I'm thinking about hiring a driver who can drive us around the Amalfi coast area for a day.
Do you think it is possible to fit the following towns in a day?
- Positano
- Amalfi
- Ravello
- Paestum ruins
Any other places that's worth seeing?

We have a group of 8 people (4 adults and 4 kids under age of 8). What would be your suggested itinerary? How many hours will we need to cover these towns. We will be going in mid-late August.

Any car service company that you would recommend in the area? We will be staying in around in Sorrento area.

Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You could fit in all those places inn a long day, depending on how long you spend in each place. But it might be better to go to Amalfi and Positano on your own, by bus or ferry. Very easy to get to from Sorrento and if you go on your own you won't be paying a driver to sit around while you walk around, take photos, look at shops, etc.

Ravello and Paestum are further away so having the driver makes more sense. Go to Paestum in the morning before it gets too hot, possible stop at both a mozarella farm and for lunch in Cetara on the way back, then on to Ravello where you could spend two hours or more walking around.

There are many many drivers to choose from. I'd ask at your hotel, and even check with local taxi drivers to see what their price would be. I'm sure people will chime in with recommendations here, too.

When are you going - if in summer the coastal road can get very crowded and slow going - friends last fall wanted to go by bus from Salerno to Amalfi, the town, and found the main road was closed due to some kind of landslide.

I wouldn't want to cover all that in a day. Are you planning anything specific in any of the locations? Path of the Gods? Planning to swim?

We used Francesco Marrapese for car service and were happy with the service.

I know I know... we are trying to accomplish too much in a day. we are only going to be in the sorrento area for 2 days. one for capri and the other for amalfi coast. we don't think we will be in the south for a while after this trip, but still really want to see paestum ruins. we don't plan to swim. probably won't be able to do the path of gods since we have a 3 yr old and probably will have to carry kid if we do hiking. it would be just strolling around the town and checking out the beautiful sceneries. plus, with young kids, they probably won't give us time to check out things "in details".
is that still doable in a day? like within 10hr period? we are hoping to get a quick overview of the area and when we have time to go again, we will definitely stay longer.
thanks again.

I would rather spend more time in less places rather than waste time in transit rushing to more places...but that's just my style of travel. I just think I get more enjoyment that way and see more.

I meant to add that we did Capri as a day trip and hated it...way too busy with day trippers for our liking. The queue for the lift to the top of town was ridiculous and the main town was top end stores that didn't interest us. If I were to do it again I would either spend the night or nix it altogether and do a day trip on a boat up the coast. The day we did that was the best day.

I agree. Skip Capri as a day trip.
You have so short a time for the mainland there is no way you should include Capri on this trip.

It is around 2.5 hours from Sorrento to Paestum. So you could leave very early in the morning, get to Paestum and tour, then make your way up the Amalfi Coast to get back to Sorrento, stopping in Amalfi and Positano along the way. Ravello is a 30-minute detour up into the hills, so I would skip it.

I agree with ekc - Ravello is just a 'viewing platform' where everyone congregates at Villa Rufolo for a photo with that iconic view of the umbrella pine and church below it with the coast stretching out beyond. Other than that it has a pretty piazza ringed with ceramic shops and cafes.
I would skip it as well. Enjoy Paestum - the three temples are magnificent and unbelievably lay hidden under swampland for thousands of years. If you have time, the museum is well worth a visit if only to see the 'Tomb of the Diver' fresco which was only found in 1968.

Sorry - but that is way too much to see and do with a bunch of little kids - and you can expect it to be very hot everywhere. I would break this up into much smaller bites so kids have time to go to beach or viit a playground or whatever,

In August those roads will be packed with all traffic very slow.

Sounds like a truly exhausting/irritating day.

Thank you our for your thoughts. We decided to take it easy and see how the day goes. If we haven enough time, we will head to Paestum. If not, we will go on another day. We have another family joining us. They prefer going to Capri and Amalfi Coast over Paestum, but they are only there for 2 days. We will have rental car later in the trip so can always go after they left.

I agree with all those who say that you don't have enough time for all these places.

While I agree that Paestum is extraordinary, I wouldn't have thought it a great place for little ones. Visiting it requires a nontrivial amount of walking, you can't actually go inside the ruins, and the differences between the 3 magnificent temples are subtle enough that I'm not sure a young child would be able to see or appreciate them. JMO.

FWIW, I must express my disagreement with the suggestion that "Ravello is just a 'viewing platform' where everyone congregates at Villa Rufolo for a photo with that iconic view of the umbrella pine and church below it with the coast stretching out beyond." There are cities, towns, and villages around the world where people congregate for an iconic selfie -- that says nothing about the merits of the place itself. For many tourists, I'm sure that's all they see of Ravello. For some of us who took the time to explore it a bit further, Ravello can be among the most magical places anywhere in the world. I know that for me, a night in Ravello was among the most memorable and treasured of all my travels. That doesn't mean that I think you should include Ravello in your plans -- I'm not sure it would have much appeal to young persons. I just felt the need to defend a place that I found so extraordinary.

Enjoy!

If you do not already have a hotel in Sorrento, get one with a great view of the bay and a good pool. That way, you can enjoy the views and the littles can play in the pool. There are beaches, but they are, IMHO, not great for little ones, so in August, get a pool!

Don't try to see too much. Enjoy "being there."

A boat or ferry down the AC is lovely. The views of Positano from the water are gorgeous,

Capri with little ones night not be too much fun unless you can find a play ground.