Campania (the region centered on Naples, the second-largest metropolitan area in Italy, 3.1 million inhabitants in the urban agglomeration, and encompassing the Amalfi Coast, the islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida, the Pompeii and Herculaneum archaeological sites, the ancient Greek temples of Paestum, and the Cilento national park coast) is the Italian region that concentrates the highest density of "famous Italy" experiences in the smallest geographical area: the pizza, the Amalfi lemon, the ruins of Pompeii, the Capri Blue Grotto, and the Naples street food are the specific images that define the international imagination of southern Italy, and all of them are genuine, the pizza of Naples is genuinely the finest in the world, the Pompeii excavations genuinely the most complete Roman city document, the Amalfi coast genuinely the most dramatic coastal road in Italy. The question is how to experience them in 10 days in the order and format that maximizes the quality of each.
The standard Campania tourist sequence (fly into Naples → brief Naples → Pompeii → Sorrento → Amalfi → Capri → leave) compresses the most complex Italian urban and coastal culture into a format that leaves no time for the specific quality of any component. The ItalyPlanner sequence reverses the standard biases.
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The 10-Day Campania Itinerary
Days 1-3: Naples. Three Days Is the Minimum
Naples requires three days to see adequately: Day 1, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (the finest single Roman archaeological museum in the world, the Pompeii and Herculaneum finds, the Farnese collection including the Farnese Hercules and the Farnese Bull, and the Secret Cabinet of erotic objects from the ancient sites. 4 hours minimum). The historic center walk (the Spaccanapoli axis from Piazza del Gesù to the Duomo, the specific Naples street-level energy that no other Italian city replicates). Pizza dinner at Sorbillo (Via dei Tribunali 32, the margherita that justifies the queue). Day 2, the Museo di Capodimonte (see the Capodimonte guide, the Titian Danae, the Caravaggio Flagellation, and the specific Farnese collection quality in the hilltop palace above the city). The underground Naples (the Napoli Sotterranea tour, the Greek-Roman cistern system under the Spaccanapoli). Day 3, the Castel dell'Ovo and the Lungomare (the waterfront walk, the free castle), the Quartieri Spagnoli street food circuit (the cuoppo di fritti, the sfogliatella, the pizza fritta), afternoon departure for the Amalfi Coast.
Days 4-6: The Amalfi Coast. Arrive by Sea, Not by Road
The Amalfi Coast (the 50km stretch of the Sorrentine Peninsula south coast, from Positano to Vietri sul Mare, traversed by the SS163, one of the most spectacular and most congested coastal roads in Italy) is best approached by ferry from Naples or Salerno rather than by the overland SS163: the ferry arrives at Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, and Ravello waterfront directly, avoiding the SS163 traffic (which in July-August can mean 2-3 hours for the 50km road journey). Base in Amalfi (the most central and best-connected town for the coast) or in Praiano (the most specifically un-touristified town on the coast, 8km west of Amalfi). Day 4: arrival and Positano (the most photogenic, the most expensive, the most crowded). Day 5: Amalfi town and Ravello (the cliff-top garden town, the Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo gardens with the view that Wagner called the best in the world). Day 6: the Path of the Gods hike (the Sentiero degli Dei from Bomerano to Positano, the 6km ridge walk with the most spectacular coastal views of the entire Amalfi area).
Days 7-8: Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Vesuvius
Day 7: Pompeii (the 3.5-million-visitor-per-year site, arrive before 9:00 to beat the tour group peak, focus on the Villa dei Misteri and the specific preserved food shops rather than the standard circuit). Day 8: Herculaneum (the smaller, better-preserved, and dramatically undervisited alternative 15km north of Pompeii. 300,000 visitors per year versus Pompeii's 3.5 million, with the organic material preservation that the Pompeii pumice excluded, including carbonized wooden furniture, boat hulls in the ancient boathouse, and the specific visual quality of a town whose buildings survived to multiple stories rather than the Pompeii ruin-field format). Vesuvius summit visit in the afternoon (the Gran Cono of Vesuvius accessible from the Ercolano station by local shuttle bus and then a 30-minute walk, the crater and the specific Naples bay panorama from the summit).
Day 9: Capri or Ischia (Not Both)
The visitor who has 10 days in Campania should choose one island rather than attempting both: Capri (the most famous, the most expensive, the most scenically dramatic, the Faraglioni, the Blue Grotto, the Villa Jovis of Tiberius, the chairlift to Anacapri) or Ischia (the larger, the more spa-oriented, the more accessible for families, the Poseidon Thermal Gardens, the Aragonese Castle, and the specific Ischia green-volcanic-island landscape that Capri's pure limestone can't provide). The practical Capri visit: ferry from Naples (50 minutes hydrofoil) or from Sorrento (20 minutes), arrive by 9:00 to access the Blue Grotto before the tourist boat peak (the Blue Grotto closes when wave height exceeds 30cm, check conditions at caprionline.com before booking the ferry).
Day 10: Paestum and Return
Paestum (the Magna Graecia archaeological site with the finest Greek temples in Italy, see the Magna Graecia guide for the full description; 90km south of Naples, accessible by regional train from Salerno in 40 minutes) for the morning (the three temples and the museum, the Tomb of the Diver, the finest surviving Greek figurative painting in Italy), then return north to Naples for the departure flight.
Q&A: Campania 10 Days
Should I rent a car for the Campania 10-day circuit?
No, and this is the specific Campania practical recommendation that differs from the standard Italian advice: the Naples urban area has restricted traffic zones and difficult parking. The Amalfi Coast road (the SS163) is so congested in summer that driving it isn't pleasurable. And the archaeological sites (Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum) are all accessible by regional train from Naples. The practical Campania transport: the Circumvesuviana railway (Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento, every 30 minutes) for the archaeological sites and the Sorrentine peninsula. Ferries (the SNAV and Caremar services) for the Amalfi Coast and the islands. The Trenitalia regional train for Paestum. Rent a car only if the Cilento coast is included in the itinerary (south of Paestum, the Cilento national park is genuinely difficult without a car).
