Short trip to Amalfi Coast?
 

I'm going to Italy in July for a friend's wedding. We have 3 days/two nights at the end of the trip between Rome and our departure flight from Naples. The following itinerary is what we're considering -- is it doable? We're traveling mid-week, so we hope to avoid the worst of the tourists. Does anyone have recommendations or suggestions, especially for a private guide? Is this too ambitious for an Italian vacation??

Tuesday:
-- early morning train from Rome to Naples
-- meet private guide in Naples; transfer to Amalfi with stops in Pompeii and Positano

Wednesday:
-- beach day in Amalfi? Day trip to Ravella or elsewhere?

Thursday:
-- morning in Amalfi
-- afternoon ferry to Naples with dinner and overnight there

Friday:
- early morning departure

Eminently doable especially with the private driver on day 1.

Sweet itinerary and do go up to Ravello overlooking Amalfi the town and the sea - I took a nice but rather strenuous uphill 'stroll' thru farm plots and orchards to Ravello - goes thru a nice ravine to start but steep stairs at end if I recall rightly.

I walked down a different route via zigzagging paths thru terraced vineyards - ogling the wine workers doing their jobs en route - to the sea just east of Amalfi town - so if into a looking walking - buses of course run up there a lot too.

You can't take a ferry from Amalfi to Naples - there are no direct services.
If you wanted to go by water you will need to take a ferry to Sorrento and then change for another service to Naples.
There are no services running at the moment due to some WW2 explosive devices being found offshore and until they are disposed of, the services are remaining suspended. Hopefully by the time you travel they will be up and running, however just note that the services are infrequent and only about 2-3 per day run between Amalfi and Sorrento.

You are travelling in July, so there will be hordes of tourists so matter what day of the week you are traveling. Just plan accordingly and realize you cannot rush anywhere.

The driver for Day 1 is a good idea.

An easier alternative for getting back to Naples would be to take the ferry from Amalfi to Salerno, then the direct 30-minute train from Salerno to Naples.

www.coopsantandrea.com for the ferry schedules.

Thanks everyone! Does anyone have recommendations for private drivers? I've checked a couple of websites and they all basically look the same.

I have used this company www.worldtours.it - they are recommended on the TA forums as are another one called Guemar Travel -
http://www.guemartravel.com/
Average price Naples to Positano is 120 euro.

Another recommendation for Guemar Travel, based in Sorrento. I've used them many times for transfers and trips around the AC.