Visiting Capri from Sorrento

I think this is only a concern in high season. I was there in mid May and walked right up. It was not an issue, though I got the recommended early ferry. You can book the ferry back when you arrive on Capri, though similarly I waited and bought a slightly earlier ticket in the end. Honestly, the ticket agents gave me a weird look when I enquired about tickets for later in the day.

I recommend taking the ferry whenever possible. The views pulling into port in Positano & Amalfi are just incredible. The bus can be crowded, hot, and at times looking out the window as you’re flying around the road gave me motion sickness.

So helpful! Thank you

The "fast ferry" is something of a myth, based on a, maybe once a hydrofoil, ferry from Naples to Capri. The size of the ferry for each departure is chosen by the ferry company to suit passenger load, sea conditions, and time of year. I would also note that Macy's Ferry Company (to coin a phrase) will not volunteer at their ticket window, "Oh, you could take the Gimbells ferry 30 minutes sooner." A corollary of this fact is that you should make sure where your departure ferry (I mean, from Capri) is leaving from. It could be a different slip than you arrived at, because it could be a ferry of a completely different size.

The ferry company will want you to buy a return ticket at the time of buying the "to Capri" ticket, and they are right. You don't want to miss the last ferry of the day because it is full. I wouldn't even book the very last ferry, myself.

I can't answer your question about Amalfi. The conventional, romantic tourist wisdom, is that you MUST see Amalfi and Positano from the water. I don't entirely agree, but it's a matter of opinon. Positano has a much smaller harbor, so the ferries are smaller and can carry fewer people. OTOH, the bus from Sorrento to Positano/Amalfi is usually packed to the gills, so you can forget about "hey man, sit on the right side so you can look over the cliff with no guardrails .... " Our host here, Rick, has written that you should see Positano first, because if you take the BUS back from Amalfi at 5PM, it may not even STOP in Positano because it is already standing-room-only!

We were in Sorrento in the last week of May, so I can tell you that "this sounds right to me."

Edit: While it is not specifically about the Capri-Sorrento route, I wanted to add two relatively recent discussions that include short reports on ferries I have not taken myself, Naples-Sorrento, and Positano-Amalfi. In one case the boat had sealed windows and cabin, in the other case, the poster sat on deck. They are long threads, but first-hand reports on ferry seating are important.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/positano-recommendations

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/naples-to-sorrento-train-or-private-driver

We took the Alilauro ferry to Capri last week and booked the tickets a couple of days in advance. The ferry is large and this time of year it doesn't seem to be a problem to get a ticket. We booked our return ticket at the same time and noticed that people with different return times than us were getting on as well. The staff didn't seem to care.

As for Sorrento, there is no convenient way. The ferry takes an hour and a half, but drops you off at one location, meaning you need to hop another ferry or a bus to visit the others. We had no problem catching a bus from Amalfi to Maiori and then Minori to Maiori, however on a 2nd visit to the coast we were on an 8 person tour and as we were going through Positano on the way back to Sorrento, there were so many people waiting for the bus in both directions, that traffic was being blocked.

We took the bus down to Positano and then onto Amalfi, then a ferry back. I thought the bus ride was enjoyable for the views and switchbacks; definitely an experience. Get there early if you take the bus; there will be a line waiting to board. Better views are on the right side of the bus.

If you take a ferry back to Sorrento from Amalfi, be sure to ask the ticket seller how long it takes. We didn't know any better and took the one with the next departure time. It ended up stopping for 45 minutes or so on the way back in a cove to allow people to go swimming. We didn't have suits with us and didn't go, so it was just wasted time.