Sorrento or Positano and suggested itinerary 2022

I like Positano. It’s quaint and romantic, albeit pricey and touristy.
Positano is on the Amalfi Coast and is closer to Amalfi and Ravello. You can visit all in a day. You can do so by bus, but you can go from Positano to Amalfi by boat as well. You can also hire a driver for significantly more money, but I don’t think it’s necessary as it is not necessary to hire a guide.
From Positano you can also go to Capri. Numerous boat excursions to Capri depart from Positano.
If you decide to stay in Positano (or Sorrento for that matter), the night before the flight, I recommend you take a private car. It would be a challenge to make it to the airport by 8am with public transportation.

If you stay in Sorrento, then go there straight from Naples. Pompeii is only slightly farther from Sorrento than Naples, so backtracking to Naples to get your luggage is a waste of time. Also, from Sorrento you'll be able to get to Pompeii very early - when it opens - to avoid the worst heat in the afternoon. There's hardly any shade there.

From Sorrento's center, there's a steep stairway all the way down to the pier, there are also elevators. It seems to me that the center of Positano is rather steeply uphill from the pier. Check what it's like from wherever you are thinking of staying. There are 3 bus routes along the AC. Sorrento-Amalfi (via Positano), Amalfi-Salerno, and Amalfi-Ravello. If you wanted to take the bus, it's straightforward to get from Sorrento to Amalfi. It may be problematic from Positano to Amalfi. When the buses are crowded, as they often are in high season, only as many people can get on in, say, Positano, as get off there, so there could be a long line. You can check the travel times for buses (google SITA) and ferries. You may be able to reserve places on at least some ferries. For SITA be sure to look at the summer schedule.

The center of Amalfi is near the water. Ravello is high above it, so you may want to take the bus rather than hike up. A lot of folks do walk down to enjoy the scenic views.

to clarify a bit: when we take the train to naples, we would switch to the commuter train to Pompei and store our luggage at the Pompeii train station, then pick it up on our way out. it seems that they have luggage storage there as well? and yes, get there as early as possible.

if we stayed in Sorrento, we would take the bus to Positano and explore, then head to Amalfi and after take bus to Ravello then head back. I read this order as suggested in Rick Steves book, because it the busses get full on way back, the bus might not even stop in Positano. But, is this itinerary for the day too aggressive to do all three towns in one day? or would this be a good plan? Thank you!

I prefer staying in Sorrento. First off, it's easier to get to initially than Positano. Also, it would be easier to get to Naples for that flight than from Positano. While Positano is more "quaint" it is also more touristy (and more expensive). Sorrento is larger and there are more different areas to stay (and explore). It's still small enough that you don't need to stay right in the center. Wonderful views from town out across the bay.

Yes you can do Positano, Amalfi and Ravello in one day either by boat or bus (or take one in one direction and the other going back. These towns are tiny and you don't need a guide. Plenty of information in guidebooks and on-line if you want some history of the area.

Here's my photos of the area: https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p266655284

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-5-days-where-to-set-base-from

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/one-week-on-the-amalfi-coast

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-7-nights-itinerary-help

This area books up early. You will not get your first three housing choices.

It's clear you want to have very busy days, which is up to you. You don't mention "budget", but it seems to me that you should call your hotel and ask how much their land-partner charges for 8 hours of car and driver. That is the best (if not the cheapest) way to do Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello in one day. We found it a good value, despite our normal commitment to public transit. As I have said before on this board, every time we walked by the Sorrento bus stop in the last week of May, in the morning, there were more people in line for the half-hourly bus to Positano/Amalfi than would fit on the next bus. (Pre-Covid. But tourism to this area is VERY resilient.) I hope you may have time to take the short bus up to Sant Agata Sui Dui Golfi, and walk down the mostly paved 1.5 hour downhill walk back to Sorrento. Unlike Ravello, no one will ask you if you did it, but it's very nice. Don't wear flip-flops for such a walk.

There is a one or two Euro elevator to the ferry marina in Sorrento. Many people on this newsboard have stored their luggage at the Porta Marina entrance to Pompeii, which is only 300 feet from the Circumvesuviana station. We preferred to do Pompeii (less time-efficient) from Sorrento, without our luggage. But that ticket-area storage seems to be very, very safe. I suggest four hours minimum for Pompeii.

You cannot wake up in Positano for a 9:30AM flight from Naples. It's not debatable. Especially during Covid and to a non-EU country. I suppose you can get breakfast at the airport.

Take a look at Mondo Guides-RS recommended
We did their Pompeii and Capri tours and both were great
They offer an Amalfi drive with stops in the 3 towns you are interested in-leaving from Sorrento
Very affordable, small group and eliminates the worry and likely possibility of no room on the bus.
Your driver will be a sort of “guide” as well, although not really needed
We were there in May and the line to get on bus in the am from Sorrento was huge
You’d have had to wait at least 2 bus loads to board

Www.sharedtours.com

You sign up for your tour and once your is full it’s a go

It will be MUCH easier and cheaper to get to your departure flight from Sorrento though we would likely stay in Naples that night before

If you stay in Positano I would recommend getting tickets for the ferry from Positano to Amalfi. The views from the sea are spectacular. From Amalfi you can get tickets for the open air City sight seeing bus up to Ravello. After Ravello we took the City sight seeing bus back to Amalfi and the ferry from Amalfi to Positano. It would be a very long day to try to see all of Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello from Sorrento. We were able to stay 3 nights in Positano and 3 nights in Sorrento. We especially loved staying in Sorrento near the Villa Communale area in a hotel with views of the Bay of Naples.

From Sorrento a friend and I took a bus to Amalfi and the nausea was unbearable. Wear sea bands to prevent motion sickness if traveling along the Amalfi Coast Road on a bus. You may even want to ask your physician for a prescription to prevent nausea.
If traveling east to west along the Amalfi Coast take a ferry instead of the bus because the Amalfi Coast Road is one-way with traffic flowing from west to east. If you take the interior road that runs east to west to get back to Sorrento you will not see the coast.