Apulia region or Sicily?

If you haven't been to Sicily, then you can't say you've been "all over Italy" ;-)

Unfortunately, you won't be able to see that much of either region in six nights. We've done two trips to Sicily (total of five weeks) and haven't yet seen it all. I'd probably choose Apulia and save Sicily until I had more time.

True you won't see all of Sicily in 6 days but it's a good start. Puglia is nice but if it was my choice it'd be Sicily.

Another vote for Sicily. You can cover enough major sights in 6 nights to make the visit worthwhile. Sicily is one of those places where a car, even if just for part of your time there, greatly expands your options.

Sicily because October is approaching the rainier season and there are more sightseeing possibilities with three nights in Taormina and three nights in Siracusa if it's not beach weather. How sad to see Puglia and not be able to enjoy the beach.

Thanks for the thoughts. We always prefer to travel in April/May and September/October for the milder weather. This is why we go to Italy every year and not Panama City Beach in July like too many of the people we know! Beach time is a non-issue as we are not beach peoplewe love views of the beach or coastline, but don't need to spend our vacation in the water. We like to explore towns, historic sites or natural features, and drink lots of wine at places with great views. Promised hubby I would find him a place, wherever we go, where he can sit quietly at the end of the day and do jus thatdrink the wine and enjoy the views. I'm making him skip Cinque Terre this trip, so I have to give him a suitable substitution.

I vote Sicilia! Actually, 6 days is really not enough but you have to take what you can get. I do strongly suggest that you don't even think about touring the entire island. At most pick either the eastern half or the western half (our personal favorite). We were last there in mid-October in '09. The weather was wonderful, warm enough to enjoy outside dining, drinking wine on a piazza, even wading in the warm waters near Cefalu`, yet not too hot to visit the ruins at Agrigento and Segesta.

Loretta, you have given some excellent advice. We have visited both areas and love them both, but let me add some thoughts. Spring time in Sicily is absolutely fantastic. We have done spring and early summer, and feel that Spring is the best. We have only done Puglia in the early summer. You may want to do Puglia in Fall, but I feel it will be a little much more "shut down" than Sicily in the Fall. Look at staying in some of the Agritourisimos in Sicily, and a Masserias in Puglia. Sicily is at least a "two trip" option; there is no way that you can do it in one short trip. Add the Aeolian Islands into one of those trips...preferably during the warmer months. Each one is different..we picked Lipari as our base and did day trips to the others on the fast hydrofoils. We used the Lonely Planet guidebook in both areas with great sucess, and feel that a rental car is a must in both Sicily and Puglia. Read the NY Times article on Puglia; some excellent suggestions;
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/travel/06Puglia.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5124&en=7fc0ee4c82bf1ba5&ex=1336276800&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink There are some awesome, and cheap, dining options in Puglia . My wife found the best prices on Italian shoes while shopping in the fun college town of Lecce ( a mini Siena!)

I agree that you cannot do both regions in 5 nights. However I vote for Puglia. I may sound biased because I live in Puglia, but having also been many times to Sicily ....I think it's not easy to commute from Siracusa, to Catania, Palermo, Erici and Agrigento...because roads in Sicily are just terrible. I hate driving and every time I go to Sicily I spend too much time on the road. Puglia has much better roads and is much easier to go from South to North and to also go and visit the famous Matera (where the Passion of Christ movie was made).
In Puglia just a few miles away you have Gallipoli, Otranto and Lecce (all super stunning)...going north you have Alberobello and Polignano..and then the famous and beautiful Gargano (listed by the NYTimes among the 31 destinations in the world that people should go to.....btw it was the only Italian destination) Let me know if you need further help. I run food and wine tours in Puglia so that's my specialty. but if you need info about things to do and see in Puglia I'll also be happy to help.

There is fast driving autostrada from Catania to Siracusa, Catania to Palermo, Palermo to Trapani and Erice. From Catania, there's autostrada to Caltanissetta and then a good secondary road to Agrigento.

The autostrada in Sicily is fine. Never hit a terrible stretch. In fact the only really terrible stretch of road I ever hit was going to Corleone. The roads in Puglia seemed to me to be no better or worse than Sicily.

We took a ferry to Sicily from Rome last year. Its grittier then some parts of Italy but we loved it and the coast line with some any differences! Palermo was intersting. Be sure to see the Cuppuchin Crypts! Never saw anything like it and I visit a cemetary in every town we visit! Like Cefalu also