Driving from Rome to Sorrento - anywhere we must stop?

If you don't already have Pompeii on your itinerary, I'd vote for a stop there. The "scavi" (archaeological ruins) at Pompeii comprise an entire city, so you won't see the whole thing in a drive-by lunch stop, but a short stop would be better than bypassing Pompeii altogether, IMO. The town of Pompeii is OK but not the main attraction -- if you want to see the "scavi" and eat at the same time, here is a description of what's available
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187786-i1888-k2041521-Pompeii_Scavi_Places_to_eat-Pompeii_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html

If you're already planning to see Pompeii at another point on your itinerary, you could use the drive from Rome to Sorrento for a stop at Herculaneum (Ercolano) or even dig a little deeper with Oplontis (Villa Poppeaea), right outside Torre Annunziata -- fascinating and not one of the places where "everybody" goes.

Thank you epltd. Yes we are planning trips to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mt Versuvuis and the coast drive to Amalfi and Positano. I was just trying to plan the drive and stop to Sorrento.

Thanks so much, I will check out that town out.

How much time are you allowing? Planning on taking a few days? or just a Morning?

Do some research on what to do with the car while you are in Sorrento. In late May, we saw long lines of cars at the underground parking garages every evening. There are some downtown street closure (for the Passeggiata) every night in Sorrento. Perhaps if you're staying on the periphery, it is not a concern? Sorrento has fast public transportation to Pompeii, Naples, and Herculaneum, especially when you have no luggage with you. We slept in Sorrento five nights and made many day trips.

Since you’re visiting both Pompeii and Herculaneum, consider a stop at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The treasures unearthed at those sites are displayed here. And of course, it is the UNESCO recognized home of Pizza 🍕.

Thank you Paul and Tim for the info.

We have a car for our entire trip thru Italy and Switzerland. The Airbnb we are staying at has a private parking spot for us. That is the kind of research I did well before booking anything. Yes we are spending 3 nights, we are actually staying in Sant'Agnello, with day trips to all the sites I mentioned above.

I am now at the point of just trying to figure out if there is a place that people recommend stopping at as a must see on our drive from Rome to Sorrento or if we just have a late lunch in the Sorrento area once we arrive after leaving Rome at 8am.

Thanks :)

Figuring a stop-over of a couple hours plus a bit slower travel by getting off the Autostrada, I would plan on getting to Sorrento late afternoon.

As for stops, depends a bit on interest, Anzio and Monte Cassino are popular with WW2 buffs, but for general interest, I would drive closer to the coast (slower than the Autostrada) and maybe target a town like Gaeta for lunch and a stroll. It is a bit over halfway, only a bit over two hours directly, longer if you go down the coast.

If you have any interest in gardens and palaces, this is located just about half way between Rome and Sorrento.

http://www.madeinsouthitalytoday.com/caserta-royal-palace.php

For parking, just follow signs for the train station. Parking underground.

Thanks for the link gerri - that's great!

Smart idea to check out about parking for the place you are staying....very few parking places in the cliff towns of Sorrento and the Almalfi coast for day visitors. I don't know what the parking situation is like in Pompeii, but you could also drive down, unpack and then take the train back to Pompeii for the afternoon.