sicily questions

Are you going to Sicily from Rome and then to Tropea? Travel time by car will be pretty long even if you'll be in the eastern half of Sicily.

If you will only be there for 2-3 days then you could pick one city - Palermo or Taormina and stay there. We were in Palermo for 2 days before moving onto the rest of Sicily and enjoyed it very much. The trip to Monreale can be 1/2 a day easy and there is enough to keep you busy the other 1 1/2 days. We liked Palermo better than Taormina because it felt more "real" but Taormina is a very pretty resort and would also be good for 2 days.

I agree with Karen, pick one place for such a short stay. However, I would opt for Taormina. I was there two years ago and loved it, but hated Palermo. Taormina is more relaxed-mostly pedestrian walk way vs traffic, great views of the sea and Mt Etna and great shopping-although prices are high because the 'beautiful' people come here.

OK,think I read your post wrong the first time. My suggestion for such a short period would be to fly into Palermo and spend at least a full day there and then do a day trip or two to other areas. You could probably do without a rental also for that amount of time. Myself, I prefer the western half of Sicily. The eastern half is nice also but just something about the western side (Palermo especially) felt more like what I thought Sicily should be (If that makes any sense?).
Also,Tropea is a nice little town but wouldn't spend more than a day there.

thanks for the replies. yes i am thinking of flying into palermo. i am really into ancient sites and agrigento and siracusa sound fascinating but i am pretty sure i cant do both. which would you choose?
would i be able to take public transit from palermo to agrigento or siracusa and on to taormina in 2-3 days? only going to tropea to pick up sailboat to tour the aeolian islands for a week. looks as if i have to ferry from messina then train. have you done this? favorite sicily guidebook?

If you fly into Palermo I'd suggest sticking to the western half. Siracusa is on the SE side of the island and it would eat up alot of time getting there. Siracusa is cool and has some good sights but it sounds like Agrigento is more what you want. I'm not sure on the public transport as I had a car but just guesstimating it would be a 3-4 hour trip by car to get there. There's also Segesta which is a short trip from Palermo down A29. I ferried with a car from Messina to the mainland. It's pretty quick. Once the boat pushes off it's less than a 20 minute ride. Driving from Tropea down to the toe to catch the ferry, I wanna say it was about 2 1/2 hours maybe 3.
I didn't have a guide book. Googled Sicily and the towns I wanted to visit and printed up sheets. You can also pick up tourist maps in pretty much any hotel ot TI office.

If you're going to Tropea from Sicily, it makes more sense to see Eastern Sicily. Since you'd like to see Siracusa, fly to Catania and stay in Siracusa. You could stay in Taormina which would be more convenient for your journey to Tropea. From Taormina you could see Siracusa and Agrigento. Day trip to Siracusa and take one of the many group excursions to Agrigento. You would take the train from Taormina to Tropea. The train would go on the ferry for the crossing to Calabria. If you fly to Palermo, you could take a bus from Palermo to Siracusa, but you would spend 6,5 hours on the bus round trip for 5 hours in Siracusa. Buses between Palermo and Agrigento take 2 hours. Rough Guide Sicily would be a good guidebook.

Also check out the Lonely Planet guidebooks. We use them whenever there is no RS book available. Sometimes it is a good idea to just go to a bookstore(while these stores still exist!), pull out the various travel guides,and see which one fits your needs.

You can also Ferry from Rome The guide book I used was Eye Witness Travel. You could at least see Palermo and maybe Cefalu. Be sure to see the Cuppuchin crypts while in Palermo. And the puppet museum and theatre as well as the Opera house and the wonderful outside markets.

If you go to Palermo, be sure to see the Cappella Palatina and the Monreale Duomo.

Went to Sicily last year....flew into Palermo and then had a driver take us to Mistretta and then to Catania. From Catania, we took a bus to Taormino for a day at the beach.( about an hour each way...very scenic). Spent the next day in Catania but not much to do there and then flew to Naples/Amalfi coast. More day trips available from Palermo, I think.

Since you have only 2-3 days, I agree with the other responders to stick to Palermo and its surroundings OR Catania/Taormina/Siracusa. My husband and I have found the Blue Guide Sicily to be the most helpful, especially for getting the most out of visiting the major cultural sites--churches, museums, archaeological sites, etc. Plus, the restaurant and hotel recommendations tend to favor unique, local establishments that offer a genuine experience. The book is not big on logistics, but since you only have a couple days, it may not be much of a problem.

There are many day trips available from Palermo and Catania. There is an endless number of possible day trips from Catania like Taormina, Mount Etna, Siracusa, Noto, Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Enna, Modica, Ragusa, Messina, and even Palermo.