Help with Sicily/ Malta flying itinerary.

When we went to Malta we flew Montreal/London and then Air Malta to Malta. Something like that might work for you, with Malta first and then to Sicily by Ferry (or air).

Thanks. Didn't think about that. That might be an option.

This seems like about as clear a case for flying "open jaws" as one could ever see.

Fly in to Sicily, fly home from Malta (or vice versa). Connect the two either by ferry (IIRC, you have plenty of time) or fly (maybe no direct flights, though).

I'd leave Rome out of it completely (I don't think you're planning to spend any time there, right?), at least until/unless that came up as a logical connecting point. Just look for the best way to get from SAN to Palermo, and the best way to get back from MAL to SAN (or the reverse if you prefer). If that routing happens to take you through Rome, fine (both ways? - that seems highly unlikely) - but who cares, you're not going to Rome, no?

Bottom line: Don't over-complicate this - leave Rome or any other forced connecting point out of it, and let the flights dictate where you make your connections. I certainly would not backtrack back to Sicily. You want a "triangular" open-jaws route.

You can get back to most of the large gateway European airports from Malta where you can connect to flights to North America. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_International_Airport

Thanks, David, I got a connecting flight to Sicily from Rome on miles, hence Rome. Nope, we are not visiting Rome.
So maybe fly into Sicily and fly out of Malta? That would be the best. How long is the ferry ride from Catania to Malta and is that doable is what I guess need to find.

I got a connecting flight to Sicily from Rome on miles, hence Rome

Can you clarify what you mean by the above?

You have round-trip from San Diego to Rome, and Rome back to San Diego, all booked already (on miles)?

Or do you have the outbound from San Diego to Palermo (connecting in Rome) already booked? What about the return? Is that booked yet, and if so, from where - Rome?

Either way, it should be a simple matter - you just need to be clear in what's booked already (which, presumably, you can't change).

The mileage ticket is available LAX - Rome- Catalina and back. I still haven't booked it as I wanted to figure out the best route first.
I guess I need to find flights going in Sicily and come back from Malta to save time.

I think that flying from the west coast of the US to Sicily on one ticket sounds grueling. We stopped over in Rome on the way to and from Sicily. Rome is one of our favorite cities, and we enjoyed our stop there.

If you stayed in Rome on both ends of your trip, you could find many inexpensive nonstops to/from Sicily or Malta.

Bob, we love Rome too. But, with mileage, our ticket can be to our final destination and it would be the same ticket/price. That way we can save on the extra ticket we need to purchase from Rome for Sicily or Malta.
Thanks, for all the suggestions. I guess we need a ticket that flies us into Sicily and flies out of Malta.

If anyone has a good suggestion to travel between Malta and Sicily that would be very helpful. :)

If the ferry is not a good option, search on skyscanner for flights between Sicily and Malta.

Thanks valadelphia! Will do.

The mileage ticket is available LAX - Rome- Catalina and back...

You're seeing a non-stop flight from LAX to Rome, then a connection to...where exactly? Do you mean Catania? (If you really mean Catalina, it's going to be a pretty short flight...). If so, you should book that (as a one-way). On most airlines (when using miles), the cost of a "round trip" ticket is simply 2X what a one-way costs, so there's no benefit for (and no need to) go through anything complex to try and make a "round trip" (or even a "multi-city" AKA open jaw) booking. Of course, it depends on the program you're using, they're all a little different. But generally, just booking each way separately keeps it simple.

I still haven't booked it as I wanted to figure out the best route
first.

You should book that flight ASAP. Award flight seats vanish quickly, if you find something that works for you, you should jump on it quickly before it gets snapped up by someone else. A non-stop from the US west coast all the way to Europe is highly sought after, and they're generally not easy to find. If it were me, I would grab that (as long as you know you want it).

With only 9 days for Sicily, you should fly into one of Sicily’s major airports (Palermo or Catania) and fly to Malta from the other. I know there are quick, cheap flights from Catania to Malta & assume there are from Palermo too.

But if you can’t quickly find a ticket from San Diego into Palermo, I’d grab the ticket to Catania now & then book your return flight from Malta to San Diego on a separate ticket. We used United miles & flew Malta>Frankfurt >Denver. Lots of other options.

And then start looking for the Palermo > Malta ticket.

Thanks much, everybody. I have a fairly good idea about the flying itinerary now.
Will be asking your expert suggestions for what to do and see there after my tickets are booked ;)

We fly Seattle > Frankfurt > Malta. Then from Malta we fly on MaltaAIr to Catania, Sicily. Faster and easier than ferry!