Coastal Italy Itinerary

Stick with the Amalfi Coast area (in the Campania region). There is plenty to see and do with 8 days.
Hike the Path of Gods. Take a trip to Capri. It is a little far and complicated to get to on public trans from Positano but look at a going to Pompeii. Maybe split the stay between Positano and Ravello.
Going back to Rome from Ravello via Salerno seems easier than trying to get back there from Positano.

Stay in 2 locations, make your arrival, best by private driver, to
Positano stay 4 nights. See Amalfi Ravello and any of the southern towns of the Coast by ferry. Then move on to Sorrento while not technically on the AC it will make it easier to visit Capri, and Pompeii from here. Spend 3 nights. It will enable you to connect much more easily to Naples for your transfer back to Rome.

Amalfi coast is a good choice and it would be better to stick to one region if you have just one week. Positano is diffidently a good option. You can also visit Sorrrento which is not technically on the Amalfi Coast but is known as ‘The Gateway to the Amalfi Coast’. It's a beautiful coastal town and has some exceptional hotels and restaurants. You can manage a train to Naples but to get from there to the Amalfi coast can be a little bit hectic. Your best option would be taking a private car directly from Rome to Positano. One of the nice places to visit on the way is Pompeii.

Do you live in the US? Have you been to Europe before? I'm not sure I would go all the way to Italy just for the Amalfi Coast. You are wise to avoid the most crowded months on this popular vacation location. Yes, it is pretty, but it's a project to get there and back to Rome - a legendary travel location.

Thank you all for the helpful information!

Hi Tim - I do live in the US. I have been to Europe a couple of times, including Italy (Rome, Florence & Pisa). On my first trip, Rome wasn’t my favorite stop - I do plan to return one day because I know there’s a lot more to experience, but we’d prefer this trip to feel a bit more laid back versus visiting such a large city.

kelliott--that's the info I was looking for, whether you had been to Italy before, and where. Now I know how to advise.

First, good for staying away from the summer, although May and September can be quite crowded. Primo time for me, to maximize warmth and not quite as many tourists, would be April 15-May 1 or October 1-15.

Yeah, save exploring Rome for another trip. As I've said on another thread, you really need a week there to capture the vibe of the Eternal City. You'll still have to fly out of there, however. And I'm assuming into Fiumicino as well. When you arrive at Rome (morning after an overnight flight, that's the way it usually is from the US) I believe there is a train from the airport that takes you to Roma Termini station. There you take the Freccia train to Naples Centrale.

From there, I would splurge--more of a necessity for your jet-lagged sanity--and hire a private driver to pick you up at the station as you get off the train at Naples, and take you directly to your hotel or B&B in...Positano, Sorrento, Ravello, Amalfi, Cetara, Minori, Maiori, etc. As I'm alluding to, check out all the possibilities as to destinations. A.C. visitors don't live on Positano alone. You'll pay upwards of 100 Euro for this service but trust me, it will be well worth it!

Where you stay is dependent on what you want to do. Just to chill & marvel at the spectacular scenery, and Positano or other towns on the coast will work fine. But if you want to take daytrips to Naples, Capri, Pompei, the towns of Sorrento or even Salerno (just off the peninsula) would be a better choice. As you research, you'll see what a royal P.I.T.A. it is to get around at times with public transportation, which is why the cost of private drivers on the A.C. is so exorbitant.

This should give you a good start. Enjoy your planning!

Where you stay is dependent on what you want to do. Just to chill &
marvel at the spectacular scenery, and Positano or other towns on the
coast will work fine. But if you want to take daytrips to Naples,
Capri, Pompei, the towns of Sorrento or even Salerno (just off the
peninsula) would be a better choice.

I'm in this camp too: Sorrento or even Salerno will be better choices, transport-wise, for places like Pompei, Naples (if you do Pompei, you should take a trip into the city for the archeological museum), Herculaneum and even Capri. Being on a train line will be efficient for all the first 3 listed, and while it's relatively rare, ferries can't dock in Positano when the weather doesn't cooperate. If you were to split your stays, I'd probably do just 3 nights in Positano and 4 in Sorrento.

I wouldn't do a 2nd region: plenty to keep you busy in the Sorrentine/Amalfi region.

For better chances of ideal weather, I'd stick with May or September.
As for one base in Positano or two bases, determine all of the things you wish to see and do. Some things are easy from Positano (ferries, bus to Amalfi), but if you want to see Pompeii or Paestum, or just want a different flavor, I'd do two bases.

kelliott, thank you for your gracious reply. Sometimes posters here are criticized for answering a question the OP did not ask, or trying to talk them out of their plans. Indeed, I only meant to give the best possible advice. I'm posting again because I think some replies have gotten away from your specific request: beautiful scenery, food, wine & hiking. The other reason I asked my questions is that, IMHO, the United States (and certainly, the Caribbean and Hawaii) have far superior beaches to the Amalfi Coast's pebbles and cold, cloudy water. I think that "Coastal Italy" is a bit of a misnomer. Certainly, extremely wealthy people have been coming to Positano for a long time. But lager-louts have been coming to Sorrento for a long time, too. If there's no sun where you live, the Naples/Amalfi Coast looks pretty darn good.

We spent five night in Sorrento for DAYTRIPPING, and it was perfect for that. But despite the nice Gulf views, Sorrento has a postwar, reinforced-concrete look to it. OK, it has some historic buildings, but not many. YOUR OP "calls for" staying in Positano or farther east, depending on how many non-local people you want to see around you, and if you want to go to the beach at all. (Many people don't understand that Ravello is not a beach town!) The hundreds of steps in Positano can give you a hike before you get anywhere! I don't know the smaller towns of the AC, so you might use the Search Box above, or even look at a guidebook.

Even though you're slightly shoulder season, be aware that every May day we went to the Circumvesuviana station in Sorrento, there were more people in line for the very inexpensive SITA bus to Positano/Amalfi than would fit on the next half-hourly bus. No one will contradict me on that observation.

Even though you're slightly shoulder season, be aware that every May
day we went to the Circumvesuviana station in Sorrento, there were
more people in line for the very inexpensive SITA bus to
Positano/Amalfi than would fit on the next half-hourly bus. No one
will contradict me on that observation.

Right-o, Tim. Even in mid-March, on a rainy day, it was 3/4 full. Great value though, as is the oft-maligned Circumvesuviana train. I love it, but would categorize it like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World, only sometimes the drunk wastrels on the ride beg for money or play not-in-tune music!

RE: getting off-topic, I feel the OP needs to understand--as you've alluded to--the logistics of the entire Naples/Amalfi Coast area. Sure, you can get anywhere, but for certain Point A's to Point B's it takes twice to three times longer than you would think, the antithesis of efficient travel. And that's without crowds. Best to tailor your trip and moving around the peninsula with that stuff at the forefront of your mind.

Thanks again to all, appreciate the advice!

You've already gotten a lot of good advice but let me add to it!

We spent three glorious weeks in June centered on the Amalfi Coast and I highly advocate 3 nights in Ravello and 4 nights in Positano. (It's what I would do when we go back!)

Ravello will give you incredible beauty and great hikes including into Amalfi.

Positano is fun and exhilarating and has a port for ferries to Capri or elsewhere. We had an amazing view from the Villa Rosa.

Smart not to drive. We used Umberto Limos Positano and they were wonderful. We used them also for a round-trip xfer for the Path of the Gods, which saved our knees from the thousands of steps, and saved a lot of time.

Enjoy!

Here’s one more option. On the Sorrento peninsula, there is a tiny town called Marina del Cantone, with just a few hotels & restaurants & a tobacco shop. There’s a hotel called Hotel Certosa, right on the sand, with its own restaurant. Absolutely silent at night ... we slept with the French doors to our balcony open, to hear the sea.

The best part is that it’s just a minute’s walk to a boat that can take you to Capri one day, or Amalfi another. No fighting traffic or standing in line. And there are wonderful hikes you can take right from the hotel.

It’s connected via bus to Sorrento, where you can catch the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii.

We absolutely loved this place. We had four nights and wished we had more. We were there in late September. If you are thinking of April or October, check with the hotel first to make sure the boats will be running.