Summer trip combining Italy and Greece

I've done most of this but not by car. Renting a car for bother countries is good, and ditching the one in Italy is also good. Connecting Greece with Italy is cheapest and fastest by budget flight. You can try www.skyscanner.com for flights. Most cheap flights will go into Athens, although you might find some to perhaps Santorini or another island. Look for flights from Naples or Rome.

For Greece use a car on the mainland countryside if you can, otherwise try to use buses. Don't spend more than two days in Athens if you can help it. Real Greece is in the islands, on the Peloponnese, and in the mountains. Nice towns on the Peloponnese to consider would be Kardymili, Monemvasia, and Nafplio.

I hope this helps some.

At first, I wondered if you were considering linking Italy and Greece by car the whole way, driving thru Slovenia, Croatia, etc., down the east side of the Adriatic Sea, until you mentioned ditching the car in Italy. :-) Abe's budget flight suggestions will save you time and probably money, too (although driving the whole way, with enough time, would make for a great trip, too).

We were in the Sorrento/Amalfi Coast/Paestum area in late December 2012, and driving the Amalfi Coast at that time was no trouble, but I understand that (you may know this, too) in High Season, it's clogged with tour buses that make it challenging to get around some tight curves and make good time on the road. We went to the Isle of Capri for a day, and the Blue Grotto was closed due to rough water - that experience is hit and miss, depending on the weather and wave conditions.

It's possible to connect Italy and Greece by boat, but flying would be much, much faster. Have fun!

You can fly with an open jaw. (Arrive to Milan, depart from Athens).
Make your way south all the way to the Amalfi coast and the Sorrento Peninsula via car. Then ditch the car at the Naples airport and take a flight from Naples to a Greek island. There are non stop flights from NAP to Mykonos, Skiathos, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Zakynthos, and even Athens. All of them are seasonal (summer only). Check with: Easyjet, Meridiana, Volotea, Aegean Airlines (starts 2015).
If you have never been, I recommend to visit both Mykonos and Santorini. I know they are the classic touristy ones, but that's what you do the first time.

I would fly into Venice, go to Tuscany/Cinque Terre, Rome, Amalfi Coast, fly Naples to Greece and home from Greece.

Hello Carolina. I recommend : do not drive a car in ITALY. Ride in railroad trains and busses. South of Rome, the motor vehicle traffic situations are intense. And I suggest : fly from Naples to an island of Greece : either Sciathos or Santorini, if the flight schedule is convenient for you.

I hope you are aware of the temperatures in Greece in the summer. I was there this last May and June and it was already getting hot for me and I live in Hawaii most of the year. Happy travels.