Positano vs Ravello for a day-trip

But how many days do you have in Sorrento? It is relatively easy to take a ferry from Sorrento to Amalfi or Positano. Ravello requires a bus ride upon arrival in Amalfi. Paestum does require a private tour to make it worthwhile from Sorrento since it is a two hour drive (that's when avoiding the AC route). I am not sure which town pairs best for the driving day, but knowing the ease you could visit them independently may factor into your decision.

If you are staying in Sorrento and taking the day tour to Paestum I would opt for going up to Ravello. It is a beautiful drive up there and the views are spectacular. You can then take a bus ride (Sita bus from the train station) 1 hour to Positano(Get off at the second stop) on one of the other days you may be in Sorrento. If you do decided to visit Positano by bus check out the ferry back to Sorrento - seeing the coast line from the boat is breathtaking.

Thank you for your suggestions! We have a private driver, so will not have to navigate buses, etc. We have 4 nights in Sorrento, but all of our days are pretty booked with tours of Capri, Pompeii, and Herculaneum/Naples, so we were only able to reserve one day for the other Amalfi Coast towns. Clearly, I'm going to have to come back to spend more time there! :)

Gotcha, that makes sense (AC + Paestum one full day, Capri one day, Pompeii/Herculaneum one very long day). I think Positano is better from the sea and better with time to soak it in, and Ravello is better for its views, so perhaps that helps? If you have any mobility concerns, Positano can be more difficult to walk around. Whereas Ravello is smaller and the walking would be minimal--to the two gardens, snap pics, peek around the main square (we bought some pottery).
Though there is this in Positano: https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2018/07/roman-villa-of-positano-finally-to-open.html
There is also a Roman villa in Minori.

How much time is allowed for this visit?

Positano is steep, lots of high end shopping. As said above prettier from the sea.

Ravello is small, quite beautiful, lots of ceramic shops Our favorite part was the walk to Villa Cimbrone- IIRC about a 15 min walk outside the center and we spent about an hour there- totally worth it for the fabulous views.

Amalfi has a few interesting/historic sites. The Duomo/cloisters/museum is worth a visit.

Ravello is my choice. Absolutely stunning.

I agree with Ravello. Positano I found a bit annoying with all the steps and I agree I enjoyed it more from the sea. We stayed in Amalfi and visited Ravello. I loved Amalfi but Ravello would be my choice for a day trip among the three.

Great suggestions up thread! We enjoyed all the areas that you are considering. I would agree that Ravello is stunning. Excellent choice to visit Paestum. We were blown away by the world’s best-preserved Greek Temples. We were on a culinary tour of the region that also included the Buffalo Farm in the area. This included a tour and a wonderful lunch. We highly recommend the experience & the best Buffalo Mozzarella.
https://www.theitalyedit.com/tenuta-vannulo-mozzarella/

We really enjoyed Paestum. I'd go to Positano. Take the tour of the ruins under the Cathedral. Many great shops. Ravello offers stunning views and is a very small town.

Add another vote for Ravello. The viewers from Villa Cimbrone are stunning, especially if it’s a nice day. We loved the gardens and thought the price of admission was very reasonable. There are also the gardens at Via Rufolo which the RS guidebook recommends. We didn’t have enough time to see them. We ate lunch as Villa Maria overlooking the valley and it felt like being in another world. Once you get up to Ravello, the incline around town is very gradual. There are lots of shops and other places to eat. We stayed in Positano, which is very picturesque (especially at night), but we preferred Ravello.

Wow thanks so much all!! Such fantastic suggestions! And I had no idea there were Roman villa ruins in Positano! That’s amazing! Based on all your feedback, I’m leaning toward Ravello (although those ruins are VERY tempting!)! Thanks again so much! I knew this would be the right place to come for advice! 😃

look at some of the videos by the British ex-pat blogger Nicki Positano to see what the place is like

Hi OP BM,
Positano's steepness is no small consideration. Some find the peripheral view of the town from Belvedere Schiaccone sufficient to have a peek then move on. Of course, water views are also very attractive.
Ravello would provide you with, as mentioned above, some very fine views in a more relaxed place. Ravello is more intimate and less busy. Maybe also check out neighbouring Minori for a more authentic slice of everyday life *at half the price. Ask any Italian, the price point is better at Minori and the other nearby less-popular towns. See 'Sal de Riso' pastry shop there, see the very ending to the associated Stanley Tucci episode, see Gino's Coastal Italy episode there.
Hope it all goes well in the fall.
I am done. The end.

You have some very good replies. I agree that Ravello is very attractive, and that Positano was slightly disappointing to me. I'm sure that Positano is very attractive from the water, but it is not as if there are not attractive vistas "across town" from various places. It's worth noting that having car transport allows you to easily get some Positano views that are harder for, say, bus-daytrippers from Sorrento to see.

It's useful to understand that Ravello is much smaller and more compact than Positano, and highly pedestrianized. OTOH, each walk in Ravello can deliver views better than many in Positano. It's an oversimplification to say that Capri is Positano with more open sunshine and vastly more open space. I mean mainly to emphasize the prominence of high-end European shopping boutiques in both those places. Capri is actually much nicer than Positano.

We gave up on seeing Paestum from 5 nights in Sorrento, which I regret. You should be ready for driving to take up a lot of time, and perhaps ending up with reduced time in Ravello. I agree that Villa Cimbrone is the first place to go (paid admission) if your time is limited. The church and its museum are nice, but missable.

I am not urging you to cut out something else, but be aware that you can buy a five-site ticket at Pompeii or Herculaneum that includes three smaller "villas". We chose Oplontis because it is so easy to get to from a Circumvesuviana stop. It's not a must-see, but a nice contrast with the two huge excavations. And it has its own unique art history aspects.

Be ready for possible sun, heat, and high-mileage walking days. Even May was sweltering for our visit.

Another vote for Ravello - I scanned the replies quickly and didn't notice if anyone mentioned that you can hike down from Ravello to Atrani, then just a few minutes walk to Amalfi. It's gorgeous. If you have bad knees, don't do it, and make sure you take water! We did this in 2014...I think it took maybe an hour? If you are a fan of MC Escher, the church tower in Atrani will be familiar to you.

We have not visited Amalfi or Ravello. We took the boat from Sorrento to Positano with the intention of spending the entire day. After perhaps two hours of vertical walking (hiking, really) we had seen nothing of interest to us….women’s boutiques and jewelry shops is all we recall. We had a coffee and took the next boat out and spent the remainder of the day at Herculaneum. The boat ride along the coast was the best part. Positano called to mind MSM in France where seeing it from afar was more memorable than the visit. Of course everyone has different expectations and interests. Safe travels.