Sicily in 8 days

Eight days is short. And what exactly does that mean? How many nights will you be spending in Sicily, not counting the overnight flight? Or are you going to Sicily after traveling somewhere else in Europe, so you will not still be dealing with jetlag?

Don't try to cover the entire large island in the time you have. You need to pick up a guide book to Sicily (Rick's won't be published for several more months, I think) and read through it to see what places seem most intriguing to you. Then look at a map to see which ones fit together well enough to be workable. You have only about half as much time as I consider the absolute minimum for Sicily.

Is there a family connection? To what town(s)? That would affect your itinerary.

My favorite part of Sicily is Siracusa and the small Baroque towns of Ragusa, Noto, Modica and Scicli, but there are wonderful places all over. Lots of folks love Taormina, which is gorgeous but packed with tourists.

The largest airport is in Catania. For many itineraries it is helpful to fly into Catania and out of Palermo, or vice versa.

Sicily is also hard to get to from the US. Many people travel through Milan or Rome and stay overnight in those cities before traveling to/from Sicily.

The size and age group of your family for interests and transportation needs would help. Also the month you are considering.

I am travelling with Mel.

We be in Sicily (arriving in Italy earlier - so no jet lag) over Easter and will be there for 7 nights. Is it possible to get around the entire island or is that too much to pack in to 8 days/7 nights? Is it better to stick to either East side or West side of Island? I am finding the main sites to be: Siracussa, Ragusa, Modica, Mt. Etna, Taoramina, Palermo, Agrigento (we want to do genealogy there) and Piazza Armerina. Would anyone recommend anything not listed and or pass on any listed? Is driving in Sicily reasonable for people who are big city drivers and have driven in other parts of Europe?

If you've gone - what's a few places that you would love to go back to? Anyone recommend a specific cooking class or wine tasting?

We just returned from almost three weeks in Sicily and did your itinerary at a nice pace minus Palermo and Trapani as we had been there two years ago. You could fly into Catania, visit briefly or skip Taormina, then spend time in Siracusa on Ortigia Is, then, a baroque town, choose one, and Agrigento. perhaps you could swing by Piazza America to see Villa Romana en route. We loved the Valley of the Temples and had lunch and spent an afternoon in the old town of Agrigento itself. It is a good sized city. I would stay out by the temples though as the city has an edge to it. We enjoyed the Colleverde Park Hotel.
Can't you find more time for Sicily? It deserves it especially if you have family ancestry there. Get an IDP and book your car rental with AutoEurope.com for good deals that include the insurance needed in Italy.
For a driver check with Sicily Life. Perhaps they offer guides too.

I love Sicily. I think Suki has a good plan as Ortyiga and Agrigento are two of my favorite places. We flew into Palermo and then took a very nice train to Agrigento and continued on for our 17 day trip. I have recommended before the amazing Vagabonda on tripadvisor. She currently has 115,000 posts and I am sure she will help you personally especially for an ancestor trip. She knows every inch of Sicily and is a joy.