Rome Ravello and Sorrento, which order.. and love the beach

You don't need to rent a car. There is good public transportation in the entire area, trains, buses, and ferries. I think I would start in Rome, head all the way down to Ravello, then back to Sorrento, then fly out of either Naples or Rome. Probably Naples would be more convenient.

But you have lots of choices, and will no doubt get a lot of suggestions here.

That's a beautiful part of the world; sounds like a great trip.

Thanks!
I’m wondering if enough to do in ravello? What day trips would I take from there vs sorrento?

A good guide book will help you narrow down your priorities as far as what you want to see and do.

This link has lots of info you will find useful:
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com

I'll assume you have 13 nights- count your trip in nights not days.
If so and Rome, Ravello, Sorrento are of interest I would suggest this:

Rome 4 nights- that's really only 3 days - 1st day is jet lag
Train to Salerno then bus to Ravello- or ferry to Amalfi then bus to Ravello or private driver-
Ravello 3 nights- from here your only transpo option is bus
- spend at least a full day in Ravello itself visit the 2 villas
- maybe 1 day hiking or bus to smaller villages like Maori, Minori
- 1 day bus to Amalfi see that town- then bus to Positano- few hours her is sufficient then ferry back to Amalfi bus to Ravello.
To Sorrento via bus/ferry combo or private driver
Sorrento 4 nights- visit Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri
Naples 2 nights- Archeological museum

Fly into Rome out of Naples
No matter what you decide you want to be in your departure city the night before your departure.

Christine, this helps a lot. The one thing that makes me nervous is all the “bus” trips... we love to be outside, we love the water and love the beach. Our favorite days are excursions on boats. I know it will be hot the beginning of July- is there another place you would suggest to stay for a few days that we can be at the sea for a couple days as well?

We stayed in Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello and Salerno. Probably more traveling around than you would want- is this your first trip?
This was our 40th Anniversary and we just had to add Venice so we moved around a bit more than we had originally planned
We added that 1 night in Ravello on a whim/splurge- and we enjoyed our day/night there very much but I would not want to stay there for more than that because of the bus situation.

This is what we did - we had been to both Rome and Venice before.
3 nights Rome
Train to Naples- driver to Sorrento
Sorrento- 4 nights- we visited Pompeii and Capri with Mondo Guides. (We skipped Naples this time as we plan to return)
Amalfi 2 nights- driver from Sorrento to Amalfi. We really liked Amalfi and the place we stayed- on the water level, nice views, close to all transpo
Took bus to Positano then ferry home. We enjoyed the ferry ride much more than the bus!
Ravello 1 night- visited Villa Cimbrone, town, etc
This link describes our transpo experience to Ravello- scroll down bit
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/ravello-amalfi-salerno-bus-to-ferry-logistics

From Ravello we took bus back to Amalfi then ferry to Salerno- arrived there about 1. Awesome ferry ride- beautiful views.
Salerno 2 nights- we really liked Salerno- visited Paestum which was wonderful. Walked along waterfront, enjoyed the fun passiegatta, had 2 really good dinners.
Train to Venice- 2 nights then flew home

Wanted to add- the "beaches" in Amalfi are not sandy- they are tiny, rocky, pebbly- not really the beach experience you are used to. You'd do better just going to the Cape for a few days next summer ;)

Ravello is beautiful, but it is up high. I would recommend staying in Positano or Sorrento but remember they are rocky beaches there (still completely enjoyable!! Rent beach chairs and sit under a grand parasol!).

You can visit Ravello if you want to with a shuttle bus ride directly up from Amalfi, but given your interest in sunbathing, I think other towns are a better option for you for staying.

Not interested in staying In Positano, heard it’s extremely touristy and expensive and crowded... but will def do a day trip!

...is there another place you would suggest to stay for a few days
that we can be at the sea for a couple days as well?

How about Ischia? I haven't been there myself yet but I've read comments on the forum from Folks In The Know that it's a far superior choice for beach time than the Amalfi coast....which I HAVE been to and would agree that it's not what many would call a "beach" destination. Pretty sure what beaches there are in the A.C. will be positively heaving in late June/early July, as the A.C. towns and public transportation between them will be.

Anyway, take a look at Ischia, and hopefully some folks who've firsthand experience with that one will chime in.

"love the beach"

Ravello is inland and elevated. It has a lovely view over the Amalfi Coast, but it does not have any beach frontage at all. You would wait for a public bus, call a cab, or if you're at a top end ($500++) hotel, take their shuttle 10 minutes or more down to the pebbled public beach of Amalfi town.

Sorrento has only one public beach. It's quite small, located between the two marinas, is made of trucked-in beach sand, and has a distinct odor of diesel fuel. Access for the town center is by bus, by foot down a steep drive or staircase, or a 2-euro public elevator. The few high-end (like Rick's "Worthwhile Splurge" Ambasciatori, where we stayed) hotels with cliffside location in Sorrento have elevators to private "boardwalk" bathing platforms (some with bars) in the Gulf of Naples. These are private to hotel guests. There are no "beaches", just the boardwalk platforms.

Note that it is quite difficult to fly home after a night in Sorrento, but possible (with some risk) if the flight is after 4 PM. It is impossible to fly home from Rome after a night in Ravello. Most people who are in your situation would simply add the last night, maybe at the same hotel, in Rome. Others plan their Rome stay of multiple days for the last part of their trip. But it takes so long to get to Ravello from Rome that this can be exhausting after a transatlantic flight.

Budget is a big factor. Some guests hire a car and driver from Naples, because the trip from Rome to Ravello is at least 4 public-transportation "seats", and would be five if you started at FCO. That's not counting local transportation to Termini or another rail station in downtown Rome, or a taxi in Ravello. How you get from the town square to your hotel can be a factor in Amalfi Coast towns. Positano (I know, you've excluded it) is an extreme case, where some hotels can be reached only by staircases. This entire area books up six months in advance. You are not likely to get your first two choices of hotel.

Edit: Note that the Ravello Music Festival can affect hotel availability.

Tim, the last time we stayed in Sorrento, we took the early morning ferry to Naples, and a city bus from the harbor to the airport. No problems. I don't remember what time our flight out was, but I'm sure it wasn't any later than noon.

Jane, thanks for your report. Are you saying that your flight out was from Naples airport? My statement in the post above yours is about flying home (i.e. to the USA) from Rome. I've been to the Naples airport twice, and it has a limited number of flight options - even if you accept the fees and negatives about "budget" airlines. I did see that United offered summertime direct flights to the US from Naples one year, but it's not a regular thing.

The OP has a specific desire to to stay in Ravello.

Thanks for the clarification, Tim. Yes, we flew United out of Naples.