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13 or 14 days in Sicily - Itinerary help/suggestions

Posted by on

Hey there!

Planning almost a 2 week trip to Sicily with family. My Mother's side of the family is from a small town near Bagheria called Aspra. So we'd like to visit there (we've been to Sicily before). Briefly.

We plan on flying into Palermo and out of Catania from either Rome or Florence.

Renting a car once we've finished with our Palermo portion of the trip.

Spots we'd like to hit: Palermo, Aspra, Erice, Segesta, Agrigento, Valley of Temples, Noto/Ragusa/ or Modica and Taormina and Siracusa.

Any advice on amount of time in each place? Where to overnight?

We are ok not spending that much time in Palermo. Are there any other spots we should see but haven't?

Thanks in advance!

-J

Posted by
7054 posts

I only saw southeast Sicily (the Baroque towns) because it was a side trip from Malta which was my base vacation spot. Of the towns I saw, Ragusa was my favorite, hands down...definitely stay overnight there and spend 2 days if you can (especially if you want to walk from the upper to the lower towns and visit the many UNESCO sites). Same with Siracusa, which is also a great base to spend a few nights (lots to see there which justifies at least a few days). I saw Noto in a half day because it was rather compact (easy 1 hour bus ride from Siracusa). Taormina was a full day trip for me - it was much more touristy and ritzy and less down-to-earth than the other towns (so oddly I liked it less, even though its location is gorgeous and unlike the others as it just perches on a cliff overlooking the water). Folks seem to really love Taormina to the point of spending several days there, but honestly, it's so compact that you can see it all in one day if need be.

Posted by
11613 posts

A couple of nights in Siracusa (stay in Ortigia), and Agrigento (the archeological zone is huge, and with two nights you can squeeze in a trip to Selinunte).

Segesta is great, easy daytrip from Palermo. So is Cefalu, but it's such s nice town that I like to overnight there.

I would add Piazza Armerina (with a daytrip to Villa Romana del Casale and Morgantina).

I like Taormina, beautiful Greek theatre, and close to Mount Etna. You can drive partway up Mount Etna.

Posted by
28477 posts

I agree with Agnes and Zoe (though I skipped the Greek sites in the western part of the island) and can also recommend Erice, for which visit I stayed in Trapani. I'm sure there must be accommodations in Erice.

Though I'm a non-religious person, I very much enjoyed wandering around Palermo and popping into about 10 or so churches and oratorios; Monreale is that rare-to-me thing, a "must-see". I'd want 3 nights in Palermo, but folks uncomfortable in bustling Naples-like cities with wild traffic and few "Walk" signals might prefer to spend less time there. Figure Monreale itself will take about half a day by the time you deal with the public-bus schedule from Palermo and see the church.

Siracusa is the other spot that requires more than a day to cover well. There's the not-small old town, Ortygia, plus also a museum and Greek theatre that are in the now-modern part of the city.

I also like the historic district of Catania, and the market. But I suppose with limited time you could just head for the airport. There's so much in Sicily that you can't cover all the top sights in 2 weeks, though having a car will help a lot.

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