Too early For Positano??

Your itinerary looks well-planned and is feasible for mid-April. Here’s what you can expect regarding ferries and alternative transportation options:

Ferry Operations: You're right that ferry schedules along the Amalfi Coast typically become more consistent after Easter due to seasonal demand. However, many operators do start running in early to mid-April, especially if the weather is favorable. Based on NLG’s typical schedule, it’s likely you’ll find some ferries running by April 14, but there’s no absolute guarantee, especially if weather conditions are challenging. Checking with companies like NLG or Travelmar in early 2025 can provide more clarity as they may release updated schedules a bit closer to spring.

Alternative Transport:

Buses: The SITA bus network along the coast usually operates year-round, though schedules can vary slightly in the low season. Traffic around Easter might cause delays, but routes will still be active.
Taxi to Amalfi: A taxi to Amalfi is more expensive but a reliable alternative if ferry options are limited. It might be wise to budget for this option, just in case, especially if you're concerned about flexibility.
April Weather: Mid-April can still bring some unpredictability in terms of sea conditions, so even if ferries are running, they may cancel last-minute if the weather is rough. Keeping your plans adaptable will help make the most of your days in Positano.

Overall, I’d recommend confirming schedules a few weeks before your trip and considering a mix of transport options. This way, you can enjoy your time in Positano and the surrounding areas without too much stress. Hope this helps!

Be really sure the ferries at that time will meet your needs. No one can make promises about southern Italy infrastructure this far in advance.

I personally would not go to Positano in April. I would go to the Caribbean in March. Especially for only a week. Opinion.

https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/italy/positano-weather-april

Hi again -
We addressed some of the ferry stuff in your previous thread.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/capri-questions

To go with that I am concerned if we take bus as an alternative route
to amalfi town all of the buses will be shut down and not working on
time because of traffic considering its almost Easter.

SITA buses do not "shut down" so that's not an issue. They may be very busy at certain stops. Ferry schedules for 2025 haven't been released yet but as mentioned in that other thread, have less of a chance of cancellation, if running, between Sorrento and Capri than Positano. They also run that route in all winter (locals depend on them too) unless conditions are really unsafe so would be operating during your dates and have more crossings than from Positano. Current schedules:

https://www.capri.com/en/t/sorrento/capri

Thursday: Spend day in Positano

Honestly? It's so small and there's so little to do that you may have already covered it during the few hours you aren't day-tripping on the preceding few days. As also mentioned, darn near everything is a steep uphill climb/ lots of steps.

I will say planning for Amalfi is a different beast in itself,
definitely harder to plan than other parts of Italy.

That's because, like any other destination where the main activities are almost all outdoors, weather plays heavily into the picture. It's not like there are a lot of museums and whatnot to occupy one's time inside if it's pouring buckets! In addition, lack of rail (other than commuter service Naples> Sorrento and high/speed to Salerno from Naples/Rome) and adds to the challenge. Short story long? There are few guarantees.

We stayed on Capri for 2 nights (in the fall some years back) and it poured rain all the way from Rome to Naples and during the ferry crossing from there until just before we docked. We also had 3 nights on Sorrento. Planning? Just to get there and then roll with it, not that I hadn't researched some things to do in advance that appealed to us, such as hoofing it up to Villa Jovis on Capri, and we spent a large part of one day at Pompeii. Did Positano as a 1/2 day trip from Sorrento and that was plenty, personally. That said, you might feel differently and it's your trip after all! :O)

With all the advice you were given in this prior thread regarding Positano and ferry cancellations I am curious as to why you picked Positano anyway?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/capri-questions

The Positano dock is small and unstable
If any ferries are canceled that would probably be the most likely
Unless you are fine with traveling all that way from Rome and back to spend 3 days in Positano and risk bad weather/cancellations you might want to rethink

We spent a few hours in Positano-that was enough for us
Tiny and steep and not much there other than high end shopping and overpriced bad pizza.
The views OF the town from the water are better than from the town

I’d stay in Amalfi or Sorrento
Or consider staying in Capri-ferries to /from Naples less likely to be cancelled as people do live there and have to get to and fro

ETA
We were in Sorrento and AC in late May and had several days of pouring rain
No way to predict

We have even thought about changing our itinerary and leaving out one day in Rome for an extra in Amalfi just in case weather changes

the more I read the more I learn there is always a risk of something with this itinerary going left. I guess we just must be adaptable. Lets say if Positano to Capri gets cancelled we might just take a car to Amalfi town and see Ravello maybe. There is that SITA bus option as well as you said.

So basically my mom and I went to Sorrento two years ago and two day trips got canceled due to conditions, since then it left a bad taste in my mouth, I didn't really feel that I could trust the ports. So I was thinking if you had to give me one place in the Amalfi Coast I could see it would be Positano. I wanted to choose Positano to minimize my risk so that at least if any of the ports got canceled I can still see Positano. That's why I chose it, because if we chose sorrento and ports get canceled again then at least we'd be on the amalfi coast already so just in case we can always take a SITA or car to Amalfi town etc.

We chose mid April because my mom works in education and she wouldn't be able to take off any other time unless its summer.

In addition, we are budgeting ourselves for a second trip in the summer in Europe as well.

Kathy, that is a good point you bring up about how its less likely for cancellations between Sorrento - Capri
yes I saw the current schedules, Its also that unsure factor that we can't rely on 2024

I've heard through a few people that positano is small but also my mother is in good shape but she can be a slow walker so I know that we would take our time navigating the town.
That is another option I read about the Salerno route of taking boat from salerno instead of Naples. If we are going to leave out an extra day in Rome for Amalfi then we might just do the boat route instead of a car because the idea of the car was to save time but seeing we have more time no need to take a car to get to Positano

Thats such a nice itinerary! Thats another thing about Capri so much to do especially the Roman Architecture, unfortunately we didn't make it haha. we did Pompeii and I found it very insightful.
@Kathy Can I private message you regarding any more questions that can arise? You are very knowledgeable

Im going to talk with my mother today about considering Amalfi town, Its also near ravello too if a day trip may arise.
wow, ive heard so many mixed reviews though about Positano, i did hear small portions but good taste,

Wow so although it rained you were still able to make it, when mine got cancelled it was beautiful weather but rain earlier in morning.

Several years ago we spent 4 full days in Positano in April and we loved it. It was early enough in the season to be quieter and we enjoyed exploring the various walking routes. Our hotel was higher up and we had great food choices in close proximity. We had thought we might do some day trips but for us it was a lovely respite between our travels to 2 other cities so we enjoyed the days staying in place. We successfully avoided most of the more tourist focussed restaurants and shopping.

You should make friends with Elizabeth the owner of Bluestar ferries in Positano (she has a vlog if you want to learn about her), she can give you all kinds of info and advice.

@Claire hey thank you for sharing your experience! What other two cities did you go to? To be honest I don’t see me getting tired of Positano my family is from Campania so this means so much to me! For walking routes how many flights of stairs would you say is from the piazza to upper Positano? It sounds like we will good with restaurants, in addition, how were the ports going? What was your entry into Positano like?

Ok thank you Phred! In addition, do you know if she has a direct email for contact?

Per this bit of her post (pasted below) Claire didn't appear to day trip anywhere else within the AC from Positano; they stayed put. You'd like to spend quite a bit of time exploring elsewhere: that can make a difference,

"We had thought we might do some day trips but for us it was a lovely respite between our travels to 2 other cities so we enjoyed the days staying in place."

This:
...my family is from Campania so this means so much to me!

Campania is a big region and your family isn't necessarily from Positano or even the AC. Do you know more about where they're from? I'm sure it would mean a great to visit the ancestral towns.

This is backwards from what you requested (lower to upper) but here's a video of a local making the descent from upper to lower to get an idea of the stairs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XnXHBy14sw

(Edited)

When we went to the Amalfi coast we stayed in both Positano and Amalfi. We had this lovely place in Positano that had a beautiful view. But there were steps to go anywhere. It was not fun.

We should have stayed put in Amalfi quite frankly. It is better connected than Positano. We took the bus for example to Ravello and then walked back. It is flat and has more things to do. It is touristy but not as much as Positano. You can take a ferry ride to Positano (we took one the other way) and the view from the sea looking up is better than being in Positano itself.

I have already been to Positano last year in April we booked a private boat tour from capriwow.com, we had a lot of fun I highly recommend it.

We had planned to do a day trip or two from Positano but we enjoyed the town enough that we opted not to. We took the train from Rome to Naples and a private driver brought us to our hotel and we did the same in reverse going to Florence. Our hotel was on the south end of the town. Each day we did the walk down to the beach and the road back to the north end of the town and meandered our way through paths and stairs back to our hotel. There was a lovely restaurant a few doors from our hotel where we ate a few times as it was excellent. One of our walks took us north of the main beach area to the Fornillo area and we enjoyed some delicious pizza at a restaurant there. It was mid April and enough was open to satisfy us. I can’t remember the distances walked or amount of stairs but it was manageable for us while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. We are ‘slow’ travellers and prefer to stay in a place for a few days minimum rather than moving around a lot. We enjoy walking and are not put off by hills or stairs.