My Rome/Naples/AC Itinerary Planning

Switch the order
Train from Rome to Salerno then ferry to Amalfi

Christine has it right. With 4 of you, taxi to Roma Termini, 30 minutes 48 €. Train Rome-Salerno
2H06m. Ferry to Amalfi 50 min.

If you want to visit Sorrento, take the ferry from Amalfi, much more scenic and less time consuming. Have lunch, then continue on to Naples via the Circumvesuvian. Check into hotel then visit the Archeological Museum. Wander Naples Centro Storico.
Day 2 Naples visit Pompeii Scavi. 35 min. By Circumvesuvian. Do this as early as you can.

Train to Rome the next AM. 1H10m.

I think your plan is pretty solid! I have only a couple minor thoughts. I would maybe just try to do Pompeii first thing Saturday via Circumvesuviana (it might help beat the jet-lag too.) Go early and you will be pretty done by lunch, so plenty of time left for Naples. It seems a bit awkward to do on the way to Amalfi, though having a driver deal with this is certainly convenient and convenience is a worthy investment here. Path of the Gods... I’m not big fan, especially with so little time on the coast. I would absolutely use that day to explore either Ravello, Positano, or Capri even. It was a terrific time/energy drain IMHO and I had a couple more days than you do. Lastly, there’s not much incentive to stopping in Sorrento. It’s a time eater, for a lunch. There’s not a particularly compelling reason to go out of your way for the place. A morning ferry from Amalfi to Salerno, then to Rome is nice and easy. If you do Sorrento though, I would totally go via ferry. It’s much more pleasant mode of travel with spectacular views.

Do you really want your niece and nephew's first impression of Italy to be Naples? Jetlagged on top of that? Maybe bite the bullet and just slog onward to the AC (train to Salerno, then driver to Amalfi). Start the trip by a day just relaxing and enjoying the scenery - take the ferry along the coast and or bus up to Ravello, explore Amalfi . . . Hike on the next day, when everyone's more rested. Then Naples, finally Rome.

I think stopping in Sorrento is a bad idea. You'd have your luggage with you. I doubt there's luggage storage at the Circumvesuviana ("CV") station. Salerno has more to see and do, and good restaurants. There's the medieval center and the large beach/promenade. Sorrento doesn't have sights. There are trains from Salerno to Rome. The CV is not a proper train, it's a commuter metro. You'd need to traverse the Naples station to get to the real trains and since the CV is unreliable (often late), you'd need to allow more time for your connection.

Day trip to Pompeii from Naples on the CV.

There is luggage storage in Sorrento.
So if you do intend to visit,it's available.

https://bagbnb.com/luggage-storage/sorrento/city-center/luggage-storage-city-center

Absolutely train to Salerno from Naples, then ferry. Seeing the magnificent Amalfi Coast from the sea is a vision not to be missed. It was actually one of our most memorable 90 minutes of the trip.

Thank you all for your thoughts! I was trying to avoid a crazy first day getting to the AC by relaxing in Naples, but now I'm back on eliminating Naples and gaining the extra time in Amalfi (and just having 2 hotels). We loved Salerno last trip, so connecting through there will be a good respite. LMK if the below makes sense with those adjustments, plus a few new questions:

• Where does Pompeii best fit in when we remove Naples? Perhaps we get a driver to leave Amalfi, go to Pompeii, then dropped at the train in Naples to get back to Rome?
• So a taxi from FCO to Termini is the fastest option vs the Leonardo back to Termini, but what's the price differential? I thought Leonardo trains were pretty frequent/quick/cheap...
• Any other don't-miss items to add?

ITINERARY:
- Friday, Day 1 - Arrive FCO 125pm -> taxi/Leonardo to Termini -> Salerno via 2-hour train -> Amalfi via ferry
- Saturday, Day 2 - Amalfi (Ravello, Capri, etc)
- Sunday, Day 3 - Amalfi (Ravello, Capri, etc)
- Monday, Day 4 - Amalfi (Ravello, Capri, etc)
- Tuesday, Day 5 - Amalfi ferry to Salerno -> 2-hour train back to Roma (or driver to Pompeii?)
- Wednesday, Day 6 - Rome
- Thursday, Day 7 - Rome
- Friday, Day 8 - Rome
- Saturday, Day 9 - Rome
- Sunday, Day 10 - Rome -> Depart at 915am

Your new itinerary looks great, much less transferring, more relaxed.

The Leonardo Express takes 32 minutes 14€
So with four of you the taxi is less expensive.
Travel time will be comparable unless you hit rush hour traffic.

Found this for Amalfi-Pompeii.

https://www.thetravelbrief.com/briefs/pompeii-best-way-to-get-to-pompeii-from-amalfi-coast

Check with your lodging for a recommendation.

We don't have children, but I wonder if 20-somethings might find Amalfi a little too quiet? It's not clear how much time you are willing to spend visiting other towns from Amalfi. Maybe it's a key fact that two bus lines ORIGINATE in Amalfi, that is, Sorrento-Amalfi and Amalfi-Salerno. That means that (even before June 1 the busses are plenty busy) you may escape the worst crowds if you elect to save money with SITA bus services.

I personally find the Amalfi Coast towns to be too isolated for me. "Having" to see Pompeii as part of the transfer to Rome is a deal-breaker for me, but I had wanted to see Pompeii most of my adult life! I was glad to have unlimited time there. (And we chose to see Oplontis and Pompeii by Circumvesuviana on another day.) Not saying that should be important to you at all. Naturally, a car service will charge extra for waiting time while you are inside Pompeii. Make it clear how long you'll be inside when you book that car service trip.

Try to check the bus/ferry schedules. It looks like you’ll be arriving in Salerno around 4pm if you’re lucky? That may be to late for ferry, though I think the bus is still going. That said, there’s a big difference between pushing on to Naples/Sorrento/Salerno, and pushing even further onto Amalfi. That’s a long day. I’d still vote for a night or two in one of those places to facilitate a visit to Pompeii and make the start of that trip a little easier. I’d hate to see you skip Naples.

Thanks all! Good point about the timing and the last ferry from Salerno to Amalfi. I'll have to figure out if that will be a reasonable day and if we can make it all the way to the hotel in Amalfi.

I'm a little bummed about missing Naples, which I surprisingly loved last trip, but my niece/nephew are the ones that asked for the AC in general, and Amalfi came up as a good home base town to see the whole area. So while I could probably talk myself back into staying in Naples or Salerno a night, I'll probably try to push through and get all the way to Amalfi so we can wake up there vs having 3 home bases for not a very long trip.

And thanks for the link to the way to get to Pompeii - very helpful and I should have googled it :)

Any other tips or ideas are welcomed - grazie mille!

Regarding Tim's concern that Amalfi might be too quiet for your niece and nephew. If they need a nite out, have them look at ...

http://www.musicontherocks.it/music_en.php

In Positano. They would need to taxi back to Amalfi if they miss the last bus.