2wk itinerary in Sicily….good?

It is fast paced, but doable, IMO. I thought Taormina was pretty, busy, AND touristy. 2 hours was enough for us. Loved Randazzo instead for 3 nights. If you can work out luggage storage you could do Cefalu on the way to Palermo/

It is fast paced but do think it is as good as you can do with the time you have.

Do be careful with stopping with luggage. The advice is not to. But if you do, make luggage is covered in trunk and do not take anything out after you park. Carry everything that cannot easily be replaced with you.

You might turn in car in Cefalu and take train. You do not want a car in Palermo and the airport is outside town. Works when you arrive but not so much later.

Thank you Jules & Beth!

Jules, I love your idea about Cefalu and will consider it.

Beth, I couldn’t agree more, and also worried about stopping in route at Noto. When we traveled by car in Ireland, after flying in, we stopped to site see. Some punks got into our locked trunk & stole our luggage. It was horrific! Wasted 1 1/2 days shopping for luggage & clothes at our next stop instead of site seeing the beautiful town. Plus note….we had all our cash, credit cards, or passports with us. Also, the
Irish Police were so gracious, and did locate 1 pc of *full luggage, which they returned to us at the end of our trip (had to drive to the police station).

Then just skip Noto. You will have visited several other Baroque towns. I would think after your experience you would have a hard time relaxing enough to enjoy yourself.

You can always go visit from Siracusa, leaving your luggage in your hotel.

You’ll be chugging along at a good clip, but I agree that it is doable. Since you’ll have a car, you might want to head straight out to explore Trapani that arrival day. I’d strongly suggest you take the cable car up to Erice rather than drive. There’s also a bus. Parking is impossible, as is the case in most small towns. Take a sweater—it’s much cooler and breezier than Trapani. In September, with a cardigan and jacket I was almost warm enough! Since you’ll have a car, you might want to consider a morning at the salt flats/museum. We enjoyed that and you can’t get there by public transport without jumping through a lot of hoops.

I thought I'd just ad that we did a day trip to Noto from Siracusa. We really enjoyed Baroque Noto. We took the train. The train station is at the bottom of the hill that the old town of Noto sits on. I was told it is also possible to take a bus to Noto from Siracusa. The bus stop is at the top of the hill.

Yes, its easy to take the cable car up to Erice. We used a bus to get to the cable car.

Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions. I appreciate the advise and will consider it all.

Completed a similar 16 day trip in early October 2024.

Agree with Jules M that Taormina is busy and touristy especially after Trapani, Agrigento, Ragusa and Siracusa, and it can be done in a half day.
Beware that the cable car to Erice was closed in mid October, but parking in Erice was not an issue.
Useful tip is to load Easy Park mobile app as it was commonly used (Trapini, Ragusa, Erice) and allows you to add time if you need extra time than planned.
Allow time to visit Villa Romana del Casole mosiacs between Agrigento and Ragusa.

10/10 About as airtight an itinerary as one could plan for Sicily. As per Noto, I think it’s definitely worth a stop en route to Siracusa. Your tale of theft in Ireland is one we should all bear in mind, and good on you for not leaving your vital stuff in the car, but I think you’d agree it shouldn’t mean you never stop anywhere with a rental car. I strongly disagree that Noto is so easy a day trip from Siracusa as to pass it by on the way. And the train connecting these two towns is a pretty grim experience, the train station is far from the town center to boot. If anything, bus is better.

@ awrzesinski , I'm not sure what you mean about the grim train experience to Noto. We thought it was pleasant and there were a lot of other couples doing the same. We found the train similar to the other trains we used in Sicily (and nicer than the circumvesiviana connecting Naples to Salerno). I did say that the train station is at the bottom of the hill, about 1 km to Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, where the churches are located. The bus may have been better, but we handled the walk uphill fine, and I had a bum knee and was using a cane. I'm also not sure what you mean when you say it is not an easy day trip. Is it about your feeling about the train or you feel that there is more to do in Noto? If you feel Noto requires more time, I won't disagree, its a pretty town, but we did feel we saw a lot during the day we were there, and some Noto is better than no Noto. I see one parking lot on google maps, about a 7 minute walk. There must be more parking, probably farther away.

Linda, doable itinerary with a car but the one day that I see as overloaded is Day 5. I just don't think you can do justice to Ragusa, Modica, Scicli and Donnalucata in one day. Where do you plan to sleep that night? Back in Ragusa? I know you said you want to take a drive through those last three towns, but certainly you will want to stop and spend some time in each one if you are taking the time to go there. I just spent 18 days in Sicily, on my third trip there. On my previous trip I was there for three weeks mid September to early October. Weather was still generally very warm in the daytime. My other two trips have been in March to April time frame. On my fall trip Agrigento, Villa Romana del Casale and Taormina were still very crowded. On this trip last month, far fewer people at those three sites. I agree that you will not need a car in Palermo. It is very walkable and easy to use the public busses. You can take a bus up to Monreale and back and if you do Cefalu as a daytrip you can go by bus or train. Or consider staying just one night in Cefalù on your way from Taormina to Palermo. It is a pretty town and not very big. Sicily is a beautiful place to visit. Have a great trip.

I agree with Pat. Another possible complication, Scicli and perhaps others, are basically closed midday. We got there at noon and shops, church was all closed.

Much of your itinerary is the reverse of what we did. We stopped in Noto en route from Ortigia to Ragusa and it worked well. We had one night in Ortigia. Depending on your interests, three nights there might be too much. Unlike others, we enjoyed Taormina for two nights. Conversely, Cefalu is the one place we would not return — very touristy, crowded and unwelcoming. Valley of the Temples at dusk is magical and, for daytime, there are some lovely beaches near Agrigento. Also, recommend going to Villa Romana del Casale en route to Ragusa. Monreale is awesome. Palermo is lovely, relaxing and the food is great. Driving in Sicily is easy. Parking can sometimes be a challenge…but is part of the adventure. But, drop off your car as soon as you arrive to Palermo (can be done in city). Driving in Palermo is unnecessary…and a nightmare.