Base on Amalfi Coast w/o Car

What time of year?

We are going in the beginning of May 2022!

I asked only because the buses can be super crowded
We were there May 2019 and had to wait for 2 buses to just get from Amalfi to Positano
We never did get on the bus to Ravello
Mob scene

If the bus is full as it passes your stop it won’t even stop

I’m not familiar with the towns you’ve listed so perhaps others can offer better input

We chose to stay in Amalfi for ferry and bus access and glad we did

We are going in the beginning of May 2022!

Aprile 25 falls on Monday and May 1 falls on a Sunday in 2022: the crowds should decrease a little from May 2, but the season begins with Easter and Easter will be on April 17 in 2022.

Try to avoid the week-ends.

You don't want to drive a car on that road when the buses are so crowded that they do not stop to let people in. Even if, where would you park? Ferries are easier, If I were you I'd pick a village served by Travelmar and an AirBnB not too far from the docks. I mean vertically far.

I was thinking the same as Dario that I'd personally want to be much closer to ferry service than the 3 locations you're looking at. Just pulling them up on a map, it also looks like San Michele/Furore don't have a lot of restaurants within easy/safe walking distance of many of the accommodations, if that's important to you.

Any reason you didn't consider basing in Amalfi, as it was on your original itinerary? Especially as it looks as if you might be traveling on to Capri after the coast? I'm uncertain as you may have reorganized that itinerary since you posted it here:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/itinerary-input-review-please

BTW, I might have done Capri after Sorrento as it's a short ferry journey from there. Then ferry to, say, Amalfi, then train from Salerno to Rome. I think you already booked your Capri hotel though? Care to share your newest itinerary?

I have a friend who stayed in a house/villa in Furore with a group of friends in 2018. The pictures were straight out of your Amalfi Coast fantasy. But he said that Furore would not work if you didn't have a car.

I'm planning an AC trip for April - May 2022. Our base will be Salerno for whichever towns we want to see, in addition to Paestum and, well, Salerno.

Thanks! That is exactly what I needed to know. Why are you picking Salerno? I may consider there as well.

I would stay in Amalfi over Positano and I have stayed in both. Amalfi has better transport connections, more to do, and the hills in Positano can get old. You can easily visit Positano from Amalfi by either bus or ferry. The view from the water is gorgeous.

we stayed in Sorrento and took the bus to Positano and then again to Amalfi, then the ferry back to Sorrento. Since Sorrento is the start of the line down the coast you can get a seat on the bus after waiting in line for the next bus departure with room (there is a line to board). This seems better than watching full buses drive by because eventually you'll be at the front of the line and get on. I suggest leaving Sorrento before 9am or so. At Positano people get off so there was room for us to get on and continue down the coast. YMMV. We enjoyed the ferry but be sure to check the timetable; unfortunately we got on one that stopped for 45 minutes for people to go swimming so it made the return to Sorrento longer than expected.

Salerno is the closest rail hub to Amalfi, and offers direct "fast" train service (Trenitalia or Italo) to Rome. The trains from Sorrento are slower commuter trains, and you'd have change to faster, direct trains to Rome in Naples. You could get to Salerno from Amalfi via ferry (the station is walking distance from the port), bus or private driver.

Should mention that there has been some love for Salerno from some of the RS posters who've stayed there, too. It's just a really long ferry ride to there from Capri: 2 hours + very few daily runs. I'm only seeing one ferry from Capri currently but haven't done a deep dive, either.

We enjoyed our 2 night stay in Salerno very much but this was after spending a week split between Sorrento and Amalfi.
From Salerno we visited Paestum ( fantastic!) and just enjoyed the town of Salerno itself. Not sure I’d want to plan Amalfi coast visits all from Salerno as it is just a bit too far
We took direct train to Venice from Salerno so that was another reason for staying there

Kathy - yes you are correct. We were thinking Amalfi over Positano but we found a rental that we liked in Positano. Your idea of doing Capri before Amalfi make great sense!!! We were just thinking it would be nice to end the trip relaxing in Capri. I'll mention this to the hubby though. Not sure if I can change my Capri hotel either. Thanks for the input! I love this forum!
Sharon

My friends who go every year just hire a car and driver as needed, otherwise take the ferries.

Why are you picking Salerno?

For one thing, the hotel prices are much cheaper than in the more popular towns along the AC. I would love to stay in Ravello, but the room prices are just too high for the likes of us. I plan on using the money we save by staying in Salerno to splurge on our hotels elsewhere, and for private guides. Similarly, Pompei as a place to stay doesn't get any love from the blue and orange bible, but we will be staying in Pompei to visit Pompeii, Ercolano, Oplontis and Stabiae. Hotels in Pompei are much cheaper than in Sorrento - again, use that savings to pay for a private guide. We may take a day trip to Sorrento from Pompei.

We are WW2 buffs, and there are two museums in or near Salerno relating to Operation Avalanche. I have been emailing a private guide about a full day tour as well.

I haven't done much research on this, but I believe that Salerno has good ferry connections for Amalfi and Positano. We aren't interested in Capri.

Salerno is a good base for a day trip to Paestum.