Small towns to stay in that are just outside Catania and Palermo

Hello defrancia, and welcome to the forum!

Full disclosure - I have not been to Bagheria, but I helped someone with plans to visit there since that's where their grandparents were from. It seems like a quaint little place and is only about 15-20 minutes outside Palermo by train. This might be the kind of place you are looking for.

The formula I would follow is looking at what is less than 30 or so minutes (how much time is okay is up to you) from the city you're trying to avoid and see what's available along the bus and/or train line and search your options - use booking.com and Google maps to look for some place that appeals to you. I know people stay in Fiesole to avoid the trouble of Florence and it works for them. I have stayed in Toledo which is 30 minutes or so from Madrid by train and it is a different experience than tangling with the big city itself, but what kind of a trip you want is up to you.

Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod

It really depends on what you want to visit.
First of all, assuming you'd like to visit the beautiful city of Palermo, I recommend that to do so you stay in Palermo for a few days without the car. In other words you'd should stay in Palermo before picking up the car for a few nights (3 or 4 max should be sufficient to visit the city). Then at the end of your Palermo visit, you'd pick up the rental car to visit the surrounding areas.
If Palermo is at the end of your trip, just before flying away, then you should return the car as you arrive in Palermo and stay there the last few nights before your departure.
To visit Western Sicily, I like to stay in Scopello, a small town west of the Palermo airport. It's also very convenient for day trips to Erice, Segesta, Selinunte, etc.
I don't care for the city of Catania much, but I presume you'd like to visit Taormina, maybe the Mt. Etna. I'd recommend to stay at Giardini Naxos. It's just next to Taormina but not as expensive and car access is easier.
South East Sicily has beautiful places as well. Especially the island of Ortigia at Syracuse.

There are enough sights right in Palermo that I agree some nights really should be spent there.

We did not want to stay in Palermo either so we rented an air bnb in Cefalu. A beachy town that we really enjoyed.

Although we had a rental car, we did take the train to visit Palermo (took a great food tour), it's about an hour away on the express train, easy peasey.

Here's where we stayed for 3 nights:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6639664?source_impression_id=p3_1705593652_Szk2hPhFl4VXSL08
It's called "orlando vacation home" for some reason, also called "marco's place". Great location - close to water, great view. A bit hot in the summer.

Have fun!

We really enjoyed Cefalu - an easy train ride from Palermo. Lovely, walkable beach town. However, don't discount Palermo. Lots to see, do, eat.

Stayed a short while in Catania. OK, but not my preference. With a car, I'd opt for Noto or Ragusa. Both beautiful. Both walkable. Both shouldn't be missed.

Palermo is chaotic, Cefalù and a day trip or two by train could well be more relaxing.
If you don't want to stay in Catania because it's a city look at the Ortigia part of Siracusa, which is beautiful and a good base to reach Noto etc
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/06/siracusa-trip-report-october-2017.html

I have a further question: I (with husband) want to go to Sicily in April/May 2024. I'd like to spend 2 weeks driving around the island, northwest corner to the south to the east then across the north back to Palermo.

We're interested in prehistory up through Norman times.

What areas would you recommend we stay in? We'd like to spend multiple nights at a relatively few places. We enjoy day trips. We'd like to stay in a place big enough for a couple of restaurants.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

Elizabeth

Colona, please copy your post and create a new thread in the Italy forum so we don't get confused while dealing with two completely different itineraries. You can start your thread here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/new

Mondello (near Palermo) has a beautiful beach and waterfront area...

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM_SmPzcIrf4PAr37mF5JzS1OINQfrdlZxAoKPzbZMkdtX63vyohGxPwnWbMNOKGg?key=LS1Ic29obEg4Y0JBc2RKREttckNIdEZRb0tpSUhR

I agree with Mont about Mondello, I was sceptical beforre going, what with it being so close to Palermo, but the water and beach are splendid, and just a short bus ride into Palermo, could be a good idea!
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/03/west-coast-sicily-day-22-mondello.html

We too had a vehicle and stayed at B&B Elvira Al Duomo in Monreale and took the bus into Palermo. For Catania, we stayed at a nearby military base and also took the bus into the city.

We have been to Sicily twice since 2018 and stayed both times about 2 miles from the small hilltop town of Cacammo. Beautiful, hilly countryside. The town of Caccamo is small but charming. Below Cacammo is the larger town of Termini Imerese. It is right along the coast and hands down has the BEST gelato ever!!! We were able to venture both east and west from where our villa was as the highway is very efficient and we had no problem in our rental car.