My Southern Italy itinerary: how to see the best places in Southern Italy in 7 to 10 days, with stops in the most famous areas of the south of Italy and hidden gems most tourists never see, based on our own trips to the area.
Southern Italy is one of Italy’s most beautiful area, a land blessed with crystal-clear seas, golden beaches, charming villages and outstanding cultural and architectural gems.
It is also an incredibly diverse part of the country.
The Amalfi Coast is unique in feel and tourism affluence, Puglia and Calabria couldn’t be more different in nature and feel, Basilicata and Molise are something else again. And this is without taking into account Sicily, which is so unique, it stands in a category of its own!
This richness of landscapes and feels means the South of Italy is a wonderful destination for a trip and one that can keep you busy for weeks, if not months, on end.
But alas! We know vacation time is often limited!
So today, I want to share with you ideas to see some of the most beautiful places in Southern Italy in a week to 10 days, which is a common vacation timeframe many work with.
Previously, I shared a one-week itinerary for Puglia—perfect for those planning multiple trips to Italy. Today, I’m sharing a more fast-paced itinerary covering Puglia, Matera, and the Amalfi Coast.
I haven’t included Sicily here because, honestly, it deserves a trip of its own!
1-Week Southern Italy Itinerary at a Glance
If you have one week to work with and want to see several destinations, I recommend you follow this itinerary.
Day 1: Arrival, Monopoli (Stay in Monopoli Or Ostuni for two nights)
Day 2: Town-hopping in Puglia to see Monopoli, Ostuni, Locorotondo, Alberobello
Day 3: Matera (Stay in Matera for 1 night)
Day 4: Matera to Minori, Maiori, Atrani or Salerno (stay for the whole duration of your stay)
Day 5: Exploring the Amalfi Coast / Boat Tour
Day 6: Day trip to Capri
Day 7: Local town & Departure
10 Day Southern Italy Itinerary at a Glance
If you have ten days, I recommend some additional time in selected spots as follows
Day 1: Arrival . Stay in Monopoli or Ostuni for 3 nights
Day 2: Ostuni + local activity
Day 3: Town hopping Martina Franca, Locorotondo, Alberobello
Day 4: Matera (Stay in Matera for 2 nights)
Day 5 Matera
Day 6 : Drive to Paestum, see the temples, then drive to town of choice on Amalfi coast (stay for the whole duration of your stay)
Day 7: Exploring the Amalfi Coast / Boat Tour
Day 8: Pompei
Day 9: Day trip to Capri
Day 10: Local town & Departure
Main stops on this Southern Italy Itinerary
Monopoli
Monopoli is a small, pretty, whitewashed town on the Eastern Coast of Puglia and a delightful place to visit or call home for a couple of days.
The center of the town develops around a small port and is a delightful maze of whitewashed alleys, hidden courtyards and surprising churches.
The town is well served by the local train station and has a good number of delicious restaurants, which give a food amount of choice for foodies, despite the small size of the town!
the last time we went to Monopoli, it was with our kids.
I recommend you stay in Monopoli if you have children or you want a local experience.
Ostuni
Ostuni is one of the best known towns in Puglia and a beloved destination for local and overseas visitors, and with good reason!
Perched on a hilltop in Val d’Itria, between Bari and Brindisi, Ostuni is a small jewel of a place with some characteristcs that make it space: its whitewashed alleys, which give it a peculiar Grecian appearance and a great offering of tours and tourism services.
The town is small, cute and has the mellow atmospheres typical of Puglia towns: pretty views, fantastic restaurants and tours that offer the opportunity to cook, taste and explore Ostuni and the surrounding area abound.
Ostuni is a lovely town to use as a base, better known to overseas tourism than Monopoli, which means it has a slighly different feel yet also additional option for organized tours.
Locorotondo
Locorotondo is a small, often overlooked village with a delightful, quiet atmosphere, fabulous white alleys and flowery balconies.
It is a small place, with little to do as such, but the ideal town to come to if you want to wander with your nose up and leisurely take in the quiet pace of the Italian south and immerse yourself in Southern Italy’s aesthetic.
We love to come here for lunch and spend the time letting the kids’ free to wander ahead of us, peek into small yards and pet the local street cats.
Martina Franca
Martina Franca is a pretty town in Puglia with something special: absolutely stunning baroque architecture.
Martina is a delightful and quiet center, with lovely whitewashed houses not dissimilar from those in other towns in the area.
However, intertwined with them, you also have here incredibly elaborate churches that add to Martina a sense of grandeur and elegance that is unique to it.
This is an adorable town to visit for a few hours: make sure you sit in the main piazza to watch life pass by!
Alberobello
Alberobello is the most famous town in Puglia and, for a long time, the only one that attracted international tourism to this area.
Famous for its charming trulli, unique-looking dwellings with whitewashed walls and pointy roofs that give them a distinctive hobbit-like appearance!
Alberobello is fabulous and a Puglia must-see.
However, like all must-sees, it tends to suffer from over-tourism, so it is not rare to hear people who come here and leave with a a sense of disappointment.
To minimize the risk of this happening to you, I recommend coming to Alberobello early in the morning (beofre 11 am) or late in the afternoon, after most day trippers have gone.
Matera
Matera is one of the most beautiful and unique towns I have ever seen and since I am from Rome, I think this is quite a statement to how fantastic this city really it!
Matera has a long a unique history but the main thing that makes it stand out from anywhere else is that it is for a large part a cave town aka a place with houses and dwellings literally carved into the rocky slope of a mountain.
If you struggle to picture it, you are not alone! Matera is one of those places you do not really ‘get’ until you see it and an absolute delight to discover.
It is also a lot more comfortable than it may sound as Matera now very tourism ready, so you have the cave houses but also amazing restaurants and wine bars that make a stay fabulously enjoyable.
Paestum
The ancient Greek and Roman city of Paestum is one of the most beautiful yet often overlooked archaeological sites in Italy and a place I recommend to include in your Southern Italy itinerary because of its sheer aesthetic beauty (as well as its historical importance, of course!)
Located in Campania, less than 1 hour drive South of Salerno, Paestum is home to three Greek temples of outstanding beauty and to a beautiful museums with unique burial paintings from the V century BC: you can see the site in a couple of hours and you don’t even need a tour to take it in.
A fantastic stop on your way to the Amalfi Coast.
Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast is such a well known area of Italy it deserves no introduction and and this itinerary allows for up to about 4 days here, which is a great amount of time to get a taste for this area.
When it comes to where to stay on the Amalfi Coast and how to plan your time here, I have voluntarily left a few options open as what to see and how to see it depends on a few factors such as season, ease of mobility and how much you want to explore.
However, i can give pointers on how to choose!
If you want a base that allows for a day trip to Pompeii and Capri, the best base is Sorrento. While not on the Amalfi Coast proper (it’s on the other side of the same promontory as Amalfi), Sorrento has that costiera feel and is the best getaway to the area since it has ferry and train.
If you don’t need the train to Pompeii, I recommend to stay on the coast proper.
In terms of place to see, the one place that should not be missed on the Amalfi Coast is Ravello and the one activity I recommend no matter what is to get on a boat (private or ferry) to catch coastal views from the water.
Other places I love are Minori and Vietri, which I find to be two of the prettiest towns in the area, and among the least overrun.
Capri
I adore Capri. While I do appreciate mass tourism is a problem on the island, I still believe Capri is one of the most beautiful islands on the Mediterranean and i cannot imagine a southern Italy itinerary without at least an attempt at visiting it!
My faovrite way to see Capri is by staying the night: Capri is pretty much assaulted by day trippers and it is ont easy to have a great day here if you are one of them: escaping the crowds truly is not easy here. However, if you stay the night, after the last ferry is gone, you discover an islands that, while touristy, truly is rather special and has views, history and art that is worth discovering.
If you can’t, for instance because you want easy access to Pompeii, another good way to enjoy Capri is to get a tour around it: the views from the water are stunning!
Pompeii
Pompeii is one of the most significant archaeological sites of the ancient Roman world, a unique opportunity to immerse yourself into an ancient Roman city pretty much preserved just as it were.
Pompeii is easy to reach from Sorrento by train or from anywhere in the area by car and it takes from a few hours to a full day to see it properly – the site is huge!
Depending on your level of interest and season, I recommend to spend the day in Pompeii or to combine it with a trip up Vesuvius: the hike up is easy (steep, but poses no technical issue) and the views stunning!
If you have your own car, Herculaneum is also a spectacular option: I recommend it over Pompeii especially if you are short on time (it is smaller) and in summer, since it has a bit more shade.
Getting to Southern Italy
You can reach Southern Italy are plane, train or car.
Main Airports are :
- Bari Airport (Puglia)
- Brindisi Airport (Puglia)
- Naples International Airport (Campania)
- Salerno Costiera Amalfitana Aipport (Catania)
If you follow this itinerary in the order given, you would arrive in Bari or Brindisi and leave from Naples or Salerno, but the opposite direction works too.
Bari, Naples and Salerno are also all reachable by train.
Getting Around Southern Italy
The best way to explore Southern Italy is by car and ferry.
The car will be handy in Puglia and Matera, since the area is only partially served by trains, while I recommend ditching the car for the Amalfi Coast and explore locally by ferry, should the season allow.
Driving Tips: If you’ve heard that driving in Italy is crazy—don’t worry! It’s different from what you might be used to, but totally manageable especially AWAY from the Amalfi Coast, which is why I recommend you do not drive there 🙂
