Family of six with our 9, 7, and 3 year olds with grandma. We did this as our kids' first big international vacation. We also mostly used tour guides to make our trip more efficient and enjoyable.
Day 1- Arrive in Rome. No plans besides Gelato. It was hot throughout the entire time we were in Italy. I thought an airbnb would be better for the six of us. However, I did not anticipate how ineffective the A/C would be in the older buildings. Hotels will be considered in future European trips.
Day 2- Roman forum and Coliseum tour by Crown Tours. I would use them again.
Day 3- Bullet train to Naples, then private transfer to our airbnb in Sorrento. Similar A/C issues. Sorrento has many high quality restaurants we were rarely disappointed.
Day 4- We hired Giovanna and Francesco Donadio as our main tour guide/driver. Giovanna has many tours to offer in the area. They are recommended in Rick Steve's book.
This was a day in Capri. Giovanna curated our whole day and much of our trip as she arranged transfers and referrals for our other experiences. Walking tour first half, private boat around the island second half. We'll be planning a trip back to stay on Capri in the future as this was our favorite day.
Day 5- Positano/Amalfi Coast/Ravello. Giovanna and Francesco led us for this whole day tour and the views on the drive was as wonderful as the stops themselves. We also had a wonderful lunch in Ravello, which is a town not as run over by tourists.
Day 6- Beach day in Sorrento. There are limited beaches in Sorrento. You have to go to a beach club to get anything decent, which is not cheap. However, I suppose the expense limits the amount of people. We went to Bagni Salvatore and spent about seven hours there. The food was pretty good as well.
In the evening, we had an authentic Italian feast hosted by Chef Valentina. Her company is Corepasta.
Day 7- Morning tour to Pompei. We hired Giovanna's sister, Marina. She provides a documentary level tour and is great with the logistics of the very large area of the Archeological Site. The rest of the day we grabbed all our souvenirs and prepped for the trip back.
Day 8- Transferred back to Rome to a hotel near the airport where the A/C was great. We just needed a place to sleep, but the spot we picked put us near one of the better meals we had the entire trip at Desco Tegami a Tavola e Griglia.
The kids endured every modality of travel on the planes/trains/cars/and boats. Besides the heat slowing us down at times, I would say there were still a couple more days worth in the area around Sorrento to explore.