7 Days in Sicily: Which 2 or 3 Towns Are Best?

Siracusa makes a great base - you can easily see Noto, Ragusa, and Modica, and smaller towns like Scicli from it. Plus it's interesting in its own right and you can easily allocate at least 2.5 of your 7 days there. Noto is small and needs a half day. If you have a car, you can probably combine Ragusa and Modica into one full day. So that's 4 days already.

I would probably use Giardini Naxos as the other base and try to see areas north of Catania, like Mt. Etna, Taormina, and some smaller towns as well as Catania.

That will easily fill up all 7 days and you're not zigzagging all over the island, In 7 days, I wouldn't recommend trying to also see the western part of the island...you need more time unless you're flying out of Palermo. I think 3 bases is probably one too much, I would keep it at 2.

Here's a decent road map so you can see where everything is situated:
http://www.bestofsicily.com/roadmap.htm

I agree that Siracusa would be a good place to stay. Another option for a second stop is Trapani in the southwestern part of the island. Trapani is close to Segesta, Erice, Moria, Agrigento and the Villa Romana de Casale mosaics.

Trapani is not in the southwestern part (it's northwest) - it's as far from Catania as possible. In my opinion, you don't have enough time to cover both sides of the island in 7 days without a lot of driving and backtracking. I'd stick with the eastern part since you're flying into Catania.

Since you are flying in and out of CTA I also suggest you concentrate on the eastern side of the island. Your stay is too short to visit all of Sicily. You would need a couple of weeks to just touch the major sights of the entire island.

On the eastern side there are two areas that are a must.
In the south east: Siracusa and Noto, possibly Ragusa, if time permits. Noto can be seen in a day, Siracusa might need a couple.
In the North East: Taormina area, with possibly an excursion to Mt. Etna.
I like to count nights, and if I had 4 nights, I’d probably spend 4 in the Siracusa/Noto area and 3 in the Taormina area.

If you are interested in an Agriturismo, In the southeast I stayed at this Agriturismo. It’s near Avola, just minutes away from both Noto and Siracusa. Great food and great beach.
http://www.masseriasulmare.com

In Taormina I actually like to stay at the bottom of the hill on the beach (I like beaches) in Giardini Naxos. Taormina is just above, only minutes away. Last time I stayed at the hotel below. Inexpensive, great, and with parking (for 10€/day):
http://i53479.wixsite.com/hotellariva

First paragraph edited because it was nonsensical.

I agree with Agnes and Roberto: The amount of time you have basically cries out for a trip limited to the eastern part of the island. If you have time while staying in Taormina, I recommend time in Catania's old town. It's very picturesque, and the fish market, La Pescheria is quite the experience. I think it operates in the morning on every day except Sunday.

On the day I visited Taromina in 2015; I was ready to leave after a few hours because of the overwhelming crowds on the main drag. Many other people are able to focus on the beauty.

A Sicilian I met at a bus stop recommended the small coastal town of Acireale to me. It's just north of Catania. Online photos look picturesque, but I didn't have time to visit it.

The small towns outside Siracusa that Agnes mentioned are a great place to have a car. You can get to them by train and/or bus, but you'll be at the mercy of the schedules. Or rather, you can get to them Mon-Sat. Sunday is very, very doubtful. There don't seem to be many public buses rolling in Sicily on Sundays.

I loved Sicily. I bet you'll be planning your second trip on the way home from this one!

Really excellent information, everyone. Thank you! So, unless someone has a compelling reason otherwise, we're going to spend 3/4 nights in Siracusa. Try to stay on Ortygia. Day trips to Ragusa, Modica, Noto, Scicli.

Now I need a Base #2. I have a lot of trepidation about Taormina. I don't want to deal with Cruise People. Seems like a classic tourist trap, though I'd like to day trip there to see the Theater and town itself (during morning or evening). A trip to Etna (Sunset Tour?) seems a must. Maybe Giardini-Naxos is a good fit. What else is there to see in that region? I've heard the Etna hill towns are lovely.

And I think I need a breathtaking beach or stunning view of the sea thrown in for good measure. What about the Aeolians? Are they reasonable as another destination for me?

Just about my greatest regret from my 2015 trip to Sicily is that I didn't get to the Aeolians. It was a time issue. The thing about islands is that you first need to get to the departure point (which is often a town you wouldn't otherwise have on your itinerary), then you have to coordinate with the ferry schedule, then you have the time on the ship, then you have to do all of that in reverse.

I did make a day trip to the Egadi Islands off Trapani (which I was already visiting), and I was underwhelmed. Pleasant enough, but not spectacular in any way, and it was a full-day effort. From everything I've read, the Aeolians are considerably more interesting.

The Direct Ferries website looks like it is probably a decent source for ferry schedules. It indicates that Milazzo would provide the fastest crossing, but there are also ferries from Messina. Depending on how the train or bus schedule meshes with the ferry schedule, either of those departure points might turn out to provide your fastest overall route.

I have not been to Milazzo, but I think it does have something of an historic district. I spent one night in Messina in transit, and I agree with the guide books that say it is not special. I didn't carefully research it before arrival, however. Certainly I would rank it behind Siracusa, Catania and Taormina. So I think I'd try to get myself to and from the Aeolians without needing an overnight stopover on the north coast, just to save time.

I cannot comment on beaches; I don't do beaches. If you're thinking about going in the water, Google for water temperatures to be sure it will be warm enough for you.

The Aolians are great, but what are you going to do with the car? It's totally useless there.

Yes, Taormina is very touristy. I was happy with my 1 day trip there and I would have had fun staying overnight, but no more than one night (it's too small, too full of people, and way too expensive relative to other towns). If you want something low key and more local, you'll have to go inland and away from the coast (most tourists flock to the coast). Towns like Enna and Randazzo, etc.

I'm late to this party, but I enjoyed Palermo, Siracusa & Trapini.

Oh, I liked Palermo and Trapani (Erice!), too. Definitely more than Taormina. But the OP has only a week and is flying both in and out of Catania. It's really hard to figure out what to do in Sicily on a short trip, because there are so many great places to go.

Taormina is a must-see stop. If I were to return there, I would stay below the town at Mazzaro beach. From there, you can take the funivia (cable car) up into Taormina. The Mazzaro beach is a beautiful cove, which I prefer over the long, straight beach you find at Naxos.

I suggested the Agriturismo out of town and not Ortigia because of the car. There is a parking garage at Ortigia where I guess you could leave your car, but it is not a car friendly place and I doubt there are accommodations with parking.

Our favorite base was Ortigia. We stayed at Via Della Giudecca for 4 nights. A charming B & B near the Duomo and in the heart of centro storico. It was a large apartment with a kitchen, dining & living area and a large bedroom. Ample buffet breakfast. Lovely views from the rooftop. Excellent location to visit Noto, Ragusa and Modica. Don't miss Taormina and Catania. Perfect ending to Eastern Sicily.

I love Ortygia. You can easily stay there with a car - there’s a garage on the north end of the island (near the bridges) and it’s small enough that walking/shuttle bus to get the car for a day trip is easy.

I didn’t spend much time in Taormina. It’s beautiful but it’s the most “on the radar” part of Sicily so given what you said...I’d skip it, or day trip. I can’t help with another town in the area - I went west and visited Palermo, Trapani, and Scopello. If you were going west I’d recommend those but I agree - with your time stay east.

I would look into Catania itself. I didn’t stay there - didn’t even see it besides the airport and driving through the outskirts - but there’s something to be said for a vibrant urban stop.

I did make a day trip to the Egadi Islands off Trapani (which I was already visiting), and I was underwhelmed. Pleasant enough, but not spectacular in any way, and it was a full-day effort.

After Palermo I will be staying in Tranpani for a couple of nights, and plan to visit Erice and one Egadi Island. Now I wonder if there is a better alternative than the Egdai Islands.

I seem to have omitted from my earlier post a fact that I usually mention in such situations: I am not a beach person! I prefer my scenery dramatic. The Egadis have sandy beaches that are not overrun; I believe daily visitation limits are in place. It may be because of those controls that you must buy a roundtrip ticket for specific boats.

The Egadis are justifiably popular with people who want to lie on the beach without being surrounded by thousands of other people, but I have zero interest in doing that. They are perfectly pleasant places, but I had only 18 days in Sicily and would have preferred to spend that day somewhere else--just about anywhere else except Taormina. My taste in islands runs more toward places with dramatic terrain like Madeira, Corfu, and Crete.

If you can afford to devote a day to a beach break, there's nothing wrong with the Egadi Islands.

Just to add a contrarian viewpoint - I LOVED Taormina. Sure it's touristy, but I only really felt this heavily on the way to and from the Greco-Roman theater, as well as at the theater itself (highly worthwhile even with the cruise ship crowds). I found the town itself magical, and it wasn't hard to get off the main drag and away from the worst of the crowds, as long as you don't mind walking up and down hills (the main drag is flat; almost all of the rest of Taormina isn't).

Before I went, I had read that rich and famous people like Greta Garbo and Tennessee Williams would spend months at a time in Taormina, and I wondered why. Now I understand; if I could do it, I would too. I just found it magical. Part of that was staying at a lovely place above the main drag with great views, so I walked down into town without constantly being immersed in it.

All that said, since you said you really want to avoid crowds, you probably will want to spend more time elsewhere.

I have a great place for your next Sicily trip, when you have more time - an agriturismo in the center of the island, far from any big cities or crowds. It's the Azienda Agricola Silvia Sillitti. Details are in my very detailed trip report, which should whet your appetite for a return visit - or three: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

We are staying in a b&b near Noto right now- Terra di Limoni. It is lovely, set in a lemon grove with 2 pools. We have a view of the ocean which is within walking distance. We are only an 8 km drive to Noto where we’ve gone several times. Earlier, we stayed in Gardini Naxos, also on the ocean, which we enjoyed very much.

Not a beach person either. Will look into another day trip other than the Egdai Islands.

Harold, enjoyed your trip report. I'll be travelling by public transportation, and will find lodging easily reached from a bus or train station. That kind of eliminates agriturismos.

I'll stay at Ortigia and Catania for several nights each. Only a day trip to Taormina from Catania. With very few lodging vacancies left for May (and quite pricey compared to the other cities), Ortigia may be just as touristy,

I visited Sicily from mid-June to early July 2015 (yes, at times I'm not too bright). There was absolutely no comparison between Ortygia and Taormina in terms of crowding. Siracusa didn't seem to get cruise ships.

Siracusa is nice and easy to walk. We stayed near the ruins and sports park. We also found the prices were fairly reasonable in July 2015. If you stay in Siracusa, I also recommend a boat tour - a little expensive but definitely fun and could even do some swimming from the boat. We took the train from Catania to Siracusa.

In Catania, we would certainly recommend Trattoria Saltimbocca da Giancarlo. It is family-owned and operated.The owner/chef was fantastic and the food was excellent; seafood was really fresh. The owner/chef doesn't speak much English but he is willing to try. Be prepared for large portions. My daughter and I would go back if we return to Catania.

If you can take the tour to Mount Etna it was interesting and certainly worth a trip. Just be sure to bring good walking shoes and at least a windbreaker because even in July it is cool on Mount Etna.

Taormina's main street is very touristy but nice to walk.

Recommend drink lots and lots of liquids as it is hot in July.

Enjoy