Catania, 4 nights in Sicily

You could spend four nights in Catania, which has very easy bus connections to other towns; or stay in Taormina (you can visit Mount Etna from there), and go to Catania the day before you fly out.

You can take very easy bus trips to Taormina (north) and Siracusa (south) on two separate days while also allowing for a day at Catania. I can't comment on Mount Etna but it seems like a great trip, not to be missed. That would cover all your time.

With 4 nights, I would likely stick to just one base unless you don't mind moving every two days (either Catania or Siracusa are fine.. if most of your day trips are to the north, then Catania is much better). Catania Airport is a good link for other places as well, including Caltagirone (where there are a lot of lovely ceramics/pottery). I'm not sure what you mean about the bus/train systems - they seemed pretty straightforward to me (have you been to Italy before or ridden the regional trains or buses?). When I landed in Catania, right outside the airport is a bus station listing all the different possibilities (you can also find them online). It was a very easy process to get a ticket for the next bus (in my case, I headed to Siracusa).

Thanks for the feedback. I've not used public transportation in Sicily, but I've heard it is unpredictable and confusing. I'm really glad to hear you had no problems!

It's not unpredictable (meaning that there are schedules that are adhered to) but let's just say that it's not like a German train. Most things are on time but it's slower and Sundays have very little service (so you have to keep that in mind in your planning). You also need to make sure to validate tickets, check the schedules online (which are in Italian) and there are small train stations where it's just you and the ticket machine and no one to help. Ticket agents or bus drivers (in addition to most people, except in the tourist industry) aren't likely to speak any English. The ticket machines are in English though so they're easy enough. For some towns, a bus is clearly better than a train because it drops you off in a much more central location (Taormina and Noto are two examples) and for others, it doesn't matter because they're co-located (Siracusa). Mt. Etna will likely require some kind of tour and there are plenty to choose from (either online or when you get there).

Yes, you'd probably have no problem with the bus system for the 30-35 km from Catania to Taormina, but...why chance the possible snafu while toting your bags?

Quite a few of hotels in Taormina--including Hotel Villa Schuler, where we stayed in 2010--recommended Sicily Life https://www.sicilylife.com/ for transport and also for day tours. We used them for both transports, from and to Catania airport, and then on a day trip to the medieval villages of Savoca, Forza D'Agro & Castelmola, where the Sicilian exteriors from Godfather I and II were shot. Also visited some creepy catacombs. Sicily Life is reasonably-priced comparatively. Ask for Sebastiano.

Enjoy your planning!

This is incredibly helpful. Thank you!