Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of vacation time in South Italy, including upcoming trips to Puglia and Basilicata, along with recent trips to Sicily and the Amalfi Coast. As part of my trip planning I have read every South Italy guidebook I could find. And, like always, I am happy to share my reviews of these South Italy guide books with you, so that you can read and pack the right ones on your own trip to Italy.
In 2023 and 2024 there were major changes at some of the main guidebook companies, and some of those changes were not for the better. So, when you’re looking at this list of South Italy guide books, make sure to note the year of each book I recommend, as the newest editions may not be as helpful. If you have any questions about my recommendations (or about traveling in Southern Italy) let me know in the comments at the end of this guide.
Lonely Planet Southern Italy (2022 Edition or Earlier!)
Do not buy the 2023 edition of this guidebook! Look for an older edition, like 2022 (linked here) or 2020!
In my opinion, this is the best South Italy guide book on the market. Specifically, I am talking about the 2022 release (with the aerial view of the waterfront town on the cover), although I also looked at the 2020 version, which was equally useful.
The new edition (dated 2023) uses Lonely Planet’s new format, which is a significant downgrade from the earlier style. For example, in the 2022 edition, the Otranto Cathedral is listed as one of the Top 8 highlights in all of the “heel” of Italy – but online reviews say Otranto isn’t even mentioned in the new version!
The Lonely Planet Southern Italy 2022 covers the regions of Naples and Campania (including the Amalfi Coast), Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily. For each region there is a useful map with markers to show the can’t-miss sights, plus dense text recommending things to see, restaurants, hotels and transportation connections. There are bonus boxes on many pages highlighting off-the-beaten-path attractions and important historical notes. The sections on Pompeii (three pages you could clip out and carry with you) and Sicilian desserts are top-notch.
Overall, the 2022 of this South Italy guide book is a classic, practical, useful book that you’d want to carry with you when you were out exploring.
Moon Guide – Southern Italy
I’ve never been a big fan of Moon Guides, but they are stepping up to fill a void left by the classic Lonely Planet series. Their 2022 guide book for South Italy includes Sicily, Puglia, Naples and the Amalfi Coast.
This book feels like a step up from the Lonely Planet – the paper is soft and silky, there are way more color photos and overall it just has a more upscale vibe. This would be the perfect South Italy guide book to gift to someone planning a trip to the region.
I actually used this book quite a bit when planning my upcoming trip to Puglia, as the maps are really good and they helped me identify logical routes to travel around the region (including by train, bus and rental car).
The Amalfi Coast section had good information about both beaches and hiking, and the six-page Pompeii self-guided walking tour was also well-organized. Sicily is split into three separate sections, and I liked the color-coded map itineraries that showed where to go and what to do on each day.
I can definitely recommend the Moon Guide to Southern Italy, and I’ll probably carry a copy with me when I’m in Puglia later this year.
National Geographic Puglia
If your trip to South Italy only includes Puglia, this would be the perfect guidebook to carry. The National Geographic Puglia contains more than 250 pages of information about traveling in Puglia, starting with the Gargano Region in the north and working its way south to the beautiful beaches along the coast.
What you won’t get in this book is itineraries, but what you will get is an exhaustive list of the things to see in each Puglia destination, including the history and tips for visiting today. There are full-color map and photos, plus a “Travelwise” section at the back with information about festivals, hotels, restaurants and shopping. As long as you can plan your own route, this book is perfect for helping you figure out what to do along the way.
The downside of this book is that when they say Puglia they mean Puglia, so it doesn’t include anything about other destination that are commonly visited along with Puglia, such as the town of Matera (which is extremely famous, and only about five kilometers away!).
Lonely Planet – Italy’s Best Trips: 40 Amazing Road Trips
This review is specific to the 3rd edition of this Italy guide book, which was published in 2020. You can find it on Amazon here. A new edition was published in December 2023 but I haven’t looked at it.
The Lonely Planet Italy’s Best Trips features about 120 pages specific to South Italy, including both Sicily and Sardinia. As I’m planning to rent a car for a few days in Puglia, this book was really helpful in identifying places that are best visited by car, and how to get between the different cities and towns. There were some spots noted on these driving routes that I didn’t see in other guidebooks, possibly because they aren’t realistic for people getting around by bus or train.
The maps at the beginning of each section show the general route for each drive, and also help you identify which routes could be connected together as part of a longer trip. There isn’t a ton of information about what to do in each stop, so you might want to pair this book with either the Moon Guide or the Lonely Planet Southern Italy books mentioned above.
Lonely Planet Experience Italy
This review is also specific to the 2020 soft-cover book shown above – Lonely Planet also wrote a completely different hardcover coffee table book by the same name in 2018.
This book won’t help you when you’re on the ground in Italy – it’s too short (clocking in at barely more than 200 pages for the entire country). However, if you know you want to visit South Italy but aren’t sure exactly where you want to go, this photo-heavy book is organized around fifty different destinations and experiences, so you can rifle through it to see what catches your eye.
In terms of South Italy specifically, Experience Italy has about twenty-four pages of content covering Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily. Again, pair it with one of my first two recommendations for more comprehensive travel information.
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National Geographic Traveler – The Amalfi Coast, Naples & Southern Italy
This full-color guidebook from National Geographic covers Naples, day trips from Naples, the Amalfi Coast, nearby islands and most of southern Italy, including Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia. Clocking in at less than 250 pages, this book is a good overview of the region but it’s not long enough to cover all these different destinations in depth.
One great thing about the National Geographic Traveler – The Amalfi Coast, Naples & Southern Italy guide book is the selection of full-page “experiences”: things that you might not think of doing, but that will create the unique lasting memories that a cookie-cutter guidebook might not inspire. For example, there is a guide to selecting the best olive oil to bring home with you… perfect for both souvenirs and gift-giving. Another “experience” page offers tips for choosing the best Pompeii and Herculaneum guide, whether you’re thinking of visiting the archeological sites for a few hours or a few days.
Rick Steves Naples & The Amalfi Coast (With Pompeii)
Just shy of 200 pages, the Rick Steves Naples & the Amalfi Coast guidebook is a great option for travelers whose trips are focused on this region of South Italy. It contains easy-to-follow walking tours for Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum (one of my personal favorites – so underrated!), Sorrento and Positano. I love following Rick’s walking tours when I travel, and this guide book has some great ones.
As with all of Rick Steves’ guidebooks you can expect to find current restaurant recommendations (frequent updates mean you won’t walk hours to find a restaurant that closed years ago), budget-friendly accommodation and even a phrasebook to help you communicate in Italian with the locals.
Moon Guides – Amalfi Coast
This book opens with suggested itineraries for three, five, seven or fourteen days around the Amalfi Coast, and then supports those recommendations with helpful tips on what to see and do in each of the region’s most iconic destinations. Like most books in the series, the Moon Guide – Amalfi Coast is printed on thick paper and full of colorful photos and maps, which makes this book ideal for inspiration during the trip-planning phase.
The recommendations in this book are suitable for travelers on a mid-range or upscale budget; many of the recommended hotels run upwards of €250 per night and many of the restaurants lean towards fine dining. If that’s your preferred travel style, you’ll love this South Italy guidebook.
Rick Steves Sicily
A new version of this book was published in December 2023, making the Rick Steves Sicily book one of the most current Sicily guidebooks on the market (if not the most current guidebook!). This edition brings you 490 pages of super-helpful information about traveling in Sicily, from the most iconic sights in the island’s largest cities to the secret small towns that are worth a visit too.
As with the other Rick Steves book mentioned above, this is a budget-friendly guidebook with recommendations for reasonably-priced hotels, restaurants, attractions and tours. Rick’s motto of “exploring Europe through the back door” means that you’ll get tips on how to have authentic experiences (like visiting local salt flats and wineries) without breaking the bank.
Eyewitness Top 10 Naples & The Amalfi Coast
Personally, I love reading Eyewitness Top 10 guidebooks when I’m planning a trip, and the Eyewitness Top 10 Naples & The Amalfi Coast is no exception!
Some of the lists, like “Top 10 Icons of Popular Culture” and “Top 10 Moments in History” will give context to things you might see and do during your trip, while others, like “Top 10 Toledo to Chiaia” recommend specific sights in an area you could explore by foot, car or public transportation. I would say the layout is more inspirational than practical, but that’s perfect when you’re wanting to get hyped for an upcoming trip!
This South Italy guidebook has about 110 pages of content formatted in full-color Top 10 lists, followed by another fifteen pages of directory-style information about topics like arrival information, currency, transportation and safety.
Lonely Planet Amalfi Coast Road Trips
I salute anyone reading this who is brave enough to take on the twisting, turning, narrow roads of Italy’s Amalfi Coast. If that’s you, please let me know in the comments… and please pack the Lonely Planet’s Amalfi Coast Road Trips guidebook for your journey!
This little guidebook (about 125 pages of content) features general tips on driving in Italy, four suggested road trip itineraries (ranging from two to seven days in length) and information about what you’ll see en route. In the back of the book a full-size pull-out map helps you envision the different drives, but I would still recommend having a great GPS system (or Google Maps) to help you find your way on the region’s notoriously hectic roads!
I spent a full month traveling around Sicily, so check out my recommended Sicily itinerary – no car required!
If you’re planning your first-ever trip to Italy, also make sure to read my guide to avoiding common Italy travel mistakes.
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