Getting around Sicily

I did the exact trip with a friend last October, but WITH a rental car. Roads are easy to navigate and are toll free, but parking in some towns can be a challenge. We did have a mishap with a blown tire and no spare, so spent an unexpected extra day in Agrigento waiting for the rental company to bring a new tire, and we wound up with a different car. Hopefully others can provide details about buses or trains.

You may want to refer to a couple of recents threads on this Forum: "Sicily Trip Report, April 2019: 2 sisters, 2 weeks, 2 amazing!" and "My trip to Sicily- In Zoe's memory." 3/15/19. I bookmarked both of these threads for future reference. Excellent trip reports especially from seasoned traveler's who travel independently using public transportation!

Train would be the easiest. It’s a 2 hour journey from Palermo to Agrigento with no changes en route. The long haul is going to Taormina. The trip will take 5 to 5 1/2 hours with a minimum of two changes. You can check schedules and costs on the TrenItalia website. No need to purchase tickets in advance since they are all Regionale trains with no reserved seating and pricing is always the same.

Since there are 6 of you all, on your Agrigento-to-Taormina day, you may want to consider hiring a private transfer (like Roberto Sapone, who is mentioned in the new RS Guide to Sicily, www.robertosapone.wixsite.com/centralsicily) for the Agrigento-Taormina stretch. That way, you could make stops along the way, such as the Villa Romana (mosaics) and Aidone Archeological Museum (incredible statues and artifacts from the nearby Morgantina archeological site). I cover this in more detail in the "2 Sisters" trip report that Janis mentioned above. If you want to strictly stick to trains/buses, Philip's advice is spot-on.

That may depend on where you are staying in Agrigento. The train goes to Agrigento Bassa, which will require you to get transport from there to your accommodation. There is also a direct bus (2 hr.) from Palermo to Agrigento, no changes: http://www.camilleriargentoelattuca.it/. The bus station in Agrigento is in Piazzale Rosselli, which might be closer to your accommodation. You might check with your hotel/b&b about which one makes the most sense for you to use.

Agrigento to Taormina: A bus is better than a train. You would need to take SAIS Trasporti bus to Catania airport: http://www.saistrasporti.it/, then change to Interbus to Taormina: interbus.it. The trip would be about 5 hrs. total. I know that's a long trip, but you'd get to enjoy the beautiful Sicilian countryside.

Buses are generally better than the train in Sicily, with a few exceptions. We have been to Sicily twice and used public transportation without any problem. It just takes some preplanning to understand the bus company to use. We've never prepurchased tickets either. Have fun planning your trip. Buon viaggio!

When I took the train last month (April 2019) from Palermo Centrale train station, it went direct to Agrigento Centrale train station, right in the center of town (see trenitalia.com for most accurate info). From Agrigento Centrale, Sister and I walked 3 blocks to our b&b. Perhaps sempreitalia had a hotel/lodging in a different area? Also, the local bus down the hill to the Temple area, although it may start (?) at Piazzale Rosselli can also be boarded right in front of Agrigento Centrale.

Thanks jmauldinuu for that info about the train. I stand corrected. Hopefully the OP has accommodations within walking distance too.

We had a rental car in Sicily. There was a couple in our hotel in Agrigento who were having a difficult time getting a taxi to take them to to the Valley of the Temples. They had taken a train from Palermo.

Are you flying out of Catania? Is Taormina a "must see"? If not, I'd highly recommend not crisscrossing the island like that in such a short timeframe and sticking to one region where the sites are closer together (there is plenty to do in the northwest around Palermo, for example). I think you'll have a better trip that way. Three whole days in Agrigento is a lot, at the expense of other very interesting places that warrant several days because they have many diverse attractions to see (e.g. Siracusa). I would stick to buses for getting around and also trains, where they make most sense. Watch out for Sundays, as the schedules are very slim on that day. Catania Airport has very good bus connections throughout the island.

Agnes has a really good point. You can truly see the Temple Valley in Agrigento (plus Archeological Museum) in one good, leisurely day. I suggest considering taking a night from Agrigento and add it to Palermo (so 4 nights Palermo, 2 nights Agrigento). There is so much to see in Palermo, and so many great day trips and half-day trips, like Segesta, Monreale, and Cefalu that are easily reached by bus from Palermo. Erice is hard to reach from Palermo by public transportation, but there are numerous small group tour groups that go there from Palermo, or you could hire a driver for a few hours to go there. And if you are flying out of Catania and need to end up on the east side, I second the suggestion for Ortigia/Siracusa instead of Taormina. Rick's recently-produced 3 new TV shows about Sicily (available for viewing, I believe, on this website) might sway you that direction....

These are all great tips. Thank you very much

Erice is hard to reach from Palermo by public transportation

For what it's worth, I know it's totally possible since my friend did it. I believe she took a bus to Trapani and then accessed the cable car from there.

Also, if you end up going to Taormina, the bus is better than train since it drops you off 5 minutes from the town gate on top of the hill. The train, on the other hand, is at sea level (Giardini Naxos-Taormina station) and you'd still have to take another bus to get up the hill to Taormina. I took a bus from Siracusa to Taormina and back to Catania Airport in one day, and it was perfect. I spent about 7 hours in Taormina and it was small enough that it was sufficient.