Sicily - So much to see and not enough time!

How many full days do you have? At first glance, it doesn't seem like enough to go to all the geographically disparate locations you want to visit. I highly recommend using Lonely Planet to guide your planning so you can focus on one area and get a better sense of how long it takes to get from one place to another. I used buses and trains and had to be captive to their schedule, which did affect where I stayed overnight and how much time I can spend somewhere on a day trip. I personally loved Ragusa more than Siracusa but the latter was a better base to stay in (and it had some world class sites that Ragusa didn't). Noto is very much worthwhile; I did it as a half day trip from Siracusa. Although it was small, I could have spent more time there. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I would not stay 3 nights in Taormina - yes, it is beautiful but super geared toward tourists with prices to match (lodging and restaurants are considerably more expensive than elsewhere). And it is very small and hemmed in because it's hanging on a cliff. I spent 7 hours there before going back to Catania Airport and thought that was adequate (I could have spent a night but not more than that). It really depends on how many other jaw dropping handing-off-the-cliff towns you've already been to in order to gauge whether it's worthwhile to pay a premium to stay there. I found some of the small towns in the Baroque Valley of southeastern Sicily (which I saw on train and bus rides between Ragusa and Siracusa) to be much more authentic and charming and more of a local feel but that is only a personal preference.

You should look under Italy for prior postings on Sicily. There is lots of info already out there, you just have to scroll down the postings to find it. The search function, unfortunately, is not as helpful as it should be so a manual search may be needed

This is another good site to check out:
http://www.bestofsicily.com/

A agree with Agnes. May might be less busy, but Taormina was overrun on a Saturday in late June 2015, and I would not have wanted to spend 3 days there unless it was to go to the beach. But the setting is wonderful and distinctive.

I used Catania as one of my bases and liked it, but it's gritty in places and doesn't have as many top sights as Palermo. I did day-trips by public bus from Catania to the Villa Romana del Casale outside Piazza Armerina (stunning mosaics--recommended) and to Enna. I do my best to get to inland towns, because they feel less touristy. For you, Catania should be skipped unless you need it for logistical reasons.

Monreale is virtually a suburb of Palermo and is a must since you're flying into Palermo, assuming the cathedral's opening hours cooperate. Take the bus from Palermo; you don't need to spend money on a tour. Palermo itself is a big, noisy city with a wealth of baroque architecture; there are many lovely churches and other religious buildings to visit. But be prepared for a fair amount of grime. Watch Rick's Sicily video to get a feel for the atmosphere. Check the closing days and early-closing days of the sights most interesting to you. I think a lot will be closed on either Sunday or Monday (your first two days).

Cefalu is an easy day-trip from Palermo. It's picturesque but I didn't feel I needed to spend the night there. It would probably be a nice place to chill out for a couple of days if you had more time, but Cefalu is quite small and--unlike Palermo--doesn't require a lengthy visit to see the sights. So I'd visit Cefalu from Palermo rather than vice versa.

I used public buses and visited Noto and Modica on a single day from Ortygia/Siracusa. Ragusa is more time-consuming, and I didn't try to combine it with another destination. I imagine that all three would be reachable from Ortygia in the spring, but I cannot guarantee it. In mid-summer there were day-tours running to some of the inland towns from both Ortygia and Taormina (perhaps more from Taormina?), but I don't know about April and early May. The tours seemed rather expensive to me.

The hill town of Erice is accessible via funicular (or bus) from Trapani, which has a pretty historic district. I liked both a lot--preferred them to Cefalu, in fact, but they are not as convenient to visit from Palermo (over 2 hours by bus vs. less than one hour by train), and you'd need to push to see both Trapani and Erice on a single day-trip from Palermo.

I think you'll need to whittle back your target list a bit. I had 18 full days in Sicily and didn't have time for Segesta or Agrigento. However, I expect you can fit more in if you depend pretty heavily on bus tours. Just try to confirm ahead of time that they will be running at a reasonable frequency while you're there. There might be some that only go once or twice a week, and you'd need to know about their schedules in advance, before booking hotels.

Food in Sicily is really, really good. Noto is known for granita (similar to sorbet), and both granita and gelato are superb throughout the island. I found the pastries outstanding, as well.

I don't think you'll have issues getting from Siracusa to Noto or Modica or Ragusa by train, although Noto is definitely better by bus because it drops you off right at the city gate. The trains run all year because they serve locals but beware of Sundays, when neither buses or trains are as frequent. Catania (airport) has better connections to a lot of places (like Piazza Armerina and Caltagirone) compared to Siracusa, so keep that in mind as well. Ragusa requires at least an entire day, but preferably more due to the long walk from the new town to the old lower town. Siracusa at least 2 - 2 1/2 full days if you want to see the archeological sites and museum. Taormina and Noto probably half a day or a little more because they are smaller. Everything depends on how leisurely you'd like your trip to be and what you definitely want to see. Just stopping for a nice meal or cafe takes hours out of every day and it's no fun when it's rushed (sadly, I know).

I don't think you need a tour for any of the places you mentioned although Agrigento may be a bit harder to get to without a car. Some tours are way too expensive and you can make those trips just with inexpensive buses.

We loved Palermo, and could happily spend many days there. There are plenty of interesting side trips that can be taken from there. The Lonely Planet guidebook outlines day trips from Palermo.

We've stayed at the Hotel Ambasciatori, on Via Roma in walking distance of the train station, which is where the shuttle from the airport lets you off. It's a nice hotel, very affordable - well under your $100 limit. Last February we paid €55 for a double, with a good breakfast included. That was a "Rick Steves" price; it doesn't hurt to ask for a discount! And there is a magnificent roof terrace where breakfast is served, or where you can just sit and enjoy the view any time. There's a bar up there as well, and a decent restaurant that's open for dinner. A good choice your first night there. Happy travels!

My first thought is to suggest you rethink the car question (after Palermo). It's really way more convenient than public transportation, in my opinion.

My second thought is Monreale is a must; Cefalu, perhaps. I have been all over Europe, 16 times to Italy alone. The mosaics in the cathedral and cloisters of Monreale rank right up there with those in the main sites of Ravenna as the most beautiful I've ever seen.

I went to Sicily with a friend in April-May 2014. A link to my VERY detailed trip report is below.

We saw a lot of the places you want to see in 11 nights, but we had a car. If you won't have one, you may not be able to see as many places in a short time. Note that by the end we were very tired from all the driving - having 2 nights at the end in Taormina with no driving saved us! And of the places on your list, we saw Palermo, Monreale, Ortigia, Ragusa, Taormina, the temples at Agrigento (not the town itself), and the Villa Romana outside Piazza Armerina (not the town itself). We didn't get to Erice, Segesta, or Cefalu.

So yes, even with a car you should cut back your list a bit. And without a car, cut it back a bit more - even if you want a fast-paced tasting platter, as we did.

Here's the link, with my accommodations (all recommended - I'd stay in all of them again without hesitation): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

Hello everyone,
Can someone please validate our itenarery. I felt like I got a lot of information but the search function did not work quite that well.

1. stay in Palermo as the home base - take day trips to trapani and monreale.
2. Drive to catania and stay there for 3 days - with day trips to mt etna and taormina.
3. We do want to see ragusa. Can it be done via a day trip from catania or we should make ragusa as our home base for three night instead? if anyone can answer these questions that would be fabulous. Also bestofsicily.com did not offer much in terms of accomodations. Can someone pleaseprovide some insight into affordable but clean accomodations in the 55 - 100 euro range for a family of three? best, Pallavi

I used venere.com for most of my Italian bookings. Verify air conditioning, but that's unlikely to be a problem in Sicily.

Are you still planning to drive? My impression as a pedestrian was that traffic in Palermo was pretty chaotic. You'll need to consider your hotel location carefully. You certainly won't want to drive from site to site within the city. I think driving to Monreale would be OK, but check ahead of time so you'll know where you want to park.

I have no idea whether there are any of the dreaded, high-fine ZTLs in Sicily.

Ragusa can be done as a day-trip from Catania if you're driving. Buses seem pretty infrequent, so if that's your plan, verify the schedules carefully, and remember that you can't count on inter-city bus service on Sundays or holidays. I don't think you'd have much scheduling flexibility if you depended on the bus.

With a car I'd be tempted to take a night from Catania and pick a spot in the SE interior in hopes of seeing some other spots in addition to Ragusa--maybe Noto/Modica or the Villa Romana del Casale.