Italy trip

Don't try to include Sicily on this trip! It's fabulous but it's a large island with very scattered sights that needs all the time you have (more would be better) all by itself. Rome, Cinque Terre and Florence will easily occupy your 10-11 days, and you'll have a far better time by not trying to cram in Sicily.

If you want some time away from Florence, take a day-trip to Siena or Lucca. From Rome, visit Orvieto.

I agree with the first poster whole-heartedly. You have too little time to include Sicily, which could take up all of your vacation time easily. Treking to Sicily for 2 days is just not worth it and it will take time away from your other sites. My rule of thumb is large cities deserve at least 3 full days each (more likely much more than 3 days), moderately sized cities deserve at least 2. Side trips from the base cities can easily fill up a half or whole day. I would spend the most time of your 10-11 days in Rome because it has the most attractions. Keep in mind that you have to factor in travel time in between your cities as well.

Would it be plausible to do Sicily plus one other place?

Would it be plausible to do Sicily plus one other place?

Only if you focus on a certain region of Sicily, say the northwest (Trapani/Palermo area). You should be very selective and pick a place that has direct flights to, say Rome, so that you lose the least time in transit (you don't want to lose 5 hours, for example, getting to Florence due to connecting flights). I believe that you can fly to Rome direct from Palermo with no stops - you should confirm this. But at most that means you'll have 6-7 days in Sicily and 3-4 days in an Italian city (i would pick only one). I doubt you'd be able to do Sicily and Cinque Terre because the latter takes time getting to. I would stick with one city only where you can find a direct flight to.

http://www.bestofsicily.com/roadmap.htm

I really loved the Hyblean mountains/southeastern "Val di Noto" baroque cities like Ragusa, Modica, Noto. That would make a decent 6 day trip (and the cities themselves are wonderful and laid back). I'm fairly sure you can fly direct from Rome to Comiso Airport (which is very small and limited) in Ragusa Province. To read up on different areas of Sicily, Lonely Planet is a very good resource. They have a chapter dedicated to each region.

Sicily alone will take all of that time. Too huge and too much to see. Sicily has a rich history and Italians rate it consistently as the best region to visit. It's impossible to visit it in less than 8-9 days, and not even all of it, just the top spots.

At most you could do Sicily plus Rome. You could do 8 days in Sicily and 3 nights in Rome before returning home. 8 days in Sicily won't be enough to see everything, but at least it will give you a chance to see something.

I'll agree with the others that there's not enough time for Sicily. Rome, the Cinque Terre (those "5 villages on the coast") and Florence will be more than plenty for the time that you have.

As Agnes recommends, it's possible to see a bit of Sicily and and Rome. Tell us what you most want to see and do in Sicily and how many nights you will be in Italy on this trip and we can advise you. You will have to fly in and out of Sicily which eats up a lot of time with getting to/from airports and lead time at the airport.

Marianne, as others have said, with 10/11 days I don't think it's possible to do everything you want to do. It was suggested that you choose one part of the island (preferably near Palermo or Catania, with the most frequent flights); five or six nights would give you a little bit of Sicilia, but not much. Main sights are strung along the coasts.

If you really want to hike Cinque Terre, spend 2 or 3 nights there, split the rest between Roma and Firenze, and save Sicilia for another trip. My first trip to Sicilia was 4 days (to use up a special rail ticket), but I was young and quite energetic. As an adult, I usually spend 2.5-3 weeks in Sicilia (but I travel slowly now).

Marianne, we spent 6 days in Sicily recently and hardly scratched the surface. We spent a lot of time traveling by car . If I was doing it again I would spend a few days in one section of Sicily and move to be closer to the next sights you want to see and do this again. It is such a beautiful country!!!