Southern Italy in November

If the weather isn't good, especially with rain, it's difficult to enjoy the area. We were there this past May with the unseasonably heavy rain, and the skies were grey, the ocean was grey, and visibility was poor. I expect you're tempting the fates in November. Good luck!

You can defend against that possibility by staying in Naples, which is vibrant year-round.
There will always be a few restaurants open in Sorrento, and even on the Amalfi Coast, but I would leave it open and only book there if the weather is good.
Read up in what is in Naples before deciding. An afternoon would give you time for the archaeological museum since you are presumably interested in what came from Pompeii. I only spent a day/night there and hope to get back one day to see much more.
Paestum is very difficult to reach from Sorrento--I would try to go from Naples if you do not stay in Salerno.

Hi Megan,

We did this same trip in Jan 2023, so my experience should be similar. Ill let you know what we did and our experieinces.

We travelled from Florence to Salerno, and used this as our base. There were a number of reasons behind this
- On a fast train stop from Rome
- A larger town, so guaranteed to have shops and restaurants open
- Great transport links to Amalfi coast, Pompeii and Paestum.
- Cheaper than staying in Sorrento or the Amalfi.

We loved Salerno (We were a family of 4, 2 adults a 14 and 10 year old). We stayed a a great Airbnb in the historic centre.
The dinners here were amazing, and really reasonably priced. Up there with the best food in italy.

We did the following day trips
Amalfi Coast - We caught the Sita bus to Amalfi, and then another to Positano. Positano was a ghost town. Almost everything was shut. We dipped our feet into the Mediterranean and loved it, but almost nothing else to do here. Amalfi was busier, however still a number of shops closed. We saw the Cathedral and had a walk round, plenty of options for lunch. The Sita bus is a once in a lifetime ride, scary, but exceptional. We passed another bus and a donkey at the same time. It seemed impossible.
Would I do the Amalfi again at this time of year, probably not. For the first time, yes, but its going to be quiet.

We did a day trip to pompeii and Herculaneum. We caught the train from Salerno, realy easy, and this takes you to the main pompeii station, which is a 20 minute walk to the entrance. We met the guide there (you will need to go to the second entrance, which is a short walk up a hill past the first.). We then went to herculaneum in a joint tour with Pompeii. Both sites were very empty. In Herculaneum, I think there would have been a max of 50 people there. For pompeii, probably in the low 100's. Was easy to get around, plenty of shots with no one in them. Strongly recommend this. Getting back to Salerno from Herculaneum requires a 20 min walk to the station.

We then did a day trip to Paestum. This place is amazing. You catch a train south from Salerno (About 40 min). Its then a 15 min walk to the ruins. We were four of about 15 people on the site for the whole time we were there. Paestum is absolutely outstanding. We then walked 20 minute to a buffalo farm and had some of the best food in italy, I would strongly recommend this. Then we walked about 30 min back to the train station. I beleive there is a local taxi service which will need to be booked, but we walked.

Overall plenty of restaurants to eat in, some lodgings closed, but plenty of choice, and quiet on Amalfi, Pompeii and Herculaneum. I would 100% return at this time of year.

In Nov it probably is a little busier, but not much.

.

Thank you all for your tips and insight. I think we will plan to do a quick one day or maybe overnight stop in Naples and then use Salerno as our base for day trips to Pompeii, the Amalfi coast, and Paestum. We'll keep our fingers crossed for decent weather!

Trent, if you are able to, would you mind sharing the name of the buffalo farm you visited? This sounds like a great experience that we would enjoy as well!

We are booked in Sorrento in early Nov...I'm looking forward to the lack of crowds! Weather happens...I just roll with it

It was likely Tenuta Vannulo, a very popular place to pair with Paestum, but you'll need a taxi.
If you are fine with just eating some fresh mozzarella, Caseificio Barlotti is on the ring road a short walk from Paestum. We walked there and purchased some cheese, artichokes, and bread for an impromptu lunch under their picnic shelter.

Tenuta Vannulo is fantastic! I'm not sure if it's worth getting a taxi especially, but I would certainly drive out of my way to stop there again
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2022/01/naples-in-october-from-agropoli-to.html?m=1

I can't speak for Sorrento in November but we stayed there for 11 days in April and loved it. We found the Sorrento Insider website helpful for a lot of things including bus and ferry schedules. https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/e/sorrento-in-november. Sorrento will give you easy access via the Circumvesuviana Train to all of the excavation sites between Sorento and Naples.

While we did visit the Amalfi Coast and Capri, our focus was Pompeii and the other Vesuvius excavation sites. Pompeii is worthy of a couple of days if you're truly engaged with it. Check out the Villa of Oplontis as well which is one train stop north of Pompeii, or take the free shuttle back and forth from Pompeii. We also spent a morning at Herculaneum, and some time at the Archeological Museum in Naples is a must to tie all of the excavations sites together. We didn't stay in Naples, but I wish we would have for a couple of days. It's like no other city I've ever been to.

There are a few of us that have posted Trip Reports for our visits to the region in the Spring. here's a link to mine if you're interested.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-2-weeks-of-day-trips-from-sorrento