Travel from Rome to Praiano to Ischia and back to Rome

Welcome to the forum!
Before getting too far into the weeds.... I'm thinking that you are limiting your transport options by staying in Praiano due to it not having ferry service. Unless you've already made non-refundable reservations and/or are planning on just staying put during your stay in Praiano, you might want to rethink that plan? I'm personally not sure I'd want to be limited to SITA buses and car services for getting around the region. How many people will you be needing to move from place to place?

Thank you. We are 4 - 2 adult children ages 25 and 22. We chose Praiano because we thought it would be a bit less crowded/crazy and the hotel was recommended to us. We typically stay in rentals, but decided on a hotel in this case. What would you recommend as an alternative in the event we can cancel?

Thank you again.

It may depend on what you want to do for sightseeing during your stay, For instance, if planning to do Pompeii then you might look at Salerno or Sorrento (the latter not being on the Amalfi Coast but on its doorstep) as there's rail service to stations near (or near-ish, in the case of Salerno) the scavi from both. That said, I'd just think about a base that has ferry service around the region to reduce time dealing with the heavily traveled coastal road and crowded buses if you intend to do a fair amount of sightseeing. Besides, the coast can be its most scenic when viewed from the water.

I'm not personally a fan of Positano due to the expense of staying there, steep terrain/amount of steps, and lack of things to do but you might feel differently. You might want to take a look at some recent feedback on Salerno from our Forum Friend Jay...who just returned from his latest (of how many now, Jay?) Italian adventure last month. It's near the end of this thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/some-of-italy-s-great-hits-rome-salerno-amalfi-coast

Another plus for Salerno is that it's served by high-speed rail - both Trenitalia and Italo - from other parts of the country. You could get there from Roma Termini in as little as 90 minutes in a comfy carriage with big windows and a restroom at hand. You could even bring your breakfast or lunch! :O)

You might reach out to Elizabeth at Blue Star in Positano for some insights

But worth mentioning that Blue Star is a boat tour company. I'd only contact them if a tour is what you're looking for.

Thank you - will look at Salerno - you comment re: a base w/a ferry service makes a lot of sense. if we can't make the adjustment, I will likely need some advice re: how to make Praiano work for us. :). Thank you again, JMo