Suggestions for Driving in Sicily

Sounds like a good plan. You could also go to Monreale, about an hour outside of Palermo, up in the hills. Segesta is also worth a visit (beautiful ancient temple and theatre in the mountains). Agrigento can be easily reached from the Palermo/Erice area as a very long daytrip (two archeological zones, a museum, and an interesting old town). Another good stop would be Cefalu, on the central north coast - great old town, magnificent cathedral, good restaurants and shopping, and it has a beach. If you are interested in Roman mosaics, you can drive to the Villa Romana di Casale outside of Piazza Armerina (a little further from Enna, the highest provincial capital in Sicily). Near the Villa Casale is the site of Morgantina, both it and the Villa are always in the process of uncovering new things. Siracusa is on the southeastern coast, also worth a few days' visit (I recommend staying in Ortygia, the old island). Near Taormina is the town of Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily. Can't wait to go back.

Thanks Zoe. We are going to most of the places you mentioned. Any tips or suggestions for actual driving? Road signs, how well are roads marked, craziness of drivers, etc. Thanks

We were in Sicily in May, using a gps in Europe for the first time. Here's some advice. Have a good map or viamichelin directions as a backup. If the gps seems to be leading you onto a really narrow, badly paved road, ignore it and consult your plan B resource. That happened to us twice. Also, the pronunciation of some of the Italian names was bizarre, to say the least; and often you won't see a road name or number until after you turn onto it. The person not driving needs to stay very alert. With all the hassles, I still think it's worth driving, because you can get places that are not convenient by public transport.

Zoe's recommendations are excellent. The only place I would add is Selinunte, which you can easily visit on the way from Segesta to Agrigento. It is a magnificent and haunting site of a Greek city that was destroyed by the Carthaginians centuries ago.

If you do visit Selinunte (a great idea), you should consider staying the night in Agrigento (Selinunte and Agrigento would be very difficult to do in one day, both sites are huge). For maps, I like the Michelin Sicily map (shows lots of detail). If you can't find it in a bookstore, amazon.com can overnight it.