Stay in Naples a couple of nights, or not? Just stay in Sorrento? Split up the time?

Hi Travelmom -
My first question is why you think you have the need for a car? Are you coming to Naples from somewhere else in Italy where you're using the car for getting about? Looking at your itinerary, I'm thinking it would be easier and more economical to do almost all of your exploration via public transit.

Naples is a crazy city to drive in, and you don't need the car for sightseeing there. Why pay just to have it sit?

Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius and Sorrento are inexpensive and easy to get to via public transit, and you wouldn't have to deal with ZTLs and parking fees in Sorrento.

You don't need a car for Capri: you'll do that via ferry

You're planning on a private tour of the Amalfi Coast; again, no need for your own car.

Maybe just rent the car for a day to drive to Paestum and back (can also be reached via public transit although I understand it's somewhat time-consuming from Sorrento)?

Month of year, please. Very important. Every night we were in Sorrento we saw a 20-minute line of cars waiting to get into an underground garage. You have no idea what you are in for. Use the search box on the desktop version of this site to read about rental cars in this area, ZTL, IDP, insurance, and parking.

The car is useless in Sorrento. We paid 240 Euros for a car and driver for 8 hours showing us Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello, which are connected by a slow moving two lane road - when one lane is not blocked by construction. It was worth it.

We took the bus between some towns, and took the ferry between others. I also would not recommend a car in this area!

As for how to divide your time, I think I'd go for #2 for the best balance. See Pompeii, Herculaneum etc from Sorrento.

Ditch the car, as others have said. With 8 nights ...
Day 1 - To Naples - 2 nights
Day 2 - Naples sights
Day 3 - Private transfer or Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento - 6 nights
Day 4 - Positano by bus
Day 5 - Pompeii & Herculaneum by Circumvesuviana train
Day 6 - Capri by ferry
Day 7 - Paestum by private car+driver
Day 8 - Amalfi & Ravello by bus

Depending on your time of arrival and departure, four nights in Naples may mean only three full days. Rushing from place to place has never been my thing, but it is possible to see both Pompeii and Herculaneum in one day from Naples. Herculaneum is pretty small and can be done easily in half a day. Pompeii really needs a little more than that, but most of it can be seen in half a day also. If you get an early start and stretch the day out you can do it. Just something to consider.

Two nights Naples 6 nights Sorrento Is perfect. We did that this past September. The two nights in Naples gave us 1.5 days for us it was enough.

I would do 2 N Naples, 6 N Sorrento. This worked perfectly for us.

Hi travelmom,
My last trip to Sorrento we used all public transport. I love, love, love Sorrento. I'd stay all nights there and take a train to Naples. If staying in Sorrento book a hotel just out of town. They usually have free shuttles and it's a beautiful spin. Enjoy.

TravelMom, I spent a week in the Naples/Sorrento area in May 2014. My plans worked out very well. I spent three nights in Naples, then four in Sorrento. In Naples I stayed at the small, wonderful and highly-rated Orsini46 B & B. On one day I easily traveled by train to Paestum with a morning stop in Salerno and was back in Naples for dinner. With a little earlier start I could have also included the small ceramics town Vietri sul Mare, near Salerno. The ruins and museum at Paestum are excellent, generally best light in the late afternoon, and they are definitely reached much more easily and affordably from Naples than Sorrento, as has been discussed often on this forum. From Sorrento, I took one day to visit both Herculaneum and Pompeii, very doable with a break for lunch in between the two. From Sorrento I took a van tour of the Amalfi Coast, and then another day returned that way by public transit to spend more time in Amalfi and Ravello. I elected to skip Capri on that trip. I agree that in these places, having a rental car would be more of a burden than a help.