Sicily roadtrip logistics

I really liked Ragusa and in particular I appreciated how Ragusa's charms were more evident in the evening. It's just a really cool vibe with great sunset bars, moonlit medieval cobbles, the main piazza with its spotlit cathedral. I just don't think you get to experience those things in a day trip.

I also liked being in a small area for day trips. I had driven a lot on the autostrada and it is just kinda boring and to me weirdly stressful having to adjust to a new speed limit seemingly every 3km.

And I guess I'm an outlier on this board but I thought Ortigia was just okay. It's fun for a couple of days but I got bored and I didn't love how relatively expensive it was; especially dining.

So if it were me, I'd do Plan A.

Have you worked out the travel time? I just plunked in your route for Plan B. Google maps says over 4 hours driving time - which doesn't include finding parking. I think that's somewhat optimistic, as I remember a difficult, very narrow road in/out of Villa Romana. I looked at Hertz and Europcar, offices open at 9.00. It usually takes me an hour or more to get the car and check it out. Then it's about 1.5 hours to Villa Romana. That's a bit late to get good parking if you're there in tourist season. Even the closest places were a few minutes' walk from the sight entrance. Assume there will be lots of other people and it will take you a good 2-3 hours to see the mosaics because you'll be waiting until someone ahead of you moves on to get a viewing spot, over and over and over again. By my reckoning that doesn't leave much time for Noto, then arriving late in the day in Ortigia. Does your hotel there have parking? There's limited parking in Ortigia and strict ZTL rules.

I didn't visit any of the towns you're planning to see, so I don't know how much time you'd want in each.

BTW I loved Ortigia, and found it easy to drive in and out for day trips.

I decided to go with Plan A. HOWEVER, now I have a concern. During my visit to Villa Romana and Noto, I will have luggage in my car. I don’t know how to get around this issue.

Does anyone have any tips on how to address this issue?

Good choice on Plan A!

We always rent a car with a trunk, versus a hatchback, and do not open the trunk in public view. The parking area at Villa Romano del Casale is large. Would suggest that you try to park as close to the entrance as you can to maximize foot traffic past your car. We had no problem there or anywhere in Sicily.

Have a great trip!

Being a "better-safe-than-sorry" person married to an optimistic "oh-what's-the-worst-that-could-happen?" person, I really hate leaving luggage in the car and actually we hardly ever do it. When it seems like we have to leave luggage, I pack a small shoulder bag of stuff I seriously can't lose (medications, my laptop, etc.) and take it with me. We do not rearrange or get into our stuff while in the parking lot, we make sure it's all covered, sometimes we park backed up to a wall, we don't leave anything visible that looks like we have things to steal, and sometimes I even unpack my suitcase a bit and leave it open to show that there's nothing in it that has any re-sale value.

I agree with Plan A, by the way! I would even consider skipping Ortigia and staying in Ragusa longer (we stayed in both places last spring). Oh, and we dealt with the Villa Romana issue by staying the night before in a nice B&B outside of Piazza Armerina --- doing this would solve both your luggage problem and your arriving to the Villa Romana when it's already crowded.

I’d go with B, in part because it affords a little flexibility. You’re not held to that Ragusa drive if things go a little long on the way. I thought Noto was fine for a day trip. I felt like that was the case in the couple smaller towns I visited. They can be pretty sleepy places. Ortigia is the best, and if Ragusa means tracking days from Ortigia then I definitely would not.

As mml mentioned, just leave your stuff in the trunk. Parking at the Roman Villa is in a modern lot with a lot of tourists walking around. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a particularly high-risk location during the middle of the day.

Below is the parking lot. There are surveillance cameras but those are not really a deterrent.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jfAXUhXtpoWRYic59

Take the most valuable items with you (documents, money, electronic and photo gadgets, etc.).

Anything else that you would rather not use, hide it in the spare tire hold.

Secure the bags to the car trunk with cables such as the ones below (together with locks). They are not 100% theft proof, but they will make it harder and more time consuming to grab the bag and run with it:
https://a.co/d/027ByMnt

Also place AirTags in each bag.

Hi all. I really appreciate your valuable input. I know full well about not leaving anything visible in my car. The issue is that I have no idea if the trunk/boot is completely covered or has a window (I’m betting it will have a window).

Anyway, I think I found a solution to the problem. I decided to add an extra night in Ragusa. That way I can pick up the car in Agrigento and drive straight to my hotel in Ragusa and leave my luggage. I’ll visit the Villa the following morning. And then I can drive straight to Ortigia. I’ll do Noto as a day trip on a different day since it’s only about a 30 minute train ride from Siracusa.

Doing this cuts a night in Ortigia, but I’m ok with that and this plan seems like it will give me more peace of mind.

Hope you agree?