private driver Rome-Pompeii-Amalfi or Sorrento

We used Aldo Limos this past May. Christina, in the office, is a Brit, so communication was easy. She accepted USD with a fair exchange rate, and gave us a package deal with three days of using their services. I'm sure you know the private drivers are very expensive. Just going to Rome from Sorrento was around 500 euros.
Fall no longer has the benefits of being a shoulder season; it will still be crowded, so don't wait on looking for accommodations. You don't mention budget or for how many people.
You can check your luggage at Pompeii.
Mondo tours does shared transportation , AC Coast tours,and Capri trips.
I wouldn't stay in Positano, as there's not much to do there, it's overrated IMHO, and if the weather is bad, the ferries won't be running, which lock you in.
Hopefully you are prepared for the traffic gridlock and the lack of transportation infrastructure. There is no quick and efficient mode to get anywhere. Even private cars have to sit in congestion.
Have a great trip.

https://search.ricksteves.com/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Private+drivers+Amalfi+coast&button=

JR, this company below also has a good reputation. door-to-door service from Rome to the Amalfi coast

https://mydaytrip.com/landing/rome-to-amalfi?imageId=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuNemBhCBARIsADp74QSxZcy3oVwsEWyUspQwqh_9_iinlzJLrvpAdVuDcs4gQG0QKY1Wn7kaAgPQEALw_wcB

I suggest you do a little more research. It is impossible to leave the town of Amalfi after waking up and fly out of Rome the same day. Similarly, it is difficult to do quick or inexpensive excursions from Amalfi. You need to download the off-season ferry schedule, since the currently posted schedule may not be in effect for your dates.

Variations on your question are asked here a few times a year, so the search box top center may be very helpful. I would not pay the money for a three hour, one-way car service from Rome. It is true that a hotel in Rome is a three-seat ride on public transportation to Sorrento, and that the Circumvesuviana (commuter rail) train from Naples to Sorrento can be very hot and crowded. However, the Frecciarossa premium train from Rome to Naples is about 1.25 hours less than the equivalent car drive.

The majority of people sleeping in Sorrento visit Pompeii on that gritty commuter train, but of course without luggage. (Pompeii does have reliable luggage storage, for those on public transportation with a low budget.) I would think that two hours (absolute minimum to visit Pompeii) of the driver sitting in the car watching your luggage would cost an additional 100 Euros.

We hired an 8-hour car and driver (not a tour guide, just a driver) to show us the Amalfi Coast from our Sorrento hotel's land-arrangement partner, which worked great. We figured the hotel would have a big incentive to recommend a satisfactory provider. We charged the car service to our hotel bill. We did not enjoy the Circumvesuviana with our luggage, so we had the same company drive us back to the Naples train station at the end of our five nights in Sorrento.

We used My Day Trip in April 2022 to take us from Salerno to FCO, with a stop at Montecassino, and would gladly use them again.

On the same trip, we used Top Excursions Sorrento for the ride from FCO to our hotel in Pompei. - they were also excellent.

https://www.topexcursionsorrento.com/

Thanks all - Tim do you remember the name of the company? Where in Pompeii/Naples can you store luggage?

The train from Naples to Rome isn't an issue. A driver would be preferred to Sorrento rather than the local train with luggage.
In looking at hotels for the time frame of late October, according to booking.com, almost everything is booked up. This is a last minute plan so trying to figure out the logistics in a hurry. The plan was to go from Rome, with a stop-over in Pompeii, then on to Sorrento (suggestions for nice places with water view)? for two nights using one day as a trip to Capri. Then from there staying somewhere along the Amalfi Coast. Positano would probably be a few hour trip, but from there, not sure where to stay. Catching the flight home from Rome would most likely require the last night spent at an airport hotel. Would probably take the fast train from Salerno to Rome the last day. (already done Rome on this trip.) We have 5 or 6 nights - Looking for accommodations with sea views, balcony etc., but boy are things booked! Sorrento looks a little more open but wondering if 4-5 days there would be too much. Weather permitting the ferry is lovely, and easiest to get to the coastal towns.

Biggest issues we see here is: What to do with luggage once arriving in Naples, and then how to get to Pompeii - should a night in Naples be considered?
Sorrento - day trip to Capri - what is there to do in Sorrento
Amalfi, besides Positano - best stay suggestions - and how easy is it to get to Ravello for a look? Is Salerno worth a night and day trip from there?
Two people - special occasion so wanting to make it nice - decent budget for this

I frequently get trashed for suggesting this - but consider staying in Pompei. We stayed at the Hotel Forum Pompei - across the street from Amphitheatre entrance to the ruins, and an easy walk to many great restaurants and bars.

http://www.hotelforumpompeii.com/en/

I can't help with driver recommendations, however have you considered doing a day trip to Pompeii from Sorrento? Pompeii is closer to Sorrento than to Naples.

Ah Allen, great suggestion. Perhaps Sorrento would be a better hub - straight to Sorrento from Rome, then day trip from there to Pompeii and Capri and Amalfi Coast?

What areas of Sorrento are the best to stay in?

Another vote for My Day Trip.

Consider reversing your path.

Train, Rome to Pompei station.
Taxi to Pompeii Scavi 1.5 miles 5 min.
Check luggage at entrance.
Return to same station train to Salerno 47 min.

Ferry to village of choice. 4-5 nights. Look at Cetara, Maiori and Atrani for lodging. Use Travelmar ferry.
Amalfi to Ravello, 30 min bus ride each way. Visit Amalfi after if time allowed or ferry to Positano.

Ferry from lodging to Amalfi change ferry to Sorrento. 2nights. Ferry to Capri.

Private transfer to Napoli Centrale
Train to Roma Termini.

What areas of Sorrento are the best to stay in?

We stayed in the heart of town about a 10 minute walk from the train station. You'll find plenty of hotels for every budget. You'll see quite a few luxury hotels in the hills as well that look fantastic, but the walk would have been longer and uphill. Because we're constantly on the go and rarely sitting still we preferred the middle of town within a 5 minute walk to a lot of restaurants. Convenient to the dock to catch the ferries to Capri and the Amalfi Coast as well.

Tim do you remember the name of the company? Where in Pompeii/Naples can you store luggage?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-day-trip

There is luggage storage at the major entrances of Pompeii, and also at the Circumvesuviana station at Pompeii Scavi. There is luggage storage at the Naples train station, but I have not seen it or used it. I'm a little confused, because someone staying multiple days in Sorrento and in Amalfi (or Positano) is usually not in such a rush that they have to see Pompeii along the way. But it's your trip and your travel style. Are you aware that some visitors spend 8 hours at Pompeii? I think it might be fair to say that the average is 3-4 hours, but I'm not basing that on real research. Sun and heat are a factor, as well as the uneven Roman pavement.

JR, I mean this in a nice way, not as a criticism, but you owe it to yourself to spend at least two hours with the Search box for this newsboard, and read at least 40 post replies. You are undertaking a common Italian vacation portion, but as you say, at the last minute. This board warns that Sorrento and the AC book up six to twelve months in advance. It's an unfair summary, but for the sake of being concise, SOUTHERN Italy is a bit of a third-world place, compared to Northern Italy. Everyone loves their trips, but transport and access are not like visiting the major cities of Europe.

Have you two been to Europe ever before?

I would not take a recent bride (made that up, based on your OP) to a hotel in the workaday modern city of Pompeii, facing the ruins or not, with little else to do, and not enough restaurants to walk to. I know someone who stayed in Pompeii will post to refute this, but I'm expressing an OPINION, not an established fact. Sorrento is a purpose-built, postwar Resort Town. Pompeii is not. You are, I think, trying to plan a major segment of your trip without background information like you might get from a guidebook, or substantial reading of this and other newsboards.

Have you looked at Google Maps yet? Do you know how far it is from Rome to Sorrento? Are you ready to pay 450 Euros for a three-hour-plus car ride? (Lots of medium-budget travelers here hire a car service from the [EDIT] Naples train station to Sorrento, probably around 120 Euros these days.

It's an advanced topic to "stay on Capri", but I'd comment that Capri is (to ME) much more attractive than Positano. I was glad to "see" famous Positano, but I had no desire to stay there after I saw the overpriced clothing and cosmetic boutique stores you can see in Rome, and the small, all-pebble beaches. I mention Capri mainly because it is so easy to get to from Sorrento. (October weather would affect ferries, perhaps. I was there in May.)

You don't have a choice about where to stay in Sorrento. You are going to have to take the tenth place on your list. I was late at six months, and had to take one of the 5-7 luxury hotels on the cliff of Sorrento. We could afford it, and in fact paid extra for a room with a balcony and a Vesuvius view from the foot of our bed. We also liked the fierce modern air conditioning at the Ambasciatori Grande. One parent company runs five of the hotels on the cliff. (Sorrento is built on a gulf-side cliff. I am NOT talking about the lower-budget hills on the mountainside that also attract bus tours. They can, legitimately, also claim a "view".

(Lots of medium-budget travelers here hire a car service from the Rome
train station to Sorrento, probably around 120 Euros these days.

Tim, did you mean from the Naples train station versus Rome?

JR, just curious; did you take this similar trip that you'd posted about back in 2018?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/salerno-or-sorrento-to-get-to-positano

Looking back at your posting history, I can see that this upcoming trip wouldn't be your first rodeo in Italy! :O)

It's just not clear, given that previous post, if you've already been to the Amalfi Coast so are familiar with the area? Definitely, I'd take a train from Rome to either Salerno or Naples versus private driver. A driver from Naples to Sorrento, if desired, would be OK.

As this is a special occasion, have you considered a night or two on Capri? Staying ON the island versus day-tripping the thing is (IMHO) the way to experience it at its best....when the day trippers have not yet arrived, and after they've gone in the later afternoon (daylight will be short end of October). I may need to run a check to see how much will have closed up for the season but given that you're finding hotels in Sorrento very booked up, my guess is that you wouldn't be hurting for restaurants and whatnot on Capri.
(Edited a couple typos)

Been to Italy many times, including Positano. Never been to Sorrento, never visited Pompei or Capri. I am familiar with the ferry. When I did Positano, I took the train to Salerno from Rome and then on to Positano via ferry. That was I think in 2018. Rates are a whole lot different now. I didn't realize how booked Amalfi would be for late October. I naively thought it would be off-season and a lot easier to manage. The special occasion is for our two friends. Tim, I did research quite a bit on the board before asking questions, but some postings were old, and a lot has changed. At this point, I am thinking the entire trip just needs to be based out of Sorrento, although our friends would like one night in Amalfi. We would like to book something near restaurants, docks, and they want ocean views. Since I am not familiar with Sorrento, it's a crap shoot where. As for Amalfi visit, I dread the thought of backed-up traffic on a two-lane winding road if booking.com shows over 95% booked. Crazy. And Tim, I agree finding a hotel is tough. We were looking at
Romantic Relais Sorrento. It looks awesome but up on a mountain and reviews say you really have to use the shuttle to get around. I have written the hotel to see what that entails and availability. A night in Capri sounds interesting instead of Amalfi and I agree about Positano.

We stayed five nights in Sorrento this past May. We had really bad weather so I will try not to let that cloud my comments, but it wasn't a trip of a lifetime as a result. We made a lot of lemonade .
We stayed at Hotel La Tonnarella , in a room with a private terrace and beautiful full view of the bay and Vesuvius. The hotel also has a private beach, (which was closed due to the weather.🙁.)
My one concern when looking at hotels on Via Capo is the road noise- we were on the coastline itself, which was quiet, but I wondered if the hotels across the street were receiving all the road noise? Just something for you to keep in mind.
It was a 15 minute walk into town. Into town was downhill, back was uphill, altho we probably could have grabbed a cab.
It's a very nice hotel if you can't find anything right in Sorrento on the cliffs with ocean view. I actually enjoyed Sorrento, lots of great food at reasonable prices, and just had a nice vibe being in town, which is flat, for walking around. We did our day trips , with private driver, as I mentioned above, from Sorrento.
I don't find the need to ever return to southern Italy. Northern Italy, I can't wait to get back to.
Hope things work out, good luck!

Oh, and book your Rome airport hotel asap. They charge too much for what those hotels are, but whatever. At our night at the Hilton Garden Inn, Rome airport, the hotel was fully booked. Good luck.,