Siracusa to Palermo - welcome more tips including stop in Catania, Taormina or both?

You have the beginnings of a great itinerary for Sicily. I would definitely recommend 1 night in Catania and 2 in Taormina. For your day 10, I would recommend taking the bus from Palermo up to Monreale. You'll love the church up there and the view back down over Palermo. It is super easy to take the bus. Just follow the directions in the RS Sicily book.

We spent two nights in Taormina. If you’re there when there are no cruise ship tours, it’s a nice place to visit. You can see it in one full day. I had been to Catania multiple times decades ago, so on our 2018 trip, we saw it as a day trip. I feel the main sights can be seen in less than a day.

In Cefalù we stayed at Hotel Alberi del Paradiso. It’s a mile from the cathedral, but the hotel has a free shuttle to and from the town center. It’s breakfast buffet was very good as was the hotel restaurant.

Edited: with Etna erupting on and off all year, you mat want a contingency plan for the Etna hike.

We’ve been to Catania x 1 n, Taormina x 2 n,
and Ortigia 5 n with a day trip to Noto, Ragusa and Modica. Our favorite town & B&B was in Ortigia. https://www.laviadellagiudecca.it/ We had planned to return to Sicily for a month in 2020, but had to cancel due to Pandemic. We booked the same B&B in Ortigia. On our second visit we planned to use public transportation. Since we had been to Taormina previously we had planned a day trip there from the charming town of Acireale.

Edited to add: We we’re going to follow most of this itinerary in 2020. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/my-trip-to-sicily-in-zoe-s-memory/

Stay in the Ortygia section (historic district) of Siracusa. I really liked my meals at Locanda Mastrarua on Via Vittorio Veneto, but Google says it's temporarily closed. There doesn't seem to be a website one can check, but there are definitely reviews on TripAdvisor.

I'd want to see more of the Baroque villages than just Noto, whose historic area seemed quite small. My first choice would be Ragusa, but Modica and Scicli are also worthwhile. With an early start, you can probably hit two of them in one day via train, bus or a combination.

I agree that Monreale is a great side trip from Palermo. It's arguably the #1 sight in all of Sicily.

Cefalu is quite close to Palermo. Personally, I wouldn't want to deal with checking into a Cefalu hotel for just one night. I'd day trip there from Palermo so I didn't have to deal with luggage. Trains take just under an hour. They aren't super-frequent, but they mostly run about once an hour.

Just want to chime in my agreement with the recommendations for day trips to Monreale and Cefalu from Palermo. No need to endure the hassle and time loss of changing hotels when Cefalu is so close. The cathedral at Monreale is superb, a 5* don’t miss sight.

Hi Perry.pong,
After reading your tentaive plans here are some tips or ideas I can share with you. It looks like your first night is in Catania but from your wording I am not exactly sure. Can you clarify? Do you have a place to stay in Catania? If you are looking for lodging suggestions can you specify your parameters - budget? I suggest you stay relatively near the Cathedral and the Piazza del Duomo area. It is a very pleasant area for an evening stroll to see some of what Catania has to offer. Or are you travelling directly from Catania airport to Siracusa/Ortygia? There is a direct bus from the Catania airport to Siracusa.

Siracusa/Ortygia is beautiful. Lots to do and see. Stay on Ortygia. Explore the narrow alleyways and piazzas. Visit the market. Walk the outer perimeter Castello Maniace and the cathedral. We enjoyed our meal at A Putia, Via Roma #8 in Ortygia, a very small restaurant. We enjoyed a traditional Sicilian puppet show at Teatro dei Pupi on Via della Giudecca #22. It was fun. In Siracusa itself, visit the ruins and see the Ear of Dionysius. There is a big anrcheology museum but I did not get to it. There was a Hop On Hop Off little bus that has stops all around Ortygia and Siracusa. If I remember correctly it was only about 5€ (two years ago) and we used it to get from Ortygia to the sites in Siracusa itself. I stayed three nights in Siracusa and had thought I would take a daytrip to Noto or Ragusa but there was so much to see and do in Siracusa itself that I chose not to do the daytrip.

Then you head to either Catania or Taormina. Catania is a big city. I liked it but I also liked Taormina very much. If you had that first night in Catania and had time to explore the area around the duomo then just head directly to Taormina. The panoramic views from the public gardens and the ampitheater are stunning. So take the time in Taormina to see those sites. I cannot offer any help on a walk or tour of Etna. Lots of wineries in the area. I think I would spend that day exploring Taormina and just admire Etna from the distance . From Taormina I took a bus to Messina. Bus station in Messina is right next to the Messina train station. I crossed the street and took the train that heads to Cefalu. Easy. That journey will take about 4 hours.

Cefalú is also very pretty. You will like it. Stay in the old town but the train station is in the newer part of town. We walked it no problem with just a carryon size bag.

I have been to Palermo twice so I am no expert but really liked it. Easy to walk, easy to explore. Lots to see. Eat right at one of the markets, the fresh swordfish is delicious! There are all kinds of walking food tours available. Take the time to go to Monreale to see the mosaics at the duomo and its cloisters. Lots of old churches to explore in Palermo if that is of interest to you. Maybe a daytrip tour out to Erice and/or Segesta. Hopefully if you go to Erice it will be a clear day and the panoramic views are wonderful. The town itself is very medieval. The Capuchin crypts were eerie. I wasn't sure I wanted to actually see them but they were interesting.

Have a great trip. I can send you the names of some places that I stayed at by DM if you are interested but I travel trying to pay less than 100€ a night.

The two places I would forgo are Catania and Taormina.