Sicily itinerary with young kids (2yo and 3m)

Taormina is expensive and full of tourists. Take a look at Letojanni. Our resent trip I really liked the small town Forza d'Agrò. Its high on a hill and away from the sea though. The Valley of the Temples by Agrigent is a must. My two cents.

We liked Taormina but it doesn't seem that family friendly. A friend of my daughter's stayed near Ragusa beach with two young kids and though it worked well. Ragusa is actually quite a ways from Ortigia and I think worth making another base. You can easily visit Modica while there there.

@mchpp is the area lively enough at night? Did you stay there to eat or did you go to other towns for lunches and dinners? Our main worry with smaller towns is that they will be "dead" and that we would feel the need to take our car everyday to another area.

@BethFL Was it at Marina di Ragusa? I've heard it's a nice family friendly area. The main thing would be a longer drive time to get back to Catania, as well as the difficulty to visit Taormina and the surrounding areas.

We are already staying at three different places so I wouldn't want to add a fourth base. Unless we visit Taormina from Ortigia?

We spent a week in a rural hotel just outside Marina di Ragusa. Really good place, has a great pool and good restaurant. Varied room sizes to fit different family sizes. Free parking. About a five-minute drive to the beach, and they give you a pass for chairs and umbrella at a beach club.
There is a long boardwalk fronting the beach in Marina del Ragusa, lined with restaurants; people come out to walk in the evenings. Not many foreign tourists. We liked it a lot; we drive to Scicli for dinner; you could also drive to Ragusa town.... Highly recommend.

On another recent trip to Sicily we spent a few days at a hotel outside Ortigia they have a free shuttle to there, and to the nearby beach. We loved this hotel--large indoor pool, large outdoor pool, good breakfast included...the name is Principe di Fitalia.

I think you can find places like these that are much more appealing than Taormina, especially with small children. For one thing, prices for hotels with beach access in that town are so high, as are restaurants, and the beach is not so beautiful.

Very nice to wander around Catania with little kids....at night go to the area of A Piscaria, the fish market, which turns into a restaurant zone at night...many families with small children come for dinner at the lively and inexpensive restaurants along Via Gisira. We like Vuciata Kitchen Market but there are many others...lots of fun at night and the food at that place is great. The staff speaks English.

@ekscrunchy That sounds nice! I'm just wondering how we could make it work without adding another base while still visiting Taormina..?

What was the name of the hotel you stayed at?

Oh, sorry,, Silva Suri; I think very good for families with children.

https://silvasuri.eu/#

Honestly I would skip Taormina but I understand wanting to see it if you have never been. Could you go on a day trip from Catania?

@ekscrunchy I think it's because we were used to always stay in the most central place possible prior to having kids as well as when we traveled with the oldest when he was a baby. We never rented a car during our travels before kids, but feel it's necessary now.

I guess I am afraid to change the style of trip that we're familiar with, because I'm not sure if we'll enjoy it as much. It all sounds appealing but my husband still prefers staying in the center of town because he likes to walk to dinner, lunch, breakfast etc. without needing a car for every thing. We don't necessarily mind that Taormina is more expensive if it's worth it.

TravelCouple we stayed in a hotel high above Letojanni and did not go to the town in the evening. We had half-board at the hotel. There are plenty of Cafe, bars and restaurants in Letojanni. There is a Coop store in town along with a baker, butcher and fish shop.