Palermo or Catania aiport?

Where will you be going? You don't want to fly into Palermo and want to see Syracusa, or fly into Catania planning on Marsala. The amount of time you'll be in Sicily is a factor also.

I guess I have been unrealistic in my expectations. We will be there about ten days to two weeks, haven't nailed that down yet. So you are suggesting we choose north, south, east, or west and then choose the airport accordingly? This is vital information. I would have wasted lots of time planning more places than we could have visited. We are interested in art, architecture, food and wine, and beaches. Thank you so much.
M

We have just returned from our 2nd visit to Sicily, 9 days the first time; five, this. I'd say give it 2 weeks. We had a car each time, so I can't advise on trains; however, we did take the train from Palermo to Cefalu. You wouldn't want a car in Palermo, anyway. As I recall, there is a perfectly fine public transport system, and much of what you will want to see is within walking distance. When in Palermo, be sure to take a side trip to Monreale, the most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen.
BTW, you could fly into one airport and out of the other.

Rosalyn, that's a good idea that hadn't occurred to me. Did you visit any of the beaches? and if so, which did you enjoy the most?
M

The island is quite big for you to have a single base. Trains only work acceptably on the 2 main axis: Trapani-Palermo-Messina and Messina-Catania.-Siracusa. They work barely acceptably on the Palermo-Caltassineta-Catania line and are not reliable elsewhere. I strongly vow against the "cover as much of Sicly as we can" approach. There are enough interesting historical, architectural, scenic beauty sites enough to fill several weeks. So, instead of that, I suggest you to: - divide your time in 2 "bases" - try to concentrate on things you can visit with ease from those places.

Hi Maggie,
We just got back from Italy yesterday. Spent 10 nights in Sicily. We trained/ferried into Catania from the mainland, rented a car and drove the rest of the trip. We spent 3 nights in Taormina, lots to see there including Mt Etna, wish we'd had 4 nights, then on to Syracusa 2 nights, Greek theatre, Archeological park then over to Trapani, which is a good base for the Salines, Marsala, Erice and the Egadi Islands. Segesta etc.. and then on to Palermo, leaving our rental car at the airport and bussing into town for 2 nights, again, wish we'd had more time. Due to a severs rainstorm, we skipped Agrigento but would have liked to have gone there too. I would do it differently if I had the chance. Maybe fly into Palermo and out of Trapani (Birgit airport). I agree with the other poster that 2 weeks is a good amount of time if you can fit it in. Sorry if this is disjointed, still jetlagged. PM me if you want more info. Buon viaggio, Sherry

I would suggest either east or west. If you have the full two weeks and really want to cram it in maybe a week in each but I think you could find enough to fill your time in either. Sicily is bigger than what alot of people think. Myself I much prefer the western half. I've spent almost two weeks in Palermo itself over the last two years.