Day trips from Rome

Four days in Rome will barely scratch the surface and mid-May is not yet beach season so I would not spend time going to the Amalfi Coast or Sorrento. It would not be relaxing as you need two trains just to get to Sorrento then a bus to Amalfi.

Consider, if you cannot find enough to keep you interested in Rome, a day trip to Tivoli and the amazing Villa d'Este gardens. they are magnificent any time but spring is particularly lovely. Just a wander through the garden and lunch at a restaurant in the town (I really like this place https://www.tavernaquintilia.it/) can make for a pleasant low-key day.

Rick has many suggestions, you should review them. Amalfi coast would be too hard.

Most would consider this blasphemy, but it appears the train to Florence is 1.5 hours ...

There is nothing wrong with taking a break from Rome. Rome can be very intense. There are a lot of things you can do within an hour or so with bus or train ride. Rick's has good recommendation in his Rome book. Areas such as the Amaifl coast is just two far. Two good Rome examples would be Ostia Antica and Tivoli and Villa d'Este. You could do Hadrian's Villa but it is bit more completed.

Orvieto makes a nice day trip

For a relaxing break from Roma, you can’t beat Villa d’ Este.

https://www.visittivoli.eu/le-ville/villa-d-este&lang=EN

I second the suggestion to go to Orvieto. There's nice places to walk and shop, the cathedral is magnificent, and there is an underground cave tour with interesting historical information.

A direct train from Rome to Salerno takes 1h 30m. You would then have to hop on a ferry to get to Positano (1h 15m). The bus from Positano back to Salerno takes 2h and then you have to take the train again to get back to Rome (1h 45m).

A change of pace and easy to reach- Ostia Antica

I'll agree with the others that the Amalfi Coast is too ambitious for a day trip, especially if what you're looking for is "somewhat relaxing". To achieve that in the AC region, you really need the time to stay there a few days (or more).

If you are counting your arrival day in Rome in your 4 days, and if that arrival day involves coming off an international flight, you likely, more accurately, have 4 nights/3.5 days to work with. That partial arrival day could also be a jet-lagged fog. 4 nights/3.5 days is my personal recommended minimum for first-timers to Rome as there's so much ground to cover there. If you're going to be "hard traveling" elsewhere, why not just stay in Rome and try to absorb it on a bit less than breakneck speed? That will give you some space to explore elsewhere than the overrun, most-visited attractions.

Heck, even if you DO have four FULL days to work with, I'd make good use of that breathing room and spend them all in Rome. We've been more than once, and one of those stays for a week, without running out of - or randomly into - interesting things to see. :O)

What is on your activity list for the Eternal City?

Great feedback! Thanks so much. I will have 4 full days in Rome. Have Vatican St. Peter’s basilica and Sistine Chapel covered. Just starting to create an itinerary any suggestions are most appreciated!

\What sorts of things are you interested in? Grouping attractions by area is an efficient way to cover ground; saves some shoe leather. You just need to be aware of the days/hours certain attractions are closed, and those which mandate advance, timed-entry tickets.

I agree with the consensus. Stay in Rome. After our 1st trip to Rome we thought we didn't need to go back. But then our next Italy trip took us there and we found so much more to see. Coming up on our 4th trip there and the list of places and foods we want to experience there just keeps getting longer. I'm sure people who have traveled to Rome many more time than we have would say the same thing. Rome is endlessly interesting and worthy of your complete attention.

Unless you are sleeping near a big train station, Sorrento alone is a three-seat ride. You are not making a good choice. By the way, in the last week of may, every time we walked by the Sorrento train station, there were too many people waiting for the SITA bus to Positano/Amalfi to fit on the next, half-hourly, bus. You need to do a lot more research about this.

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

(By the way, Sorrento is nice enough, but it is a purpose-built, postwar, reinforced-concrete town, built on a cliff with essentially no beaches.)

We are going to be in Rome for a week in a couple of weeks and are doing a day trip to Pompeii. The Amalfi Coast seemed like too much travel. We are going to save that for the next trip to Italy.

Four full days in Rome does not allow time for day trips unless it is a repeat visit there.

Four full days in Rome does not allow time for day trips

I agree!

Thanks for all the feedback. We’ll most likely stay in Rome or may check out Orvieto.