Sicily Road Trip

Your itinerary sounds quite feasible. I'd suggest staying somewhere near to, but not in Catania. Taormina, for example, is way more attractive. I think you could even make Siracusa your final base (check driving time to Catania airport).
I'm all for renting a car. It gives you so much more flexibility than public transport. Driving in Sicily is easy, but do have a gps backed up by really good maps or viamichelin directions.
One more thought. It sounds like you are not planning to get reservations for lodgings. September is not so far out of high season that no problems could arise. I would at least check periodically on a site such as booking.com to see about availability and also call ahead a day or two, if you don't want to reserve far in advance. It's no fun to spend a lot of time trying to find a place to sleep at the end of a day of travel.

Sicily is really wonderful Lorie, and you should have a terrific time. I'll just make a few comments: (1) you don't mention either of the spots I enjoyed the most in Sicily, which were Erice and Taormina. I would stay a couple nights in each, rather than making them day trips; (2) I think you are devoting too many days/nights to Palermo and especially Catania; (3) many people on this forum comment that while driving in Sicily is easy and enjoyable, it is best to avoid driving in town in either Palermo or Catania, very congested, limited parking, etc. If you want to stay by those towns with a car, I would encourage you to find lodging outside of town, so you can drive on day trips to other nearby spots, and go into Palermo and Catania by public transportation on the days you want to visit them. Otherwise, visit Palermo and Catania at the beginning and end of your trip, without a rental car, and have your car just for the days in between.

I think your time in Palermo is fine, since you can daytrip to Monreale and Cefalu from there. Near Trapani is the hilltop town of Erice, which you might want to linger in for a few hours before you get to Marsala. You don't say you plan to overnight in Trapani, but I would if possible. Siracusa is worth more time, and you can visit Ragusa in a day from there. The old part of Siracusa (Ortygia) has ample parking. I would add Taormina as well, and only spend the night before the flight in Catania.

I started in Palermo, then left my luggage in my hotel there and a late afternoon to Cefalu with an overnight bag for 2 nights, 1 day. This place deserves an overnight. Then an early train back to Palermo to collect my luggage and a rental car.

You seem to be skipping the wonderful Greek temples (Agrigento, Selinunte, Segesta) and the fabulous mosaics at Villa Romano outside of Piazza Armerina.

Thank you all for your great recommendations. I will adjust my schedule and stay in Palermo 3 nights, pick up car and depart to home from Catania. Staying in Taromina 3 of the last four nights with my last overnight in Catania for the plane trip home. I would also like to avoid 1 or 2 nights here and there; too much wasted time in and out of hotels. Suggestions for 2 best towns to stay in for 4 nights each between Palermo and Catania aside from Taromina? Best locations for day trips? Also pensiones, hotels, motel etc. that are good. I also my consider going later in September. Will the weather still be warm for the beach? Oh almost forgot, who can recommend a Sicily travel book? Rick Steves doesn't have one. Really too bad because I generally find his publications to be great. Getting excited!!!
Lorie

I like Agrigento and Siracusa, you can daytrip to several places from each. From Agrigento it's not far to Selinunte. There is a property right in the archeological zone in Agrigento, I don't remember the name of it, but it's a hotel with onsite parking. I found it on booking.com's map a couple of years ago but opted to stay in the city (I didn't have a car).

From Siracusa you can drive to Noto, Ragusa, even Villa Romana del Casale.

In Siracusa I stayed at B&B La Via della Giudecca in Ortigia, I loved it. No elevator. In Agrigento I stayed at Port Atenea B&B, a short walk to public parking. No elevator there, either.

I've done these trips by bus and train, but a car is much more convenient.

As far as guidebooks are concerned, I'd highly recommend the Lonely Planet Sicily book (you'll get the best overview of the entire island just using this book) and an excellent foodie book titled: "Eat Smart in Sicily: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure". I also had fun reading "National Geographic Traveler: Sicily" and would recommend it. See if you can find these in your local library (that's what I did).

Consider going the last two weeks of September if possible. I went early September this year and it was really hot. In spite of all the accolades Taormina and Siracusa get on this forum, my personal favorite was Ragusa/ Ragusa Ibla. I wish I had stayed there at least one night (if not two) if I had to do it over again...had I stayed there, I would have had a chance to see Modica as well since they are close together.

I agree that Agrigento and Ortigia would be great places to stop. Since you have a car, though, instead of staying right in Agrigento, you might look at some of the little towns nearby along the coast. It would be a nice change of scenery for your trip. The Turkish Steps are also nearby. We were sorry to miss these ... we had planned to visit but instead had an R&R day in our hotel in Agrigento to recover from colds.

In Ortigia, I recommend you seek out Pizza Mario -- a tiny little place with fabulous pizza that you can buy whole, or by the slice, and sit at an outdoor table admiring the scenery while you eat.

And on your travels through Sicily, if you should see a gelato shop with a pile of fresh brioche behind the counter, ask for gelato in a brioche. It sounds ridiculous but tastes amazing. We waited til our last day, in Trapani, to finally try one and regretted waiting so long! I had a really dark chocolate gelato (something like 68%) and it was fabulous.

Don't underestimate the time it takes to drive - Sicily is big. Adding a couple of 1-nighters isn't so bad, especially if you just put what you need in an overnight bag and leave the rest in the car. Checking in won't take long and the longest part of checking out will probably be the warm goodbyes from your hosts.

Last year when we were in Sicily, it was late September and early October. The weather was nice. We swam in pools and in the Mediterranean, also kayaked. We stayed in Giardini Naxos 2 nights, daytrip to Taomina, One night in Piazza Armerina, 2 nights Agrigento, 2 nights in Cefalu and 2 nights in Palermo. We didn't feel rushed even on the one night stay. I would go for longer if I was to plan another trip to Sicily because there is a lot more to see. Car was rented in Catania upon arrival and dropped off at the airport in Palermo before we stayed there. We went to Monreale from Palermo on the city bus for an afternoon. As has been advised, do not drive in Palermo. We dropped our car off before our stay, but our friends did not. We were 6 couples in our 60s and had 3 cars. Worked out well.

Highly recommend while in Piazza Armerina staying at the Farm Home Torre di Renda. I believe $100 per night. A beautiful place with amazing dinner. Some rooms better than others but it was a beautiful location.

Lorie, another excellent travel book I used to prepare was "DK Eyewitness Travel -- SICILY". Lots of great photographs, diagrams and good maps. Not so helpful with hotels and restaurants, but I think the best information on those is online anyway. By the way, when in Sicily in May 2014, I was told an RS Sicily book had been written and was in the editing stage, but evidentally either that is still the case, or the project has been delayed or shelved.

"I was told an RS Sicily book had been written and was in the editing stage, but evidentally either that is still the case, or the project has been delayed or shelved."

Someone from Rick's staff indicated, on a post on this Forum, that it's been shelved.

I was in Sicily in April-May 2014, and wrote a very lengthy report with details that may help you: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

My wife and I spent a month in Sicily in 2014. We basically started in Palermo and ended our trip in Trapani. We did a villa stay near Catania (1 week) and a bnb stay near Sciacca. We basically drove the perimeter of the island with a couple day trips to the inland areas. Our favorite stops were Erice (near Trapani) and Taomina, (near Cantania). I suggest you overnight and visit these towns rather than Trapani and Catania. You won't regret it. These towns are walkable and the vistas are incredible. Palermo is also not to be missed but it is dramatically different from the other two I mention. I recommend driving but don't be surprised if some roads are impassable, detours are not uncommon. GPS is a good idea.