Sorrento & Amalfi coast - Best means of travel from Rome
 

After our week in Abruzzo for our cooking vacation, my daughter and I would like to extend our vacation by 2 or 3 days. We will be returned to Rome after our cooking adventure and would like opinions/suggestions on taking a couple of days to travel to Sorrento and maybe Positano and back to Rome. We will need to know the best means of travel for that excursion and also a possible Hotel or Bed & Breakfast in Rome, Sorrento and in Positano. Thank you!

With only 2 or 3 days, I'd only choose one stop. The Amalfi coast is statring to close down now, with many hotels/restaurants closing for the Winter, so I'd choose Sorrento. It's a bigger place with a better choice of restaurants and hotels, even in November.

The easiest way is by hire car, as it avoids struggling with bags across stations and towns, so if you can drive, do so. Rome to Sorrento is about 3 or 4 hours by car or 7 to 8 hours by public transport.

Hi SB,

I also suggest Sorrento.
You can visit the other towns by SITA bus and see Pompeii by train.

It isn't easy to find parking down there.

I'd take the train to Naples and then the Circumvesuviana commuter train from Naples Centrale to Sorrento.

Alternatively, you could stay in Naples and visit Pompeii and the AC from there - train to Salerno, bus to Amalfi and the bus to Positano and Soreento before taking the Circumvesuviana back.

If you are going to do this, I suggest flying home from Naples, not Rome.

In Rome, we very much liked our stay at http://www.hotelmaikol.com/

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

I recommend taking the bus (Marozzi or Curreri depending on who is running)to Sorrento rather than the train. We traveled from Rome to Sorrento by bus in April 2010 and will be doing it again this April- it takes 4 hours in a very comfortable large coach, costs about 18 euros one way, you can put your luggage underneath the bus, and couldn't be easier (no changing from trains in Naples to the Circumvesuviana line). You get the bus at the Tiburtina station in Rome (we cabbed there from our hotel near the Piazza Navona) and arrive in the main part of Sorrento (the bus and train stations are adjacentto each other).
We very much enjoyed our stay in Sorrento at the Hotel Antiche Mura, which is within walking distance of the train and bus stations, and will be returning there this coming year for 5 nights. Best hotel breakfast we've had in Italy!
BTW, it is very easy to visit Pompeii from Sorrento- an relatively quick Circumvesuviana train ride from Sorrento to the Pompeii Scavi station. We spent a full day there in 2010. This time we plan to train to Herculaneum from Sorrento and take the SITA bus along the coast to Positano, Amalfi, etc.
Have a great trip- I love the sound of your cooking class!

I've always done the route described by Ira and found it easy to navigate. My favorite hotel in Sorrento is the Aminta, with amazing views. It's walking distance TOO town but a long trek up the hill back. They do have a shuttle bus though. At the very least, check out their webcam.

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to extend our trip and ended up going to sorrento from Rome. We ended up renting a car and driving from Rome to sorrento. It's a pretty straightforward drive and you get here in approx 3 hrs. Just follow igns for napoli and then for sorrento. Other options (already mentioned in this thread) are train or bus. There's no direct train from Rome to sorrento so you need to change in Naples. Word of caution - just be street smart and alert. Naples is sketchy with plenty of petty crimes. Tourists are targets as you have all your belongings with you. As for positano - our friends were just there (left last Friday) and told us most places we're shutting down for the season. Although you may find a place to stay, I don't think you'll have many options. You can always make sorrento your base (it's still pretty busy - not as much as during the peak - but not desolate at all) and take day trips all over. That's what we're doing actually. BTW: We found a hotel with free parking (belair hotel). You can use the filter option on trip advisor/hotels and put in your requirements - free parking, free breakfast etc. you'll have a decent number of choices to pick from - hotels that offer free parking, if you opt to drive. Otherwise, some hotels offer shuttle service, or are near the local Sita bus stop, depending on location of hotel. Good luck! We're here til sat am, so if you need anything else let me know!

Thank you all so very much for your opinions and suggestions!!

Ciao!!