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Sicily - would appreciate itinerary advice

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Not surprisingly there is more to do than we have time for. We are trying to figure out if we can (or should) add time in Catania into our itinerary.

We will be traveling in May, flying into Palermo and out of Catania. We have 12 nights total.

Our current thoughts:

3 nights Palermo (afternoon arrival day plus 2 full days - inc Culinary Backstreets food tour, catacombs, puppet theatre etc.)
1 night Agrigento (drive Palermo to Agrigento stopping at Monreale on the way - sunset in Agrigento)
2 nights Agriturismo (place TBD - would welcome suggestions) but we'd like to arrive afternoon/evening and then have a full day the next day including a cooking class). Better to do this before Ragusa or after?
2 nights Ragusa (inc a day trip to Modica from there - do we need 1 night or 2 nights Ragusa? Or should we do Modica on the way to the next city?)
2 nights Ortigia
1 nights Etna - going to Taormina enroute to Etna - we're thinking to do a full day Etna tour so we assume we need to arrive the night before - do the tour the next day and then drive to Catania to stay overnight for our 6am flight the next day.

We are interested to go to the fish market in Catania but with the above itinerary, we wouldn't be able to do it. Any advice if we should try to fit in Catania? And if so, how to do so.

Also, we are interested to do a vintage Fiat tour - where is the best place to do this? Not to drive the car ourselves but for a guided tour.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and guidance. Much appreciated.

Posted by
647 posts

I recently did a Sicily tour and visited all the places you mention, plus others in about two weeks. I suggest the Piazza Armerina (not sure my spelling of that town is correct) area for the agriturismo as you can visit the Roman villa there and it’s on the way between your other destinations. That is really an amazing sight which I would recommend more than a cooking class, as you can do that pretty much anywhere. But maybe you’ll have time for both. You will need two nights in Ragusa if you also wish to visit Modica. We had a really fun Fiat 500 tour in the twisty streets of Modica. This was all arranged by the tour but I think independent travelers can also arrange it. This tour was in the evening when traffic is lighter and the scene very atmospheric. If not for that, though, you might not want to bother with Modica with your limited time. Nothing wrong with it, it’s very scenic, but quite similar to Ragusa. Catania is very worthwhile, but I wouldn’t go there just for the fish market, as you can visit a market with fish (and much else) that’s just as good or better during your Palermo stay. The one Catania sight that is unique, if you have any interest in the World War II period, is the museum there about that, focusing on the Sicilian campaign. It’s very well done. Taormina and Siracusa should indeed both be visited, but I found the couple hours we spent in each of those towns to be sufficient, especially since they are the two most touristy places on the island and quite crowded even in the off season. Agree with as much time as you can give to Palermo, and with not missing Monreale and Agrigento which are both must sees.

Posted by
1372 posts

I like Catania very much and have stayed a few times recently.
But I agree that you can skip "a piscaria," the fish market.
You'll see plenty of that in Palermo, and in Ortigia.

Choose your Palermo food market wisely if you can visit only one.

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