Sicily Itinerary Feedback

I did a similar trip a few years ago. Here's the route I took:
Saturday and Sunday: same
Monday, pick up car early, visit Monreale and drive to Cefalu (and since it's too cool for the beach) then to Agrigento/sleep Agrigento
Tuesday, visit Greek temples and museum, drive to Piazza Amarina/sleep PA
Wednesday, visit the Roman Villa, drive Catania/sleep Catania
Thursday, drive up Mt. Etna, day trip to Taormina / sleep Catania (on return from Taormina, I circumvented the volcano, stopping at small towns along the way
Friday, day trips to Ragusa and Siracusa / sleep Catania
Saturday, "Ciao, Sicilia!"

That seems like a very busy itinerary for such a short stint (less than 7 full days?). I would replace "drive" with taking a train or bus for at least some of your locations (e.g. Palermo to Cefalu) - very easy and cheap unless you are trying to really get off the beaten path or you really enjoy driving. I would also suggest maybe focusing on one area of Sicily (for example only the northwest region, including Palermo, Monreale, Erice, Trapani, maybe even Marsala). I think you are trying to cover a lot of distance in a short period of time so you'll be shortchanging each place you stop in (although some deserve more time than others because there are more attractions there - e.g. Palermo and Siracusa). Is it because you're committed to fly back from Catania? Not even a full day in Siracusa and Ragusa minus time to get there (and only one full day in Palermo right after jet lag) will make for a very rushed experience. Check out the Lonely Planet book - great planning resource.

Thanks for the feedback! A few things I should have mentioned. We'll already have been in Europe for an entire week before this trip, so no jetlag (yay). We are committed to arrive in Palermo and leave from Catania. So trying to figure out what would be the best way to get from point a to point b while seeing a decent cross section of sites.

Would you suggest sleeping 2 nights in Syracuse at the end and doing Ragusa as a day trip?

Ditto Agnes! Slow down, and smell the roses! You are trying to cover tooo much.
Take one side...one corner, and concentrate on it. You will have more fun, and get to spend some time with the people. (A must!)

It took us several trips before we saw most of Sicily, but the wait was worth it. Plant your feet somewhere for a few days and stay in one of the awesome Agritourisimos.

BTW, you are going at the very best time. The island will be awash in spring colors.

Rent your car thru a broker like Auto Europe. You can research their locations on their website. Many times different locations have different prices. Rent here and review the complete contract, with all of the options etc!

Thanks, Steve. Knowing we arrive in Palermo and leave from Catania - would you suggest focusing all of our trip on the east cost?

Hi Erin,
Here's what I did in 4 full and (regrettably) busy days, since I went to Sicily as a side trip from Malta. I concentrated only on the southeastern part (the USESCO Baroque cities). Flew into Catania in the early AM, took the earliest 8:00am ish bus to Siracusa (~ 2 hours, no traffic on the road) and spent the rest of the day just in the archeological park (Greek and Roman theaters) and excellent Paolo Orsi Archeological Museum (could have spent and entire day or two just in the museum alone, no joke. It is huge, very time-intensive, and very comprehensive). Second day was spent 1/2 day walking around Ortygia (old city of Siracusa) and 1 hour bus trip to Noto (another lovely Baroque city very close by) for the afternoon to evening. Returned to Siracusa in late evening and spent the night. Allocated one full day for day trip to Ragusa, which was a very long day (I LOVED Ragusa - would have wanted to spend more time there and stay overnight but it was Ok for a day trip, albeit a very long one). The train took 2 hours or so to get there. Then on the last day, took bus to Taormina in the early AM, spent the day there (~7 hours or so) and then took the bus back to Catania Airport for a 10:00 pm flight back to Malta. So, for the whole 4 days, I used Siracusa as the base and took side trips to Noto, Ragusa, and Taormina before circling back to Catania. If you're short on time, you can visit Modica as a substitute for Ragusa - also a fascinating city I never got to because 4 days was not enough time. Tons of UNESCO sites there as well.

I would say based on my experience that Taormina deserved the least amount of time (full day is fine) and Siracusa deserved at least 2 full days (assuming you want to see the archeological treasures, which I think shouldn't be missed) and 2 days for Ragusa (there is a lot of walking and if you want to take your time and really enjoy it, a day trip will seem too short). Noto was fine for a 1/2 day because it was very compact. So that's why I say "avoid the rush" if you can - you'll have a better experience if you see less cities but for longer. My favorite by far was Ragusa because it was terrific to take a long walk from the new town down to the old town below and just wander around - there are wayyyy too many UNESCO sites (mostly churches and palazzos) to see there.

Choose what you really want to see and focus on that. I spent 2 weeks there in 2014 (late April, early May) as a somewhat slow traveler, into Palermo and out of Catania.

The western side of the island was incredibly beautiful, profusions of brightly colored wildflowers everywhere, picture-perfect sea views and majestic Greek temples. I very much enjoyed 2 nights/1 day in Cefalu (by train from Palermo) but I would have to rank it below other great places.

As I moved east, the wildflowers became sparse by comparison and the hills were not nearly as green. I imagine that's due to topography.

Piazza Armerina/Villa Romana was one of the highlights of a great trip. I skipped Ragusa/Noto (personal preference) and stayed in Syracusa (Ortigia). I didn't get to Taormina. Syracusa may be a good base for all your eastern destinations. My biggest (maybe only) disappointment was a day at Etna.

I rented through autoeurope.com and got Hertz. It was easy to drive out of Palermo (and certainly not worth the detour/hassle of going to the airport to pick up a car). Returning the car at the Catania airport was even easier. Just be sure to fill the tank before you get to the airport and pay attention to the rental car signage.

I agree with Chani, the western side is beautiful. You can daytrip to Cefalu and Segesta from Palermo, or stop in Cefalu on your way to Taormina or Siracusa. A car will make your time much more efficient.

My Sicily trip was similar to the one you propose. While it was busy, I don't feel it was too fast-paced to enjoy. My VERY detailed post about my trip in April-May 2014 is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

For that trip, we rented through Kemwel, as they had BY FAR the best rate. Our car was from Hertz, and getting from the car rental office to the highway out of town wouldn't be difficult (there's no need to go through the oldest parts of town). The next year, my friend went back, and his Kemwel car rental this time was from Europcar. Their office is near the station, and again he did not find it difficult to get out of town. However, note that both Hertz and Europcar share a car rental return area at Catania airport, and it was difficult to find due to poor signage (the second time for my friend was a year later, and without me there, he had forgotten where it was!)