Solo in Sicily

To make useful suggestions, if would help if you could provide more information. Eight days (does that include travel days?) isn't much time. What time of the year are you traveling? What airport(s) are you using? Will you have a car? Can you give us more information on your roots plans -- using a guide, making appointments at churches to see records? How much time do you plan to spend doing this? What sort of sightseeing and beach time are you considering? What are your highest priorities for the week?

I'll echo the same sentiments. It's a really tight schedule for a "road trip"; especially if you're not already in Europe for another part of this trip.

Palermo is easily worth 3-4 nights, even on a tight itinerary. There are beaches outside of the city or you could go to someplace like Cefalu on an overnight.

There's a bus between Palermo and Corleone, and Palermo and Corleone. I doubt there's a direct bus between Cefalu and Corleone. But your time is super tight so maybe a car makes more sense. Or if you want to engage a private genealogy guide, they could drive you. Genealogy is a super popular tourist thing so you can google Sicily-specific resources. I was asked half a dozen times by random Sicilians if I was there to research my roots. But if you just want to do a day trip, take pics of the old train station, walk around town and leave, that's obviously a pretty easy thing to do on your own.

Sample of how your itinerary could fill up really fast:
-1 Fly to PMO; sleeping on plane.
1 Taxi or shared shuttle into central Palermo. Walk around and try to stay awake, vibes,
2 Palermo sightseeing; food tour, walking tour, mafia museum, vibes, Capuchin crypt, etc, etc etc,
3 Bus out to Monreale, lunch, return for more Palermo sightseeing Or taxi to Mondello Beach
4 Rent a car, drive to Corleone, stay overnight or move on to another village
5 Some village
6 Some different village or Cefalu for your beach fix
7 Wind back to Palermo, drop off car.
8. PMO to home.

I’m spending a week on the mainland then extending my time in Sicily. I’m flying into Palermo the beginning of June. I plan on renting a vehicle from Sixt. i know the city has a lot to see, however I want this leg off the trip to be more people and culture. Along with beach time and research in Corleone,
some possible stops include Agrigento, Syracuse, Mt. Etna.
I’m departing out of Catania on day 8.
Thanks for your insights on this and lodging. .

It sounds like you're skipping Palermo entirely and just using the airport? That's totally okay. Your plan covers a lot of physical territory so you'll have quite a bit of driving. Word to the wise: I would not trust the google maps travel time estimates for Sicily.

If you really want to focus on people to people interactions, maybe think about trimming your scope and spending more time in a few spots?

Thanks for the good insights. I realize now that I might have been overly optimistic with my time schedule so with that in mind, please recommend a beach town with white sand for two days. Should I go to Agrigento or Syracuse?
If I finish my trip in Catania, would I be able to do a day trip to Mount Etna and a day trip to Taomina? Two days in Corleone is a must, any suggestions?
thanks

Go for it! Have a great trip.

Hi Terri. I traveled to Sicily solo in October 2025. After a week in Rome, I took the overnight GNV ferry from Civitavecchia to Palermo and loved it. Only downside was a crew member banging on my door at 7-ish a.m. to wake me and vacate the room only to sit in the lobby' restaurant to wait until we docked. Other than that, it was a great way to get to Palermo. After a few days in Palermo with side trips to Monreale and Cefalu (loved Cefalu), I hired a driver to take me to Mezzojuso (my paternal GF's birthplace). From there a friend drove me to Campofiorito (my paternal grandmother's birthplace).

Corleone is smack in the middle of these two communes so the trip wound through beautiful countryside but we hit some rocky roads along the way. You may be able to stay on paved roads and not worry if you're going to blow out a tire or two. On the return we stopped in Corleone for lunch. I highly recommend La Tavernetta dei Briganti for a wonderful meal.

Unlike Mezzojuso, Corleone is much bigger than my GPs' communes, relatively flat, and easy to park and get around. What it lacks in charm, it makes up for in parking and getting around :)

You don't need a car if you base yourself in Palermo. I recommend one or two days in Palermo to see the major sites and includes a day trip for lunch in Monreale by city bus (not much else to see there). I booked a bus tour to Agrigento from Palermo. You can easily get to Cefalu (highly recommend) by train from Palermo. Then rent a car to go to Corleone. You'll need a car to get around in Corleone. Forget Siracusa in this 8-day itinerary-- it won't work.

I plan on another (solo) visit this spring and am thinking about renting a car to get around. Feel free to write me here if you'd like to connect, especially as it concerns research/genealogy, obtaining vital documents, etc. Been there, done that. Good luck!