1 month in Sicily, single Location - Best Western half base?

You have not specified the period of the year.

Generally I would choose Palermo for the entire month. It would be the best base, especially if you intend to use public transportation for most of your stay. Palermo is the transport hub for western Sicily. Then if you intend to rent a car for those periods you want to take a few days' trips elsewhere, Palermo would have the most options since all rental agencies are in Palermo (both in the city center near the port and the airport).

If you go outside of winter, and enjoy the view of water, I would look into the district of Mondello, on the north side of the city of Palermo. They have a great beach too. If you can avoid July/August, you'll have a better chance to find rentals in Mondello, because it becomes very popular in the peak summer months (too hot too).
https://www.airbnb.com/mondello-beach-italy/stays

In winter I would probably stay in the city center of Palermo as staying at the beach wouldn't be as relevant (Nov-Feb is not beach weather in Sicily either).

Try to find a water view apartment in Trapani.

Palermo has a far greater density of sights than other places in the west, however attractive the latter may be. Therefore, if you must limit yourself to one base, I think something in the Palermo area would be by far the best choice.

I wouldn't want to miss out on other parts of Sicily, though--especially Siracusa and the Baroque villages in the southeast. I'd peel off about a week for that area, myself.

Hi Glenn,
Here are a couple of ideas that I can suggest for Sicily. By the way, I think your two month retirement kick-off idea is a splendid one!

If you want to be on the water take a look at Castellammare del Golfo, a small picturesque town right on the water with train connection to Palermo or elsewhere. Since you said you wanted to be on the western side of the island that gives you relatively easy access to Palermo, Segesta, Erice, Trapani, Scopello, the Zingaro Nature Preserve area, San Vito Lo Capo, Mársala, Mazzara del Vallo, Favignana.

If you are big city people then Palermo has lots to offer and as said before is the area hub for transportation. There would always be something to see and do and lots of good daytrips using Palermo as a base.

Maybe one of the smaller mountain towns near the Madonnie area would appeal to you such as Caccamo or Collesano or Castelbuono. These are the types of towns where I think it would be easier to live like a local at a slower pace and practice your Italian or Sicilian but your transportation options will be bus or car.

Great suggestions. Some further details:

We would target 2 weeks after retirement, which would be end of March. So thinking we would start mid April to mid May for Sicily, then off to Provence for a month.

We did a trip and visited the East of Sicily a couple years ago, so from Taormina down to Siracusa. Besides, my mentality for travel has always been to deep dive wherever we go - I am not a fan of picking up every few days for another location. My thoughts are also during the month to do a couple of weekends elsewhere. yes, we will have one base for the month, but a few 2-3 nights elsewhere would def be in the plans. I am of 2 minds. I agree with the suggestions about Palermo, but on the other hand, like the idea of renting an apartment with water view in a smaller location. I'll re-read the suggestions again, and do some research. The good news is we have a couple years to figure it out - but I know time creeps up on us all, and I enjoy this type of research :-).

Thanks!

Glenn

I'd chose Orgygia!

It has an excellent market, great restaurants, options for daytrips and the sea; plus easy access via bus to/from the Catania Airport.

Thanks Marsle, but wrong side of Sicily for our plans. I have been there, and it's too far from the other areas we want to see.

Glenn

Glenn:

If you are traveling to Sicily in March/April, Palermo is the place.

Since it's off season, any seaside location would be kind of dead, which of course could be what you want, but the biggest problem, IMO, is the fact that you do not plan to have a car for the entire stay, and plan instead to rent a car occasionally for some trips around.

Any small town outside of Palermo would present challenges without a car. The lack of a car while staying in a small town would severely your freedom and convenience to move around. Staying in a small town might be what you prefer, but if you choose that route you need to have a car. Also for your occasional car rentals you need to go to Palermo, because the rental agencies are in big cities only.

If staying on the water is important to you, then Mondello is the best compromise. Mondello used to be a town unto itself, but it is now incorporated in the City of Palermo, therefore it's a district of Palermo (a "frazione" or fraction of the City, as officially said in Italian). Staying in Mondello would offer you the chance to stay on the water in what actually feels like a smaller town. The advantage of Mondello over other locations is that it is next to the city, and connected to the city center of Palermo by very frequent city buses (or even taxis), therefore it is like being in a smaller town but actually right next to the big city.

Mondello is very popular with Palermitans in Summer, and on July and August weekends gets crowded (it would also be difficult and expensive to find rentals for July or August). But since you are traveling in early Spring, you will have no problem at all, and the crowds will not be there at all. Of course if the weather is nice and warm , Palermitans descend to Mondello on weekends to enjoy the many restaurants and cafes along the beach, so the place will be lively on weekends in April too.

Watch this video and see if you like it. The video is probably in summer or late spring, so when you go it will have much fewer people

Thanks Roberto - Great suggestion, I'll check out the video

Glenn