Planning and traveling help from Rome to Sorrento

I suggest taking the train and not getting a car. You are not allowed to drive into any of the cities mentioned with a car, it's hard and expensive to find parking and gas is expensive. A car for this type of trip is just a hassle.

You can take public transportation to all the cities/sites you mention. From Rome you'll take the high speed train to Naples. There you'll change to the commuter train to Sorrento. You take that same commuter train to get to Pompeii or stop in Naples. You take a bus to get to Positano and a ferry to get to the AC. It's all very easy.

This plan, to visit all these places, will require at least a week if not more time. If you don't have that much time you'll need to cut out some sites.

Donna

I would count nights, not days.

You can visit Pompeii on the way from Napoli to Sorrento (Pompei Scavi stop has baggage storage), then continue by train to Sorrento, change to a bus or ferry to get to Positano. Check schedules now.

Pompeii needs a half-day, the Amalfi Coast at least one full day, Napoli a full day. You have no time for "etc.", unless you mean the small towns along the coast (in your Amalfi Coast day). You could see Napoli on the way back to Roma if you get an early start from Positano, leave your luggage at the Napoli Centrale station while you sightsee, and get to Roma that evening.

We toured Pompeii en route to Sorrento via the train. We stowed bags at train station. We arranged a personal guide for Pompeii and he met us on the platform. ( I used him years before so I knew what he looked like). We then got back on train to Sorrento and a short walk to hotel. We had a private driver (wonderful) that we hired from Aldo limos. He picked us up at hotel at 830 am. We had a full day visiting Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and the Amalfi drive. Tonino arranged a great place for us to stop for lunch.

The next day we took ferry to Capri where we also had an open air taxi waiting for us. That was about a 5 hour day but we hit all the major site.

We did a lot in 2.5 day/ 3 nights in Sorrento. I recommend touring Pompeii en route. We were also going to visits Vesuvius with the same Pompeii guide but weather was too blustery.

QUICK! Get Rick Steves' Italy guidebook! I'll wait...

Then, I would allow 3 full days for the Amalfi region: one day for Pompeii/Naples, one full day for Sorrento itself, and one day for whatever else. The guidebook has the transportation info. I have no idea what time your airplane arrives into Rome nor where you're flying from (how exhausted you'll be - West Coast vs East Coast, etc.) , but even if you manage to arrive to Sorrento by early afternoon (highly doubtful!) I wouldn't count that as a 'sight-seeing' day. So that's 4 nights.

If I arrived into Rome from the USA then had to make my way down to Sorrento (several more hours), there's no way I could attempt something like Pompeii, but that's me. Know Thyself. I can't sleep on the airplane and my flights usually depart at 6:00 AM, so I'd arrive after having been wide awake for basically around 48 hours. Ouch. Rick Steves can do it, but I think he only needs 2 hours of sleep a night LOL! He and I are NOT wired the same.

I would use trains.

never,

Travelling from Rome to Sorrento after a long international flight will be a big of a grueling journey, but certainly possible. It would NOT be advisable to rent a car after and drive in a jet lagged state, especially at this time of year. Public transit will be a much easier (and safer) choice.

You might consider something like this.....

• After collecting luggage and going through Passport control, go to the airport rail station. Buy tickets for Leonardo Express from the airport to Roma Termini (DON'T forget to validate prior to boarding the train, or hefty fines are likely!) AND from Rome to Napoli Centrale.
• Travel to Roma Termini, check the electronic display for your next train to Naples. That train will be a high speed Freccia and more comfortable (ie: air conditioning!).
• Prearrange a private transfer from Napoli Centrale to your hotel in Sorrento. You could look at the Monetti Taxi listed in the guidebook. While it's a more expensive option, the alternative (Circumvesuviana) would be brutal at this time of year, and you'll probably find it's the best money you've ever spent. If Monetti isn't available, there are other transfer services and hopefullly some of the others will have recommendations if you need them.

Three days is not a long time for exploring the Amalfi Coast. Keep in mind that it's going to be hot and crowded, and you'll also be dealing with jet lag for the first few days so you may be operating at a slower speed than normal.

There's no rail service to Positano but you can get there either by Bus or Taxi (or private transfer). You'll need to use the Circumvesuviana to reach Pompeii and Naples. That will probably be a bit of an adventure and be sure to wear Money Belts and watch your belongings carefully (ie: Cameras). As far as seeing the "Amalfi Coast", it's a large area and I'm not sure how much you'll be able to see with such a short time frame.

Buon Viaggio!

There are shuttle bus services available direct from FCO to Sorrento, avoiding transfers in Rome and Naples.
http://www.sorrentoshuttle.com/

You have already missed the opportunity to get a discount high-speed (Frecciarossa) train from Rome to Naples, but it's incredibly speedy. Or you can take a conventional train to Naples. Your destination is ideal for traveling on your own, with no guide, and mostly by public transportation. The problem is that it's the tourist high season, and you will wait a long time for the public bus from Sorrento to Positano, and any ferries will be jammed as well. Even in may, there was always more than one busload of people waiting for the next one of these busses. There is a higher-priced private bus company you might want to look into, if you can't afford a car service:

I suggest that you set aside money for an 8-hour car and driver for the Amalfi Coast day, at least 250 Euros. Personally, stopping at Pompeii (on the commuter railroad, no reservations, Circumvesuviana) on arrival day isn't worth it, but if you want to fill every moment with tourism, there is a bag check at the Pompeii Scavi entrance. The other issue is sun and heat. Many people choose to visit Pompeii at the opening hour.

I suggest you use the Search bot at the top of the page to read some of the many past posts about your itinerary.

Have you seen this tour company which has partnered with Rick Steves . . . we've booked them for a day in October - we are doing the Amalfi Coast one.
https://www.sharedtoursmondoguideforricksteves.com

We are still debating between Pompeii vs Herculanium, but we plan to take the train from Sorrento when we make our decision.