Sicily

We spent two and a half weeks touring Sicily. Three weeks is perfect for your trip.
Our favorite place was Ortigia ( original part of Siracusa, the historic center) where we spent a week in a water view apartment. Our least favorite was Taormina where thankfully we only spent two nights, It was very touristy and crowded which the rest of Sicily was not. Yes, there is civilization outside of the cities, in Sicily’s smaller cities and towns.
We loved Sicily! The antiquities are incredible. There are 16 Greek temples that remain in Sicily.
Visit Agrigento but make sure you stay close to the temple ruins not up in the old city which we didn’t care for.. We liked staying at the Colleverde Park Hotel there with a view of the nearby Temples.
We loved Palermo. There are a lot of antiquities to visit there. It is a very walkable city and the dining is amazing! It has an extensive history of conquests which all left a bit of their cultures.
Make sure you visit Monreale which is on Palermo’s southern border. Buses go directly there. The cathedral in Monreale is the most beautiful in Sicily with its Norman-Byzantine architecture. Don’t miss it!
The roads and highways in Sicily were good. As far as driving, you really need to be alert and not assume anything! We landed in Palermo and drove down the western side, then across and up the eastern side. Many visitors go the opposite way.
We liked all of our hotels, BnBs except one. The one we didn’t like had a very intrusive owner so we left early and experienced an Italian temper, wow! But he experienced a NYC temper back! Otherwise, all the hosts at our hotels and BnBs were warm and welcoming.
We loved the food in Sicily! Swordfish was on every menu as well as other seafood. Seafood is our favorite so we were very happy with our meals. We only had one meal we didn’t care for. and it was a recommendation from a friend. Some of our best meals were at simple local places
who really knew how to prepare seafood.
We enjoyed dining at Locanda del Collegio on Ortigia Island and ate there twice.,
If we return we would stay in Palermo and Ortigia again.

I wouldn't want to make a bunch of day trips from 2 hours away. Palermo in particular has multiple days' worth of sights, so you'll want to spend some nights there. Cefalu is a popular day trip from Palermo, but some folks also like to spend a night or two there. Palermo is a high-energy city with crazy traffic; Cefalu would be a change from that. Do not under any circumstances try to drive in Palermo. That would be madness.

In conjunction with a visit to Rome we did a 10 day self-drive trip to Sicily in September 2022, as follows:

Arrive Catania, to Taormina via Castelmola - stay Taormina
Mt. Etna drive with winery stops - back to Taormino
To Ortigia 9/10 - stay Ortigia
To Ragusa via Noto - stay Ragusa
Ragusa - Modica - Scicli - Ragusa - stay Ragusa
To Agrigento via Villa del Casale - stay Agrigento
To Turkish Steps, beach, Valley of Temples in PM - stay Agrigento
To Cefalu’ - stay Cefalu’
To Palermo via Monreale (drop car on arrival) - stay Palermo
Palermo - stay Palermo
Depart from Palermo

We loved our day driving around the base of Mt. Etna and wine tasting. One day was enough for us on Ortigia. Modica was our favorite small city. The Valley of the Temples at dusk was magical and a highlight. We actually enjoyed Taormina and wished we had skipped Cefalu’ which we found touristy, over crowded and unwelcoming. The cathedral in Monreale is gorgeous and well worth a stop. Palermo is vibrant and delicious but, yes, driving there is “madness”. Driving was easy (except into Palermo). Parking was difficult in Ragusa and on Ortigia you can unload at your accommodation but need to park in a municipal garage a short distance away. We had a great trip; wished we had had more time; and, would happily make a return trip…which we never do. Have a great trip!