South Italy Tour Amalfi Coast free days advice please

Both those areas r to relax and enjoy their beauty.
If u have time consider a bus ride to Ravello. Another viewpt, overlooking the med sea.

I haven't been to Capri but many others enjoy it. I would do that from Sorrento. There is frequent regular year-round ferry service. There is limited ferry service from Positano to Capri and it's possible that you'll have to ferry to/from Sorrento anyway and then get a ferry to Capri. I don't remember anything special in Sorrento. From reading the tour description, you'll have plenty of time to see what's there on your first day, before and after Pompeii. Use your free day in Positano to enjoy the beautiful coast - take the ferry or bus from Positano to Amalfi, take the bus up to Ravello and walk back down to Amalfi for the ferry or bus to Minori/Maiori. I think the coast must be especially lovely from the ferry in the late afternoon.

Because surface transit on the AC is limited (by road width and frequency of bus trips), you might want to look at some internet pictures of Sorrento (which is not, technically, on the AC). It has its charms, but virtually all visitors from the US report that Positano and Capri were much prettier and more special for them. I'm an encyclopedic tourist myself, so I feel for your desire to include Sorrento. (And we loved taking the bus from the Sorrento CV station up to Sant' Agata and walking down on 95% paved sidewalks.) But I suggest that you prioritize the relatively hard-to-get-to AC that you have already been delivered to!

Capri is, on balance, nicer than Sorrento. But it's a time-consuming day, with most sights on pedestrian-only walkways. Walking stamina is VERY important for Capri. Make sure you find the proper seasonal ferry schedules before you plan your Capri day. You also have to decide if you are going to SKIP the blue grotto (which is my recommendation, but that's and OPINION.)

You might be interested in hiking paths above the AC, but that's not my area of expertise. We liked the gardens at the Villa in Ravello. Ravello was more attractive to us because it has much less fashion boutique shopping than Positano or Capri. But it's a smaller town, and also very much pedestrian-walking. (Bus to and from Amalfi. We had a car and driver from our 5-night hotel in Sorrento.)

I like Chani's advice, Maiori and Minori are on the ferry route.

This is such a beautiful area you can't go wrong whatever you decide to do. We did a bit of each. The ferry to Amalfi town gives you wonderful photo ops and the towns themselves are certainly worth the time to explore. Although we did go to Capri, we chose not to take the time it would mean to visit the Blue Grotto. That was something we thought we definitely would do, but we had been fortune enough to visit other grottos prior to our arrival in Capri. We very much enjoyed the views at the top of the ski lift! We shared a taxi with fellow tour members, and our driver was kind enough to stop along the way and help us take pictures. INMHO, this has got to be one of Ricks best tours! No matter how you spend your free time you will come away with beautiful pictures and even more beautiful memories. Enjoy!!

When we were in Positano some years ago, we had no problem taking the ferry to Capri. We spent the entire day there, hiking up to the Roman villa.

And a couple of years ago we were in Sorrento, and had no trouble filling a week there. (Of course that included one day at Pompeii, and one day in Naples.) There are some great museums in Sorrento. The cathedral is worth a visit, and there are lovely walks. And a beach, as well. When we were leaving, we took the ferry to Naples instead of the bus. That was exciting, especially since nobody was sure which pier our ferry would be leaving from, and we had a plane to catch!

the tour recommendations sound good. Capri is well worth a visit, but I have to disagree with the earlier post about walking at Capri. you don't have to, if you plan it.
we caught the ferry to capri from sorrento, then caught the bus from the dock, to anacapri. while there we caught the chair lift to mt solaro, walked the short distance around to villa san michele. Both spectacular views and recommended. we looked around the small town and local church etc. and then caught the transport back. so we had very minimal walking and had a great day.
on another day we caught the ferry from sorrento to positano, very nice and worth doing. we walked the many hundreds of steps in and around the town. we enjoyed positano, but there really is not that much to see, eg it doesn't have to take all day.
we enjoyed sorrento ( are going back again in May) and is a nice place to just wander around. is there any way you can do sorrento in the afternoon etc.

hope this helps

Zoe gave me credit for a recommendation she gave me! Here's another - be sure to stop in Minori for cakes at Sal de Riso (you can't miss it if you're in Minori), they are the best ever. Thanks again, Zoe.

Thank you all for your suggestions! Sounds like a win/win situation. At the moment, I'm leaning toward heading to Capri from Sorrento and exploring Amalfi and Ravello from Positano.

Hi Harry, I did that tour last September. The free day in Positano, I took an early ferry to Amalfi and immediately got on the bus to Ravello. Loved!!! Ravello and the Villa Cimbrome. I had lunch there but if you wanted to fit more into your day, spend an hour or so in Ravello and then take the bus back down to Amalfi to explore. Then the ferry back to Positano for dinner.

In Sorrento, I truly suggest that you take an early ferry to Capri. I don't know if there will be any cruise ships in harbor when you're in Sorrento, but the ferries do get crowded. As soon as I got to Capri, I took the bus up to Anacapri before it got crowded. Walked around a bit - please be sure to see the majolica tiles in the San Michele church. Gorgeous! And if it's a nice day, take the chairlift up to Mt. Solaro. I enjoyed the Villa San Michele and then took the bus down to Capri. I have to say I'm not a shopper and it did not appeal to me at all, so I took the ferry back to Sorrento and enjoyed the afternoon in Sorrento. It definitely is worth wandering around. If you really have to "do" the Blue Grotto, make sure you get there right when they start so you don't have to wait a long time.
And don't eat too much that free day in Sorrento, because you are in for a treat for dinner at a private home. Great times.