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Advice needed for choosing a third base camp in Sicily without a car

Posted by on

I could use some advice because airline availability changed my plan and now I am trying to figure out the middle base camp for my Sicily trip running June 7 through June 22 2026. We will not have a car.

Here is the structure of the trip
• Arrive in Palermo
• Stay four full days (day trips like Monreale, Cefalù, Segesta, Erice, Trapani)
• Move to a second base camp
• Stay four full days
• End the trip in Catania for four full days (day trips like Taormina, Mount Etna, Siracusa, Noto, Giardini Naxos)

What I need help with
• Choosing the base camp between Palermo and Catania
• It must work well without a car
• Ragusa keeps coming up and I have started reading about it
• Our family enjoys historic towns, great food, architecture, museums, and walking

Looking for opinions
• Does Ragusa make sense for a no car stay
• If not, which town fits our interests better
• Or do we skip the middle base camp and simply extend Palermo and Catania to six full days each to replace the four day middle segment

Posted by
435 posts

With 15 nights, I would do something like this:

Palermo 4 or 5
Agrigento 1 or 2
Siracusa 5
Taormina 1 or 2
Catania 2 or 3

I wouldn’t skip Agrigento (Valley of the Temples).
Ragusa is not a good base without a car.
You can visit Noto and Ragusa from Siracusa.
This can be done without a car.

Posted by
37 posts

I stayed in Ragusa for 4 nights (3 is enough) and with no car. We totally enjoyed it and did bus day trips to two neighboring towns on the bus. (got there from Siracusa on bus). We also stayed in Siracusa for 5-6 nights and loved that choice. Easy to do day trips from there to towns (bus or train).

Also stayed in Trapani and visited the neighboring islands for 3 nights. Stayed in the largest one and loved it. And did day trip to the coast--- spend a day there.
We spend a week in Palermo--- did day trip to Cefalu on train, Plenty to see local: went to Opera , visited amazing Churches as day trip on local bus. Great city for day trips and to hang out. Transportation was very easy. Learned to use the bus. Stayed about 15- 20 minute walk from the Opera House.

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