Where to go outside of Amalfi Coast

Paestum is lovely, not far at all
There are buffalo mozzarella farms in that area as well

We spent a few nights at Maratea. Very beautiful coastal area.

Paestum is great -agreed. Like a little trip to Greece without leaving Italy!

And Salerno is a fantastic small city, before you get to Paestum.

But also go west, all the way to Sorrento. From there, you’re almost, by train or car, at the Ancient Roman Empire sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The town were really just like ours, except no neon signs.

The Isle of Capri, just off the coast from Sorrento, makes a great day trip - hiking, Blue Grotto, and not on the Mainland.

Santa Maria Castelabate, Pisciotta, Palinuro south of the Amalfi Coast in the Cilento region. Beautiful beaches, crystal clear water and the second largest national park in Italy. Much less touristed than the Amalfi Coast.

Adding to gerri's post, the whole Cilento national park is lovely - you could either drive all the way down the coastal road, or take the old SS18 through the hills down as far as Sapri then on to Maratea. On the way, Castellabate is a rather lovely, hill top, medieval village. The Ruins at Velia are also worth seeing.

Thank you all so much for the great suggestions. So much to see.
Is it worth it to take a couple days to venture to the towns around Bari ? I’m so curious about the other coast. I need a month off work lol !

I can imagine nine days for just the Amalfi coast area (Naples, Amalfi coast, and an island is my idea of a perfect nine days), so even adding the close-by Cilento--which I also highly recommend--was a bit of a stretch for me. To decide if the drive to Puglia is worth it, I suggest sketching out what you have planned so far to see how it would work and what you would have to give up.
What time of year is the trip? Traffic could be particularly bad along the coast between April and September.

If you go to Paestum, as small as it is, the main road next to the Archaeological park and Museum is a ZTL. Easy parking on the east side of the road just before the ZTL. As far as Bari, here’s a recent article about the Puglia region from The NY Times.

If you want to spend a night in Paestum, I’d recommend La Chora di Paestum a very nice B&B close to the park, museum and handy to visit the buffalo farms.

Anton, you are 100% correct--a month would be needed. Maybe better to treat Puglia and its coast as a separate trip. Bari has Trani, Polignano plus St. Vito, and the rest of Puglia includes Monopoli, Gallipoli, Locorotondo, trulli country and Lecce, not to mention Matera in nearby Basilicata.
Tante belle cose!

I am done. The travel plans.

Great. All good advice. We will be in AC very soon. Aug31 to Sept8. Yes you are all correct. Puglia will have to wait! Looks like a visit to Paestum and the Cilento area will be nice with some additions. Just heard AC is a little nuts right now. Busses are jammed and the ferrys are overbooked. We may have to drive a little more on the AC than expected. I don’t want to get stuck or have to leave a town early. Any driving or parking tips? Thanks everyone so much. Looking forward to our trip. We are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.

Unfortunately if you had asked earlier, most of us would have advised to not take a car to the AC in August/September! I cannot imagine the traffic. I'd find a parking lot in Salerno, pay to leave the car there, and get to and from it by ferry.
Are you just doing day trips further afield?

Echoing valadephia, park or drop your car in Salerno. The roads are very narrow two lanes, driving will only have you sitting behind the car or bus in front of you. If necessary, purchase your ferry tickets the day before for the exact times you want to travel.

We always used to drive, but in the last 2-3 years it's become almost impossible other than November-March.

Ferry/Bus schedule.

https://www.positano.com

If you're looking for a place to stay, try here. Though they're usually booked. It's in Centola.

http://www.ilcastellodisansergio.com/eng/index.html

We stayed in Arphodite. Has a magnificent view terrace overlooking the bay of Palinuro.

Very easy 20 minutes to both Piscoitta, and Palinuro. An hour to Santa Maria Castelabate and 1:20 to Maratea.

Yes! Of coarse general advice to not drive on the AC during season. I have a parking spot at the home we are renting. One of our boat trips to Capri leaves early in the morning. So our plans are to have the car for the trips outside of the AC, day or 1 overnight, and try to keep the the ferry. We are a 25 min walk from Amalfi. May use the car if we want to be in a town late and not be at the mercy of a late night taxi if available. Good advice to get the tickets a day in advance. I was worried when I heard that the busses we crazy full and the ferrys were overbooking thus the query on driving and parking. Thanks for the advice on the places to stay. Just saw info on the GustaMinori festival this weekend. Looks like fun. I’m not going to want to come home!