Stay in Sicily another week after BOS tour or explore more of Southern Itlay?

I went on my own for 2 weeks with a similar itinerary, probably spending more time in some places than the tour does. Since you'll cover the highlights, and Sicily is so big, staying another week would mean retracing some of the tour to see places the tour skipped.

So I say, on to the mainland. Flying is the best way to go. According to wikipedia, Ryanair and Wizz Air have flights to a number of cities. Did you ask about Southern Italy because it looks near on the map, or because you have a special interest in the region. I flew to Bologna after Sicily, and very much enjoyed it. It's an excellent base for day trips by train. Then stayed 3 nights in Orvieto and flew out of Rome. There are so many possibiities.

If you arrive a few days earlier in Palermo, take a trip to Cefalù.
If you have an extra week, unless you want to cover more places in the tour that you don't think you spent enough time, I'd fly to the mainland and discover more of places in Italy you haven't seen previously. Obviously the last couple of days should be spent in the city of departure for your flight home. So for example if you plan to fly out of Milan Malpensa, maybe a few days in Lake Maggiore would be good. If you fly out of Rome, maybe some days in Rome and something else not too far from Rome. It's hard to tell without knowing what you've seen of Italy already.

Chani and Roberto - thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking southern Italy would be closer to visit than somewhere in the north. But if we are flying somewhere it sounds like it really wouldn't matter where. My husband has never been to Italy and I have been to Rome, Florence, and Venice many years ago. I was thinking we would like to explore Pompei and the Amalfi Coast.

i would suggest puglia, calabria or basilicata to keep the southern italy vibe going. you could also spend more time in sicily!

you didn't say where in sicily you will be so i will refrain from making suggestions there. i just got back from spending 14 days of my 57-day trip in the three regions listed above. in calabria i spent a couple of days in reggio calabria. my real target was stilo and the byzantine 'cattolica di stilo'. next, i based myself in bari (big vibrant city, beautiful core) for several days and visited barletta, trani, biseglie, molfetta andira, ruvo di puglia, bitonto, bitetto palo del colle, altamura and gravina. all were rewarding in their own way, my main interest being churches and medieval architecture. after a detour to malta i stayed in lecce for 4 day. it was lovely, especially the old center. from there i made day trips to ostuni brindisi, otranto, galatina and gallipoli. from lecce i went to matera on my way to central italy. i avoided alberbello.

based on the number of days you have and your taste i would definitely suggest puglia. my favorites were gravina, ostuni, lecce, and matera, though it is in basilicata. all the place i listed are accessible by train and can be done as day trips for bari and lecce. there are many other sites besides the ones i visited and i suggest doing a survey based on your interests. photography is my hobby and visually puglia is stunning. the closest thing to sicily without being in sicily, imo! i wish i had explored calabria more but public transportation, especially bus service seemed limited. there is a rail line all along the southeastern coast but to get to the many hill towns you would need to use the roads.

hope this helps. if you need specific information about the places i visited perhaps i can help more. enjoy and stay safe.

Alomaker - thanks for all the suggestions! Sounds like you had a wonderful interesting trip.

For Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, fly to Naples. Then fly home from either Naples or Rome. You will want to spend you last night in the city you fly home from.

Probably the best base would be Sorrento. You can day trip to Pompeii (and other ruins, Herculaneum is very good), Naples (the archaeology museum is a wow), Capri and the Amalfi Coast.

Chani - thanks again for replying and the suggestion of Sorrento as a base and for interesting things to see in the area!

I've used both Sorrento and Salerno as bases. It depends on what you most want to see and do while you're there. I have lots of suggestions :-)