This is what I have planned for our stay in Sorrento (4 night Itinerary). Family of 5 with 3 teens and traveling in July with a modest budget :

First Night:
On the train ride from Florence to Naples, we will make a detour to see the Pompeii Ruins. I suspect it'll be a long day so will probably just get acquainted with our hotel.

Second Night:
Take the Sita bus to Amalfi. Explore the town, see cathedral. Then take another bus to Ravello to see Villa Cimbrone. Take a ferry back to Sorrento. Suggestions as to where we should eat?

Third night:
Day Trip to Capri:
Take ferry or hydrofoil to the Island. Try to see/experience:
Recommended budget friendly place to eat on the island with a family?
1-Villa San Michele
2-Chairlift to Mount Solaro
3-Gardens of Augustus
4-Hike up to the Villa Jovis

Fourth night:
Explore Sorrento- suggestions? Will it be too tiring to do a day trip to Naples just to walk around, eat pizza and get a sense of the place? Is that doable in a few hours?

Thanks in advance everyone!

Pompeii tkes at minimum half a day, and it's a long half at that, and it is well worth it. It is not suitable as a drop in on a travel day. Move Pompeii to that last day, and use the end of the travel day for exploring Sorrento. There's great pizza, lemon trees, shops with every type of product you can make from a lemon, parks, and views, and you will be near yiour hotel. Pompeii will have enough time, and all will be well.

For what it's worth, you could click my screen name and read a very long trip report that includes Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and a little bit of Naples. You can skip the other parts unless you like the literary feel of it.

If you're in Ravello, check out Villa Rufolo as well. It is pretty and different from Villa Cimbrone (my favorite of the two). There is good food at Cumpa Cosimo, a family-run restaurant in Ravello.

Hi, I live in Naples so hopefully can give you some good tips on travel;

Your first day doesn't work.
Pompeii is not a detour on the way from Florence to Naples. You will have to arrive in Naples and take a different train (called the Circumvesuviana) then further towards Sorrento to visit Pompeii. This will be a long day, but there is also free luggage storage in Pompeii so you could store your bags there before taking the train down to Sorrento from Pompeii (another 30 mins or so). This train runs every 30 mins until around 10pm. Pompeii closes at 19:30.

Second and third days souds great.

Fourth day; for me there is nothing to 'explore' in Sorrento. It is a dull place with touristy shops and expensive not good restaurants, but maybe I'm biased. If you have the chance to go to Naples it is a wonderful place, crazy yes, dirty yes, but amazingly beautiful and full of life. And the pizza is literally unbeatable. Try Gino Sorbillo, Di Matteo or Starita for a fantastic Pizza and don't miss Castel Sant'Elmo, Castel dell'ovo and the historical center.

You can scratch the surface of Naples in one day but it will be a long day so be prepared!

where are you staying in Sorrento?

I agree that detouring to Pompeii on your way from Florence to Sorrento is not a great idea. As AJPeabody recommends, use that travel day to explore Sorrento. There are nice views, pretty gardens and good restaurants. There is not a lot to see and do so it is a perfect way to spend your arrival day. Pompeii is better visited when yyou havae a full day.

On your day visiting Amalfi on the SITA bus, be prepared for long waits for a but returning to Sorrento. You might consider the ferry for your return trip.

I highly recommend taking the boat from Sorrento to Amalfi. It's a lot more pleasant than the SITA bus! I'm not sure whether you need to switch boats in Positano to continue on to Amalfi, so check carefully.

On another subject, definitely try to visit Naples! I had never been there until last year, and really loved it. There's so much to see and do, and it feels much more authentically Italian than Sorrento with its fish n chip shops and tour buses. Can't say I loved the pizza we had at the famous shop named for Queen Margherita, but I'm sure there way better places to sample that!

Taking the bus vs the ferry to and from Positano/Amalif and Sorrento offers different views and experiences so you are right that it's a good idea to do one one way and the other for the return. I believe the best views on the bus were going from Sorrento to Positano. We did it a few times in each direction but that's my memory that the view going back to Sorrento was not as great. It's the same on the ferry regardless of which direction you are going.

I think the question of doing Pompeii on the way to Sorrento will depend on your family's interest. We spent about five hours there but I've read plenty of trip reports that people say two or three hours is plenty. Teens may not be interested in staying longer than that so stopping on the way there does make sense. I also feel that a whole day in Sorrento was great - I think there is plenty to see and do there.

Here's my trip report with links to photos - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rful-weeks.cfm

You cannot see Pompeii between Florence and Naples - it is past Naples. Agree to see it as a day tip from Sorrento. Instead spend the rest of the afternoon or arrival exploring Sorrento.

To see much of Pompeii requires at least 4 or 5 hours.

We've never had good experiences with the SITA bus in the summer months. They can be extremely overcrowded and hot, with lots of pushing to get on and off. That's why I always prefer taking the boat to destinations when possible.

I don't know if we were just extremely lucky or what but when we were there (mid July 2010) we did not have the experience of crowded buses. We took an early bus from Sorrento and it left with plenty of seats still open. Mid day we took the bus from Positano to Amalfi and also got a seat (although a large number of people had just gotten off) and another day took the bus back to Sorrento from Amalfi and also was no where near full. The other trips we took the ferry. Not sure if July is less crowded than other 'in season' months, or if 2010 was a special year (there seemed to be plenty of tourists everywhere) but our experience was not bad and the views from the bus are not the same as those from the ferry. Some people, including my husband, got motion sick from the bus but I had no problem.

Be sure to have advance reservations for your "day trip" to Capri. Your hotel can handle this for you. You don't want to end up with only a half day because the early boats/hydrofoils were full. One of the most enjoyable things I did on Capri (stayed in Anacapri 2 nts) was a 2 hour boat ride around the island - away from the hoards.

Hi

The Foreigners Club - http://www.circolodeiforestieri.com/en/ -in Sorrento has magnificent views. I didn't eat there so I can't vouch for the quality. But the prices on their online menu seem very reasonable.