Any recommendations for Sicily?

When you say you plan to rent a van and drive the island, I think you are not aware that Sicily is Huge! You couldn't possibly drive it in three days! I went to Taormina once for a week and ended up spending 10 days. Lovely Greek Ruins, went to Mt. Etna, and just enjoyed the essence of "being." We used:
Magicofsicily.com to rent an apartment. It was beautiful, and they also offer tours. We flew into Catania from Rome. We're going back this September, and will concentrate on the other side of the island - Palermo, but return again to Taormina. The town is very beautiful (though a bit touristy), the views of the Mediterranean Sea is so beautiful, the food incredible, and the people warm and friendly. They love their Volcano, which usually puts on a bit of a show.

Not sure if you're asking about sites in/around Palermo or for the whole island but 3 days isn't much time at all (especially if that includes your travel time to/from the airport). You could easily eat up 3 days just in Palermo but you have Monreale, Segesta, San Vito lo Capo, Castellamare del Golfo within a short drive from Palermo. Also Cefalu (never made it myself so not sure how long of a drive it's be but sure others will know). In Palermo itself: Quatro Canti, the Cattadrale, Cappucian Crypt, La Zisa, Palazzo Reale, San Giovanni degli Ermite, Teatros Massimo and Politieama,Piazzas Marina and Pretoria, Villa Guilia, Palazzo Steri, chiesas San Cataldo, Gesu and Magione as well as just wandering around. Also have the Ballaro and Vuccaria markets to wander through which is fun. I'd suggest not driving into Palermo as traffic and finding parking can be a real hassle.

Forgot to mention, check out bestofsicily.com for info.

We recently returned from 28 days in Sicily. Trying to make recommendations for a 3 day stay seems impossible, but we have to agree with Ron that you should stay near Palermo and concentrate on that area. Cefalu is beautiful with a beautiful beach and Duomo, but for the time you have it might be best to stay in Castellamare del Golfo (which we didn't have time to see). You might take one day to visit Segesta and Monreale and spend two days visiting Palermo. You have to severely edit what you want to see and do so as to be able to appreciate the sights and activities you actually have time for. We didn't have a car in Palermo so not sure where you would park if you drove into the city.

If you want to stay and explore Palermo for three days, then rent within Palermo itself. If you plan on driving the island, you need far more than 3 days. Don't underestimate its size (check Google Maps or Michelin Travel for estimated driving time to major attractions).

Here is a great link I used a lot when traveling to Sicliy. Best of Sicily

Despite what everybody is saying, it is possible to see a great deal of Sicily in a short timealthough a bit more than three days. We did five nights. We had meant to stay longer, but it was Easter and apparently a great deal of Italy takes that week in Sicily, so without reservations we had to leave. Anyway, what we did was: Take the ferry across the straits, drive to Taormina. Hotel, lunch, walk around including Roman Theater, dinner, night. Next day, drove south to Siracusa. Saw ruins of ancient city outside, stayed in Ortygia and walked endlessly around. Night in Siracusa. Next day Piazza Armerina, lunch, down to coast to Agrigento. Saw Valley (hill) of the Temples, spent night. Next day Selinunte (our favorite) and then up to Castellemare del Golfo. Two nights there: saw Erice, Segesta, Monreale. But Sicily was full, so we couldn't stay to see Palermowe had to drive quickly across the north of the island and take the ferry to the mainland, where we saw a 10-mile line of cars waiting to get on the ferry for Sicily. So we did see a lot in a short thime.

Thank you everyone for the advice. We have three full days to spend on the island. We're flying into Palermo from Rome, then flying out to Naples. We plan to rent a car and stay within a reasonable drive of the airport and see what we can. And while we appreciate the insight, we have found that making the best use of our time and not worrying about what we can't do is the best way to travel. So what we're trying to figure out is which way to go from the airport: Stay west of Palermo or go east of Palermo. At this point, we are thinking of skipping Palermo this trip, or perhaps spending a day there, and using our time to see other things that are within reach. With that in mind, any additional advice would be appreciated. Grazie.

Three days is better than no days, but seeing a lot of Sicily would be impossible. If you stay in the Palermo area, you can get to Monreale, Erice, Segesta and Cefalu very easily. Erice is a medieval walled town on top of a mountain, lots of hairpin turns to get up and back. Monreale is a short distance from Palermo itself, also up a hill but not a bad drive. Segesta has a beautiful unfinished Greek temple in a spectacular setting, and Cefalu has the Norman cathedral, a very good beach, and a rock to hike if you are in the mood. These places would give you different flavors of Sicily in a relatively compact area. All can be reached by public transportation if you change your mind about the van (which will be difficult to handle on tight turns and narrow streets).

In Oct of 2011 we did a whirlwind rental car tour of Sicily after sailing the Aeolian Islands for a week. We spent a morning in Cefalu, which was quaint and very nice, then drove to Taormina, staying in a B&B above the city with fantastic views of Etna and the Med. we visited the Greek Ampitheatre in the morning and then drove to Siracusa. We walked the old town that afternoon and evening. As my "crew" was a bit done in with ruins, while jogging the next morning at daybreak, I jumped a fence to see the local Ampitheatre. Nice, but not as good as Taormina. We then drove to Agrigento arriving late afternoon. We snuck wine into the Valley of the Temples to toast a glorious sunset over the temples. Saw a lot in three nights. If you are on a time budget, it is doable.

There are great things to see both east and west - if you go east you'll have Cefalu, Taromina, and Mt. Etna but there might be more if you go west of Palermo. We enjoyed Erice, Scopello, Trapani, the island of Mozia, the archeological museum at Marsala, and Agrigento. Those sights could easily fill three days. We rented an apartment near Trapani which made a good base for exploring the area. Also check out Pensione Tranchina in Scopello.