Sicily April/May--19 days

I have nothing to add, but commenting to remind myself to check back on this post. I will be in search for the same info for 2023 when we hope to be on the RS Sicily tour.

Looking at skyscanner.com this is what I find for random date in May ( direct flights)

FCO-PMO ITA and ryanair

FCO-CTA ITA, ryanair and wizz

What are you looking at that showed Alitalia?

You may want to choose to fly into one and out from the other depending on how you structure your visit

Although Rome2Rio doesn't show any public transportation for the Catania airport, when I took a couple of day-trips from Catania in 2015, the buses stopped at the airport, so I think there may be some bus service even today.

Off the top of my head I can't think of any reason to favor one Sicilian arrival (or departure) point over the other. I've never flown into or out of either airport, though.

Joe, I think it was Rome2Rio that listed Alitalia, not that Rome2Rio should ever be relied on completely. When I looked on Skyscanner all I was seeing was Ryanair for my dates, when I checked again I noted that there were other airlines with much higher pricing, and I had sorted by price. Interestingly, it shows the Ryanair flight is operated by Malta Air, but then when I search on Malta air, it doesn't indicate that they go to Sicily.

I should have been more clear in regards to "better" airport. I mean better in terms of convenience.

Since Jeff B mentioned the night train, here's my usual warning on that topic: I took the night train from Rome to Catania in 2015. I had a berth in a couchette car. It was the most miserable experience I've had on a train. Not one wink of sleep the entire night because the train jerked constantly from side to side. I assumed at the time it was the tracks. Maybe it was just the couchette carriage. In any case, it was a disaster.

We have flown into Palermo and our of Catania airport. There is bus service at both of them. Palermo is a good half hour plus north of the city. Catania’s airport is very close to the city. To take a bus you have to walk just outside the airport. Use guide books or Internet to get exact info. Fly into one city and out of the other, open jaw. Like acraven we took an overnight train from Catania to Florence. It was a miserable night. Never again! The only interesting part of the trip was loading the train on the ferry to get to the mainland. We also took a day train from Naples to Catania. Nice ride. Had to carry our bags onto a ferry and join another train in Sicily. Sicily is another side of Italy. Great adventure, ruins, food and people.

Yep, no night train for us! I did one once, Budapest to Prague. It too was rather bumpy though I attributed that to the older Hungarian sleeper car. I just want to get to Sicily in the fastest way possible so I will need to determine what will make the most sense, open jaw, or in and out of the same city. Unless I'm missing something, we could easily do one big loop around the island. I'm really not sure how to do the itinerary because there are parts of the island where I'd prefer to not have a car or where sites are easily seen by public transportation. Maybe that means we will do two car rentals, although dropping and then picking up a car again is a time suck. A lot will depend on the car rental costs. Right now, a rental car is pretty expensive though cheaper than many other cities in Europe and the U.S.

Though trains in Sicily are not very frequent, there are a few trains each weekday (I didn't check Sat or Sun) between Palermo and Catania that take just a bit over 3 hours; others take considerably longer and would be annoying. The quicker trains cut through the center of the island, giving you a view of a less-touristy area. Although I'm all for not wasting time, I don't think it would be a disaster to fly in and out of the same Sicilian airport if it seemed best for reasons of schedule or price. Some of those budget flights don't fly every day.

Wonderful. I hope your weather is as good as mine was at the same time of year, but only 14 days. I got multi-city flights into Palermo and out of Rome, so I flew int'l to Rome, then connected to Palermo. I ended my Sicilian leg in Catania and flew on a separate ticket to Bologna and made my way over a week to Rome to fly home. One of the reasons I chose that is the "Etna problem" - if it starts spewing ash, it can close down the Catania airport for a time. I figured worst case, I'd have a forced stay in Sicily and less time on the mainland but it was unlikely to affect my int'l flight home.

I started with sightseeing in Palermo, then spent a couple nights in Cefalu before returning to Palermo to pick up a car. I based in a small seaside town south to explore the Greek temples and western coastal towns, 1N in Piazza Armarina between Agrigento and the Villa Romana del Casale (must-see) and the rest in Ortigia (the old part of Syracuse) with the car. I dropped the car at the Catania airport. It was easy find parking and to drive in and out of Ortigia for day trips. I drove into Catania once to visit the very good WWII museum. Driving wasn't too difficult, it was just super slow. Be sure you have GPS for driving!

If you decide to include Aeolian islands, you might want to make a full circle, Palermo and the southern route to Ortigia, then along the north with Cefalu your last stop on your way back to Palermo.

Chani, good and important information! I will avoid Catania airport. I think I will end up with Ryanair which I see flies into Trapani. I will have to measure our carry on suitcase and see if it fits their requirements for checked. I think it was easier with Alitalia because they were a partner airline for Delta. Thank you for the itinerary and route suggestions. I did see the WWII museum, and that is of interest.

If I can fit it in I'd sure love to visit an Aeolian island or two. Initially I was turned off by the description of Taormina as a touristed resort town, but it sounds like the Greek-Roman theatre and Castlemola would be of interest to us.

I'd be interested in suggestions for small towns/villages that are picturesque and less touristy. Also, any tips for particularly scenic viewpoints, although, it seems to me that the entire island is quite scenic.

Also, if there are any suggestions for timing for the purchase of Ryanair tickets.

Ryanair does fly into Palermo too. I have flown Ryanair and Easy Jet into/ out of Sicily, both Palermo and Catania. I just checked and Easy Jet is not showing any flights to Catania until June. I used to live in the UK and flew Ryanair regularly. It is cheaper and offers good deals, just make sure you follow their rules. Their carryon size is smaller than usual so plan to check a bag if it does not meet their measurements. You do get charged for extras but even adding those charges to the base price, fares are usually reasonable. Most of my Ryanair flights were on time with no problems. Price wise they couldn't be beat. The flight from Rome to either Catania or Palermo is short. Make sure you have your boarding pass printed in advance. With 19-22 days have time to circle around the island to a few choice spots or pick east or west and concentrate your efforts on just the half of the island that best matches your interests. There are lots of really interesting smaller towns all around the island to explore in addition to the traditional tourist destinations.

In 2019 a friend and I did a 22 day trip around the island of Sicily, arriving and departing from Catania airport. It was my second trip to Sicily. I love it and would go again to see more. So much to see and so hard to narrow down where to go. We used public transportation, a mix of bus and train, with no real problems. We did use a private driver on two occasions to cover areas where we thought it would be more advantageous to go by car and see more. We did not want to rent a car and drive. Once you have identified your desired destinations you can best decide what transportation serves your needs. I did a sample search today with Ryanair and saw fares to Sicily from Rome in May for as low as 18€ and yes they are cheaper when purchased early.

One of my favorite stops was the small seaside town of Mazara del Vallo with its mixture of Catholic, Jewish and Tunisian influence. It has a very interesting casbah in the historic center and stop by to see the Dancing Satyr which was pulled from the sea not too long ago. I first learned of this town in the documentary video title Sicily Unpacked, which is on youtube. I believe it was Priscilla here on this forum who recommended it to me prior to my trip. Very informative as it follows the travels of an Italian chef and a British art historian around Sicily. Try to watch it as you plan where to go. We took the train from Palermo to Mazara del Vallo. It is also very close to the magnificent ruins at Selinunte. Again we took a train from Mazara del Vallo to Castelvetrano (about 20 minutes) and then caught a bus to the ruins right in front of the train station. Most people visit the beautiful ruins at Agrigento but you asked about special places and I think Selinunte fits the bill. Agrigento was jam packed with tourists. Selinunte is not crowded at all and sits right on the edge of the water. Very scenic.

If you go to Trapani you must go to Erice. I liked both Palermo and Catania. Palermo has tons of neat things to see and do. Make sure you go to Monreale, The mosaics in the church are beautiful and visit the cloisters too. I also liked Cefalu. Some people find Taormina too touristy but the theater and the community gardens are lovely and the views are gorgeous. In Catania you would not need a car for the city itself but to explore Etna and some of the Aci towns nearby it could be helpful there. Also look into the Circumetnea train that circles through towns all around Etna out of Catania. I have not been to the islands so no advice there.

Very helpful, Pat!

OK, this is my very rough draft of an itinerary.
Fly into Trapani--visit Marsala, Mazara, Segesta,Selinunte and Erice, either by train or bus
Train to Palermo, include Monreale
Train to Cefalu
Pick up a car in Cefalu to travel around the island to Agrigento (visiting, Milazzo and Lipari, Taormina, Etna wine country (not interested in Volcano aspect), Catonia, Siracusa and Ragusa)
Return car to Palermo (I would rather return to Trapani or Agrigento, but so far I haven't found a rental that would allow me to return there)
Fly out of Trapani or Palermo

If I can get by without a car in Agrigento, I may return after Ragusa and Villa Romana del casale

I'm not at a point where I can determine number of days at each stop, I'm still reading guidebooks. All of a sudden, 19 days doesn't feel very long!

Fly into Trapani--visit Marsala, Mazara, Segesta, Selinunte and Erice, either by train or bus I did all that by car. Are you sure you can get to them efficiently by train/bus? I looked at Trapani-Selinunte on rome2rio.com - it's an hour by train, but then a $25-35 taxi to the archaeological park.

BTW are you okay with a manual transmission? If you require automatic, you'll probably have to rent from a location with a large fleet - likely just the airports of Catania and Palermo. Frankly it sounds like you are overcomplicating the itinerary, maybe to shorten the car rental period. Keep in mind that those wonderful archaeological sights are not in the cities! I would never suggest, much less recommend, renting a car on arrival after a long-haul flight. But you could fly into Palermo and make your way to Cefalu to start - take train or bus to Palermo, then train to Cefalu to get over the jetlag. Then backtrack to Palermo just to pick up the rental car. Continue from the west to Agrigento and Piazza Armarina - backtracking there from the east isn't efficient.

Chani and Jules, there is a public bus that picks up and drops off at a bus stop right outside the front door of the Castlevetrano little train station and goes to a bus stop right near the entrance to the ruins of Selinunte. At least there was in 2019. You would have to doublecheck that now.

Jules, I think that you still will need to eliminate some of your desired destinations. Seems like too many. Try to avoid backtracking, as that saves time and money. Maybe start and end in Palermo,. Then work your way to Trapani and Erice, Marsala and Mazara del Vallo. Or Erice and Marsala could be done as daytrips from Palermo either on a structured tour or with a driver. I did not get to Trapani but it is on my wish list. In Palermo I used a driver for a daytrip to Segesta, Erice and Marsala. His name was Rosario Pizzuto of NCC Taxi Privato. Very happy with his services. That way I didn't have to drive and I could not cover those three places as easily in limited time using public transportation. I would recommend staying overnight in Mazara del Vallo. We took the train from Palermo to Mazara del Vallo. Then visit Selinunte from there or if you have a rental car from Selinunte head to Agrigento. I took a bus from Mazara del Vallo to Agrigento. From Agrigento was one time I used a driver, Roberto Sapone, that was recommended here on the forum. He picked us up in Agrigento and took us to the Villa Romana del Casale, to Piazza Armerina, a stop in Caltagirone and onward to Siracusa. From the Siracusa area you can then visit Catania by bus and Taormina by bus or train and onward to Messina by bus or train. I took the bus. From Messina do your island visit, and from Messina catch the train to Cefalu and then back to Palermo.

I travelled with a friend and we split the cost of the two drivers we used. I know that cars give you the ultimate freedom of going where you want when you want but rentals also come with many headaches and are expensive. Since you can use public transportation to get most anywhere compare the costs of a one day driver to a car rental. Remember that it is usually more expensive to rent a car in one locale and return it to another. A driver can tailor his trip to what you want to see.

Jules - I live in Minneapolis and am in Sicily right now. Alitalia is out of business and has been replaced by ITA. At this time, ITA is not a partner of Delta, so you can’t use Delta to get all the way to Palermo. I hope this will eventually change.

I flew on Delta to Rome and spent one night there. I then flew on ITA (you could also use Ryanair) to Palermo. This was a separate ticket. I will do something similar to get home. ITA was fine to fly, but their English website was a bit difficult to find and a bit quirky to use. Here are links to their home page and their English check-in page.

https://www.itaspa.com/en_en/

https://www.itaspa.com/en_us/fly-ita/check-in/online-check-in.html

You might want to look at Rick Steves’ organized tour in Sicily for an idea of a (shorter) itinerary, and add your other desired stops along the way. His guidebook has been very helpful.

Renee, thanks for taking the time to comment, especially during your travels. I currently have tickets in and out of Rome. I know Delta used to fly to Sicily with partner airlines. Now they don't and I assumed it was due to Alitalia. I've been looking at Skyscanner and I know there are many options for getting to Sicily by air, with Ryanair probably being the best for us. It looks like Ryanair actually uses Malta Air for Sicily. I will fly into Palermo or Trapani. Trapani looks cheaper and I think works better for us. I've been reading the RS guide as well as Lonely Planet and Eyewitness travel and of course have searched the Forum for previous posts.

Chani, we've always rented manual cars in Europe. Both my husband and I can drive a manual transmission car. We fly into Rome and overnight there prior to getting to Sicily.

Pat, I'm not sure what you mean by backtracking. We would fly into Trapani (do the day trips), train to Palermo, train to Cefalu, from there continuing clockwise around the island

My husband and I took a RS tour of Rome. Loved it. However, we've done many trips to Europe and traveled independently often renting a car. I did briefly look at the RS Sicily trip, we can do it on our own while covering the island more thoroughly.

I never put my full complete itinerary on this forum for many reasons, that is why I only have a brief outline. It probably looks more complicated because it is just an early draft and we plan lots of day trips especially from Trapani. Maybe I should start a new thread, because I have the air issue resolved though I have not purchased the tickets.

Chani and Pat, thank you so much for the feedback. In putting together what I have so far, I've been looking at Skyscanner and RyanAir websites, Autoeurope and using train and bus websites. I would like to limit car use, because though cheaper than most locations, rentals are still fairly expensive in Sicily. One way rentals are also a problem as far as I can tell. It looks like if I rent out of Cefalu, I cannot return to Trapani or Agrigento.

It looks like most of what I may want to do in Trapani and Palermo is doable with train or bus. Getting to Cefalu by train is quite efficient. Getting from Agrigento to Palermo by train is also quite efficient.

There are places I want to go to that seem to be much easier with a car--Etna wine area, Agrigento, Villa del Casale.

We don't mind 2-3 night stays. We mind day trips with more than about 2 hours of transportation time.

What I'm looking at for order of cities is the following and they may not all be overnight stays and there are day trips planned from some of the locations.

Trapani
Palermo
Cefalu
Milazzo/Lipari
Taormina
Mt Etna wine area
Catonia
Siracusa
Ragusa
Agrigento
Rome from Palermo

We are considering doing Catonia and Taormina day trips from the Etna wine area or Riposto. We will not be doing a lot in Catonia or Taormina though it does look like each place we may want 1 1/2 days, making a day trip from Etna wine country less feasible.

Looking at the map, I could probably rent out of Taormina though return to Agrigento is a problem and the rates seem highest in Taormina.

Most likely everything will be most expensive in Taormina. Wait till you see the boutiques.

@acraven, Taormina sounds like my kind of place. NOT. The descriptions made me think of Positano, which is stunning, but we walked around and saw the viewpoints and didn't go into any shops or restaurants.

I think your oneway rental problem may be because you are looking only at small towns.

Perhaps my experience in Taormina was different, cause my Wife and I loved it! To give a different account, we stayed 6 nights in Taormina. we rented a beautiful apartment with a huge deck that overlooked the water - was magnificent in mornings and evenings. We took a cooking class, went horseback riding, and made "friends" with one of the taxi drivers (who picked us up at the airport) and was our "driver" whenever we wanted to go anywhere. Bottom line, if you run down the main drag in the middle of the day, sprint to the greek theater, then yeah, very touristy, and crowded. We went to the theater in late afternoon - practically had it to ourselves. Did daytime actives, and enjoyed the main drag in the early mornings and evenings, and was no more crowded than anywhere else in Italy. We had no issues getting tables for dinner, and ate at some very nice restaurants. its all how you approach anywhere you go. we like to "live like a local" if possible. My Wife loved it so much, we want to go back, but expand to the other areas of Sicily we didn't have time for (Like Palermo, where I have relatives who want to take us around the city). We went in Early/mid October.

Glenn

Glenn, I'm glad you had a great time in Taormina. I will definitely check it out.

Hi Chani, I've figured out the issue is that the cheapest rates tend to be thru Europcar, at about $45/day, which isn't all that bad, considering the rates I've been seeing for other cities in Europe and the U.S. Europcar is located in Taormina, Catania, Siracusa, Cefalu, Palermo and Ragussa. So I need to drop and return to those cities. I'm thinking I can use the train/bus from Palermo, go clockwise around Sicily and I'll do Siracusa or Ragussa for car pick up. I'd rather return in Agrigento, but it looks like it will have to be Palermo. Maybe I'll just return at the Palermo airport and fly out from there. And, the inn that I'm looking at in the Etna area has a source of a car rental for a day. I can either rent from him or hire a driver for a day.

So now I'm looking at starting the trip in Trapani or Palermo. If I put Trapani at the end of the trip, I can use a car for that area. It is fairly well covered by bus/train. Chani, how did you find the driving between Tapani and Segesta and Selinunte and along the coast?

There seems to be a lot of palazzos that can be visited. I'm probably only interested in one or two. Favorites?
What about the multiple archeology museums?

Regarding budgeting time, I'm looking for time estimates for:

WWII museum in Catania
Villa del Casale
Valley of the temples
Selinunte
Segesta
Monreale

Thanks

EDITED TO ADD: I've read multiple places in the RS guide to not drink the water in some of the cities due to old pipes. I hate to use bottled water due to the plastic. What are people's experiences with water? I could bring water bottles with filters I use for camping or when the water in certain places tastes bad. I wonder if the filters would take care of the issue?

I really like mosaics and jewelry but am otherwise not that enamored of archeological museums. I went to the one in Siracusa, which was fine. (Take a bus from Ortygia area; it is a fair distance, and I think it's partly uphill, though my memory is vague on that score). I didn't see the archeological museum in Palermo, which I'm nearly certain is considered the best on the island. Does Rick give them the same rating?

I enjoyed the archeological park in Siracusa; it's not far from the museum, just a bit farther from Ortygia. I'm sure the structures at Agrigento, Segesta and Selinunte (which I willingly skipped) are more impressive than the theatre in Siracusa, but I liked the terrain changes and the greenery. Yeah, I'm not much for classical ruins. The Siracusa theatre is used for some performances, so access to that part of the park might end earlier than advertised on performance days.

The Villa del Casale was larger than I was expecting. You walk around the perimeter of the mosaics, and I think you could get held up by others if you visited at a busy time. Somehow there weren't very many people there at the time of my visit--maybe because it was in the afternoon rather than the morning. Someone has mentioned trinket vendors here, but I saw nothing like that, either. I'm horrible at remembering how much I spent at individual sights unless they were so time-consuming I needed to make multiple visits. The brief look I got at Piazza Armerina suggested it would be a pleasant place to walk around (or to have lunch somewhere), so I'd suggest budgeting a generous amount of time at the villa and figuring if you leave much earlier, you can use the time in Piazza Armerina. This TripAdvisor thread may be helpful: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/FAQAnswers-g580232-d793511-t497986-HowmuchtimeshouldIplanforavisitto_the.html

I don't remember about Monreale, either, but unless you're going to hang around, trying to figure out the religious inconography, I don't think it will take as much time as the Villa Romana. Here's TripAdvisor again:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/FAQAnswers-g666663-d4470498-t1245802-Howlongwouldyouallowforavisitofthe.html

Alternatively, you could see whether Rick gives estimates and then increase them.

I hadn't heard about any issues with the water as of the time of my 2015 trip. I carried a disposable plastic water bottle around with me. I filled it every morning; I don't remember ever thinking the water tasted odd, but my water at home is so vile that I filter it. It was hot in Sicily, so I sometimes stopped in a little store or bar to get a cold bottle of water in the afternoon. Whether there are fountains scattered around with potable water, I don't know.

Everyone's interests are different so your time amounts may not be the same as mine-
Palermo - I enjoyed the Regional Archeological Museum Antonio Salinas. The building is large but the museum itself is not. It had an interesting section on the ruins of Selinunte which I saw before I actually went to Selinunte. I know I spent no more than two hours at this museum. Easily walked there, not far from Teatro Massimo.
Monreale - I have been here twice. On both occasions I spent more time in the cloisters than in the actual cathedral. You can also pay to go up to the rooftop for great views. Then I spent time walking around the plaza and nearby streets. There are some interesting mosaics shops where you can watch as the artisans create and work with mosaics. On neither visit did we stop to eat in Monreale. I think 2-3 hours should be acceptable. Maybe more if you want to explore the town more or if you have special interest in the church. I know that there is public bus service to Monreale and that there are directions on how to get there by bus in other posts on this forum, but on both of my visits we used a private driver who just waited for us until we were finished.

Segesta - I have been here twice. I spent more time on my first visit than on my second. Segesta is divided into two areas. From the ticket cabin, it is a steep walk up steps carved into a hill to get to the temple. The temple is the only thing there. Then return downhill and there is a bus that takes you up the hill in the opposite direction to a drop off point. From here you can walk around some village ruins and walk farther on to the ampitheater. You can spend as much time as you like and then take the bus down to the entrance. Again I think you will need a bare minimum of an hour and a half and more to really explore. The first time I went it was in the spring and wildflowers were in bloom all around. Very pretty.

Selinunte - There are multiple temples and ruins here and they are quite spread out. It is all right next to the sea. You can walk from temple to temple or buy a ticket and there are multiple golf cart type vehicles that continually drive the circuit. You hop on and hop off as you like and can spend as much time as you want at any site. If you are there in the heat then I do recommend using that service because given the size of the place you will do a lot of walking just exploring what is there. There is a small museum there which was ok but I learned more about Selinunte from the museum in Palermo. Take water. Outside in the parking area there are a few souvenir shops and a cafe.

Villa Casale - We were there on a very hot day in September and it was jam packed with crowds. I may be the outlier here but I did not care for that experience at all and would not go again. I know many people rave about Villa Casale but I found it to be extremely claustrophobic. I know the heat and crowds were part of that. While I appreciate the beauty of the mosaics and tiles, you could barely take the time to see them. There are narrow wooden walkways that thread through the complex overlooking the mosaics. It was literally a sea of people packed into those walkways and you just moved with the crowd. Very hard to stop and admire because the crowds of people just kept moving and you with them. And it was so hot that day. And once you are on those platforms there are few places to exit so you just have to keep going with the crowd. We were there on a Monday, late morning. I know I would have enjoyed it more in other conditions. I don't mind crowds but I certainly did not like the confined walkways with crowds. I think I only spent about an hour and a half here.

Agrigento - Beautiful temples, all spread out, take all the time you want, go at your own pace but also expect lots of people. Again, that was probably the reason why I enjoyed Selinunte better than Agrigento. Agrigento in September was packed.

OOOPS,, don't know why that last bit of text printed so big.

The roads were easy to drive between cities, though signage was not great sometimes. I didn't have GPS which made it difficult a couple of times. Driving in the historic centers can be tricky, like many other places in Europe. Once I got out of Palermo I didn't run into traffic on the roads except along the eastern coast.

I spent about 2-1/2 hours at the WWII museum in Catania and almost as long driving in and out of the city. I spent a good half-day at the Villa del Casale, and most of a day at the Valley of the Temples, including the excellent archaeology museum. Selinunte was also a full day and I used the shuttle to get from temple to temple there. I took the bus from Palermo train station to Monreale and back. I probably spent about 2 hours there, including the beautiful cloisters and slowly making my way back through the streets to the bus. On the way back I got off the bus at the Palatine Chapel and spent nearly as much time there, along with the ruins of the San Giovanni degli Eremiti church a block away.

Thanks Ann and Pat, the time estimates really help. I never thought I'd get much information on a google search, "How much time to spend at. . . ." Apparently you do. I shouldn't be surprised.

I was noticing there is an archeology museum in just about every Sicilian city and a theatre in just about every one, as well. It seems like the theatre in Taormina might have the most picturesque setting. I do use Rick Steves rating system which I would say is generally good for us, usually what we find to be an issue is that he often doesn't cover a sight that turns out to be pretty amazing.

I'm still toying with whether I want a car for the southwest part, around Trapani. It seems like it would be handy for visiting the ruins, Marsala, and the coast, and possibly a winery, but I was rewatching the RS Sicily video and it doesn't look like we'd want to drive in Trapani, either.

Pat, I thought you really didn't want me to miss Agrigento. ;)

Thank you for your estimates, Chani. And it sounds like a good archeology museum to visit would be the one at the Valley of the temples.

The only ancient theatre I went to was at Segesta at the beginning of my trip. I thought the archaeology museum in Siracusa was also very good.

We had no problem driving in and around Trapani. We drove around the island of Sicily from Catania to Cefalu clockwise and only avoided Palermo proper. Just learn the ZTL and other traffic signs and understand that buying your parking scratcher permit (if necessary) may include a visit to a few shops before you find who is selling them at a given time. Also the permit is not necessary in many towns during the afternoon while businesses are closed. When we were confused we just asked a local for help. Rent the smallest car you can. We had a Fiat 500 and never wished we had anything larger.

A lot of confusion about flying to Sicily it seems. Maybe I can clarify some. Ita became part of the alliance with Delta a few weeks ago, so Alitalia flights to Palermo are a go. We had long ago scheduled a March flight to Sicily on Delta which would be operated by Alitalia to Rome and continuing on to Sicily on Alitalia. Last week we received an update. To Rome as originally scheduled and continuing to Palermo, Sicily on ITA. Ryanair-sometimes they lease a plane from Air Malta so though no Air Malta flights show available to/ from Sicily just book on RyanAir. At the end of our RS tour of Sicily we are booked with Ryanair to fly to Bologna from Catania. That flight will be operated by Air Malta. Catania is Sicily's largest airport and we have flown into and out of in the past. It works and you will be able to see Mt. Etna as you fly out and over it.

I'm not sure there was any confusion. At the time I booked my tickets, Delta was not selling tickets to Sicily. They had been codesharing with Alitalia. So, as it stands, my tickets are to Rome, and I will likely buy Ryanair tickets. We will be flying into Palermo's airport

EDITED TO ADD: I still cannot purchase a ticket to sicily for April on the Delta website. It shows the flights as unavailable, even if I choose "nearby airport".

I purchased my Delta tickets in June of 2021 for Rome and on to Palermo so maybe all seats are taken now and that's why they are saying "unavailable". The seeming apparent confusion was posts were telling you ITA had not signed on to the SkyAlliance with Delta; and AirMalta not flying to Sicily. I was just trying to clarify for you.

@Teacher, a search on the Delta website indicates that Delta is not flying to Catania. Even when I search for nearby airports, nothing comes up. All that comes up is a message indicating they are not flying that route. So they are either just taking care of flights that were already booked, they don't go there in April or they still do not have details worked out for service to Catania.