16 day Itinerary traveling coast of Sicily

If you're flying out of Palermo, you may not want to be in Cefalu the night before. It's east of Palermo and the airport is west of Palermo.

I would never want to drive in Palermo. Traffic there is crazy.

I think you're short of time in Palermo. It has a lot of sights.

Noto, Modica and Scicli are additional baroque town in southeastern Sicily you might enjoy seeing. Each would probably be manageable as a day trip from either Siracusa or Ragusa. You can explore driving times on ViaMichelin.com.

I think it looks good. But I would stay in Scopello instead of Trapani. I really like that small village. And I would stay 3 nights there (visit Erice, Segesta, Selinunte, San Vito lo Capo, Zingaro reserve)

Acraven, I have heard that driving in Palermo as crazy. We were thinking of picking up rental car on our way out of Palermo or should we take a different means of transportation to get from Palermo to our next destination? What would you suggest our final destination be before traveling back to Palermo for our flight home? Should we delete one of our base stops or switch up the order?

I didn't have the benefit of a car in Sicily, so I don't know what your best option is for avoiding the overlap of rental car and Palermo and having a manageable trip to the airport on your last day. I'm guessing you're planning Palermo as your first stop on this trip (as opposed to seeing Sicily after having spent some time elsewhere in Europe), so hopping in a car on the day you arrive in Sicily to drive to Scopello or Trapani might not be a safe plan. It seems a real shame to have to check into a Palermo hotel for one night at the end of the trip.

I also only used public transportation when I was in Sicily. Palermo to airport is a short bus trip (we used Prestia e Comandè). Cefalu is a very easy train ride from Palermo (less than 1 hour) great for a day trip. I would add those 2 days to Palermo.

I count 17 nights from your list. Does 16 days include travel days, giving you 15 nights?

There are pros and cons either way. My decision not to rent a car was the cost consideration (fuel, parking, insurance, etc.) time factor involved in renting/returning the car, and navigating unfamiliar roads. By using trains & buses, I was able to relax, look out the window and see more of Sicily, arriving on time stress free. Then I could focus my energy exploring the location.

If you do want to rent a car, I would suggest picking it up when you leave Palermo. Like most large cities, they have their share of crazy drivers, limited parking, great public transportation, and it's very walkable, you really won't need one for that time frame. Syracuse/Ortigia doesn't really require a car either.

Other considerations, will your hotel have parking? How much will you use the car during each day? What ever you decide, it will be a wonderful trip!

I drove out of Palermo and didn't think it was that bad. I did NOT drive around Palermo but just picked up the car as we were leaving, got detailed directions out of town and then drove it. I think if you are not trying to drive around inside the city much, or find parking or anything like that, then most people would be OK. Having said that, I did the drive out of Palermo even though my husband usually does most of the driving cause he hates city driving and I'm not that put off by it. I don't think it took more than 15-20 minutes. I guess it depends on where in Palermo you are staying. We stayed at Hotel Joli and there was a car rental location a five minute walk from there.

Acraven,Noto, Modica and Scicli are definitely on our lists and I think we were planning on visiting them from one of our bases, I believe Siracusa. And thank you for the viaMichelin. com for driving times. Do you think we should maybe add a day to Palermo and take away a day elsewhere? Palermo. was going to be our first stop and we were planning on renting a car on our way out of Palermo, unless we should use another form of transport to go to our next stop and then pick up car from Trapani?? (or unless we skip Trapani and go to Scopello as recommended by Roberto da Firenze. )

Roberto da Firenze, I have not heard of Scopello-what would the recommended sites be there? Is Trapani worth a day trip?

Susanna, yes, 17 days on our list not counting days of travel. All the hotels that we currently have booked do have some sort of parking. Not sure how much we will use the car during each day at our base stops. I think we were mainly using it to get from town to town. perhaps we should rethink and just use public transportation,

Isabel, our plan is to stay at Panurban which is about 2000 feet from Palermo center.

Does anyone know the best way of going about renting a vehicle if this is what we decide? and how does insurance work?

Trying to get our transportation figure out from town to town, Would the train be our best bet from town to town and is it readily available from each of our base stops? I also was wondering how we would travel to the smaller towns such as Isnello and Santo Stefano Camastra?

There are people who do Sicily by public transportation and if you search this and other forums you'll find trip reports about it. But Sicily does not have the same level of train transport that mainland Italy (or much of the rest of Europe) does and it is far more efficient to have a car. Other than in Palermo itself driving is quite easy, and it's the only way to get to some of the smaller towns. We stayed in Palermo a few nights and did a day trip by train to Cefalu, but for everything else we had the car and was grateful we did. On my 12 other trips to Italy I have rarely rented a car. Only certain areas (Tuscan small towns, the Dolomites, Puglia) is it better to have a car as train travel is so good. But Sicily is one area that a car is quite helpful. However, 16 days is a pretty good amount of time so you might be able to get to the places you want without one. You'd need to do some good research though.

Isabel, thank you for that info. We are torn. So much to think about .

Just a few more thoughts for you to consider. I saw on your other thread that you want to go to Santo Stefano di Camastra and Isnello based on family history. I was able to visit the village where my Father was born (a highlight for me) using the bus.
Fly into Catania and out of Palermo, or vice versa.
Check with your hotels to see if they could arrange for a driver for a day, giving them specific locations, times and agree on price before hand.
Bus and trains are both options. Rent a car for part of your time.
Only you know your comfort level and what makes the most sense for your trip.

If you can afford the 2 weeks of car rental, by all means go for it. Driving is really OK out of central Palermo, and you will be MUCH more efficient.

We also stayed in Scopello and really enjoyed the relaxed, scenic atmosphere. It was a great contrast to Palermo, which we also liked. We also stayed at a wonderful country house near the coast near Noto. Send me a PM if you would like the details.

I think this itinerary is pretty solid. Sounds awesome. You’re packing in a lot, but have time everywhere. As far as fine tuning? As much as I loved Palermo, three nights is just about right. Still, depending on when you arrive, and what your plans for Monreal are, you may appreciate an extra night of wriggle room. You’ll have to plan ahead around Monreal’s opening times. If you were going to shave a night somewhere, I think I ought to be Agrigento. You’re there pretty much for Valley of the Temples, you can see that and move on. I found the museum very skippable if you plan on visiting other similar museums (Paulo di Orsi museum in Siracusa is pretty phenomenal.) Nothing against staying there, but I think most would agree that an extra night at any of your other stops would be superior.

You have your overnights covered, but I am wondering about your sightseeing plans for Monreal and Villa Romana (both must sees.) If you were thinking of driving up to Monreal on your way out of town, I’d just note that the road in all uphill and narrow at times. I’d find it a little intense for my first few hours driving my new stick-shift rental car. Villa Romana you can do on the way to Ragusa as long as you get an early start. Driving around the southeast can be a little challenging, it’s mountainous country. So, just make sure you’re well up to the drive before you head out.

I'd have been frustrated with only 2 full, non-jetlagged days in Palermo. However, if you plan to see Monreale on your way out of town, after picking up the car, that would help by freeing up time you'd otherwise need for a side-trip from Palermo to Monreale.

I'm a big proponent of public transportation, but it's a fact that in Sicily you'll be able to see a lot more with a car. There are no fast trains in Sicily. Sometimes there are no trains, period. The buses are generally comfortable enough, and they were reliable for me, but they are definitely not fast.

You'd think Palermo to Trapani would make sense by train if you didn't want to make stops along the way, but you would be mistaken. Trains between those two cities take a circuitous route. The distance by road is about 63 miles, but it takes over 4 hours to get to Trapani by train! Buses are faster, but still a lot slower than driving.

I think not having to do the driving is worth something, but when you consider the combination of slow trains and buses, relative infrequency of public transportation schedules, and lack of even bus service to some small places, renting a car begins to look more attractive.

I liked Trapani and wouldn't skip it. I'd be even less likely to skip Erice, touristy though it is.

Acraven… love your posts! Always keep me thinking and make so much sense. I think we are leaning on renting a car. Just a little nervous leaving Palermo—- is pick up from the airport our best option?

awrzesinski, thanks for your input. We are currently working on the side trips and would like to see monreale cathedral etc… I know we have a Streety food tour day 2 in Palermo and definitely want to see the catacombs 😯 So much planning but super excited.

Hello
the first time we went to Europe we wanted to see a lot of places/country. What we ended up seeing was the train station/airport and being exhausted. Two days at a location is actually one: One day to get there and one day to get to the next site. Only one day to see the location you are at. You may want to sleep in, then it is less than a day. With 16 days, I would only do 3 or 4 places. this is not the Rick Steves way, but it works for me.m I always look at my schedule and see if I have enough time to see where I am at. If not, I extend my time. Don't spend you vacation getting to one place and the next. Relax! Leave something to come back to see on your next trip. Enjoy your time

Monreale is pretty much a "must-see", and that's a term I don't normally use. Skip other things if you must, but not Monreale.