are you including any low key, smaller areas to visit, to relax?
The AC is a victim of its Instagram success. Sorry to be presenting the realities on the ground, but with planning and prior knowledge, you can adjust and have a memorable trip. Safe travels!

You have good replies. Since the Frecciarossa train is 1/3 the driving time to Naples, have you also priced the tour from Naples? Can your family sit in a van (not a sedan) for four hours each to and from Rome for the first leg?

I would not do any of these tours. Rome is too far, and the local infrastructure too poor.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/pompeii-day-trip-from-rome-2c38f926-9036-480d-95fd-403dd7694e4a

I have spent virtually no time on the Amalfi Coast/Sorrentine Peninsula, but it's my understanding Sorrento is a place to use as a convenient base for side trips to Pompeii, Capri, the Amalfi Coast, etc. It's convenient because it's served by the Circumvesuviana train from Naples (which is no advantage when you're considering a tour by car or bus). Sorrento itself is not an historic place with spectacular sights. I don't understand taking a day trip to a place known primarily as a base for other day trips; why not spend the time in those other places, as Option 2 does?

I wouldn't push for an excessively long side trip in southern Italy in the summer. The heat is highly likely to be rough. Naples is very interesting but also quite hilly if you aren't just walking parallel to the coastline. Pompeii has the largest cobblestones I've ever seen; it was a workout in early March.

There are ferries and hydrofoils from Naples to Capri. The hydrofoils take less than an hour, though Capri sounds to me like the sort of place where it's best to spend a night (or 2 or 3).

Thanks for all the replies and reality check. We are a family that likes to fit in as much as we can. It is a tough decision. Sounds like it might be best to save AC for another time and perhaps just visit Pompeii and Naples.