Parking-Sorrento

Actually I never worry about stuff in my trunk in the US (live near Washington DC), but I see constant warnings about doing this in Italy and have seen anecdotes of people having their luggage stolen. (Full disclosure, I have taken the risk) So, obviously, take anything of vital importance with you (i.e., tablet, passport, medication).
I usually look or parking lots with Google maps, but someone may very well pop in with a specific recommendation.
I would add the month, and also make sure you understand ZTL.

In season, you are unlikely to succeed. There is a big underground pay-garage near the Ambasciatori hotel that fills up at night, but may have space for lunch. 1/3-1/2 mile nice walk to downtown.

All garages have a waiver of responsibility for stuff unwisely visible in the car.

Thanks. Can we use the parking by the ferries or is that too far to walk

There is a big elevation difference, but there's a pedestrian elevator for a couple of Euros. I have no experience with parking at the marinas. Is there a charge?? You may regret having a car, because there is essentially no public parking in Positano or Amalfi. There are limited spaces at Pompeii Scavi. This is not like The Mall of America. (Or Orvieto, for a better comparison.)

When is this drive?
Are you prepared for the traffic congestion in Naples, Sorrento, and in between ? Last May, 2023, we had a private driver for that journey, and it took two hours. The infrastructure for that entire area has been sadly neglected, and there is no efficient or quick way to get around. You will be sitting in traffic congestion, if your trip is April thru October.
I would not leave anything in the car that is essential to your health and well being. Do not open the trunk once you park. Beware of ZLT zones and traffic cameras.
I enjoyed Sorrento and there is so much good food. I hope this excursion works out for you. Good luck!

Our place in Mass Lubrense is about 20 minutes from Sorrento. We need the cars for that reason and it was recommended by the people we are renting from given the location. The rental has a terrific view of the gulf so switching is not an option. Our intent is to only use the cars when we drive back and forth between our rental and Sorrento. I found renting cars with an automatic transmission impossible in Sorrento.

We will be using the ferry to go to Positano.

You didn't give the month of the year, but please come back here after the trip and report on the local driving experience, including parking (I suppose) at the Massa Lubrense Circumvesuviana station for daytrips. Many posters here propose a car rental but we get very few first-hand reports. Thank you.

Will be June 3-7 of this year...will do

We got back from Massa Lubrense and as promised here are my thoughts. We rented a couple of cars in Naples (train station) and drove from there. Will have to say after seeing the traffic in Naples, I had second thoughts about the idea but we went ahead and afer a few minutes we got the rhythm down. Provided you are not a nervous driver and drive within your skill limits and dont get intimdated, it is all doable. The worst part was people walking along the road in sorrento when we were driving back and forth from our place in Massa Lubrense. Not something i would attempt doing.

Parking was not an issue. Several parking lots. We found one that was near all the restaurnts/grocery store/butcher and never had a problem parking. Same for Massa Lubrense. Parking on the street is a different issue. There was also parking at the marina so walking to the ferry from there was a couple of minutes.

Drive from naples to sorrento was about 90+ minutes but we went during the week. When going back on Friday, we noticed the traffic coming into Sorrento was backed up so can see it taking much longer on the weekends. You can rent cars in Sorrento. We opted for Naples as we needed two 5 seater cars with automatic transmission and found that difficult to find. By the way make sure when you are renting that there is not a penalty for returning the car late instead of just a prorated rated. I faced a $1000 surcharge but they ended up removing it.

Thanks for the promised update. Glad it all worked out. I'm assuming you had a great time!

Thanks so much for the valuable first-hand report. I might have added that Sorrento closes a few streets every evening to facilitate their Passeggiata! I would think that makes it harder to get to and from the marinas.

We did have a great time. This may be just us but we were glad to have sorrento at the end as our kids had reached cultural/art saturation max with rome, naples and pompeii. Also, while Capri and Positano were great, you have to really be into shopping or browsing to spend a full day or even half a day. In Capri, after we did the chair lift/villa michelle, all views were similar or paled in comparison. We found a great lunch spot in Positano that opened at 1250 (odd I know) for lunch. You had to spend 60/per person minimum but the food and especially the view made it a great bargain.

Not sure about the passagiata but we did not run into any issues either going in the morning or coming back later afternoon/early evening.