Positano, italy

It’s a very quaint picture perfect iconic town, but like many places like that in Italy, it’s very touristy and expensive.

I’m assuming you will have no car. By bus or ferry or private driver (in order of increasing cost) you can visit Amalfi, Ravello, and other villages along the coast.

If you are into hiking you can consider the “Sentiero degli Dei” (the Path of Gods).

One day you could take a boat excursion to Capri island. There are private boats from Positano or also the regular ferry boat (passengers only, no cars allowed in Capri in summer unless you are a resident).

One day you can consider visiting Pompeii (bus to Meta di Sorrento then Circumvesuviana train from Meta).

One day you might want to chill out at a beach in or near Positano. Beaches on the Amalfi coast are not the Florida sand beaches type, but small pebbly coves with lots of cliffs. Water gets deep very quickly, so make sure you know how to swim.

Visiting Naples is another option, maybe on the same day as Pompeii, which is along the way (the Archeological park at Pompeii will take at least 3 hours to visit, as it is a small city).

Month of year? Next destination?

We are going Sept 16-20 then headed back to Naples to fly back to states

Thanks, the reason I asked is that you can still expect serious crowding in September, both housing and transit. Your budget will have a big effect on decisions. For example, traffic and road quality limit by what hour you can safely plan to wake up in Positano and fly out of Naples. And you may need a car service, because it could take up to 3 public-transit seats to get from Positano to the airport. The problem is that Positano is a largely high-end resort, so drivers know what prices the traffic will bear. Even Sorrento requires departure planning, but there is a (gritty) train as far as Sorrento.

Your hotel could be a few hundred stairs up from any bus stop or ferry terminal. Ask them how you get your luggage to the hotel.

Sorry, this discussion is about sleeping in Sorrento, but it may be helpful to you:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-2-weeks-of-day-trips-from-sorrento

"Best" is subjective. What do you like to do on vacation? I found Positano very pretty, but also pretty dull. We did it on a day trip from Sorrento as part of an Amalfi Coast tour from Sorrento, and spent an hour in Positano which was more than enough. The highlights for us were Amalfi and Ravello-especially Ravello. To me that is the must-see spot on the Amalfi Coast. We considered the Path of the Gods hike but didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting to the starting point. Instead we walked the Path of the Lemons which is between Minori and Maiori. It's a paved path through lemon groves that takes about an hour.

The highlight of our trip was actually Pompeii and the other Vesuvius blast zone sites, but if those are a priority for you I would consider staying in Sorrento instead. To me, staying in Positano means your priority is rest and relaxation and taking in the views. Whatever you choose to do, I highly advise you plan ahead and get an understanding of the transportation challenges along the Amalfi Coast. No matter if you hire a driver, take a bus or book the ferry, it will be challenging, frustrating and often unreliable. As mentioned above, unless your flight is late in the day, I would absolutely not still be in Positano on the day of your flight.

Another quick question… is blue grotto worth the time while visiting Capri? I’ve read mixed reviews. Can you wait to buy tickets the day of? Is there a best to,e of day to go when it is less crowded?

Capri--there are 2 scenarios. Weather: ferries may, MAY go to Capri depending on the weather but the Blue Grotto tours are yet another weather-related scenario. So the ferry may get you to Capri but the sea conditions may not be good for the BG boats. So best to buy the day of if you can.