Help with 10 day itinery in Sicily

There is a nice beach by San Vito lo Capo, but we generally don’t use precious vacation time hanging out at beaches. Ribera is further south, so the Valley of the Temples should be on the “to see” list. Near it is Scala de Turchi. There is a beach there and interesting rock formations. Near it is Lido Rossello. It had a nice beach. Ten days isn’t that long, so maybe from Palermo, head south through the enter of the island, to Ribera, then go counter clockwise along the coast back to Palermo. Typical places people visit are Villa Romana Casale, Taormina, Noto, Modica, Ragusa, Syracusa, and Cefalu.

Sicily has considerably more than ten days' worth of sights even for folks not planning on beach time and visiting family-heritage destinations. We can tell you our favorites, but it comes down to what sorts of things you're most interested in seeing and doing. You will not be able to go everywhere in the time you have, all the more if you spend much time going to beaches.

Keep digging into your guidebook, and take a look at the driving-time estimates on ViaMichelin.com. You'll need to pad those times quite a bit, because they don't allow for any stops at all, getting lost, looking for parking, etc. You won't always be able to park near the attractions you want to see, so you need to allow for some walking time. And whatever you do, don't try to drive in Palermo.

Rick Steves has just released its first guidebook for Sicily. Most likely it will have suggested itineraries as well as site, restaurant and lodging suggestions. Meanwhile, take a look at the itinerary and day by day for the Best of Sicily just to get some ideas.

Since you are flying in and out of Palermo before or after renting your car it's worth spending a few nights to visit the city. You could also day trip to Monreale, Cefalù
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/03/west-coast-sicily-day-20-cefalu.html
And Mondello for the beach
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/03/west-coast-sicily-day-22-mondello.html?m=1

I am sorry that I cannot be of help as I have only stopped in Sicily on a cruise for one day. I will be following in your footsteps and would love to know what agritourismos you are staying in and how you enjoyed them. I can say that I had the best cannolli in my life in Taromina (and my grandfather is Sicilian) and they have a beautiful beach and Greek amphitheater so I can recommend Taromina as a lovely destination.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

If you don't mind a long read, here's my Sicily trip report from 2014. It should give you lots of ideas, including the agriturismo we stayed at in the center of the island: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

10 days isn’t a lot of time for Sicily I’m afraid, and do you really have 10? Are you counting arrival and departure days? It’s good to think of nights spent (2 nights = 1 full day) to help consider time lost to travel.

That aside: Palermo is great, and I think is worth two full days of sightseeing, especially if you want to visit Monreale which is pretty much a must.

For the rest of the trip, you could look for a good agriturismo near Ribera, towards Agrigento. There’s a highly regarded nature preserve called Torre Salsa in that area with pristine and usually empty beaches. A few days there would give you time to enjoy some beach time, see Valley of the Temples and visit Ribera.

You might also look into Sciacca, which west of Ribera. That would put you closer to Selinute (another Ancient Greek site) and I hear there’s good beaches there as well.

Thanks again for great information!