Italy - Amalfi Coast - 4 days, 4 towns?

Hi, we are planning to be on the Amalfi Coast, 2 days in Sorrento, and 2 days in Positano in mid June.


I recognize that one can do a day trip to Capri and Pompeii. Keeping in perspective that the Amalfi Coast is meant to be enjoyed in a relaxing fashion, does it make sense to try and see both Capri and Pompeii while we're staying in Sorrento and Positano? Or does it make more sense to see one and enjoy our stay/hotel in Sorrento/Positano?

Thanks.

For starters, look here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=574984&highlight=positano

We stayed 4 nights at the Hilton in Sorrento recently. We had 3 day trips:
1. Hired a driver to tour the Amalfi Coast
2. Visit to Pompei via the Circumvesuvia
3. Day trip to Capri.

If your schedule permits I would use Sorrento as my base for your trips to Capri and Pompei and relax once in Positano.

An alternative would be to visit Pompei from Sorrento and then Capri from Positano.

Enjoy the trip!

Thanks for the replies so far...a question for Dugernaut - so you found that going to Pompeii and Capri was worth, not soaking in relaxation in either Sorrento or Positano?

I was in Italy this past summer for a couple of weeks, with a good portion of the time spent on the Amalfi coast. Having been to all the places you mention, I would recommend you skip Sorrento and spend your time in Positano. It is no fun packing up every day or two and moving from one place to another. I found Sorrento to be my least favorite of all the places in Italy I visited. Positano was simply amazing and the most relaxing part of our trip. From Positano I would recommend side trips to Capri, Pompei, and Ravello. Capri and Ravello can be done in partial days versus taking the entire day with an early enough start, leaving the evening to enjoy Positano. I would highly recommend taking a full day to enjoy and explore Positano. Hang out by the pool and soak in the amazing views, then wander throughout the small town and explore the shops and atmosphere. Pompei will likely take a full day given the distance and the size of the ruins. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for the replies so far...a question for Dugernaut - so you found that going to Pompeii and Capri was worth, not soaking in relaxation in either Sorrento or Positano?

This wasn't designed as a relaxing trip, but more of an adventure. It was my wife and 2 teen daughters, and if we were all going to travel to Italy, I wasn't going to "relax" and miss either Pompeii or Capri.

Pompeii and Capri were well worth it IMO. We were fortunate that our day at Pompeii, the weather was cool and very comfortable to explore. I don't know if we would have enjoyed it as much if the temps were in the '90's.

We visited Capri on Good Friday, the weather was spectacular and a shopkeeper mentioned we had a great day to visit as the weather was summer like without the summer crowds.

I think visiting Capri is very easy from Positano, but it would be a tougher journey to get to and from Pompei.

Sorrento was our base because of Hilton points, and we made the best of it. Would I return to Sorrento for Sorrento? Not likely.
I get to relax at my house at the Jersey Shore all summer. :)

pm me if I can help any further.