Best Way to See the Amalfi Coast & Capri

I advise you to look closely at what the beach is like in Positano. I found it to be less than attractive; small, with rocky sand of an unappealing color. I can’t imagine spending a whole day, and there isn’t much else to the town, but expensive shops.

The best beach on the AC is in Salerno. It is big and sandy, while the others are small and often pebbly. You can get to Salerno by bus or ferry, then a pleasant walk along the promenade ends at the beach. Salerno also has a very well preserved medieval center to explore and your choice of good restaurants at the lowest prices on the AC. I realize I sound like a travel agent, but I'm just a tourist who stayed in Salerno for 5 days and fell in love with it.

I drove the AC (it was February, few cars, few tourists) and it was very scenic, but I suspect the best views are from the sea, which you can probably enjoy on the regular ferries that ply the AC. In May there may be lots of tourists which means lines for the buses and not that much chance for seats with the scenic views. A private boat sounds expensive, but could be the most efficient way to enjoy the views and visit the villages. If you have a chance, stop for a bite at Sal de Riso in Minori - excellent gelati and pastries to die for.

You want to do a lot in 3 full days and staying in Praiano complicates things. Assuming you have 4 nights, I would spend nights 1 and 2 in Capri and nights 3 & 4 in Amalfi.

Spending a day and a half in Capri gives you enough time to explore most of Capri, the visit will be more than the checkmark on a map you get from a day trip.

Day 3 go to Amalfi, go to the beach in Amalfi day 3 and maybe visit Positano in the late afternoon / evening. Day 4 explore Amalfi and go to Ravello. I think Ravello needs about 4 hours.

The trips to and from Capri and obviously ferries and you can take the ferry from Amalfi to Positano and back. From what I experienced, the company named Positano Jet has the best ferries for sightseeing purposes given the layout of their seating. The view of the coast from the ferries is fantastic.

Honestly, looking online the beach in Praiano looks pretty amazing. I’d take that over Positano any day, and you don’t even have to go anywhere. By staying in a place like Praiano, you get to experience the beauty of the AC with less of the crowded tourism baggage that the big port towns are saddled with. Going to Positano for the beach puts you back in the way of the day crowd crush. The relative isolation cuts both ways. It’s less convenient to get there, and less convenient as a base of exploration.

I guess I’m not sure what you mean by a “boat day,” but if a private tour is in your budget then by all means. Three days is barely any time on the AC, and if a private boat tour can fulfill your travel dreams in this brief window then I would recommend it.

Personally, while I enjoyed Capri I would not necessarily view it as required on this trip. If you want to do a DIY tour, consider this: Take an early bus to Amalfi, take a quick walk around, have a coffee on the square before hopping the ferry to Capri. On Capri, you can catch one of the hour-long “Laser” boat tours around the island (I found this to be pretty fun and a decent value.) Skip Capri Town for Anacapri. Lunch in Anacapri, hopefully while it’s still relatively quiet. Chairlift up to Monte Solaro. Try to get off Capri by like 3-4pm. Take the ferry back to Positano. Dinner/evening in Positano. Bus or taxi back to Praiano. Sleep hard. Or skip Capri, add Ravello to this day trip or even just stick to Amalfi/Positano. The good news is if you’re doing this on your own you can see how you’re feeling on the day.

I don't understand the value of staying somewhere like Praiano and then leaving all day every day (it takes a long time to get anywhere, but fortunately the journeys are quite pretty). Definitely take the advice to just see how you feel each day--if you stayed in Praiano all day, you would still have the full Amalfi Coast experience--because that is what it's all about--just appreciating beauty, etc.
When you arrive, walk along the water and see what kind of local boat tours are on offer, then make a plan for the sunniest day.