Naples/Amalfi Coast Itinerary

I'd eliminate as much unnecessary travel as necessary such as switching hotels for one night in Amalfi. Transportation in the region will be chaotic and confusing, change that to chaotic and expensive if you use a private driver. No matter your method of transportation it can be slow and you'll waste valuable exploring time. I'd probably choose to base in either Sorrento or Salerno, but not both for such a short visit.

A quick visit to Pompeii may be all you'll want so I won't judge, but in our 2 weeks in Sorrento in 2023 we spent about 11 hours over two days at Pompeii.

Personally we loved Capri much more than any of the towns on the Amalfi Coast. So much so that it's a target for an extended start in the future. We found Positano beautiful, but highly overrated for anything more than 1-2 hours.

My husband and I will be visiting the Amalfi Coast/Sorrento area in September, our second time. I agree with Allan, it will be a better use of your time to eliminate unnecessary travel. Even with a private driver (which we did on our first trip), travel times can be slow. For what you outline in your itinerary, Sorrento may be a better base.

One other note on ferries, especially for Positano. If the weather is bad, ferries can get cancelled. One of the reasons we are going back in September is when we went in late May 2023, the weather was so bad, we couldn't get ferries to Capri or Positano.

Specifically on your day 2, we did the same thing, we had a private driver pick us up in Naples and drive use to Sorrento with a few hours in Pompeii. It was a very efficient way to combine travel time between hotels with sightseeing and our guide was excellent. 2 hours was a great introduction, but as Allan mentioned, you could spend hours in Pompeii.

On your specific question, is there enough to do for 3 days on the Amalfi coast, even without hiking, for my husband and I the answer is yes and on our upcoming trip, we are allocating a week split between Sorrento (great transit hub) and Ravello. There are some fantastic cooking schools (Mama Agata in Ravello), wonderful tours (last time we took a tour with Daniele owner of Wine Tour Amalfi coast which included a pick up at our hotel in Positano and the visits to Amalfi and Ravello before lunch, tour, and tasting in Tramonti https://www.winetouramalficoast.com/. We are reserving Daniele for another tour when we visit in September and while he has certain standard experiences, he is open to modifying to suit your needs. Also, many people use Sorrento only as a transit hub, but since we were rained out from excursions on our last trip, we spent more time in Sorrento, including an amazing food tour and lemon grove tour.

Lastly, if you have challenges with arthritis, Positano, maybe a challenge as it is a vertical village. Spending time in Amalfi or Ravello may be easier for you and both have amazing sights to visit. If you go to Amalfi, you can visit Cimitero Monumentale and there is an elevator that will take you to wonderful panoramic views, avoiding the 400 steps up.

I agree with everything Allan and SandyO have shared. We were also on the AC during that horrible weather in May, 2023, when many ferries were canceled. Folks staying in Positano were stranded, and couldn't get out. The Positano dock is smaller, so services smaller ferries, and has been vulnerable to damage by the storms.
We used Aldo Limos, who I highly recommend. Christina, in the office, is a Brit, so email communication in English went smoothly. They put together a package deal, and accepted USD, at a fair exchange rate, and provided a written receipt. Hope all goes well.
Have a great trip.

In October 2025 we spent 3 nights in Atrani and 2 on Capri. What we did was take the morning train from Rome to Salerno and then the bus to Atrani. Atrani is a beautiful town adjacent to Amalfi town but without the tourists - there is a tunnel connecting them (about a 10-15 minute walk). Amalfi is a transportation hub for busses and ferries. During our trip we visited Amalfi several times as well as Ravello by bus with a great hike back down to Atrani. We also visited Positano by bus with a return back to Amalfi via ferry (should have taken the ferry both ways). We went to Capri via ferry from Amalfi and then returned to Naples on another larger ferry. Amalfi, Positano and Capri were all packed with tourists and the locals said the busy season now extends to mid-October. Ravello and Atrani not so much. For what it's worth, I would not stay in Salerno but instead stay in either Amalfi or Atrani. Salerno doesn't have the beauty of the AC.

I have spent hardly any time on the Amalfi Coast, but after looking at a map, I'm confused about your plans. Amalfi is located between Positano and Salerno. I know Salerno is less expensive than the Coast (and I like Salerno), but if I were spending a night in Amalfi, I'd try to visit Positano from there, rather than from Salerno. That would require less travel time.

We liked Anacapri way better than the town of Capri. We wished we had stayed overnight on the island because the last ferry back to Sorrento leaves fairly early. At the very least, it would have been better to start in Anacapri and leave Capri to the end.

Not sure what you mean by a boat tour to Ravello. It’s way up on a cliff. Don’t skip it, however. In my opinion, it’s the most beautiful of the AC towns. Because it’s way high up, you can get breath taking views of the coast. It has a pretty little cathedral and 2 villas wth gardens.

You can't "take the train from Rome to Ravello."

Why that 1 night in Amalfi?
Just stay in Salerno-easier to get to Naples from there
Visit Amalfi and Positano together pPositano only needs an hour or 2

I would visit Paestum from Salerno

What time is your flight? I would not be in Amalfi the night before

I’m in agreement that the 3 different overnights seems a little messy and unnecessary. But I’d say if you’re splurging on the private driver, then I’d take advantage of that and cut Salerno versus cutting Amalfi as others have suggested. My take is, if you want to see the Amalfi Coast you need to stay on the Amalfi Coast. Sightseeing on the coast is all about negotiating the day trip crowds. There’s thousands of people on the daily making their way to the coast towns from Sorrento, Salerno, Naples, etc. While they are stuck in traffic, you’ll be enjoying the towns at their best before they are choked with daytrippers.

I think there’s an advantage to keeping Sorrento. It will make a nice break after your Naples/Pompeii day, and is probably the optimal launchpad for Capri.

When/how you need to get to the airport is an important question. You might consider flipping things, and staying those last two nights in Sorrento on your way out.

Amalfi Coast via Naples is a favorite spot of ours and the way to enjoy it is with a driver. I agree with others that to move hotels to Salerno and Amalfi is too messy. Day 4 you can go to Amalfi and Ravello and back to Sorrento, and I think you can squeeze in Positano too (we did) as it doesn't need a whole day, especially if you don't want to walk too much. Use the extra day to explore Sorrento. To answer your question, is there enough to do, absolutely!!! Between Naples and the Coast there is a winery/farm that we visited that served a wonderful terrace lunch, and let us taste from the barrel. I'm sure there are many of these. There are lemon tours, or lemon walks, that I still need to do (and will in July). There are ceramics and limoncello places (ask the driver to take you to the least touristy). And then there are views for days, where you can enjoy a glass of wine or whatever.