Sicily transportation - Help Please

A train from Siracusa to Palermo will take at least 4 hours and require a change. I think in your situation, private transportation is worth investigating. I'm a public-transportation person and cannot help in locating a driver.

Rome2rio gives a 5-hour train journey time with one connection; a car would take just under three hours, assuming traffic is moderate. If you hire a driver in Siracusa, you will likely be paying for fuel and time for the deadhead journey back from Palermo.

That is going to be one very expensive trip if you have to pay for a private driver (I'm sorry, I don't have any good recommendations here because I don't go this route as a single traveler or with a friend or partner). Why is bus out? It is so inexpensive, direct, you can stow luggage on the side, and the scenery is lovely. The bus station is right across from the Siracusa train station. The train doesn't go to Palermo in any straightforward way, that's not a good option.

I think people don't realize how nice a bus can be. These are regular modern buses, no different than used on RS trips (at least the one I took). You do need to reserve seats, however. PM me if you need any help with this, or have other questions.

I assume that you'll try to see Monreale once in Palermo? Well, that's a bus trip too. I would try to convince your travel partners not to rule the bus option out completely. If you see how clunky and old some of the regional trains are running in the southeast Sicily (at 30 mph), a bus may look much more attractive.

Expensive, yes. Taxi fare finder.com shows Siracusa to Palermo €430. Likely similar to what a private driver would be. Yikes!

Rome to Rio shows bus at €13-€22 per person.

Buses and trains in Sicily are frequent and inexpensive.
Never rent a car in Sicily.
I prefer to focus geographically.
October 2016 I spent 2 glorious weeks in Eastern Sicily.
October 2014 I spent 10 days in Western Sicily.
October 2017 I will spend 3 weeks in Sicily.
It's magical. Buses and trains let you enjoy the vistas and rest while transferring towns!
Clean & cheap!
I book AirBnB, takes buses/trains. Fantastic.
(You may hate your luggage-laden friends by trip's end! Hope you can convince them to lighten up!)

Mother Duck, you don't indicate why "bus is out". That is clearly the cheapest way to go, by far, and as fast as any other way, such as private car. For 4 people plus a driver, and various bags, you would need a very large car or a van. I hope that whoever is saying that "bus is out" is willing to pay the extra hundreds of euros.

angeline521, why is this campaign of yours about "never rent[ing] a car in Siciliy"?

I've read it thrice just on the first page of the Italy subforum.