Planning Time in Amalfi Coast Area

IMHO, it is too much to see Paestum, Amalfi and Positano all in one day. You can "see" Positano and Amalfi in one day, but not all three. And for seeing Positano and Amalfi, I would want to do at least part of the trip via ferry, for amazing views of the coast. Your plan for Naples and Pompeii is good.

I think with a private driver for the AC you can do that day. Paestum might be kind of far, but I'll let others weigh in on that since I have not been. For the museum, if that's all you want to see in Naples, can you do it on the day you travel into Sorrento? A one-day Sorrento/Naples/Pompeii day might look like this (times approximate as I am not looking at an actual schedule for the trains) 0800 - leave Sorrento on Circumvesuviana 0915 - arrive Naples 1000 - Museum opens Noon - Depart Museum; Head back to train station and grab some lunch (there's a metro that goes from Garibaldi Station to the vicinity of the museum) 1330 - Circumvesuviana to Pompeii 1400 - arrive Pompeii 1400 -1700 - Tour Pompeii
1700 - return to Sorrento via Circumvesuviana Pompeii is tiring, so prepare yourselves in terms of stamina. It is a lot of walking and the footing is uneven (at best!). You might benefit from a Campania ArteCard, if you can sort through the confusing options on their website.

We will be landing in Rome early enough to spend a half-day in Naples on the way in, we just weren't sure about whether there would be a good place to store our luggage - that was an option we considered, we also couldn't decide what else we would put with Pompeii since that won't need a full day on its own (unless we could do Pompeii and Paestum the same day - there appears to be a train connecting them?).

Paestum is near the top of my list for places in Southern Italy - go for it! If you get an early start from Sorrento, you can go to Paestum after seeing the Amalfi Coast along the highway. Paestum is worth a half-day at least, the archaeological site is extensive, and there's a good small museum, which you can skip if you don't have time for it. In the afternoon, you can stop in Amalfi/Positano on your way back to Sorrento. That will leave the second day for Naples/Pompeii. A private driver will be a big help with the daytrip to Paestum/Amalfi/Positano.

Paestum is the problem because of the distance, but I really want to go to Paestum. I'm figuring that I might eventually make it back to Italy, but maybe not this far South, so I hate to miss it. It would certainly be easier to cut Paestum out of the itinerary!

There are left luggage counters at both Napoli Centrale train station and at the Pompeii entrance. So the Museum and Pompeii sound do-able on the way to Sorrento ... but a looong day. We stayed in Positano - treated ourselves to a hotel with one of those gorgeous terrace views - and day-tripped from there: Amalfi & Atrani. But we had to give up Paestum - just didn't have the day we needed to get there. So good luck - I hope you do.

Nancy,
Pompeii and Paestum on the same day is probably not feasible. The train is not from Pompeii Scavi, by the ruins, but from Pompei the town, and is a Trenitalia line (versus the Circumvesuviana you would use to get to Pompeii Scavi). The train station for Trenitalia is about a mile from the ruins. The train trip is about an hour. Then you are in Paestum and if you are staying in Sorrento it is a long trip back by bus from Paestum to Sorrento. There is no train from Paestum to Sorrento. The idea of a driver to see Paestum and the AC on the same day seems like a better plan. You could see Herculenium (Ercolano) on the same day as Pompeii. It's quite different, less visited and fascinating. Also on the Circumvesuviana.

FYI, based on a PM from someone, here is some clarification on busses. The Rick Steves Italy Guide has info. It is actually two busses: one from Paestum to Salerno, and one from Salerno to Sorrento. Part of the trip can be via train, but at a greater expense. And it is still a looonnngggg trip by my standards.

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone. We've decided to drop Paestum from the itinerary and enjoy a more leisurely day in Positano/Amalfi instead. The money we are saving on the private driver will allow us to do some other things we had cut from the itinerary later in the trip.

I visited the area last fall and also had only three nights staying in Sorrento. I took the train from Rome to Salerno instead of Naples and hired a private driver who spent the day taking us along the Amalfi coast. It was expensive, but it was a wonderful relaxing day having our own personal tour guide who took us to lots of places to stop and wander. If you change your mind about a private driver, this could be a way for you to fit in Paestrum and the Amalfi coast and also solves luggage problems while in transit.

Please forgive me for asking a question here instead of adding information, but I am wondering how you find a private driver and how do you set a price to pay? We are staying in Ostia outside of Rome for a week and want to take a 2-day trip south. We are thinking of a train trip to Salerno and hiring a driver to see the highlights of the Amalfi Coast. Should we head down to Salerno initially, visit the city, then stay there overnight, hooking up with a private driver the next morning to take us through the Amalfi Coastal towns and leaving us at the train station in Naples for our trip back to Ostia? We plan to take a separate day trip to Naples another day. Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

We used the Rick Steves book to find a private driver - I emailed everyone he listed and then evaluated them based on price and how easy they were to work with. Are you considering spending just one night in Salerno? It seems like spending two nights so that you have a dull day there and then leaving for Naples the second morning might be a better use of your time (and less stressful) than making a whole separate trip back for Naples?

we used Sorrento Silver Star car service for a day trip of Amalfi Coast/Paestum. the coast part was pretty fast but gave a good taste of the area. it was an all day trip and IMO Paestum is worth the distance. Another of our days in the area was Pompeii/Mt Vesuvius. it also took pretty much all day.
We spent the better part of a third day in Naples...other than the Museum it was just a big busy city. don't know if you could see the museum on the same day as Pompeii but depending on how long you linger i would think it's doable.