Feedback re: Tentative Sicily Itinerary

I have not been to Agrigento, Segesta, Selinunte, the Aeolian Islands, or the salt flats.

I found the Egadi islands underwhelming and would skip them. If you can free up the time for the Aeolians, I think they are much more likely to be memorable.

I did not find seeing Etna a life-changing experience. I did not do any hiking there. You can see the volcano if the weather is clear without going to the volcano.

I think if you don't go to the beach at Giardini-Naxos (below Taormina), you really don't need a third night there, but it is a beautiful town in a stunning setting. It's not a large place, but it has some decent window-shopping (gets some reasonably wealthy tourists, I would guess), so you can perhaps fill 1-1/2 days. My appreciation was marred by visiting in the middle of the day in June when the town was wall-to-wall tourists. It may be somewhat less overrun in April-May.

I would definitely not want 4 nights in Cefalu. Even 3 is pretty questionable unless you plan a lot of beach time on multiple days. (Note: I have no idea whether you'll even have beach weather in April-May.) Cefalu is cute and historic, but it seemed very small to me. I am not a sit-on-the-beach person, and to me there's nothing interesting about a bunch of little shops selling beach gear. I know Rick has said it's his favorite place in Sicily, but it was not mine, though I certainly enjoyed the less-than-half-a-day I spent wandering around there. If I had had more time in Sicily, I'd have been happy with a full day in Cefalu.

I have a suggestion for your consideration: Cefalu is very laid back; Palermo is Naples-Light. The train takes about 2 hours to get to Cefalu from Punta Raisi (which appears to be quite near the Palermo Airport); you change at Palermo Centrale. Palermo itself is about an hour from the airport. If you could muster the energy on your arrival day to spend the extra hour getting to Cefalu, you'd have a nice small town in which to overcome jetlag and more energy to tackle Palermo a few days later.

Palermo has a lot of really, really interesting and distinctive churches and oratorios. You don't necessarily need to be Catholic or religious to appreciate them (I am neither). Given that you have 3 weeks for Sicily, 3 nights in Palermo seems sort of light, since--if you go to Palermo first--you may still be a bit jet-lagged even on Day 2. If you do not like big, bustling cities with crazy traffic, however, you will not want more time in Palermo! Just be sure you get to Monreale. One thing to note about the religious sites in Palermo: there's a good bit of variation in their closing days and hours, so you can usually figure out a way to fill a day with sightseeing. Saturday is not a great day for visiting churches (oratorios are probably OK), because people tend to get married that day. I am not a wedding crasher!

Catania has a very nice historic district. Try to give yourself some time there on your last full day. With that in mind, it might be nice to have the 5 nights in wonderful Siracusa to explore the large historic district (Ortygia), the Greek ruins and the archaeological museum.

Aside from the Aeolian Islands, you could consider seeing the Villa Romana del Casale outside Piazza Armerina. It has fabulous mosaics, and the brief look I got at the town of Piazza Armerina was pleasing. There's also an under-touristed Greek site not too far from P.A. in the opposite direction, called Morgantina. You can reach Piazza Armerina by bus (and I think even the Villa), but I suspect Morgantina might involve a taxi or rental car. Also in that interior section of the island are two other cities worth a visit if transportation works out: Caltagirone (known for ceramics) and Enna.

Down in the Noto-Ragusa area, I also liked Modica and Scicli (just in case you have extra time).

Note: Bus service on Sundays and holidays is extremely limited. Day trips are usually impossible then.

I will echo acraven's advice about Cefalu (I really like the idea of starting there and then going to Palermo) and Piazza Armerina. I rented a car so I can't speak to the transportation side of things, except to say that it will slow you down. My visit was a couple years ago, last week in April and first week in May. The wildflowers were everywhere, especially on the western side of the island, and the views of the sea and the beaches were wonderful. The water will be too cold for any bathing, but you are likely to have a few warm, sunny days to sunbathe or stroll on the beach.

Palermo has some interesting sights if you spend more time there. You can see most of Cefalu in one full day, 2days is plenty.

|You are wise to devote 3 weeks to Sicilia! We spent a week in Trapani using it as a base for seeing the western side of Sicily. We had a car, so our travel might have been a little less time-consuming than by bus/train, so 5 nights is not a bad idea. It is a fairly inexpensive place (at least compared to the rest of Italy) and the food is marvelous! We enjoyed hiking around the little island of Mozia, off-shore near the salt flats and Segesta is magnificent. It was our first experience with Greek ruins and remains a highlight for us.

I would spend a night or a long day in Cefalu, you can hike up to the Rocca behind the Cathedral; there are three sets of beautiful mosaics, in Capella Palatina in Palermo, Monreale (about an hour by bus from Palermo), and in the Cathedral at Cefalu. Beaches are good.

I am doing a similar trip in May; Palermo (plus Cefalu, Monreale), Trapani (plus Erice, Segesta), Agrigento (plus Selinunte), Piazza Armerina (plus Villa Romana del Casale and Morgantina), Enna, Siracusa (do not miss this major ancient city - Greek ruins, world-class museum, the best marzipan, daily market in Ortigia), Taormina, and Lipari (plus Stromboli, Panarea, Vulcano).

I will hire a car for Morgantina, everything else is by public transportation. Beaches in or near Taormina, the Lipari islands, Cefalu, Agtigento, and Selinunte; in April you will mostly be alone on them.

In 20 nights, I suggest 3 in Palermo, 4 in Trapani, 2 in Agrigento, 2 in Piazza Armerina, 3 in Siracusa, 2 in Taormina, 3 in the islands, 1 in Catania if you have an early flight, otherwise add a night to Palermo or Siracusa (day trips to Ragusa and/or Noto). You can fly out of Catania and get great views of Mount Etna, weather permitting.

As acraven said, Saturdays are big wedding days, interesting to see without crashing (I accidentally crashed a funeral once...).

Let me know if you want hotel/B&B recommendations.

Zoe, I'd want more than 3 nights in Siracusa if trying to get to Ragusa and Noto by public transportation from that city. My major regret after visiting Sicily was that I didn't allow more time in Siracusa because I made a lot of day-trips and had to sort of rush my time in Ortygia.

Since Cefalu doesn't require as much time as you allotted, I would put those extra nights into staying longer in Palermo and adding another base in Ragusa (there is an old and new Ragusa and lots of places to walk and sightsee). I really regret not staying in Ragusa overnight and just doing a day trip from Siracusa (2 hours each way by slow local train). One day was not nearly enough and I would have loved to stay there at least one full day or two longer (you also have to keep in mind that train/bus schedules on Sundays are really limited). Basing yourself for a few days in Ragusa would also allow for quick day trips to Marina di Ragusa (beach), Modica (another splendid UNESCO city I would add to your list) and smaller towns like Scicli and Ispica that are right off the regional rail line that connects Siracusa to Ragusa and beyond. Noto is best accessed from Siracusa since it's only about an hour away but Ragusa makes a better base for Monica, Marina di Ragusa, etc. Yes, you can see them all from Siracusa but that means getting on the train every single day for at least 3-4 hours (except for Noto)...that gets really old to me. I'd rather change hotel rooms than stay in a base that I'm leaving to go somewhere else for half or more of the time. Siracusa itself deserves at least 2 full days (3 would be quite leisurely).

Be aware that May 1 is a big holiday in Italy and plan accordingly. We were in Sicily April-May 2015 and it was definitely not off season. Palermo was busy like any large city. Cefalu and Agrigento were very busy. Taromina was mobbed . Another vote for Villa Romana Casale, mosaics are my passion. We loved Lipari and the Aeolian islands, make time for them if you can.
Brad

acraven, I agree that Siracusa deserves more time, but the OP only has 20/21 nights.

I would pick Noto, Ragusa or Modica, but not try to visit all three from Siracusa.

Thank you very much to everyone for the feedback. It is much appreciated - particularly thoughts about Cefalu and Palermo. Dorothy