Just back from Italy and already planning a return trip. We would like to spend five nights in Amalfi Coast. Wondering if it would be better to base ourselves in one town (Sorrento or Positano) and then do day trips to Pompeii and Capri. Or is five nights too long at those towns? Better to spend perhaps three nights there and two on Capri? Also wondering about the contrast between Positano and Sorrento - I am worried that Positano is too small (similar to Portofino?) or Sorrento too large. We have stayed in Santa Margherita and enjoyed that size town versus a Portofino size. Positano sounds beautiful but is it easy to to day trips from there and is it large enough to have plenty of dining options.

In 2002, we stayed two nights in Sorrento, one in Positano, and one in Amalfi to see the region. We drove to Pompeii from Sorrento one day, and took the hydrofoil the next over to Capri for a day trip. That worked well. I really liked Sorrento and did not feel it was too big. The people come out at night for the passagiata (walking downtown during the evening). We had GREAT pizza at the Fenix (Phoenix?) reaturant. Since we had a car and wanted to drive the Amalfi coast, we chose to move around rather than stay in one place.

We then drove on around to Positano. Beautiful and charming small town with MANY stairs! Good (although expensive) dining options there. I could have stayed another day enjoying its laid-back atmosphere. Too small? Not for a stay of one or two days. We then drove over to Amalfi - again, beautiful! You will be navigating the winding coastline if you base yourself in Sorrento and do day trips. We didn't mind the drive, and it's not as treacherous as many would have you believe!

Hope this helps!

Since you indicate plans to visit Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, I recommend staying in Sorrento because it makes transportation to all of these places easier. Or, you could spend a night on Capri to get the full effect there. I think it would be too limiting to spend 5 nights in Positano, and 4 or 5 nights in Sorrento would be fine since you can take trips to other places each day and return to Sorrento before or after dinner.

We just came back from Sorrento, Capri(day trip) and Positano...trip report later..
We stayed 3 nights in Sorrento and did day trips to Capri and Pompei and two nights in Positano and drove to Ravello, Amalfi and Montepertuso(sp?)...The Amalfi coast was just incredible! We love Sorrento and Positano, the scenery are slightly different in Ravello, Montepertuso, near Amalfi, Sorrento and Positano.

Sorrento: love the lemon and olive trees along the roads, gorgeous. Our hotel had the best view, we could see the little fishing village below (Marina Grande) and mountains all around. You will love Sorrento, there are lots of places where you can escape the crowds. Shopping is much cheaper than Rome or Positano for clothes and lemoncello..etc. Must eat dinner at La Minervetta restaurant, gorgeous view, arrive just before dark. Now we know what they mean by 'Sorrento moon', there's a song written about it. If you love seafood, must order the 'mix fish' platter (we were really surprised to see shrimp, squid, mussles, clams aswell as fish). Don't order the 'seafood pasta', it only have clams and mussles. Very difficult to find parking (not to mention the main road is closed-off for pedestrian only), but we did managed. Must stroll around downtown and have hazel nut gelati, lots of people, street music, etc..Walk down to Marina Grande, a real fishing village with kids playing, local people strolling around...etc.very sweet.

Pompei: we drove to Pompei (against our hotel's advice)...if you can drive from Rome to Sorrento, you can drive to Pompei and everywhere really. Park your car for free if you're with Europcar. Pompei was huge! The best! The A3 will take you straight there.

The best views was around Positano on the Amalfi coast drive (wasn't scary at all). The best thing about having a car is that you can stop along the way and take pictures or just to marvel at the gorgeous views. Amalfi town was way too crowded..nothing special.

Capri: Capri was way too crowded, more choices of ferries/boats/hydrofoil from Sorrento than Positano(boat was much smaller)...However, there were so many people at the dock. If you don't have time, skip Capri. The best thing about Capri was taking the chairlift (from Anacapri) to the top (forgot the name). Do not miss!!! Or and buy lemoncello in Capri directly from the place that made them...gorgeous bottles.

Positano, Ravello, Montepertuso:
Absolutely stunning!!!! However, the town is much smaller and lots of steps to go down to the beach(Marina Grande). If you stay above Marina Grande, you will have the best view. Fornillo beach is very far from town...Ravello was nice, however the roads are even narrower than Positano and very winding, worst than the Amalfi coast, skip it if you don't have time. To go to Ravello, you will past Praino, Amalfi town...way up the hill. Do not skip Montepertuso, above Positano (10 minutes drive)!!! We drove there during the day and came back for dinner at night. Fantastic family restaurant Tagilia?(I'm sorry, I'll post the exact name later)...Ask your hotel to book for you and they will bring a mini-bus to pick you up, incredible! The entire meal for us (no wine, since we don't drink) was $45 and we had the mix grilled meat, grilled squid(my favorite), two first course, some other stuff...Or you could order just pasta and pay less than $20 for two. Please ask for Pepino (very cute)..don't tell my husband though...

Conclusion: stay in Sorrento and Positano!

We were in Sorrento and Positano this July for the second time. Sorrento is a medium-sized city that feels much more Americanized than Positano. However, it has much better transportation connections to other parts of the coast (Pompeii, too) and Capri than Positano. It also offers a wider range of hotel and restaurant choices than Positano. But in terms of a place that tugs at the heart and thrills you with unforgettable scenery, there's no comparison. Positano wins hands down.

Good luck with your choice!

Thanks for all the advice. Tetrabit, what was the name of your hotel in Sorrento?

BoulderCO, we stayed at La Minervetta Pensione, ask for a room with balcony, the view was absolutely to die for! We paid only $98 because this time we're on a tight budget..(it's a 2*), usually stay 3*. The room was clean, although a bit old, nice bathroom, bring your own towels since the towels that they have feels like thick bed sheets. We will probably stayed there again if we're one the same budget. Overall, great friendly people, this hotel was recommended by Rick Steves. I could honestly say that the view from our room (and breakfast table) was as gorgeous (but different) from the one that we stayed at in Positano. Actually, this was the best view from our hotel room ever! And there was no need to pay the extra $10 for airconditioning because we left our windows (top floor) open all day/night. The hotel was actually built on the cliff, stunning!! Oh yeah, breakfast and parking included and you can walk to town (10 minutes, nice walk).

Thanks, Tetrabit. I think we are leaning towards five nights in Sorrento due to it's larger size and good transportation for day trips. Sounds like five nights in Positano would be too much. We would really rather stay in one location for the entire five nights - I get sick of moving from hotel to hotel every few days. Thanks for all the help.

Good idea--use one base location and Sorrento is most central. Look at La Tonarella for great vistas.

Bob
Just checked the La Tonnarella website - looks great - especially the suites. Have you stayed there? How far is it from the main area of town? Walking distance? It was difficult to tell from the website's map.

BoulderCo, if you can get La Tonnarella, hurry up and book it!! We tried but they were all booked up for Sept when we were there. It looked really nice (from the lobby), they couldn't show us the rooms because they were all booked up. I heard many good reviews at La Tonnarella, (our first choice) it's a 3* so you will be paying more. It's about 12 minutes walk to town and 2 minutes walk to La Minervetta for dinner.

BoulderCO: Check out www.sorrentomap.com. It's a great site for visitors (and dreamers!). All the transportation info you'll need plus an on-line edition of the city's monthly magazine for concerts, art shows, etc.

All places you named are beautiful.
My husband recommends staying in Sorrento because you have the option of train, bus and ferry to go to all the places you want to.
I would recommend the cheapest place and just take transporation to wherever you want to do to that day. I loved all the ferry rides.