A Southern Italy Itinerary for a First Trip

For a first trip to southern Italy, ten days are enough for two areas: three nights in the hills between Rome and Naples and four in eastern Sicily, with two nights in Rome first and one short flight in between. This southern Italy itinerary starts in Rome, moves to Ciociaria, the country around Monte Cassino, and ends in Taormina. You change hotels twice.

How many days do you need for Southern Italy?

More than one trip's worth. Istat, Italy's national statistics institute, counts eight regions in the South and the islands: Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria on the mainland, plus Sicily and Sardinia. Together they cover about 123,700 square kilometers (47,800 square miles), a little more than Pennsylvania. On a first trip, ten days fit two areas at an easy pace, and each area you add needs three or four more nights.

Ciociaria sits on the edge of that map. It belongs to Lazio, which Istat counts as central Italy, but its eastern towns, Cassino, Sora and Arpino among them, were part of the Kingdom of Naples for centuries, and of the province of Terra di Lavoro, around Caserta, until the province of Frosinone was created in 1927.

A 10-day southern Italy itinerary

The plan counts nine nights: two in Rome, three in Ciociaria and four in Taormina. Book the transatlantic flights as an open-jaw ticket, into Rome and home from Catania.

Days 1 and 2: Rome. Land at Fiumicino and give the first day to the time change. On the second, pick one major site for the morning and keep the afternoon free.

Days 3 to 5: Ciociaria. In the fall 2026 timetable, regional trains from Rome Termini reach Cassino in 1 hour 25 minutes to about 2 and a half hours, depending on the train, and the drive takes about an hour and a half. Between the hill towns you will want a car or a driver, so stay three nights in the countryside. If you drive yourself, the U.S. Embassy in Italy advises Americans to get an International Driving Permit before leaving home. Many historic centers are limited traffic zones, known as ZTL, where cameras record the plates of cars without a permit and the fine arrives by mail.

Give the first day to Monte Cassino. Benedict founded the abbey around 529; American-led air raids nearly destroyed it on February 15, 1944, and Pope Paul VI consecrated the rebuilt basilica in 1964. The Polish war cemetery lies a few hundred meters from the abbey, with the graves of more than 1,000 soldiers of the Polish II Corps, and the Commonwealth war cemetery in Cassino lists 3,992 identified casualties. Our guide to visiting Monte Cassino covers the abbey and the battlefield.

On the second day, drive to Arpino, where Cicero was born, for its circuit of polygonal walls and a pointed stone arch, then to Isola del Liri, where the river drops 27 meters in the middle of town. Keep the third day for a long lunch in the country and a walk.

Day 6: to Sicily. Drive about an hour and a quarter from Cassino to Naples airport, which, as of September 2026, has direct flights to Catania. Rome Fiumicino, about two hours from Cassino, also has nonstop flights to Catania of about 1 hour 15 minutes. From Catania airport, Taormina is about an hour by car.

Days 7 to 9: eastern Sicily. Stay four nights in Taormina. Give the first full day to the town and its ancient theater, built by the Greeks and rebuilt by the Romans. Give the second to Etna. On the third, go to Syracuse and Ortigia, about an hour and a half each way, or to the fish market in Catania, which runs on working-day mornings and not on Sundays. Our eastern Sicily itinerary sets out each of these days in detail.

Day 10: home from Catania. In 2025 and 2026, Delta has flown a seasonal nonstop between Catania and New York JFK. In August 2026, United announced a nonstop between Catania and Newark, four times a week from May 28, 2027. Other routes connect through Rome or another European hub.

If you would rather see Naples. Swap the Ciociaria nights for Naples. Pompeii is reached from Naples on the Circumvesuviana line, at the Pompei Villa dei Misteri stop; as of September 2026, tickets are personal, and entries are capped at 20,000 a day. The Amalfi Coast, on the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula, deserves two nights of its own.

What is the nicest part of Southern Italy?

It depends on what you want your days to hold. Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast make the classic first trip south of Rome, and Pompeii's daily cap is a reason to book ahead. We work in two other areas. Ciociaria has Monte Cassino, Cicero's hometown and farms where cheese is still made the way it was a century ago. Eastern Sicily has an active volcano, the Greek theaters of Taormina and Syracuse, the baroque towns of the southeast and the Etna wine country.

When to go

Late April to June, and September to October. August is Italy's own holiday month: Istat counted 85.2 million overnight stays in August 2025, the busiest month of the year, and 53.3 percent of them were by Italian residents. Our 2027 group journeys leave in April, May, June, July, September and October.

Is 10 days enough time to visit Italy?

Ten days is enough for two regions. Italy has 20, and the average trip to Italy by an American traveler in 2025 lasted 10.2 nights, according to the Bank of Italy's survey of international tourism. Ten days is a normal length, and the choice is how many places to fit into it. Two areas with one move between them leave time to stay put.

How much should I expect to spend for 10 days in Italy?

The same survey, published in June 2026, found that travelers from the United States spent an average of €178.1 per person per night in Italy in 2025. The figure covers lodging, meals, shopping and transport inside Italy, and leaves out international flights. Ten nights at that rate come to about €1,780 per person, or roughly $2,050 at the European Central Bank reference rate of September 21, 2026 ($1.149 to the euro). The average mixes every kind of traveler, so a trip with drivers, guides and higher-end hotels costs more. Our guide on how to plan a trip to Italy breaks the budget down further.

Is $10,000 enough for a trip to Italy?

For two people and ten days, yes at average spending. Two travelers at the 2025 average spend about $4,100 on the ground, which leaves about $5,900 for two transatlantic tickets, the flight to Sicily and anything above the average.

Southern Italy tours with Italy Authentica

Our group journeys cover both ends of this route. Each lasts eight days, takes up to eight guests and is always accompanied. In Ciociaria, the journey leaves in May, July and September 2027, with days called Hands in the Making, Villages and Water and The Memory of the Land. In eastern Sicily, from a base in Taormina, Amber Sicily leaves in April and twice in October 2027, and Sicily, the Magic of Jasmine in June and September 2027. All three are on the journeys page, and each region has its own page: Ciociaria and Sicily.

To join the two regions in one trip, or to add Rome on your own dates, design your trip starts with a few questions about how you travel. Maria Grazia Nardoianni, who founded Italy Authentica, reads every request herself. Within seven days you receive a proposal with real names: places, houses, tables, experiences and costs. A 30-minute call in Italian or English follows if you want one.