Sicily or mainland?

Hello,

In March of last year, we did a bit of both the mainland and Sicily. Like you, two of our group had never been to Italy. And some of us like hiking and dislike crowds. And we also only had two weeks. We used public transportation and hired a couple of private tour guides.

We really enjoyed the section of Sicily that we visited. Combined with southern Italy, we saw a lot of cool archeological wonders, ate some great food and enjoyed gorgeous views. For context, I have been to Cinque Terre, Florence and Lucca also and loved them, but you won't feel cheated if you go to Sicily and southern Italy instead. :)

Here is my trip report. I hope this helps!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-february-march-in-italy

Thank you so much for your feedback and awesome itinerary! This will definitely help me with my planning and puts me at ease for considering Sicily :)

You're welcome! I'm happy to answer any questions.

Rick has a dedicated guidebook for Sicily. The first edition came out after my 2015 trip to Sicily, and I really missed Rick's advice on that trip!

I see that your travel plans are for the spring. I have travelled a good amount in Italy. I understand how first time travellers want to see the traditionally visited places: Florence, Venice, Verona, Milan, Rome, etc. but nowadays be prepared for big crowds, especially if you are there over Easter. Make sure to combine some of the more famous places with smaller or lesser touristed towns. Consider places like Ravenna, Ferrara, Padova, Trieste, Trento, Brescia, Parma, Mantova, Torino, the Dolomites, Arezzo, Perugia, Spello.

I very much like Sicily. I have been there three times but I can see how a first time visitor to Italy probably wants the north to see the traditional sites. Sicily has a completely different feel, food, language and traditions from northern Italy. Lots of beautiful places. and so much history there. Spring is a good time to visit Sicily. I was there for three sunny weeks this past March. We had very little rain and I used a jacket and long sleeves, but did not even bring a heavy coat. Since you like hiking and outdoor acivities there are numerous places to explore ancient Greek and Roman ruins. Most tourists visit Agrigento and Villa Romana del Casale, but also consider beautiful Selinunte, .Segesta, and Erice. Combine bigger cities with smaller towns. If you like castles, there are towns with castles and fortresses. Lots of churches and religious art everywhere. If you are lucky, maybe you will be there for a lively festival. If you like wines and wineries, explore the Etna area or the vineyards around Marsala. Good food is everywhere. And Sicily is sooooo much cheaper than northern Italy. Palermo has lots to see and do and there are good daytrips from there. Siracusa and Ortigia are gems and are near many pretty Baroque towns. Taormina is now on the tourist radar after the White Lotus show. It is gorgeous and the Greek theater there is spectacular. I have been twice. My dream is to see an Il Volo or Andrea Bocelli concert there someday! Maybe fly into Rome and visit Rome since none of you have been there yet and then fly over to Sicily. That gives you a taste of both the mainland and Sicily.

If you want to stay on the mainland, look at Puglia. Very pretty and again much cheaper than the north and lots of pretty towns to explore and a great food culture there. Again maybe start in Rome and take the train down to Puglia ( with a stop in Caserta).

It's always hard to choose destinations. Good luck. No matter what you choose, you will have plenty to see, do and enjoy.

Thank you all so very much for your valuable input! It helps give me direction on how to plan and I will look forward to hopefully helping others as you did in the future

I just got back from Sicily and loved it, but I agree with the idea that your travel companions will likely want to tick off a couple of the Italy bucket list places since it’s their first trip. Mix in some of that with someplace you haven’t been. Maybe some hill towns? Amalfi Coast? Further south will be warmer.

What does the group say? Is the consensus to see the major sites or just have a great trip regardless?
I’m in the minority, but I’ve been 8 times and not yet to the big three (travesty! lol), so I think that shows where my sympathies lie! Italy is Italy no matter which part you select.

Our family has a group consensus of just a great trip experiencing a new area regardless of hitting major common travel destinations (Rome/Florence). Therefore, believe I will just focus on family traveling to Sicily at this point and how to best spend the 2 weeks enjoying certain areas for ~3 days each location give or take a day and not traveling constantly. Want to see/hike Mt. Etna for sure, maybe visit a winery, see beautiful landscapes/architecture, and if possible would love to go to a theatre and show if possible,

I think it's good idea to spend 3 nights at a destination.

For Etna, I'm torn. Randazzo as a great base for northern Etna hikes, villages, and some of the prime wine country (although there's lots of good wineries all over the island). However, someplace on the south side may be more convenient for actually "summiting". I just thought the North side was prettier and had more charm. I might add a day since you're gonna want to be flexible with the weather and there's a lot see.

Ragusa is a great base for those Baroque hill towns. That seems a no brainer.

Palermo deserves a 3-4 nights

Choose one other place that the group is interested in and you're good. People love Ortigia, Or you could choose a place near Agrigento to access that part of the island and the coast. And then there's Taormina which is super convenient to you but is maybe a bit more touristic.

Regardless, Sicily is fantastic. You'll love experiencing a very obvious counterpoint to your other Italian travels.