21 days Italian Coast - Genoa to Palermo

There's also a Sicily video. It's older but should still be helpful.

I've heard that Tropea in Calabria is very pretty but haven't been there.

There's a great deal to see in Sicily, so it comes down to what sort of things you are most interested in and how much time you will have left by the time you cross the Straits of Messina. You could spend your entire three weeks in Sicily easily.

Since you plan for sure Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast, these are some ideas.
Try to spend at least 2 nights at each stop. But you'll need more nights at the Amalfi Coast if you want to see the many things there. The first number is the number of nights in each place (total is 21). Adjust/eliminate as you deem necessary. Maybe Maratea, and Tropea and Cefalu can be reduced to one night, and reallocate more to the others.

1 Milano (not sure if you need to spend at least one night near the airport after a long flight)
2 Monterosso (Cinque Terre)
2 Porto Santo Stefano (Monte Argentario) - possible excursion to Giglio island or Capalbio.
2 San Felice (Circeo) or Sperlonga - visit Gaeta
4 Positano or Praiano (Costa Amalfitana)
2 Maratea (Basilicata)
2 Tropea (Calabria)
2 Taormina/Giardini Naxos (Sicilia) - a slight detour that you can't miss
2 Cefalu (Sicilia)
2 Palermo (Sicilia)
Fly away from PMO..

Since yours is a seaside holiday, the later in spring, the better it is so that you can enjoy swimming too. June would be best (very warm to hot, but not yet crowded). April is a bit too early to get into the water.

ON DRIVING:
Driving on the left side of the road in Italy is not advisable. Not sure if you come from Australia, but in Italy you need to stay on the right side because Italian trucks (lorries) are very hard on your nose when you hit them head to head.

Roberto's list is much the same as mine, I would add Gaeta as an overnight stop.

Thank you, all, appreciate the info.!
Driving on the right is no problem but another question, to do the whole coast, is it advisable to have a car? Will it make the trip easier or more difficult to visit all the places mentioned? We are not concerned if it is not hot enough yet to swim - it will be beautiful, regardless. We are not the 'touristy' type but obviously want to experience the best of each place.

You can travel virtually anywhere in Italy using public transportation. The locations I suggested can be reached by train or a combination of trains and buses. However, I think that a car would be more efficient, at least after the Cinque Terre, where it would be better not to have one. You could rent the car in La Spezia (near the Cinque Terre) and proceed by car after that. Also any time in Palermo with a car is a miserable time, therefore you may want to return the car in Palermo as soon as you arrive.

If you decide to forgo the car totally, then I might suggest a different list of locations in your itinerary, with fewer stops (with more nights in each), preferably staying in hotels in towns with stations along the railway. The locations I suggested are, for the most part, more efficiently done with a car.

Very helpful, most appreciated.

I'd take the train from Milan to the Cinque Terre. Then train via Rome to Salerno. If you want to rent a car to see the Amalfi Coast, this is a good place to base. You then have the choice of bus, ferry or driving the coast. You can take the inland road to Sorrento (via Pompeii). And you can drive south to Paestum. Then work your way up to Naples (worth 1-2 nights if you have time). Fly from Naples to Sicily. Rent a car there.

Driving between Milan and the CT and between the CT and the AC will just eat up time. I'd suggest 4-5 nights in/near the CT, 4-6 nights on/near the AC, and the rest in Sicily. Are you flying home from Palermo? If so, fly into Catania and drive the southern route, then return the car in Palermo. Where you go in Sicily depends on what you most want to see and how much time you have.

Read my threads about driving the amalfi coast and Salerno.

Great, thanks! Love all the suggestions!

Hello,
We have sorted out our Cinque Terre and Sicily accom. and part of the transport but need some help for the in-between.

• We leave from La Spezia on April 18 and head to Amalfi or thereabouts.

-Thinking of picking up a car in La Spezia and driving (maybe stopping in Lucca for an hour or so??) and either head to Naples or Salerno for the night (recommend which first?) and drop off the car.

• Planning to fly out of Naples to Palermo) or overnight on Grimaldi Ferry (but can't actually find a definite ferry crossing on their site. Saw on another site that there is a ferry at noon on 24th but nothing shows up on Grimaldi or other ferry websites).

• We will spend 3 or 4 nights staying in either Praiano or Positano and visit Amalfi, Ravello, Minori etc.

• Places 'you' have recommended and if time we would like to visit while driving are: San Feilice, Gaeta, Sorrento, Pompeii (not sure if we can do Paestum).

How do you suggest we organize the above .... and should we ditch the car altogether from la Spezia, or not?
We need to sort this out ASAP - thanking you in advance!!

I like Lucca, but an hour there's really not worth the hassle of dealing with a car unless you're facing really high Frecce fares. I'd just take the train.

What about visiting San Feilice, Gaeta, Sorrento, Pompeii on the way down - we wouldn't be able to without a car?

That's a rather long drive. I don't think you'd be able to make stops of significant length and have time for the drive itself, meals, etc. Also, you have to be very careful about protecting your luggage if you stop for sightseeing in transit between hotels.

On the Amalfi Coast we stayed at Minori which is quieter and you can walk the waterfront easily. Along the coast we really liked Maratea- beautiful scenery and few tourists. We also liked Genoa in the north, though zi'd park the car and explore by foot or public transportation.

Thank you, all.