5 days gives you both MOUNTAINS and SEA. The Gran Sasso (Santo Stefano, Rocca Calascio, Campo Imperatore), the Maiella (Sulmona, hermitages), the Trabocchi Coast (wooden fishing platforms on the Adriatic), Scanno (heart-shaped lake), and Pescasseroli (Marsican bears in the national park).
Each day is a logical geographic loop. Mornings for sights, afternoons for food, evenings for aperitivo. Car essential.
Gran Sasso (2 days) — Santo Stefano, Rocca Calascio, Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila. Maiella + Sulmona (1 day) — Eremo di Santo Spirito a Maiella (the hermitage built into the cliff). Sulmona confetti + old town. Trabocchi Coast (1 day) — Drive the SS16 from Ortona to Vasto. Eat at a trabocco restaurant (fish caught from the platform, cooked on site — book ahead). Vasto old town above the sea. Scanno + Pescasseroli (1 day) — Heart-shaped lake. Drive through the Gole del Sagittario gorge. Pescasseroli — Marsican brown bears (50 left in the wild), wolves, deer. The national park visitor center.
Best time: April-June, September-October (summer for mountains/beaches). Agriturismi/rifugi 60-120/night.