Amalfi, Puglia or Sicily: an honest comparison for a first Italian summer

If you are planning your first proper summer in southern Italy, the shortlist is almost always the same three: the Amalfi Coast, Puglia and Sicily. All three have sea, sun, good food and old towns. That is where the similarity ends.

They are different kinds of holiday. Amalfi is a vertical coastline you look at from terraces and boats. Puglia is flat, rural and slow, a place of olive groves and long lunches at farmhouse hotels. Sicily is an island big enough to be a country, with Greek temples, baroque towns, a live volcano and a food culture all its own.

Here is how we would choose between them.

The Amalfi Coast

What it is

A 16-town stretch of coast in the province of Salerno, south of Naples, running between the Gulf of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1997, and it earns the recognition: villages stacked on cliffs, lemon terraces, and a coast road, the SS163, that clings to the rock for most of its length.

The best-known towns are Positano, with its tumble of pastel houses down to the beach; Amalfi, the old maritime republic with its cathedral; and Ravello, set high above the sea, whose gardens at Villa Cimbrone have one of the finest views on the coast.

What it does well

• The view. Nowhere else in Italy looks like this. You spend a great deal of time on terraces, and the terraces are worth it.
• Hotels. The coast has some of Italy's best-known resort hotels, many in converted villas with gardens over the sea.
• The sea from a boat. A day on a private boat, stopping at coves, is the best way to see the coast.
• Walking. The Path of the Gods, about 9km from Agerola towards Positano, is one of the finest coastal walks in Europe. Start early to avoid the heat.
• Easy access. Naples is under three hours' flight from London, and a transfer takes you to the coast.

What it does less well

• Crowds. In July and August the towns are very busy, especially Positano and Amalfi in the middle of the day when the day-trip boats arrive.
• Beaches. They are small and pebbly, and the best spots are usually paid beach clubs.
• The road. It is narrow and slow. Traffic in high summer can turn a short journey into a long one. Boats are often quicker.
• Stairs. Hotels are built into cliffs. If walking up and down many steps is difficult, choose carefully.

Who it suits

Couples, honeymooners and first-time visitors who want the classic Italian coast and are happy to pay for a room with a view. It works best as a week, or as the end of a trip that starts in Rome or Florence.

Puglia

What it is

The heel of Italy, a long, low region with coast on two seas. For most visitors it means the Itria Valley, sometimes called the valley of the trulli, where red soil, dry-stone walls and olive groves spread between white hill towns such as Locorotondo, Cisternino, Martina Franca and Ostuni. The trulli, dry-stone houses with conical roofs, are everywhere, and at Alberobello there are so many that the town has been a UNESCO site since 1996.

Further south is the Salento, with the baroque city of Lecce and long, sandy beaches.

What it does well

• Staying in the countryside. Puglia's great accommodation is the masseria, a fortified farmhouse converted into a hotel. The best have pools among the olive trees, their own kitchen gardens and very good food.
• Food. Simple, generous and based on what grows nearby: vegetables, olive oil, bread and fresh pasta.
• Space. Even in August, you can find a quiet corner. The masserie are spread out, and the countryside absorbs visitors well.
• Families. Flat roads, pools, sandy beaches and relaxed restaurants make Puglia easy with children.
• Value. The same level of comfort often costs less than on the Amalfi Coast.

What it does less well

• You need a car or a driver. Everything is spread out. If you do not want to drive, budget for transfers and a driver on your busier days.
• The coast is less dramatic. There are beautiful beaches and rocky coves, but not the scenery of Amalfi.
• It is hot inland. Bari's long-term averages put daily highs at about 29°C in July and August, and the countryside can feel hotter.

Who it suits

Families, groups of friends and couples who want to slow down. It is the best choice of the three for anyone whose idea of a perfect day is a long lunch, a swim in the pool and an evening walk around a white town.

Sicily

What it is

The largest island in the Mediterranean, and in many ways the most rewarding of the three. It has layers of history you can see: Greek temples, Arab-Norman churches, and the late baroque towns of the Val di Noto in the southeast, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 and listed by UNESCO in 2002. Noto, Modica, Ragusa and Scicli are among them.

Above Catania rises Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, a UNESCO site since 2013 and protected within a regional park.

What it does well

• Variety. You can see a Greek temple in the morning, swim in the afternoon and eat in a baroque square in the evening.
• Culture. More than either of the others, Sicily rewards curiosity. Palermo is one of the great, if chaotic, cities of southern Europe.
• Food and wine. Street food in Palermo, fish in Siracusa, and wine from the slopes of Etna.
• Etna. A guided walk on the upper slopes, or a lunch at a vineyard on its flanks, is unlike anything else in Italy.
• Room for a second visit. Sicily is big enough that most people come back to see the other half.

What it does less well

• Distances. Sicily is large. Trying to see it all in one week means too much time in a car. Pick one side.
• Heat. It is the hottest of the three. Long-term averages for Catania put daily highs at about 33°C in July and August, and it can be hotter inland.
• Rough edges. Some towns are less polished than on the mainland. For many, that is part of the appeal.

Who it suits

Curious travellers who want more than a beach, and who will happily trade a little polish for a lot of interest. The southeast, around Noto, Ortigia and the baroque towns, is our usual first-time base. The west, with Palermo, is better for a second visit or a longer trip.

When to go

All three are at their most crowded and most expensive in July and August, and all three are busy around Ferragosto, the national holiday on 15 August, when much of Italy goes on holiday too.

For a first visit, we would favour June or September. The sea is warm and the evenings are long, but the heat is gentler and the crowds thinner. In Naples, the long-term averages put daily highs around 27°C in June and September, against about 30°C in August. Palermo follows a similar pattern.

May and October are good for walking and sightseeing, especially in Sicily, though the sea is cooler and some beach clubs keep shorter hours.

Getting there

All three are an easy flight from London. Naples, for the Amalfi Coast, is under three hours direct. Catania, for eastern Sicily, is a little over three hours direct. For Puglia, fly into Bari or Brindisi, depending on where you are staying. Palermo serves western Sicily.

Our honest verdict

• Choose Amalfi for a first romantic trip, a honeymoon or a classic week in a hotel with a view. Accept the crowds and the price.
• Choose Puglia for a relaxed family holiday, a group of friends in a masseria or a food-led slow summer. Accept that you will need a car or driver.
• Choose Sicily for variety, history and food, and plan to come back. Accept the heat and the distances.

If you cannot decide, it is possible to combine two. Amalfi and Puglia join well by road across the peninsula. Amalfi and Sicily can be linked by a short flight from Naples. We would not try all three in one trip. Our culture and heritage, family and honeymoon ideas show how we would build each one.