Confused in Southern Italy!
 

Planning our 4th trip to Italy and want to go south, below Naples to Sicily. What are the best towns to see in approx. 10 days. Leaving 2 days at the begining for Rome.

We spent a lot of time in southern Italy and Sicily last year and are returning later this month. I think it would be impossible to do all this in 10 days, but here are a few suggestions of areas we liked.
Since we prefer the mountains to the shore, we loved Tiriolo, Calabria in the middle of the thinnest part of the country-from there you can see both seas. Hotel Due Mare was beautiful with balconies. We also enjoyed Gerace, Calabria, further to the south with a great view over the Ionian Sea. Matera, Basilicata is very interesting with its cave dwellings and a day trip from there into the Dolomites of the South was great--to Pietrapertosa (about 1 - 1 1/2 hrs drive). Also, Marina di Maratea, Basilicata, on the Gulf of Policastro was a beautiful and quiet area. Fiumecello and Porta were lovely places just a few k north.
In Sicily we had a delightful visit in Cefalu; we could walk everywhere in town. We took the train into Palermo and walked to see the Cappella Palatina etc. On the far western end of Sicily we found Trapani/Erice nice with a day trip to Favingnana Island and rode all over the island on rental bicycles. On the Eastern side, Taromina was beautiful, but lots more tourists there.
Hope you have a chance to check these places out on the web before you leave. BTW, on the recommendation of locals in Gerace, we used the private ferry line to cross from Villa San Giovanni to Messina, not the state ferry line. It was very easy to find the dock, well marked on both sides. Good luck!

When are you going? What are your interests? Can you fly home from Sicily (Catania or Palermo?) Will you have a rental car?

With 10 days I would either fly directly to Sicily and spend it there or see trh Amalfi coast and perhaps Puglia---not both. Here is my trip report for Sicily with a photo gallery link. Good luck !
http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=634

Hi there! For those willing to spend some days in Agrigento (Valley of the Temples!), I suggest the B&B Terrazze di Montelusa: located in the historical center, huge panoramic terraces, bedrooms with airconditioning and private bathrooms, ambiance 5 star hotel but B&B rates!!! The owner is charming and gave us all information we needed. We really loved it!