First timer in Sicily

Since some of the major rental companies (Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Alamo, Europcar) have offices in Siracusa/Ortigia, you could get a rental car there and save a couple days rental and insurance fees.

The Valley of the Temples can be seen in a half day. We spent three hours there and saw all the temples.

Thank you! I figured I might need a whole day in Agrigento, that's good to know about the half day. Yes, that is what I figured I could save a couple days on the car by getting it in Syracuse. I plan on making Ortygia my base since I will only be in Sicily for 6 days. Is that a good plan? I really want to eat one of those artichoke street foods I see, plus arancini!

We did a tour from Palermo to Agrigento and back. Easy day. Not sure you need to stay the night unless you have a huge interest in the museum.

We rented a car in Palermo and drove to Agrigento where we stayed the night at Colleverde Park Hotel which was a nice, clean, reasonably-priced hotel with a beautiful garden, reception area and view. The price included an excellent breakfast and free outdoor parking. We had tickets for the Valley of the Temples and were going to tour on our own, but the hotel suggested a tour which we shared with another couple. Good decision! We had a relaxed, several-hour tour with an excellent guide. We chose to stay the night so that we would not be rushed and also did not want to have a @ 4-5 hour round trip back to Palermo, especially since our return would have involved driving at night on roads unknown to us. If you stay, the Il Re di Girgenti restaurant was wonderful and had a magical view of the lit temples at night. It was @ a 10-minute walk from the hotel.

With your very limited time, and assuming you are flying out of Catania as well, why not save Catania for the end?

Arrive in Catania, take a direct bus from the airport, or the train (there is a station nearish to the airport), to Syracuse, stay 2 nights, then rent a car for Agrigento. I would plan at least one, maybe two nights on the road, maybe do some stops, either the towns like Ragusa or Modica, or the excellent Roman Villa, Romana del Casale, near Piazza Armerina. Then finish up with 2 nights in Catania before flying out.

You are correct that you don't need or want a car for the first part of your trip.

The drive from Siracusa to Agrigento is easy and the temples are really beautiful lit up at night if you want to stay near the park. (I probably wouldn't stay in town). If you drive, park at the east entrance and take one of their little Cushman shuttles back to that entrance when you're done. It's a decent amount of walking although February is a great time weather and crowd-wise.

Alternatively, I'm pretty sure you can get a day trip with transport from Ortigia. You'd miss out on the nighttime spectacle but you would get to ride in comfort after a long day of walking around the temples.

We spent most of a day at the site but that's just us and our pace. We went everywhere, including the gardens. If you just wanted to see the four main temples, you could do that in 3 hours if you kept moving.

Thank you everyone for your advice! I have considered the responses and now my plan is to arrive in Catania, take the bus or train to Syracuse. Stay a night or two (depending on the jet lag) rent a car in Syracuse then head out to Agrigento. I am a really spontaneous traveler, so if I decide to spend the night there I don't know! But definitely will take to the road for a couple days then head to Catania for a night then back to Naples. Flying back to the States I have a 15 hour layover in Munich! But it's overnight so I guess I will just find a corner in the airport :) Again, Grazie

I also checked out the suggested Colleverde Hotel in Agrigento it looks gorgeous plus very reasonable at 83 euros a night! Thank you for the suggestion. Plus the views are great. I think I want to see the Temples at night.

I hope that you will see the temples at night! We had tickets for @3:30 (15:30) because I'd read that sunset is supposed to light up the temples and it did not disappoint! We were there at the end of December in 2024. We lucked out because there was not a cloud in the sky. Because we took our time, we saw the most marvelous sunset while in the V of the T. As it darkened, the temples were illuminated. What an incredible experience!
I hope that you'll come back here and let us know about your experience.

I stayed at the Colleverde Park Hotel. It's a big hotel that caters to groups. It's the only place I've stayed near the Temples so can't compare with any other but I was not thrilled....we had a view of the Temples from our room but they were a bit distant. if there is a way to see them closer up, I would do that and stay elsewhere..

But keep in mind that my stay there was about 20 years ago...

Both the museum and the temples are worth seeing and that will take a full day. Also in driving back, do Romana del Castle. The mosaics are beyond anything else. Both my mother and I have seen mosaics all over Italy and the rest of the Roman Empire and these beat everything else. The villa is in an odd spot so a car is a must and the countryside after the villa as you head east is fascinating.

Thank you Colleen! I do want to see the museum and will probably stay the night in Agrigento. Rent the car in Syracuse, take the coast road to Agrigento, stopping along the way wherever and whenever! Probably 3 days with the car, then bus back to Catania, then fly back to Naples....

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and advice, much appreciated :)

we stayed at B&B Villa San Marco which actually abuts the park near the Kolymbethra Gardens so it's kinda close to the illuminated temples.

Downside -- the road to access the property is poorly maintained so you have to be comfortable driving a potholed route for a few hundred yards every time you come and go. Upside - Beautiful grounds, quiet, family hobby farm, great hosts.