Can't help on the Amalfi, but in Tuscany Montepulciano is a great choice. It's fairly large for a hill town, so there's plenty to do and it's in a very scenic area with some of the nicest countryside and hilltowns in Tuscany close by.

Hello! Well, if I had only 4 days on Amalfi Coast, I would choose to place myself in just one location and then take day trips from there. If you want to be in a smaller town, I'd recommend staying in Positano, which many consider to be the jewel of the coast. From there, you can take the public bus (SITA) to other towns, and even the ferry to Amalfi. Sorrento is also a very good base and is quite a bit larger (although still small) than Positano. From Sorrento, you can take the hydrofoil to Capri for a day, and take the ferries and/or SITA bus to the other towns.

Must-sees: Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi and Ravello. If you're travelling between the AC and Tuscany, consider stopping at Pompeii for a guided tour.

What time of year are you going? Ferries between the smaller towns do not run during off-season.

Hope this helps!

We stayed in Sorrento in 09/10 for 6 nights, and it was wonderful! We stayed at the Hotel Settimo Cielo, an older hotel yet very clean and quiet; the staff was very nice and helpful and the views from the room are to die for!! All rooms have oceanfront views with balconies. At the time the room price was about Euro 140/nt. for that time of year. They have a website: hotelsettimocielo.com Our only complaint was that the bath towels were very thin, but we just laughed it off to experience. We would stay there again in a heartbeat! It was a nice walk to the Piazza Tasso. We took the bus to the other towns on the Amalfi Coast and took the hydrofil to Capri. One day we took the train to Pompeii. It was a wonderful vacation! When you look for your hotel, the only thing you see above ground is the hotel sign and an elevator. You park your car, get into the elevator and it takes you down to the hotel which is built into the mountain. In Tuscany we stayed in San Gimignano, but don't remember the name of the hotel. Have a wonderful trip!!

There are no cities on the Amalfi Coat - only towns - many of them very small.

I would stay in Sorrento since

1) it's larger and has more restaurants and shops
2) it's a quick train trip to Pompeii
3) there are numerous ferries/hydrofoils to Capri and towns down the coast
4) if you prefer you can take the bus down the cost road - but it tends to be very slow and mobbed - often SRO

If you want to do any beaches look carefully - most are sub par (pebbles or even rocks versus sand - nothing like one would expect in the US)

I would recommend staying all 4 days in Positano. It is a lovely town and you can take the ferry to Capri, Amalfi, etc. We spent a week in Pos last June and loved it.

thanks so much Zootsi-we are going to Tuscany after the Amalfi Coast and will stay there!
IpswichTours-thanks so much-your advice has been amazing and I will stay either in Positano for all 4 days or do 2 nights each in Positano and Sorrento! We will be there in June(first 2 weeks)
Thanks emma09,will check out Cettimo Cielo,but we are 4 of us and are looking for slightly cheaper accommodation -sounds lovely though.....
Thanks nytraveler ...ok,will choose between Sorrento and Positano-or if the family is feeling adventurous- 2 nights in each...we love beaches and are regulars at Phuket and Bali,so guess wont even try and venture near one in that area as pebbles is not my kinda fun on a beach..--

There are a limited number of (not great) sand beaches - but are often the property of very upscale hotels.

Perhaps worth noting that at least four places along the Amalfi Coast enjoy official city status - and, to avoid causing any offence, you'd perhaps be better not referring to Amalfi, Positano, Ravello or Vietri sul Mare as towns!

Whilst categorisation methods vary from country to country, here such things aren't dependent simply on population numbers, having cathedrals, bishops or the like... but require the grant of state recognition. For more on the subject, try getting an autotranslate of:

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citt%C3%A0_dell%27Italia

The Campania list is partway down that page, where you'll also see that Ischia appears... however that's for the settlement - population 16,000 - and not the island of the same name, on which it's rather confusingly situated!

Sorrento is shown as well, although that's not on the AC proper, but just over the "border" in the province of Naples, on the 'northern' side of the peninsula.

For a quick look at the beaches hereabouts, try this nice little leaflet - originally issued by the Campania region's tourist people:

http://www.bb-napoli.com/english/seaguide.pdf

Peter

Thanks for your replies....just a quick need for advice on wether to take a car from Rome and drive to Positano and Sorrento or take the train to Naples and then the circumvesuviana and busses.....is parking a problem in these places??