Hi. My husband and I are interested in spending 11 days in Sicily in May. We are willing to drive and are looking for a good sampling without a crazy pace. Beach downtime is a must. Are the following good choices or too aggressive?
Many thanks for any feedback.
Have you looked at the itinerary for the RS Siciliy tour? May provide some insight on what is 'doable'.
I have only been to Sicily once and did a more relaxed visit. I didn’t get or Agrigento so can’t speak to it. specifically.
I personally would want to slow down. 2 nights in Palermo on arrival, with a day trip leaves almost no time to enjoy this fascinating city. That would be a shame - the Norman palace, Monreale, and the markets and street life were highlights for me.
Erice itself is lovely but not worth 2 nights. But Trapani is a big city so would be interesting and you can go to Erice from there. Erice is beautiful but towns like that which are super-sparsely populated and 95% filled with day visitors aren’t my favorite.
Siracusa is also worth more than 2 nights, but Taormina is not.
So here’s what I would do - skip one of the 2 night places (Agrigento or Trapani) and do only 2 nights in Taormina. That leaves 3 nights to spread out. Add to Palermo and/or Siracusa. If you skipped Agrigento then you could visit Segesta from Trapani. This is what I did (from Scopello in my case). I really wanted Agrigento but I just couldn’t make it fit even with a car. Or do it as a one-night just to see the temples? If it’s a high priority then you can skip Trapani instead.
A car will make things easier. Roads are very good.
Cefalu has a beach and makes a nice daytrip from Palermo. One night in Erice would be enough, or add it as a daytrip from Palermo. Same for Segesta. I would double your nights in Palermo to accommodate the daytrips. Definitely see Monreale.
Agrigento has a beach nearby, keep it on your list. Nice museum near the temple site as well.
If you can stop by Villa Romana del Casale, outside of Piazza Armerina, that would be about a 2-3 hour stop.
Siracusa has a great museum, a beautiful old town, and a big daily market.
I would drive to Taormina for the day and spend the night(s) before your flight in Catania.
2N in Palermo, you have a full day for a trip to Cefalu (take the train) and however much time on your arrival day (jetlagged?) to see Palermo's sights. Best to take the bus to Monreal, driving is difficult because of heavy traffic and you may spend more time looking for parking that seeing the church.
In late May the water may be warm enough for bathing, but in early May you will find the beaches pleasantly uncrowded since the water is still quite cold. If you want good beach weather, September is much better. If you don't want a crazy pace, don't string together a series of 2-nighters.
This is an example of why I discourage short trips to Sicily. You've done your homework and know what's there. Unfortunately, you just don't have enough time to see all of it.
I agree with the other comments, especially that Syracuse needs more time. Not necessarily for the city itself; I guess you can cram everything into 1-1/2 days if you must. But there are some wonderful Baroque towns nearby. You can reach them by bus/train, though you can cover more ground by car. It's a shame to get to that part of Sicily and not see at least Ragusa. I also liked Noto, Modica and Scicli.
Palermo has a wealth of sights, and half of a jet-lagged day plus a bit of time after you return from Cefalu is terribly insufficient.
Taormina is wall-to-wall tourists. It is a very pretty town in a spectacular location, but what is your level of tolerance for thousands of other tourists sharing your space? I was ready to leave after 2 or 3 hours. I cannot imagine three nights there.
Here’s a contrarian view on Erice, where I spent 2 nights, and it is among my favorite spots in all of Italy. The early mornings and evenings were wonderful for strolling, misty, quiet, mysterious, magical, plus some delicious cuisine, also bakeries. Yes, it is likely to be touristy during the day, but that was a great opportunity for a day trip by car, including Segesta, Selinunte and then back up the coast. And you certainly need more time in Palermo, where there is much to explore.
Another idea - if beach time is a must and you have a car, then I might trade Trapani for a beach area on the northwest coast. I went to Scopello, which I loved, but there are other towns as well. From this region you can go to the beach as well as take driving trips to Erice, Trapani and Segesta. If you did this maybe you could cut Cefalu in favor of more time in Palermo, and also have some time at a beach. The Zingaro nature reserve just past Scopello is beautiful and if you are willing to hike a ways you can get to some pretty uncrowded beaches.
I agree that the problem with visiting Sicily is cutting down the wish list. There's a lot to see, and in 11 days you have to be very selective. I spent 3 nights in Taormina and loved it, so there's also the problem that you don't know how you will feel about a specific place until you've seen it.
I was in Sicily in April-May 2014. My VERY detailed trip report, which should give you lots of ideas, is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina
