Southeastern Sicily Tentative Itinerary -

On the food and wine front:

The drive from Ragusa to Agrigento will take you past Licata which is home to what might be the best restaurant in Sicily and among the best in Italy, in my opinion. LA MADIA would make a fantastic stop for lunch.

You will also pass one of the most esteemed olive oil producers on the island, MANDRANOVA, just off the highway, west of Licata. I bought a LOT of oil there last year! The estate also serves meals with advance notice, I believe, but we did not eat there.

I amm happy to offer recommendations for eating in any of your destinations.

Some hotels I liked very much, on your route, include:

BORGO DELLE PIETRE near Porto Empedocle and very close to Agrigento temples. (Did not like the COLLEVERDE PARK hotel, near the Temples, where I stayed on an earlier visit, but you have a car so do not need to stay so close)

SABBINIRICA (guest house) in Ragusa Ibla

PALAZZO MARLETTA near the Duomo in Catania

Last year we stayed at a hotel outside Siiracusa which had a free shuttle to the city, but if you want to stay in Ortigia, I'd recommend both the HOTEL GUTKOWSKI and the DOMUS MARIAE. There are many great hotels in SE Sicily and those are just a few I've stayed at myself and would recommend. the bar is pretty high for lodging in that area and you can't go too far wrong.

In Siracusa I highly recommend the Archimedes Techopark where you learn more about that ancient Greek scientist and the docents show you how models of his inventions worked. www.tecnoparco-archimede.com It is up near the archeological park. Also if you are there the right time of year (May/June) it's wonderful to see a show in the theater festival at the archeological park. If you go, it's not obvious, but if you look for a desk to the side of the path walking up to the theater they have English translation headphones which were helpful to understand the production. https://www.indafondazione.org/en/the-foundation/ Enjoy the planning!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/ragusa-ilba

We also enjoyed HOTEL GUTKOWSKI

Thanks for such fast replies everyone! We prefer staying in apartments over hotels, so we can prepare breakfast and have more room to spread out, particuarly on a lovely terrace with a view. However, for Agrigento, a one night stop, a hotel would suit us well, so I'll take a look at your suggestions. And always keen on restaurant recommendations. Thanks eckscrunchy, La Madia was suggested to me on the Trip Advisor forum. (I posted this intinerary there and got no replies so decided to come here to RS to see about more advice).

We have four lodgings in 9 nights, which is more than I would normally consider, but planned it this way to hopefully avoid spending too many hours in the car. Thoughts on the pace as I've laid it out?

Grazie!

Ortigia is marvelous! Day and night, it is very pleasant to wander around the island. Great food, great wine (nero d'avila), and great gelato. Order anything with pistacchios! There are several sites to explore from its ancient Greek origins. Window shopping, or real shopping, is good - lots of local items. An apartment is, for me, the best way to enjoy Ortigia (and just about anywhere else in Italy). VRBO has plenty. Use a map when selecting a place. Do you want sunrise, sunset, piazza, or center of the island? Get a place with a balcony or rooftop that has a great view. The Archimedes museum is a 'please touch' museum. Educational and a heck of a lot of fun! Agrigento was a great experience. I didn't spend the night (I was staying in Palermo) but, honestly, I kind of wished I had. Walking throught the ruins was wonderful. But the city seemed to asking for my attention. October should give you good weather. Have a great trip! My motto: I deserve it! So do you.

Just south of Ragusa, don’t miss Modica. In two trips to Sicily, I’ve stayed there both trips. It’s the center of fantastic Sicilian chocolate, which is made similar to chocolate’s original Mexican style, rather than what you find in the rest of Europe, such as in Belgium, France, or mainland Italy. Modica has a lower town and a much higher upper town.

As an aside, we were in London two weeks ago for a couple of nights, and went to a Sicily fest that turns out has been held annually now for 15 years, in what was once the Agricultural Hall at a London World’s Fair. One of the vendors there was a chocolate provider from Modica, which was a pleasant surprise, as most of the others were London-based Italian/Sicilian restaurants. We bought some of their chocolate, but couldn’t carry on much of a conversation with them once the festival’s excessively loud Italian disco music started thumping. Getting it in Modica itself, without pounding, overwhelming music, will be much more enjoyable.

Really enjoyed Noto also.

Noto is an easy day trip from Ortigia.
From Ragusa you could go to Modica and the rather over-looked Scicli.
They are beautiful places so you can't go wrong!
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/06/siracusa-trip-report-october-2017.html

Considering Villa San Marco for Agrigento. The reviews appear steallar, and walking distance to the temple. Thoughts on this for just a one night stay? Is it easy to get to town by taxi if we don't want to drive into town?

The B&B can call a taxi for you but I don't know how long you'd have to wait. Then after dinner the restaurant will call you another taxi to get back.

But since you have a car, you have so many options a bit further from the Temples where you could have an agritiruismo experience and a dinner at the farm...

Ginevra, the owner of CIUCI'S MANOR is a bit of a legend among some visitors to the area; take a look at the website and see if that appeals..I'm mentioning this only because of your interest in food...

I recommended the place we stayed last time, up above; BORGO DELLE PIETRE; it's more stylish than Ciuci's Manor but does not have the farm and the animals.....it's more of a refined small rural hotel with excellent food.

Also take a look at LA CASA DI BACCO, about 20 minutes's drive from the Temples. Agriturismo noted for good food with dinner on site. Homey..

You need to see photos of the rooms in the agriturismos that might interest you; they can vary according to price and I would never recommend taking the least expensive room unless I has personal recommendations from someone I trusted who had stayed before. But (you probably already know this) a night or two at an agriturismo will give you a window into the Sicily that not many tourists get to view.

If you decide to try LA MADIA, make sure to book on their site as soon as possible and they fill up, especially for lunch, in high season. You can park on the street near the restaurant but since you will have your luggage in the car, I would contact them and ask about parking options.... Mandranova would be another option for a meal and they have their own secure parking lot but I've not eaten there.....but their olive oil is wonderful, some of the best I bought on that trip....

Catania is such a wonderful and alive city; it's too bad so many trailers give it a miss; I'm glad you planned to stay a few days after giving up the car!! It's filled with great places to et, each one better than the last!!! We really enjoyed LE TRE BOCCHE (seafood) last September but again, it's one of so many great ones. You might e the only tourists in the place, as opposed to the place featured on the Tucci CNN series, MI CUMPARI TURRIDDU) which has become a little overrun with tourists since his show but it's still very, very good......(do not miss the donkey!!)

Speaking of Modica chocolate, I bought about three dozen bars in 2023 and another forty or so last year. At this very moment I am down to my second-to-last bar and I am bereft at the thought of not having any to look forward to before bed!!!!! Surprisingly, I liked the Bonajuto chocolate less than many of the other brands. You can find Modica chocolate all over the SE so you do not "have" to visit Modica to buy it..... There are SO MANY amazing flavors, I could ramble on and on about my favorites...but do not miss the gelso (mulberry) if it's in season; I also like the peperoncino, the sale, and the agrumi (citrus) flavors but you are sure to have your own favorites!!! And the packaging is too beautiful to throw away!!!

If you buy a lot of food items, it's easy to ship them back to the US; I do that now rather than worry about jamming everything to my suitcase.....just the cheeses I put in my checked bags so it remains cold.