Southern Italy itineraries - four seven-day routes

Southern Highlights

This fast-moving 480 km route links Naples, the Bay of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Basilicata and Salento. It moves from art-filled cities to beautiful water, a gorge, cave dwellings and villages framed by vines and olive trees.

1. 01Naples - 2 days: explore the city's lively streets, majolica-tiled cloisters, frescoed churches and the archaeological museum whose collections include treasures from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
2. 02Detour to Pompeii - 6 hours: take the Circumvesuviana suburban train and walk through the time-stilled streets of the buried city.
3. 03Capri - 1 day: sail to the famous island for boutiques and people-watching, or choose the ruins of Villa Jovis and the island's quieter paths. The chairlift from Anacapri to Monte Solaro is a highlight in its own right.
4. 04Positano - 1 day: arrive by sea to see the pastel houses descend towards the pebbled main beach. Add a cove by boat, local linen and fresh seafood.
5. 05Detour to the Sentiero degli Dei - 5 hours: trade the crowded town for a high coastal walk through the clouds.
6. 06Amalfi - 1 day: visit the former maritime power, taste limoncello made with local lemons and learn about its long paper-making tradition.
7. 07Detour to Ravello - 3 hours: take the bus uphill for famous gardens and broad views over the coast.
8. 08Matera - 1 day: explore the sassi, hand-cut cave dwellings, the gravina and the vivid Lombard-period paintings of the Cripta del Peccato Originale.
9. 09Detour to Craco - 4 hours: drive through Basilicata's badlands to the film-famous abandoned village.
10. 10Lecce - 1 day: finish among ornate baroque buildings, the Basilica di Santa Croce, pasticciotto and the squares where Salento's pizzica is still danced.

Tyrrhenian Island Hop

This 430 km, seven-day route crosses the Tyrrhenian Sea from Naples to Sicily's Aeolian Islands. It combines vineyard hills, thermal water, fishing villages and active volcanoes.

1. 01Naples - 1 day: experience the city's markets, historic centre, lively language, superstitious shrines and concentrated art.
2. 02Detour to Herculaneum - 4 hours: take the commuter train to the more compact archaeological city buried by Vesuvius.
3. 03Ischia - 2 days: visit the medieval Castello Aragonese, eat rabbit stew, dive around Aenaria or trade the water for the island's hiking trails and viewpoints.
4. 04Lipari - 1 day: arrive on an overnight ferry from Naples, then visit the Museo Archeologico Regionale Eoliano inside the castle walls. Look for jewellery combining black obsidian with gold smelted in lava rock.
5. 05Salina - 1 day: ride the bus to Lingua, taste Malvasia with a winemaker and try the island's granita. End the day with caper-scented ricotta granita in Rinella.
6. 06Stromboli - 1 day: walk the black volcanic slopes to watch the nightly eruptions. Hike alone to the 290 m platform or reserve a guided sunset walk to the 400 m lookout, then explore black-sand beaches and dine outside.
7. 07Vulcano - 1 day: stay with the Aeolian volcanoes a little longer. Sulphurous fumes greet arrivals and the smoking crater is visible from much of the island; a stand-up-paddle tour is one possible way to explore.

The Deep South

The 575 km route travels from Matera's ancient caves to Reggio di Calabria and the Riace Bronzes. Between them are mountain villages, Italo-Albanian communities, river landscapes and bright beaches.

1. 01Matera - 1 day: see the cave churches, learn about the city's difficult past at Casa Noha, visit Palazzo Lanfranchi for Carlo Levi's Lucania '61 and taste Basilicata's crusco pepper.
2. 02Detour to Metaponto - 4 hours: visit the ancient Greek ruins associated with the Ionian world and the memory of Pythagoras.
3. 03Pietrapertosa and Castelmezzano - 1 day: enter the Lucanian Apennines, walk among the mountain villages and cross between them on one of Italy's longest ziplines.
4. 04Detour to Acerenza - 4 hours: make the hilltop detour linked with the legend of the Holy Grail.
5. 05Parco Nazionale del Pollino - 2 days: base in Rotonda or Viggianello for beech forest, rare Bosnian pine, river trekking and Arbëresh-speaking villages.
6. 06Maratea - 1 day: descend to the Tyrrhenian coast for a dive or swim, climb to the Redeemer for the view or slow down with a spritz and gelato in town.
7. 07Costa degli Dei - 1 day: wander Tropea, swim around Capo Vaticano and stay for the sunset.
8. 08Detour to Serra San Bruno - 5 hours: visit the Certosa, one of Europe's oldest monasteries.
9. 09Reggio di Calabria - 1 day: see the two fifth-century-BCE Riace warriors in the Museo Nazionale di Reggio Calabria and finish with the creative Calabrian cooking of L'A Gourmet L'Accademia.

Highlights of Sicily

This 755 km circular route moves from Palermo's Byzantine mosaics and Arab-influenced domes to Greek temples, baroque hill towns, Mt Etna and the beaches of the Tyrrhenian coast. Regional food is part of every stop.

1. 01Palermo - 1 day: explore the cathedral, royal palace and churches filled with Byzantine mosaics, then move through the markets and art-covered backstreets.
2. 02Detour to Monreale - 5 hours: take the bus to the hilltop cathedral for mosaics and views over the sea.
3. 03Agrigento - 1 day: spend the day at the Valley of the Temples, return to the old town for Monastero di Santo Spirito and its hidden bakery, then eat dinner in the city.
4. 04Detour to Segesta and Selinunte - 1 day: add two more ancient Greek sites for a deeper archaeology route.
5. 05Syracuse - 1 day: divide the day between island-city Ortygia, its market and oysters, and the classical ruins of the archaeological park. Continue towards Noto for a sunset swim.
6. 06Detour into the Val di Noto - 5 hours: choose one baroque town rather than trying to collect them all.
7. 07Catania - 2 days: combine the UNESCO-listed centre, baroque piazzas, stucco churches, Roman remains and the noisy fish market with a full day on Etna using cable car, four-wheel drive and walking sections.
8. 08Taormina - 1 day: slow down among the clifftop views, old lanes, sea swims, cannoli and evening performances in the Greek theatre.
9. 09Detour to the Etna vineyards - 1 day: leave the car for a narrow-gauge train ride through the volcanic wine country, boarding at Riposto.
10. 10Cefalù - 1 day: loop towards Palermo along the beach-lined Tyrrhenian coast for soft sand and the UNESCO-listed 12th-century cathedral.
11. 11Detour into the Madonie peaks - 3 hours: add green mountain scenery and hilltop castles before returning to Palermo.