Rome to Amalfi

Sorry you had to reschedule, but did you do some research the first time around?--a car on the AC in July is a very bad idea.
Are you set on the AC ? If so, it is going to come down to the accommodation you can find at the last minute. Regardless of where you choose, you will want to limit travel to ferries, and supplement with bus when you have to (and when you can get on the dang thing) and private driver. You can take a train to Salerno if you have no need to pass through Naples, then access ferry.
Otherwise, there are some fine coastal alternatives which you could do with a car without sitting in constant traffic jam) if you are interested.

Thank you, I did do some research prior but not a ton once I found out he was having surgery. I did buy the book though so I will start reading that again and narrowing things down. The issue right now is nailing down the hotel on the coast. My husband really wants to stay in Positano but there is not a ton of availability as you said so I'm searching other areas. We definitely won't be driving. We also don't have a need to stop in Naples this trip our goal is to relax by the beach and just focus on Rome and the beach/Capri for a day trip.

Oh! you meant private driver--I was reading it as you getting a rental car. By all means do that if it is in you budget and makes life easier, but do check the ferry schedule, because it is not a long walk from the Salerno bus (train) station to the ferry dock, and I imagine that is a lovely way to arrive!
Just keeping searching accommodation sites. Some like getting away to Ravello, some find it inconvenient to have to take a bus everywhere (ditto Praiano). Atrani is super close to Amalfi so I would consider that. I liked staying at the mainland end, but there are of course transit trade-offs.
ferries: https://www.travelmar.it/en/

Thank you I will look at Atrani, thank you for that tip and I was just reading about the ferry to Positano. Is it ok to bring luggage and such on the ferry? We live in NYC so I'm used to trains, subways, busses etc.

We did it in the opposite direction, and took the train all the way from Sorrento back to Rome. We'd actually rented a car in Sicily, then drove/ferried/drove to the Amalfi region. We actually stayed in Piano di Sorrento, which worked well as a base for driving or using local trains to visit the area, including Naples and Positano, and was really convenient for a day trip to Capri. If he has his heart set on staying in Positano, and you're not using other means of transportation, it's possible to pick up a rental car in a place closer to Positano than Naples, and avoid the traffic in/near Naples. Hope his surgery recovery goes well and that you have a great trip!

Absolutely, and as a new yorker you should be fine -- unless you are over packing (it's a week and will be hot--you won't need a lot).
If you score a place, share the news. Other will appreciate that tip/bit of hope for last minute hotel finding in high season.

We are now going July 4th - July 11th. We plan on spending 1 - 2
nights in Rome and then heading to Amalfi Coast

Owned, could you elaborate a bit more on this? Are you flying out of the U.S. on the 4th and flying home on the 11th? Are your flights both in and out of Rome?

No we are landing in Rome on July 4th at 10 am and departing on July 12th at 12pm. We will stay 2 nights when we arrive into Rome and see the sights before heading south and then head back to Rome on July 11th to stay overnight in Rome again before our flight on the 12th. We feel like it makes sense to do Rome when we first land and not at the end of the trip unless you suggest going straight to Amalfi and doing Rome before we depart?

Nah I'd absolutely press on to the Amalfi coast the day you arrive and put all your Rome time together at the end.

Ok thanks, I'll look into that and maybe that will help us find a hotel better with the dates flip flopped.

With your arrival at 10AM I second the idea to go directly on to your AC location then. Do all the nights in Rome at the end and space yourself the bother of an extra hotel change

Thank you guys!! Any thoughts on staying in Sorrento vs. Amalfi if I can convince my husband?

You are going to have to take your sixth choice of hotel in either place, so it's probably a bad idea to set one city as an objective. (I took our fifth choice in Sorrento in the last week of May, and it was at the top of our budget.) You may already be too late for the lowest Frecciarossa "fast" trains to Naples/Salerno, but if you don't fly to Europe often, you may not want a non-changeable, non-refundable ticket (from downtown Rome at that) following an international flight that could, possibly, be late arriving. (Most of our flights on United tend to be early, but who knows??)

This is a very busy area in July-that's the main reason for the car warning. Parking is also desperately limited, as are the number of lanes of road access. You have deliberately chosen an isolated (NOT "remote") place to visit. That's one reason for the wise recommendation to bunch Rome days at the end. You will lose most of a day just moving back to Rome. (Not criticising-it's a necessity for most AC visitors.)

Well hotels are by far the worst with Amalfi - Rome instead of Rome - Amalfi. I have a lot of playing around to do. But hotels are slim pickings. Off to airbnb & vrbo/home away

I don't think it is time to give up yet, but the main reason I went to the area was to see Pompeii and hike (and eat anchovies in Cetara--you could check mainland end villages, but you might feel disappointed if you wanted the easy access of Positano).
If you just want scenic seaside, there are many less crowded alternatives. Less than an hour south of Salerno is the Cilento coast. It is better with a car but completely doable without. There is a gorgeous hotel called Mariluvo in Pisciotta. They also rent some dreamy apartments. Owners are great. There are lots of places along this coast.
Also easily reachable from Rome is Gaeta, have not been but noticed it for the future.
To the north of Rome, the Monte Argentatio and Orbetello area are great--the former looks a lot like the Amalfi coast but without as much development (I do get the villages are part of the charm on the AC--the genius of Italy is that mankind improves on nature somehow). It is another place people would typically do with a car. but there are workarounds.
Rather than compromise on the housing, you might want to have some ideas in your back pocket. Considering what you went through, it is great you even get to take this trip and you might want return for the Positano dream at another time.

We just stayed at La Tartaruga in Salerno and visited the A.C. By ferry on TravelMar. The port is a 15 minute walk from the hotel and they run a lot of ferries daily. You can take a direct train from Rome to Salerno. we visited Paestum and Pompeii by rail though Pompeii is a little tri lied to get to. Plenty of nice things to do in Salerno as well.

We are very fond of Sorrento -- lots of hotels, restaurants, shopping and transportation options. Have taken day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum, then relaxed while watching the sun set in Sorrento. Bus trip to Analfi. Boat to Capri.

We are taking a similar trip in a few weeks, so if you'd like, I'll let you know how it works out. We are flying from the US to Rome on the 23rd, spending the 24th in Rome, leaving on the 25th for Sorrento (and using that as a base). We hope to go to Pompeii on the 26th, the Amalfi and Positano via ferry on the 27th (taking the bus back to Sorrento. We're thinking of going to Capri on the 28th and then returning to Rome from Sorrento that same evening. We will have much of the next day in Rome, and fly back to the US late on the 29th. I've received a bunch of recommendations as a result of posting and am happy to share the results when we return. I booked Sorrento because, logistically, given our time constraints and that Pompeii was on our list, it seemed to make more sense than staying in Positano. Still, I have heard that Positano is especially magical at night after most of the tourists clear out. Instead, we did make a lunch reservation in Positano, based on a recommendation received here.

I would also agree to go straight to the AC when you land, as opposed to spending those first couple of days in Rome. It will be too early to check into your hotel anyway.

I just did a quick search on booking.com and Ravello, Praiano, Maiori, Amalfi, Atrani all still have availability. I would however book ASAP! As for staying in Salerno or Sorrento.......you’re traveling all the way to the Amalfi Coast to see the Amalfi Coast, right? Stay on the Amalfi Coast. You won’t regret it.

For now I booked Casa Nina a B&B in Positano July 6-11th for 2000 Euros. I’m going to stick with my plan for now and do Rome - Positano-Rome because I want to stay in Rome on Friday night when we arrive and experience the night life in Rome - a tip from an Italian friend. I got it through Booking.com and there are no reviews but the pictures are very nice. I’ll keep looking and tweeking the dates as I did book refundable but at least it’s something.

...we are landing in Rome on July 4th at 10 am and departing on July
12th at 12pm... I booked Casa Nina a B&B in Positano July 6-11th for 2000
Euros

Just to be clear, you are staying in Rome the night of the 11th and booked the nights of 7/6 - 7/10 in Positano?

Yes we will land July 4th stay in Rome until July 6th go to Amalfi and stay there until July 11t and go back to Rome and spend one night there for our flight the next day.

Great. Just wanted to be sure you weren't going to be in Positano on the morning for your flight. :O)

That said, I would have recommended as well going directly to the A.C. on arrival day and grouping all of your Rome days at the end; would eliminate checking in and out of an additional hotel. Unless just even busier, for the tourist during high season I'm not sure Friday night in Rome is going to be much different for night life than a week day. Any specific "night life" activities you are thinking of doing in the few evenings you'll have?

No specific night life activities I haven’t gotten that far yet. The hotel I booked can be modified to check in on July 4-9th so that is good. I’m worried about being delayed and being jet lagged and racing to the train to get to Positano. I have to speak to my husband and definitely decide.

We are planning the exact same trip at the end of August. Spend 2.5 days in Rome and then drive to Amalfi. Initially, I was planning to go straight to Amalfi, but decided against it as our flight arrives at 2 pm local time. We will be staying in the airb&b in Positano, planning to visit Pompeii, Capri, do Path of Gods hike, etc. Please share your experience after the trip, restaurants and tips. I am especially interested in Capri and Blue Grotto - do we need to book the ferry tickets in advance, does it even worth visiting the Blue Grotto giving the long wait time?

I will definitely share! I’m looking at Capri tours now! I want to check out Sorrento too if we can.