Sicily Itinerary

Based on our experience in September, 2022, and without knowing if you plan to have a car, my suggestion would be: skip Cefalu; instead drive to Agrigento to see the Valley of the Temples; then drive to Siracusa via Villa Romana del Casale. Cefalu was the one disappointment of our trip. Valley of the Temples at dusk was a highlight.

I would stay in Ortigia (next to Siracusa). We will be staying at the Algila Ortigia Charme Hotel for 5 nights and going up to Taormina from there. And, will do a full day tour and immersion into Siracusa with Serena...her website is www.toursiracusa.it. Also, we're doing a half day tour with her in Noto. (I'm not sure why you want to go to Mt. Etna. We're doing a tasting/lunch at Gambino Vineyards after touring Taormina!)

Thanks for the help. We are traveling by train, no car. We’re going to Mt. Etna to hike to the top.

Your time in Palermo is short if that's your landing point in Europe, because the first (partial) day may be basically lost to sleep-deprivation and jetlag, giving you only two days in the city. I'd be inclined to make Cefalu a day trip so I'd be positioned to use the latter part of the day in Palermo if Cefalu didn't hold my interest for the entire day.

Three nights is a bit short for Siracusa if you have an interest in seeing some of the Baroque villages in that corner of the island, but your time is limited, and I don't see any way to adjust the Siracusa time.

Full disclosure, I haven't been to Sicily yet. But we are going in April and also have 9 nights. I like your itinerary. If we were landing in Palerrmo, I would probably have designed the same trip! With only 9 nights you have to cut something short. If you are loving Palermo, you can always stay a little later in the day before heading to Cefalu, but this way you will have a night at the seaside and be in a quiet town.

Thanks for the info. I changed the trip to this
Palermo- 4 nights
Taormina - 2 nights
Siracusa - 3 nights

This way we can chose to go where we want from Palermo
Mt. Etna from Taormina