Help with Almalfi Coast Itinerary

👍

We hired a car for eight hours on the AC, from Sorrento. But it's probably up to 300 Euros or more, by now, especially with a one-way, very long drop-off. Still is a good idea.

My only boat rides were ferries to Capri from Sorrento. But being sealed inside an air-conditioned box with 300 of your closest personal friends does not strike me as a sightseeing opportunity. Maybe someone can tell us about an actual romantic boat-trip they took?

I certainly like to minimize hotel changes. But returning to Naples for a daytrip is slightly troubling. Yes, it's entirely practical, and very cheap. We had to spend a night in Naples (late air arrival, no transport to Sorrento), so that gave us a chance to see it, and leave our bags at the hotel while we walked.

You are a little ahead of season, so I wonder if some retail (like in Positano) might still be closed. Don't know, our trips were May and later. I agree that sleeping in Sorrento is ideal transit access for daytrips.

I am sorry we did not have time for a night in Salerno or a trip to Paestum. It's really "far" from Sorrento. This is not a fair judgement because I haven't been to Paestum. But while I would not trade our day at the Valley of the Temples (in Sicily) for anything, our Circumvesuviana trip to Oplontis (a relatively tiny ancient site related to Pompeii) was an intimate and art-history rich visit, almost alone at the ruins. Note that I'm not trying to sell Oplontis to you, I'm just making a comment about (perhaps) how much more "important" it is to see Pompeii than to see Paestum. I am not slamming a place I haven't been! OPINION.

Looks like a good plan although a private driver will not be cheap. There will be plenty of places open for business at that time of the year so no need to worry about that.

I hope you have some time to enjoy Salerno. We spent 4 nights there in 2022. The Apostle Matthew is buried in the Salerno Duomo, and his tomb is worth a visit - very uncrowded.

The owner of our B&B in Salerno drove us to Paestum, and arranged for an excellent private guide to help us appreciate the ruins. The Tomb of the Diver was found in Paestum and definitely justifies a stop at the museum there. Our host also convinced us to visit a water buffalo farm, which we [unexpectedly] very much enjoyed. We also explored a German bunker on the beach at Paestum. The beach at Paestum is lovely, long and sandy, and on that day in April, deserted.

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4716.html

We watch a Positano vlog and Elizabeth and this company are regularly featured. You should reach out to her and she can likely put the whole thing together for you (sea and land). She is Austrian/Italian and easy to chat with.

https://www.bluestarpositano.it/english.htm

Looks more than solid to me. There’s not much to explore in Sorrento, you can assume your flex day will include more sightseeing. Herculaneum is well worth seeing in addition to Pompeii. Or, maybe you take a bus/ferry to Positano or Amalfi that day, and you can maximize your private driver towards other locales.

We used a private car service for a party of 4 on our last trip to the Amalfi Coast on 3 different days. Topexcursionsorrento.com

Giovanni is the owner and all of his drivers speak English and were very knowledgeable about the whole coast. Charges are not cheap but you have the luxury of stopping where and when you want. You will pay more because they are based out of Sorrento so they will have to double back after dropping you off in Salerno. It's a splurge but so worth it.

Thank you all for the feedback! Definitely a few things to think about!