Recommendations for Southern Italy?

Put Paestum on your list! Three major Greek temples, a good museum (for its size), and a beach. There's a hotel, Poseidonia Mare, which is about a kilometer from the ruins but they will loan you a bike, pick you up and drop you off at the train stop, they have ample parking if you are taking a car, and they serve an "American" breakfast along with a very good Italian buffet breakfast. They are also open for dinner, very reasonable.

I don't think you have enough time for Sicily on this trip. We took the overnight ferry from Civitavecchia (Rome's port) to Barcelona. You might want to compare that with the airfares.

I've driven all around Paestum and now that I've checked out that hotel on GMaps I see that I drove right by it. Next time to the Bay of Naples I will take a vacation from my vacation and stay down there. Lovely beach world class ruins and bufala mozzarella farms. I hated have to drive back to Sorrento. Here is the RS planner for the Bay of Naples http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/naples-sorrento-amalfi-coast.htm Sorrento is a tourist hub but it is a perfect hub (see the RS link) so it makes sense to use it. Plenty of us tourists do, for good reason. It's a no brainer to/from Rome. FYI getting from Sorrento to Paestum is not a no brainer but it is possible. Having a car around Paestum is much better for poking around where it is too far to bike.

I second that for Paestum. It's fantastic! And if you're going to do Paestum, perhaps a better jumping off point is Salerno. I read an interesting blog post about staying in Salerno instead of Sorrento to get away from the tourist masses (I will admit though, I haven't done it. Says you can take a bus direct to Paestum from there and back, plus take the ferry across the coast instead of the crazy coast bus. http://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/travel-tips/salerno-sorrento-italy-amalfi-coast-holidays Otherwise, I've stayed in Ravello a few times which is FANTASTIC and would definitely recommend at least visiting, if not spending a few days, staying there. I loved the Hotel Parsifal, both for sleeping and for lunch, but there are many little well-priced B&Bs on http://www.venere.com that you can find. Just make sure they're not too far down the stairs towards Amalfi, or you'll kill yourself walking up and down. I also highly recommend Puglia, like Lecce, Ostuni, the beaches north of Ostuni, Locorotondo, etc. These are some amazing places with amazing food that are really worth a visit. You can stay in a masseria (big farm house, like an agriturismo but bigger) or a trulli (cone-shaped stone houses typical of the Murge valley in Puglia). You'll need a car, but the roads and driving are easy over there and the people are very friendly. You could also stop in Matera and see where they filmed the Passion, and there's a cool ghost town called Craco worth a look. Hope that helps!

Thanks, all! This gives me some great tips to sift through...appreciate the suggestions.

I second Steve's recommendation of Ravello. The views are tremendous. We also stayed at the Hotel Parsifal, and though it's a little rustic, the brothers that run it are extremely hospitable and friendly.
If you like to hike, the trail systems in the Amalfi Coast offer world class views and challenging exercise.

Kelley, As the others have mentioned, I doubt that you'll have enough time to see all the places on your list within such a short time frame. Sicily is definitely going to be a problem. You could for example go directly from Rome to Sorrento, although that would be a tiring trip after a long trans-atlantic flight. That would be a good home base for visiting Pompeii, Capri, and perhaps Paestum. At the end of your trip to the Amalfi coast, you might consider using one of the budget airlines from Naples to Barcelona. You can get a Curreri Viaggi Bus from Sorrento directly to Naples airport. Current air fares on Vueling are listed as low as €44.99 (depending on date) but you'll need to book quickly to get the best prices. Happy travels!

Don't try to cover too many areas in that short time frame. Skip Sicily, and save it for another trip. Same with Puglia. Make sure that you see Herulaneum. We prefered it over Pompeii. And ensure that you see the museum in Naples; all of the treasures that were in Pompeii are there. We spent five nights in Sorrento, and still did not have time to see Capri, etc. (rent an apt from VRBO or Homelidays.com, or find one on the local town website) We loved staying in Sorrento. It was the pergfect base to explore all of the area. Use Whichbudget.com to search the lo-cost inter EU airlines. You can find flights from Naples to Barcelona. Pay close attention to luggage restrictions, and ensure that the airport that the Airline uses is a major airport. Have a wonderful time!

http://www.gadtravel.com/2008/07/palermo-naples.html