Settled on a week in Sorrento, now the nitty gritty questions

[Pati]

My two relatively new knees were the determining factor in choosing an apartment in Sorrento over Positano, but I still want to do day trips to Ravello, Positano and Amalfi. I'm sure we'll also bus to Pompeii and/or Herculaneum, perhaps ferry to Capri.
Question 1. Weighing whether to hire a service to take us to the Amalfi coast towns or rent a car and drive on our own? Is there a car rental service in Sorrento? Would there be a huge cost difference? My sister and I have both driven in Italy, and it sounds as if the road through the mountains would be the easier route, although returning in the dark concerns me. Am I being overly optimistic and naive? If you think a car service would be better, do you have any recommendations? Is seeing those three cities in one day unrealistic? Maybe Ravello and Amalfi with a car service and Positano on a ferry?
Question #2. Since I took ferries from Lerici to the Cinque Terre, I love this mode of transport, but am concerned about the schedule in early October. Is there a website I can access? I know I read one for Positano on one of Pauline's posts, but Sorrento? Are there a number of companies? Is one preferable over another?
Question 3. Because my sister is a flight attendant and we will be coming into Rome on a standby basis, we can't really make initial hotel arrangements there. Is there a website that you would recommend for late booking of a hotel other accommodations, such as Airbnb? Any areas in Rome to avoid? Because of this situation, I'm also reluctant to book train tickets to Sorrento now. Should I book on line in Rome or just handle the station?
I'm sorry to ask so many questions, but even though I love to travel, I get a little nervous each time, and find that knowledge is power and it really helps me to have the advice of experienced travelers. When I first accessed the slow travel sites years ago, I was amazed at the generosity of the people posting. I still am. I am thankful for all of you.

 

[Andrew]

I'll try with some of the questions, although others are more familiar with the area. Some of the main car rental companies have offices in Sorrento

For ferries, you can try http://www.naplesbayferry.com/en/index and select the route in the drop-down menus at the top, and Google the ferry operator to get a better idea that the schedules will be the same in October. I see on the Alilauro site that the summer schedules go through October.

For hotels in Rome, you can see what's available for last-minute booking on sites such as booking.com or venere.com ; there's also the Hotel Tonight app, but I haven't made a booking with them.

For trains, probably just book when you're sure you'll be taking the train; you would book Roma-Napoli at www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.it ; note that most of the latter's trains use stations other than Termini in Rome. Naples-Sorrento would be the commuter train, Circumvesuviana, which doesn't take reservations, and you'd buy those tickets in Naples.

 

[Pauline]

I will post a longer reply tomorrow. There are car rental offices in Sorrento. We picked up a car there from Hertz after a bus drove into our car on the Coast Road.

Our friends used a car service from Naples train station to Positano. Best to ask your Sorrento accommodation for recommendations. They will tell you local services.

I would do Positano and Amalfi and Capri by ferry, skip Ravello. Maybe skip Amalfi too. Sorrento and Positano will give you a good view of the area. Instead spend more time seeing them.

 

[Pati]

My fearless sister thinks that she can handle the driving, and instead of ferrying back and forth, drive to one of the coast towns, probably Positano and explore and then spend the night, and at least see a little of Amalfi and Ravello on our way back the next day. We are both really intent on seeing the landscape, we're not big shoppers, and we don't feel the need to see Capri. Or maybe if they are running, ferry from Positano to Amalfi for a few hours. I also want to visit Herculaneum, and from what I've read, taking the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento sounds like the best option. I said I wasn't a shopper, but the lone thing I've always brought home to the Midwest as gifts are the beautiful and inexpensive scarves that I've found, mostly in Rome and Florence. Have you seen them in the coast towns also, or should look for them in Rome again?
Thank you Andrew for the train and ferry info. Do I remember that our train tickets have to be stamped before we get on the train? Some sweet girl took pity on me in the La Spezia station after I had lugged my suitcases down and across and up, and did it for me. (I learned the luggage lesson that day!)
Pauline, my sister and I both drove in the Cotswolds, which I think gave us mental callouses to be able to think we can handle this. Your little country roads presented quite a challenge, and I can't wait to visit your part of the world again.

 

[Andrew]

I expect that you need to stamp the tickets for the Circumvesuviana, which are for the route. As long as the Rome-Naples train is a reserved train, designated for a specific time, you don't need to stamp that ticket: if you reserve over the Web, you'll have an e-ticket, difficult to stamp, and the confirmation code will be enough for the conductor, but there may be a screening to get to the platform where you'll need to show you have a ticket. You'd need to have a confirmation printout or a screen shot of the confirmation on a tablet or smartphone.

 

[Pauline]

Here is a video of driving on the coast road:
https://instagram.com/p/BKX-LnLgdfi/

If you are happy driving on Cotswold roads you will be fine on the Amalfi Coast. We had a car there for two weeks in May. My advice - don't pass a stopped bus. We did and he started up without looking and pulled into the passing lane and hit us. The driving is intense and very zigzaggy. The buses were worse - very crowded and I felt motion sick. We didn't try the ferries because they stop them if the water is rough which it was each time we thought we would use them.

Spending the night in Positano is a good option if driving, but I think you could do a long day out from Sorrento by ferry to Positano and Amalfi.

Herculaneum and Pompeii are easiest by train from Sorrento.

Positano is famous for its clothes shops. Today I wore the lovely scarf I got there.

We moved away from the wonderful Cotswolds and are on the coast in Dorset now. Let me know if you are in the area!