Itinerary help. October in Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi/Ravello and then?

You might be a candidate for Cetara, a smaller village more at the mainland end of the Amalfi Coast. But really, anywhere on the ferry line (till October 31, weather-dependent) is fine, also Atrani, which is a short walk from Amalfi.
Ravello puts you dependent on the bus, as this is an area where a car is an expensive hassle.
Where are you flying home from? You'll likely need to be there the night before, so take that into consideration.
Do you intend to visit Pompeii?
As far as I am concerned, you can dispense with Sorrento and split the time between Naples and a village. It really depends on the day trips you had in mind.
I recommend one of the hiking books devoted to the area--published by Cicerone and Sunflower.

Italian beer has improved light years in the last decade--birra artiginale for the win! If cocktails are more your thing, then of course you have the spritz to look forward to.

Also be aware this area is super popular and finding the charm you are seeking is not guaranteed, but it is jawdropping gorgeous to be sure. You might look at the Cilento coast as well--i paired my stay on the Amalfi Coast with a visit there--there is one I'll be going back to one day!

I second the recommendation of the Sunflower book! So many things in it! My friend and I purchased it to do the Path of the Gods, and though details are sparse in parts (no direction for about an hour of walking), it got us there and got the job done! Val makes some good points, unless you need to be in a "seaside resorty" feeling place while you visit Pompeii and Capri, Sorrento isn't really necessary.

Cetara is neat! Apparently there are a lot of wind surfers there! But I would go for Atrani (with easy access to Amalfi) or at LEAST something with water access (so Cetara might still work, hopefully ALL the ferries go until the end of October?) for multiple options of transportation just in case you need it (or just get tired of one haha).

A car would be a disaster in the Naples/ Sorrento/ AC area. We used Aldo
Limos for transportation Naples> Sorrento > Rome.
We were in the area May, 2023, and were amazed at the traffic and congestion, along with poor public transportation. We did the coastal drive with the private driver, but wish we had instead done the view from the water, on a boat tour, as the land drive is a long day.
RS recommends Mondo shared tours to the various sites, as the prices are so reasonable. We used Mondo for the Pompeii guide and were pleased.
Have a great trip!

You might be a candidate for Cetara, a smaller village more at the mainland end of the Amalfi Coast. But really, anywhere on the ferry line (till October 31, weather-dependent) is fine, also Atrani, which is a short walk from Amalfi.

Will definitely look into that. And I appreciate you mentioning that ravello might not be a good place to stay but to just visit.

I appreciate the advice from someone, maybe it was you, about not staying in Sorrento. That'll save us some time there and we'll just day trip it from Naples Maybe

I do plan on taking my wife to Pompeii as she has never been there.

Regarding your question about returning home to the states. I'm guessing we would likely return home out of Naples but I'm not opposed to moving over to Sicily and returning from there if that's a possibility. We want to see as many cool things as we can so if that takes us over there and it makes sense so we don't have to backtrack that's awesome

We live in the midwest so would probably fly into somewhere like Dallas Houston or Chicago or Minneapolis to get home

Hey I do have another question if anybody can answer. I've already booked my lodging in Rome on the 12th through the 17th of October. I'm wondering if I would be safer weatherwise and with coming towards the end of the season in the Amalfi area if we started our trip there prior to Rome instead of after rome?