Amalfi Coast/ Salerno end
As someone whose family lives between Mercato San Severino ( 10 mins from Salerno)
and Avellino would not base my holiday in Salerno.
I have every reason to go to Salerno as I have about 30 cousins within 15 minutes car journey. 2 years ago I walked down the main shopping area and back around the harbour and that was enough for me. Personally it’s dull as ditch water. It has one high street and basically it’s a port with a yacht clubs. It’s the working end of the Amalfi coast. I find it a bit grotty to be frank. Even the shops are not that great - I was clothes shopping there.
The hotels there are dire - there is the Olympico outside Salerno but that is on a grotty beach I’m told. I keep praying for a decent hotel with a pool but so far no - except the one near the university that is in the middle of nowhere:
I have given great thought about how to see family at the Salerno end and make it a holiday. I can’t believe that anyone would suggest staying there unlless they have to ( because they have family to visit)
if I had to stay they end of the Amalfi coast I would potentially stay in Vietri ( which is amazing for pottery) or the fishing village next door.
Salerno as a base
The journey to Amalfi from there still takes about an hour or so and car parking is crowded and not cheap. Ravello is similar.
Amalfi
The locals think that Amalfi is a tourist trap and if you walk along the main strip things like pizzas are about 15 euros whereas in the small towns you pay 5 euros.
My cousins never usually eat there on principle.
However I dragged them there to see the Duomo 2 years ago and there is a walk towards the hills at the rear and that’s about it.
Ravello
I have often popped to Ravello to take that photograph from the villa gardens. It’s alright and the view is beautiful. The thing that made it interesting is watching various people all dressed up going to weddings / it’s a fashion show. One year DH and I were there at Xmas and we saw lots of 7 and 8 year olds dressed as virgin Mary’s and Josephs running around the garden - that was cute. Other than that it’s got a nice square and there might be a concert on.
My own view
Many decades ago I stayed for 2 weeks in a really lovely hotel right next door to Amalfi. ( The Saracen - not to be confused with the Saracen Tower) We spent our entire time catching a bus to Sorrento and I wowed never to be stuck there again in or around Amalfi - I pretty well learnt every bend on that road. We originally had a hire car but my competent then boyfriend crashed it on the second day ( despite learning to drive in London the Amalfi Coast defeated him). I felt utterly trapped on that coast line and fed up with the hairpin bends.
My view on Sorrento
My kids loved it and wanted to go back. They had a great time at La Solara. We had a room with a view that was stunning of Capri.
We were never bored. I loved the lemon groves surrounding it. I loved the ease of getting the train to Herculaneum and Pompei. I liked walking around Sorrento. We even visited the small museum there.
Naple can also be easily reached by train ( although we were taken there by cousins). Positano was a 50 minute bus journey and many people have lunch and then carry on to Amalfi.
I think that you can even do a fast train to Rome for a day trip.
For what it’s worth, my Italian family will pay and have paid to stay in Sorrento at the same hotel we we used (Best Western La Solara). They literally live 15 minutes from Salerno and all go to university there but still pay to stay in Sorrento.
Conclusion
Sorrento with Herculaneum / Pompei / Naples and slightly further Amalfi.
or
Just outside Salerno eg Vietri -
with Ravello / Amalfi ( there is nothing in Minori but there are beaches). Also maybe a trip to Paestum.
It’s hard to do everything and combine both. The Amalfi coast is a long long bendy road.
Finally
The strip of beach where the Olympico hotel is on the route to Agropoli. As you continue down that road towards Paestum and Agropoli it becomes nicer. It’s where I had beach holidays with my cousins when little. That’s where Italians go to enjoy a beach holiday.
Further down is Acciaroli where my cousin has a holiday home. A great combination would be to do several days there combined with Vietri or Sorrento.