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Sicily Help! 2 weeks in August and would love itinerary help!

Posted by on

Hello,
We’re hoping to spend 2 full weeks in Sicily and then add a few days in Rome at the end. We’re thinking of dividing the trip to ideally 3 locations ((maybe 4, spending 3-4 nights in each ). Taormina is the only definite on our list of places and we’re totally open to the rest . We can fly in/out of Catania or Palermo ( or fly in to one and out of the other). I’m assuming we’ll need to rent a car since we’ll be moving around but would like to limit driving time between the locations to 2-3 hours max. We’ll be traveling with our 12 and 14 year old daughters and we’re definitely a beach and foodie family. Will want to see some sights but like to spend most of our days on the beach . I realize August will totally be crowded- but we’d love any suggestions for beach towns that will be less touristy - great beaches ( with lounge chairs/ umbrellas) in small towns with good walking access to restaurants and shops would be ideal. Also any recommendations for sites that you think are essential to see while we’re there

Thank you so much in advance for any guidance on an itinerary or list of towns to make sure we see.

Posted by
7270 posts

On my just over two week trip we spent, 4 total nights in the Catania area (Catania, Siracusa, Noto), 2-Agrigento, 1-Marsala, 3-Erice/Trapani, 2-Monreale/Palermo, 1-Cefalu, 2-Taormina. We flew in and out of Catania; that’s why that number of nights is greater. If you get a rental car, remember that once off the main roads and onto rural roads, those are poorly marked and not always in the best repair. In many places the speed limit will be 50kph (30mph). In places it’s difficult to know what the speed limit is since there are either no signs, or signs that are confusing. GPS of some type is a must. We had both a GPS and downloaded Google maps for offline use for a few places that were not in my Garmin. If driving, just west of Agrigento is Scala dei Turchi in Realmonte. It is a unique rock formation/beach. It was crowded in late September, so I bet it’s jammed in August. A nearby town with a beach is Lido Rossello.

Posted by
28436 posts

Cannot help with beaches.

Four locations is not a lot for such a large island. You may need to eliminate some areas, but frankly you're going to have to do that anyway with only 2 weeks.

I'd definitely make Siracusa one of my bases. The medieval district, Ortygia, is very picturesque, and there are several lovely Baroque towns in the interior that can be visited from Siracusa. Ragusa is the largest and needs the most time. Noto, Modica and Scicli are also worthwhile. I wouldn't try to see all four in one day, even with your own car.

Do not under any circumstances try to drive in Palermo.

Posted by
11669 posts

The beach below Taormina is pebbles so bring water shoes.We took the gondola down there. We are glad we saw Taormina but after two nights were done and this was late October. You have to avoid the main street during the day as it is a mass of humanity from the cruise ships.
We really loved Ortigia and spent a week there, easily could have spent another week.. As far as very interesting antiquities, the Valley of the Temples is incredible. Stay nearby, not in city of Agrigento.
There are beaches just west of Palermo, south of Ortigia, south of Noto. We loved Sicily, the people, food and antiquities. It will be hot and crowded in August so perhaps you would want to actually stay at a beach.

Posted by
15798 posts

What Curious said.

In August, you'll have lots of other tourists, many European, not so many Italian. I'm told they go to Sardinia instead.

Posted by
124 posts

Please try to fit at least three days in Siracusa into your itinerary. I personally think it outshines Taormina.

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