Sorrento vs Positano vs Amalfi to stay?

If you want the vista of the Amalfi Coast, then you can’t stay in Sorrento, since Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast. Amalfi and Positano are, and both are good choices since they are the only towns served by the ferry boats.

Sorrento is good logistically since it’s the end of the train line (Circumvesuviana train) which connects Naples to Sorrento passing through Pompeii and Herculaneum. However, not on the AC, as I said.

If you want to visit the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento on a day trip there are buses (cheap but often crowded) or private taxi/cars (not crowded but always expensive).

All of the above towns have boat connections to the island of Capri.

I would recommend taking the train to salerno and then the ferry to amalfi or positano. Then you can take the ferry or taxi around the areas. This is what my husband and I did on our last trip and we loved it. We stayed in Amalfi and took the ferry to Positano to dinner and then a taxi home at night. Also rented a private boat that took us to Capri for the day. It was wonderful.

Kathy, you OP is a reasonable presentation, but we really don't know for sure what you're looking for. You also may not be aware of how difficult transportation is in an area that has had its infrastructure neglected for decades.

There's a hint that you hope to find people walking to shops with baskets on their arms, and widows in black sitting on benches in the sun. That's not what most of the hot, popular AC looks like. But it would be a hint that you don't care if it is hard to get to other places (I mean, for little money or in less than two hours of travel), like Pompeii or Capri.

Vast numbers of people stay in Sorrento because it has the best transit connections. It is not picturesque like Positano, but it also has cheaper shops than Positano. Positano was a must for me, but I was very disappointed with the crowding, prices, and seeing the same overpriced boutiques you see in Rome, Paris, and London. We stayed five nights in Sorrento because we made daytrips most days. There is virtually no beach action in Sorrento because it is built on a cliff. And it is a purpose-built, postwar resort town, mostly reinforced concrete buildings.

There are literally hundreds of posts a year on Sorrento and the AC here, so the Search box top left may be VERY helpful to you, if you can find the right keywords to search for. You also need to learn details like that the busses from Sorrento to Salerno require a change (and ... .... ... wait ... ... ) for a second bus in Amalfi.

In fall 2019, we stayed in all three for 2 or 3 nights each. Sorrento: in a great hotel downtown; had good food & checked out lots of shops. The pre-holiday vibes were a plus. Positano: a good hotel; very picturesque & interesting explorations. A lot of the town shut down with so-so food options. Amalfi: also in a great hotel near plaza; good food options; bus to Ravello; good sight-seeing & exploring. Easy bus to Salerno to catch train back to Rome. On a return, we would pick Sorrento & Amalfi.

You don’t seem interested in Naples or Pompeii, so I think you can cut Sorrento from the list. Sorrento’s main draw is its general comfort and strong transport connections. It’s nice, but doesn’t have that same romantic beauty of the AC towns.

Amalfi is probably the best choice. It’s the transportation hub on the AC, with ferry and bus connections galore. Though I’ll also stump for Atrani, a nearby town just a few minutes walk away (though you have to walk on the shoulder of the coast road.) Atrani had a true small town feel and its own free, sand beach.

Positano is getting dragged a lot these days for being a touristy let-down, and I can’t argue the point. The main part of town is, but higher up is a different story. Take the bus above town and walk down to get a look at the friendly, less traveled Positano.

All these places are touristy, but when you’re staying there you’ll find the mornings and evenings can still feel like you’re in a small town.

Thank you all for your info. I have been to Italy several times but never the Amalfi Coast area, so these responses are very helpful!

Kathy, moving about the area is time-consuming and frustrating, no matter the mode, so plan enough days so that you can actually relax. There is so shoulder season anymore, so expects crowds , even in the fall. And if you're flying out of Rome or Naples, be there the night before.
Have a great trip!

Are you absolutely sure that you want to be in the heart of the shopping?

Do you have an idea of what kind of things you would be looking for?
I wonder if you imagine exactly what it would be like to be in the middle of the pedestrian action in a town like Positano. I understand that you want to shop, but you might want to be able to escape all that activity and spend the nights and down time in a more secluded setting. (??)

Does the steepness of the walking areas have any impact on your decision as to which town?

Restaurants won't be an issue, because there are so many in every town on that coast.

I think we are leaning towards staying in Amalfi based on comments and research. Without a car, we just want to be able to walk to shops and restaurants in whatever town we are in. Would love to stay in Ravello but do not know if we can easily get down the hill to transportation for Amalfi and Positano from there. Steps are no problem!

Kathy: We stayed in the L'Antico Convitto in Amalfi. A small hotel with a great staff, very good breakfast and very close to the cathedral and plaza. The room was quiet and tastefully decorated. Has an elevator. A quick check showed it is still in business but, not surprising, more expensive. In Sorrento, we stayed in the Palazzo Tasso in a "superior" room with view of the "main drag". Great hotel staff & breakfast but also more expensive than 2019. In Positano, we stayed in the Positano Art Hotel Pasitea - very good staff and breakfast with a view room. The town bus stops right in front - very handy.

If you want to stay in Ravello, stay there and deal with the bus down to Amalfi. It's not all that terrible to take the bus... You can also walk down..

I've beaten this drum on this forum for years, but I'd recommend Salerno as a base for your trip.

As Tim alluded to, the Amalfi Coast is wonderful...until you have to get from Point A to Point B. The infrastructure for getting around is in terrible shape, and furthermore September is not shoulder season anymore, leading to human gridlock at times, which tends to negate all those beautiful vistas!

We spent 3 nights in Salerno last month (our second visit), stayed at the wonderful Hotel Plaza (https://www.plazasalerno.com/en/) for less than $100/night, which is directly across from the train station, included a complimentary breakfast with a comfortable room--good beds! From there, just because we went to the A.C only once, we hired a driver to take us to Vietri sul Mare, Ravello & Minori. Not cheap, but it totally alleviated any transportation problems we would have had otherwise, which would include using the ferry or the SITA bus. And Salerno itself is a great base--excellent restaurants, a pretty nice beach and good shopping area. And Trianon, true Napolitan pizza that opened in Naples in 1923.

We all have dreams & ideas of how we want our vacation to look, but the realities are more sobering. Do research before deciding.

We didn’t spend many nights in the area but we liked Sorrento for transportation connections and we found it picturesque enough for us. Our hotel was very close to Corso Italia with plenty of shopping and restaurant options. And the scent of lemons everywhere :-) I do concur with Tim’s description of Positano. We took the ferry (the best part of our ill fated adventure) intending to spend the day and ended up getting a coffee and leaving ASAP …crowds, vertical walking and nothing but expensive boutiques and jewelry shops which held zero interest for us. . We too were very disappointed. It was the only time we ever bailed and fled anywhere, returning to Sorrento by the next available ferry and spending a great day at Herculaneum instead. This was our experience and your interests of course will vary. Safe travels wherever you land.

Jay, dreams vs. realities. Those are very wise words.