Is this doable : One day Trip Naples to Pompeii to Amalphi and back to Naples

Think it will be a long day, but should work.
The last ferry from Amalfi to Salerno, however is 17:10 so you may need to adjust your exploration of Positano and Amalfi.

We did a shore excursion Naples-Sorrento-Positano-Pompei from 8am to 5pm. We had a private driver so we did not have to wait for transfers or connections and had a pre-planned lunch at a restaurant. I found it tiring and a bit rushed. You are doing a lot more, need to deal with an extra meal, and are covering more distance and sites using public transportation with only approximately an extra 2.5 hours. If you have more stamina, rush, keep stops to a quick look, time your connections perfectly and eat on the train, it may be possible.

While that might be feasible, it's going to be a long & tiring day. If there are any transportation disruptions on your carefully planned route, that could be a problem.

What about "la dolce vita"?
What about doing less and appreciate more?
I though I was a quick traveller but I just don't see how you can do this and appreciate.
You can spend a whole day in Pompei, there's so much to see.
In Amalfi there's a nice museum. You can take boat rides to enjoy the unbelievable views of the coast.
You want to enjoy? Cut it in half at least. It's just my opinion but to fully enjoy Italy, you have to learn la dolce vita. Stop for a gelato, stop for a coffee, stop for people watching, stop to appreciate the unbelievable history surrounding you, unbelievable sceneries surrounding you.
This is my opinion, very respectfully.
Claude

you could possibly do what you plan, but you haven't allowed enough time for the transportation parts. all you would be doing is waiting in line to buy tickets, waiting for the transportation to depart, then going to the next place. enough time to take a few photos etc then doing it all again, and again. a real shame to miss so much there is to see.
that said, some of the places eg: pompeii can be done in a few hours, and there will be a lot of walking. and it relies on the ferries operating?

Thanks everyone for the responces, really appreciate the input and advice.
Even though i listed a lot of places in my itinerary, some of them are really just because of necessity of the travel.
Example I dont intend to visit Sorrento or Salerno they are just plces of transfer.
The focus at this time is only Pompeii and Amalfi, so really want to cover these two in a day.
If there is a direct non stop Bus from Pompeii to Positano or Amalfi I would gladly take it but I could not find it. And then the only fastest way back from Amalfi to Naples is from Salerno.

I understand the idea of soaking it all up "la dolce vita" rather than do a whirlwnd tour, but at this time I have no choice.
Some of you have questioned the dependency of Bus and local train, are they not completely reliable?

The last two ferries from Amalfi to Salerno are at 5:45 and 7:10 PM, at least thats what one of the website for booking indicates. These are the timings.
10:35 12:45 14:10 16:15 17:45 19:10
Are these ferries subject to closure, maybe becasue of bad weather? I guess that is a possibility.

While it may be logistically possible to execute your itinerary, its hard to image that you will have a sense of enjoyment at the end of your day. Just the sense of "I did it!" Of course its a subjective thing, so there is no right or wrong answer, but are you traveling to enjoy the experience, or check off a list of "places I went"?

Unless you are in your 90s and have no prospect of ever going back to Italy, I would pick one thing and do it well and enjoy it.

How is the option of a rental car from Naples.
After reading a bit on this site, i see the following issues.

1. Cars without special permit not allowed into the Naples Central area where the Train station is where all the pickup locations are. Can i assume that if the rental agency has a pickup inside that zone then those cars are allowed in that zone?

2. Traffic and driving condition in the Campania region. Is it okay for a driver from USA to manage in this region. I drive the manual tramission here so no problem in that department.

3. Parking at Pompeii and Amalfi, is that an Issue?

It feels like if you have your own transportation you could do this saving some time.

And yes this tour right now is to just check the places (tick mark that I did it) in a whirlwind tour. I am not going to spend too much in a place on my first visit. Once i get a good idea after my first visit, i will decide on where to spend time in leisure on subsequent visits.
Italy can be done in a week or in a month this is my first foray here and i am going with the 1 week thing.

Kindly advice about the rental car option. Much appreciated.

Italy can be done in a week or in a month...

LOL. Rome wasn't built in a day and can't be seen in one. Just sayin'.

Your OP does not give the month of the year. That matters because of extreme tourist congestion from, say, May to September. When we were in Sorrento in the last week of May, the line for the bus to Positano was, every day, longer than would fit on the next bus. With an average service interval of 1/2 hour, that means an average wait for a seat to be 45 minutes. And that's just for the first bus.

Your ferry plan would be affected by the actual (and indeed, seasonally adjusted) schedule, and the fact that the last ferry of the afternoon can often be "full" of people seeking a day out. I don't know if the Salerno ferries are less busy than the ones using Sorrento and Positano.

You seem to be conflating "Amalfi" and "the Amalfi Coast." Amalfi is a town. What towns do you want to see, as opposed to pass through? That can't be read from your OP. It matters because the bus to Positano continues to Amalfi. But getting off in Positano means, of course, waiting for another period of time when boarding a bus onward to Amalfi. It might be wiser to settle for Positano, the more photogenic of the two towns, and return to Sorrento on the bus, and take the Circumvesuviana back to Naples.

However, our host, Rick Steves, has written in his books that in high season, the return bus I just suggested (which runs from Amalfi to Sorrento) sometimes fails to stop in Positano because it is already full. Your plan is "precarious" because it is so ambitious. You are also wasting precious time seeing more than you need to. On this board, that is called "ticking the boxes."

Tim, this is in April this year.

I stand corrected on the ferry times. Travelmar does run a 17:45 and 19:15. So you're ok there as long as you have good weather, and routes arn't canceled.

Think about this option for the car. Which I'm normally reclucant to recommend to a newcomer to the area.

Train to Pompei scavi. Visit ruins. Pick up rental car in Pompeii (taxi to rental co)
There should be a company that will rent for 1 day.

Make your way to the A3/E35 exit at Angri, then the SP1 to Amalfi. Should take around 1 1/2 hrs. This is a beautiful drive thru the hills down to the coast. Ravello is on the way.

Amalfi... May take you some time to find parking.

This route eliminates travel along the coast road which is so time consuming due to the fact you can't go any faster than the busses in front of you.

Hope this helps.

Personally, I would hire a private driver. We've done a similar route twice, using Amalfi Coast Destination Car Service (they were recommended to us, -- I have no affiliation). We basically toured from Naples, and we stopped with time to roam around at Amalfi, Positano and Pompeii. The first time we used them, we were staying in Rome for 4 nights, so on our last full day we took the train to Naples very early, and the car met us at the train station, and then returned us there in time for a 6 pm train back to Termini. It was a glorious trip.

The second time, was during a cruise stop at Naples. We were with a friend and wanted him to have the same, wonderful experience we had, so we did the same trip, this time the car picked us up, and dropped us off at the Naples cruise port.

Both times, the drivers were wonderful. Excellent English, were "local", and very informative and professional. We stopped for a wonderful lunch. Our stop at Pompeii was just long enough (the driver waited; we toured the site using RS free audiotour on our iphones).

I must say that both times we kept thinking how GLAD we were that we weren't doing the driving. You couldn't possibly enjoy the drive as much if you had to keep your eyes on the road -- some of the drive was quite white-knuckled! Of course he stopped several times on the lookouts for photo ops.

It is such a beautiful area. If possible, it is worth the splurge so that you can maximize the spectacular scenery there. (And, I definitely wouldn't drive it myself -- and we have driven in Italy.)

Cheers,
Vivian

Thanks Vivian for suggesting the Amalfi Coast Destination Tours Company. I am reading a lot of reviews about them after reading your post and it seems they are an excellent choice for the type of trip i am undertaking. I just wrote a mail to them with my plan. Lets see what they come up with.
I have been reading about renting a car myself and driving in this area the whole day today and had come to conclusion that its not advisable for me to drive on my first trip atleast, specially this area.
This could be a saving grace.
Can you please let me know how much did they charge for you? Wanted to keep this as reference when i talk to them.

Cheers

I wouldn't recommend renting a car. Keep in mind that each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). *Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot!

You'd also have to be extremely careful to avoid the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities. Hefty fines will result for each pass through one!