southern Italy and Greece

How long is the trip? What time of year?

What are your sightseeing interests?

Between 2-3 weeks.
Mid September into October.
Want to see Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Taormina, Capri, Santorini, Greece, Athens. These have been suggestions we have been given. Of course, interested in historical sites.

hey hey janruomainen
like many newbies here i think you're planning too much.
september/october is high season and will be crowded/busy. many people always recommend this but you have to add in travel time, flights. trains, buses. are you doing multi-city or back tracking which takes up so much time.
checkin times are 3-4pm and checkout 10-11am. do italy om one trip and greece another. so much to see and do at both places.
the places you're hoping and wanting is the same as many others want to see and do.
spend time to relish and enjoy what there is to sit and enjoy, people watch, time to travel. don't be in a rush, smell the coffee, gelato, spaghetti sauce, pizza, drink some italian wine, take a food tour. my own opinions. you do you enjoy
aloha

With only 2 - 3 weeks of time you'd choose one country. You'll find enough to do and to see in southern Italy.

It is conceivable that one might want to break up a trip to Greece with a stop in Italy, but your list is overambitious. sketch it out day by day, evaluate the travel between places, then post that for feedback.

Hello

First, I will say that in general, I prefer to visit Greece in conjunction with a trip to Western Europe because flights to Athens from the West coast of USA are long. And a stop in, for example, Rome, breaks it up while also adding variety.

However, I would not try to do this unless I had enough time. I've done it in 3 1/2 weeks. But I wouldn't want to do it in 2 weeks. Part of the beauty of Greek islands is slowing down and absorbing the vibe. :)

From your list of places to visit, it looks like you are after history but also beautiful coastal views. So I am including a link to my trip report for Rome, southern Italy and Sicily. We did this trip in 2 weeks but you could add a few days to either Sicily or southern Italy if you have 3 weeks.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-february-march-in-italy

I hope this helps. I am happy to answer any questions. Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!

Need to better define "Between 2-3 weeks." Begin with a calendar, and get specific about how many actual, full days you will have on the ground, not including days with your inbound or outbound flights. Otherwise, you're not being honest with yourself - you might have as few as 10 or 11 usable days total.

Unfortnately, your list of desired destinations is way too long for even three full weeks, never mind something like roughly two weeks.

Pick either Greece or Southern Italy for this trip, not both (unless you have "between 3 and 4 weeks" of actual, usable time on the ground, not counting your arrival or departure dates).