Sicily: 16 days - 3rd itinerary is the charm?

But I think that we'll end up having to leave the car in a paid lot and then taxi to our hotel (therefore, 2 more $-dings) when we are in Ragusa and Ortigia.

So private drivers are affordable but a couple of cab fares break the bank? Have you priced the private drivers vs car rental?

Would a rental car also make sense from Palermo to Agrigento?

Modica is very close to Ragusa. There's bus service between the two, though it's not very frequent. There are also trains, though they are even less frequent. I suspect a bus would drop you off closer to (or in) the historic center, whereas you'd probably want to take a city bus from the station to the center of town. Note that Modica is very hilly.

From Modica, as well as from Ragusa, there are both train and bus options to Siracusa/Ortygia. Again, they aren't very frequent. They're also not very fast, but the distance is fairly short, so making the trip by bus or train would not be a problem.

From the map it appears the trains and buses from Ragusa/Modica to Siracusa/Ortygia go through Noto. I mention these possibilities in case you'd like to see Modica or Noto in transit on the day you leave Ragusa for Ortygia. Google indicates there are luggage-storage options in Modica and Noto.

Noto is less than half the size of Modica and about one-third the size of Ragusa, so I suspect you won't need a full day in Noto. I believe with some investigation of train and bus schedules you'd be able to include Modica in your itinerary. I wouldn't want to try to see both Modica and Noto in transit between Ragusa and Siracusa/Ortygia; I think transportation isn't really frequent enough for that (though I haven't dug into the details), and it wouldn't be a relaxing day, likely involving a late arrival in Ortygia. A day trip to the two (without luggage) from Siracusa might be possible with an early start--again depending on the train and bus schedules. That would be my last choice, I think.

Be very careful not to plan an inter-city bus ride on a Sunday or holiday. There is very little service (most often no service) on those days. Check trenitalia.com for rail schedules.

Villa Romana is a very worthwhile detour.

Since you mentioned ceramics (the town you're thinking of is probably Caltagirone), you might enjoy a visit to the privately-operated tile museum in Palermo. It displays a large tile collection in a private apartment. I can't access the museum's website (stanzealgenio.it) at the moment--perhaps because I'm in the US, but this is one of the easily-found online descriptions of the museum: https://blog.siciliansecrets.it/en/2024/01/19/stanze-al-genio-majolica-museum-a-hidden-gem-in-the-heart-of-palermo/.

As of 2015 you needed to prebook a timed ticket, and I believe the museum wasn't open every day of the week. (The blog I've linked to says Tuesday-Sunday, but I can't vouch for that.) Although the museum is not large, consider whether you might want to take some photos. I chose the last entry time of the day and really didn't have time to do that.

acraven: thank you for a great reply! I am printing this and researching.

I just made some edits, which you may have missed, depending on exactly when you did the printing.

In answer to your question on another thread:

I think I gave you the names and contacts for two of then drivers we hired; if not, they are:

Roberto Alabisio, based in Licata but drives all over the island:

https://www.siciliancc.it/en/home/

Dario Cafiso, based in Ragusa but also drives all over Sicily and into Calabria and Basilicata:
https://www.tourbarocco.it/en/about-us/

I loved the expensive convenience of hiring drivers and have done so on both recent Sicilian trips. We've also rented a car, which is all good except when driving into towns and looking for parking.

I like it, nice job. There’s nothing wrong utilizing some private drivers if you can swing it, transportation is often the sticky widget in Sicily. When it does come time to use public transportation, bus is the way to go. With the exception of the trains between Palermo airport - Palermo - Cefalu, the trains can be a rough proposition. Everyone takes the bus, they’re fine.

I think Segesta + Erice is a solid enough day without adding. Having visited some salt flats this summer, my verdict is that they’re “neat” but not worth going too out of the way for.

Archaeological notes: The Museo d’Orsi museum in Siracusa is awesome if you’re into “capital A” archeology. It’s organized according to sites/settlements, and is a pretty fascinating examination of the various communities in the island’s rich history. I thought the museum in Agrigento was rather pedestrian by comparison (I went through it rather quickly.) You also might enquire with your driver about stopping at Morgantina. It’s a Greek settlement not far from Villa Romana. There’s little around to explain the place (this was some years ago, it may have improved), but I found it stunningly set and evocative. There were maybe two other visitors in the whole, large site. Basically had it to myself.

We just got back from Sicily. Here are a few random comments from a jet lagged traveller-

There's a lot of African influence all over the island but yes, the Salt Pans stretch south from Trapani/Erice. I loved our day trip up to Erice from Trapani. That city makes a nice base for Segesta, Erice and the Salt Pans. 1 night would work if you visited Segesta on the way out of town toward Valley of the Temples/Agrigento.

I would say that doing a day trip to Erice from Palermo is not really feasible, much less if you also do a stop at Segesta as well.

The ceramics town you're thinking of is probably Sciacca. It's definitely worth a ramble. The public art, the ceramics, the promenade are a nice detour; especially on a sunny day.

Ragusa will require some schlepping unless you grab a taxi at one of the outside parking lots. I didn't mind it but YMMV. We loved our stay at Sabbinirica b&b and loved Ragusa in general.

Villa Casale is totally worth the detour. Very cool place.

Can't comment on 5 nights in Catania because we avoided it in favor of time spent in Randazzo on the north side of Etna (which we loved but you'll need a car)

Ortigia was okay. It's pretty and you're on the water. But it's expensive and tourists have definitely worn a path to its door. Everybody's different so you might think it's the best.

We drove everywhere. We picked up a car in the Palermo harbor and drove pretty much around the whole island over 3 weeks. It was not really stressful or difficult and we drove plenty of windy roads. With one notable exception* the windy roads were a piece of cake, the most nerve-wracking aspect of driving was just the tight spaces in some of the side streets in towns You get used to going places with less than 6" of clearance of both sides, but it takes a bit. We got the full coverage and never worried. I would recommend that if you rent. Finding parking can be a stressful hassle in city centers. Get the EasyPark app to pay and remotely refill parking if you want to extend your time.

Sicily is awesome. We loved it. Have a great trip.

• The craziest and most nerve jangling driving we did was the ridiculously windy and exposed road up to Erice. It rained while we were there and I wasn't super psyched about driving back down. So when I plugged in our destination and GPS routed us down the comparatively wide and safe (but still windy) road on the other side of the mountain, I was relieved. You can also take the Erice cable car if the weather is cooperative.

Chris: Amazingly, before I read your reply, I booked the same place in Ragusa! Sabbinirica! Which begs me to ask you - where did you park your car?

Here's where we are at (with most of that itinerary holding tight):
I am renting a car the night before we leave Palermo so that we can get out early for our drive down to Agrigento. I am going to book us a driver/private touring for a full day trip to Segesta and Eriche and then back to Palermo.

I'm trying to figure out where to stay in Ortiga - I wanted Hotel Gutkowski but they won't take a departure on a Sunday that time of year - something to do with 'classical theater season' - oy. So I'm on the hunt for a 3 night stay that echos that place. Also trying to decide if we even need the car once we get to Syracuse. We could just drive right to the car rental return in Syracuse and then cab to Ortigia and train to Catania. I'm leaning that way.
and then I need to figure out housing for our Catania stay - But getting there!!!

Suggestions taken.

Any restaurants that anyone loved in Ragusa (which I hear is very foodie - we just don't want a night of foam on our plates) or Syracuse and/or Catania?

Having a good time getting this planned for ourselves.

Thanks to each who have helped so far.

bean

If I looked at our photos, I could tell you where we enjoyed eating in Sicily --- all casual good places with not a speck of "foam" in sight. They do all rather blend together in my memory as "Really good food everywhere in Sicily." But in the cities you asked about, here are the places I actually remember without having to look them up.

Ragusa Ibla --- sandwich place in a deadend alley Osteria del Pane Cunzato
Ragusa Superiore --- Pane e Cipudda Osteria
Ortigia --- sandwich place next to the market Fratelli Burgio
Catania --- Antica Putia Odeon

Chris: Amazingly, before I read your reply, I booked the same place in Ragusa! Sabbinirica! Which begs me to ask you - where did you park your car?
Blockquote

Glad to hear, it is really an awesome little B&B with a lot of charm and a perfect location. We just parked in the fairly empty (November) public lot right at the base of the stairs. It's called Parcheggio Republica. It was free from Nov 1 but you'll have the EasyPark app to pay and reload parking. Laura can call you a taxi to shuttle you up or you can just take your time walking up the relatively steep road. Sicily magnifies the importance of packing light while traveling. Laura is a great resource for anything you need.

We love food, I'm a solid home cook, but we typically don't seek out molecular gastronomy or Michelin stars when we travel. We want to eat typical local food that working folks eat. So in Ragusa, I'll mention three places; That's A Moro for pizza, its next-door-neighbor trattoria La Bettola, and Salumeria Barocco. The last one was mostly Sicilians enjoying lunch.

My wife and I went to Sicily two years ago.

We spent 3 nights in Palermo - on reflection, we are happy to have not allocated more time there

Visited Segesta on the way to Agrigento - then saw the museum there
Spent the full day at the Temples

I drove us. It is a long drive to Villa Romana. After seeing it we went to our 'room' near Ragusa and got there near sunset - the driving and the visit to the Villa took a LONG time.

We stayed at a place out in the countryside - near Cava Dei Servi
It was a bit of a drive to each city in the region but it made for wonderful evenings. the name is Casa vacanze Le Agavi, run by an energetic Sicilian - there are many steps to get up to the two apartments he rents, so you have to be ok with stairs.

I'd stay in that region for 3 or more nights :-)

Have you seen the Inspector Montalbano series?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_Montalbano_(TV_series)

Hi all. First and foremost: thank you for the input. I am sure I have a few more questions but we not only have an itinerary but we have a few tours booked. Here's how it worked:

16 days on the ground.
arrive Palermo
5 nights in a 1br apartment with terraces in Politeama.

Palermo will include: Monreale (easy commute for us on public); a tour of the Teatro Massimo (whenever we decide to go - not prebooked (we decided against opera tickets as they were too $$$$ for where we would want to sit and we have the Met Opera in NYC...happy to see the theater tho); a few jazz clubs (my husband is a pro jazz guitarist);

also the 2 big highlights: we are taking our first ever food walking tour with Culinary Backstreets. I am a very good cook and never wanted to just wander around eating things handed to me that I knew what they were already.) I think this one will prove to be different. 2nd: we hired a private driver and a guide for a full day out - rt palermo and we will go to Segesta and Erice (drive up) a 7 hour day out of town.

1 night Agrigento: We pick up a rental car the morning we leave Palermo (distributor is 4 min walk from apartment) and drive to Agrigento. One night there - Collaverde Hotel (sp?). We will go to the museum and meet our booked guide (the archeological guides are through Uncovered Sicily) at 5pm for Valley of the Temples.

Drive Agrigento to Villa Romana - tour the Villa - then drive to Ragusa - staying 2 nights at Sabbinirica BB. Leaving car in carpark for the 2 nights. No tours. just a wander. and lots of food. Great restaurants that are not overly-touristy and not super-fancy foam-on-plates ideas welcome here.

Drive to Siracusa and drop off the car at Hertz (sadly, we can't drop it off at their stop in Ortigia - oh well). Taxi to Ortigia - 3 nights there. Walking tour (Uncovered Sicily) of Ortigia and Neapolis and then my husband and I will spend the rest of the afternoon at the Archeological Museum.

Train to Catania for our final 5 nights. Still working this out for schedule. We booked a 4 hour Etna walk and, potentially, looking at a countryside food and wine/farm experience but also looking forward to exploring Catania. We won't have a car and trying to decide if it is worth it to get to an outside-Catania food and wine expedition. Taormina by bus/train may or may not happen.

There. What a puzzle! We've tried to leave nice big gaps of wander time and treat ourselves to high-level tours in specific places. Now for a few restaurant res and to figure out potential Etna vineyard/farm day.

almost!

The ceramics town you mentioned earlier is probably Caltagirone, which I think is the most famous town for ceramics in Italy. Their tiled staircase is very famous. I'd advise taking a look at the type of work they do there and see if it appeals to you before making the trip there. There are a lot of other places to buy ceramics and different towns have different styles...

I'm not sure about the visit to Erice. I found Trapani a lot more interesting, and that city has some of the best restaurants we've found on the island.

I stayed at the Colleverde Park hotel and we did not like it very much. It's not going to ruin your trip wifi you stay there but I bet you can find a better place to stay. But maybe you need to stay very close to the Temples due to having to meet the guide there....(???). I remember the place as a big hotel with a lot of tour groups and lacking the warm welcoming service we've found almost everywhere else on the island. Last year we stayed nearby but not within walking distance to the Temples, so maybe that option is out for you.... I would not pay extra for a nighttime view of the Temples as we did.....

In Ragusa you'll find many options as far as restaurants. I would not recommend IL DUOMO, the most famous one; it did not feel rooted in the place to me, although the food obviously was excellent. For me the most memorable food experience in Ragusa was in the Upper Town at PANEFICIO GIUMARRA. It's take out only and always packed. Their specialty is scaccia Ragusana; different towns in the region make their acacia in different ways but this place is highly regarded among locals as being among the best of all. They do not speak English but are very, very helpful, as are all of the folks waiting on the line. I bought an assortment of savory items to bring back to SABBINIRRICA, and I've been back there since that first time. (Last year we did not go to Ragusa, but the driver we hired lives there and he brought us a huge bag of treats to eat on the ferry to Salina!)

When you face the Duomo, to your left is a small food shop that has a very big selection of Modica chocolate. I took home about 25 bars and they were finished very quickly! Even more interesting are the savory pastries from Modica that are sold in that shop; they combine pork with chocolate. They don't speak English but go to the back of the shop and look for the freshly made treats on the counter and see if you find those..

I think that Laura has sold SABBINIRRICA and is no longer there but I heard that the new owners are lovely. Ask them for help with any of the foods you want to try.

For lunch you MUST try CANTUNERA IBLA for their arancini!!!!

I went on too long,, above, so got cut off; I meant to add:

You commented in this thread about having to park in a lot and having to schlep your bags to the hotel. In all my trips to Italy I don't think I've ever had to do that. We drive right to the hotel and unload our stuff (always tons of shopping bags filled with food, etc, besides our luggage). From there, very often a staff member takes our keys and I get in and we drive to the lot so I can see where the car is parked. Then we both walk back. Two months ago in Nardo (Puglia) we dropped our stuff off and just gave the keys to a worker, who drove to a (free) spot on the street and parked. He brought the keys back to us and told us where the car was parked. And many hotels have arrangements with parking lots or areas and they just take the car right there instead of you having to do all that.
Parking in Ibla is tough, though. What I would do is call the B&B when you approach the city and ask them for the best spot where you can drop off the bags.....they can meet you and take the bags, because I'm not sure you can drive up to the place..there's a small piazza very close where we were dropped off, because we had a driver on that part of that trip, in 2023.

Whew..hope that helps...I went on a lot longer than I had intended and I did not even get into restaurant ideas for the rest of your trip!!!!

ek: Laura handled my emails …but maybe? Hoping for the best! Thanks for the food recs! Laura suggested we park directly in the lot below the B&B so we never actually drive up. They can send a taxi to bring us up - whatever it is.

Art …

Caravaggio’s Burial of St Lucy in Siracusa at the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burial_of_Saint_Lucy

As of November 2025, Laura was the host and owner along with her husband who I can't recall.

I can see why someone would think Palermo was only "worth" a couple of days and an other person would think it deserved a week. While the "bucket list" items are easy to tick off quickly, for me the biggest attraction was the well-worn city itself; it's friendly people going about their daily lives, and the food culture. And some will absolutely be turned off by the grime and graffiti, so YMMV depending on that. BTW, the lack of care/cleanliness bothers locals as well.

Teatro Massimo tour: Doing the RS walking tour, we just walked in and took the next English tour. This was off-season though

In Ortigia, we had an awesome rainy day activity; a performance of the Opera dei Pupi followed by a backstage tour. It was really fun and fantastic to visit with a young man who was so serious about his craft. I would highly recommend this even if it's not raining.

Chris: I LOVE cities - we loved Naples - but we are NYC people and I can watch people all day long and wander down streets. We wish we had more than the 5 nights in Palermo but had to balance the choices. We are spending 5 nights in Catania - and have been warned that people don't like it - but, I suspect, we will.