Thoughts on 18 day itinerary.

Hi Renee, We have been in Sicily since Labor Day and have gone all over the place. We are now around Mt Etna area to go to some vineyards this week. Me: As a dreamy eyed American, came to study in 1971 in Florence for the academic year. Since then, mant times, many years in Europe. I am going to ask, why are you vacationing in Sicily? Nice France area VS Sicily? Athens Greece and Santorini VS Sicily ? Do plenty of homework before booking the vacation.

Paul, I have been to France, the Greek Island inc Santorini, the Algarve in Portugal, the southern coast of Spain. Sicily seems appealing to me as well as Mallorca but more to experience in Sicily. You have replied to a post of mine before and seemed very negative. Why do YOU go there if it so bad? Are you just trying to discourage further tourists?

I like the overall pace but would want more time in Palermo and much less in Taormina (of which I am not a fan). The Taormina bit may be right for you--I know some people do like the town, and you may be planning a full day around Mt. Etna--but I suspect you'll regret not having more time in Palermo. You could combine the Palermo and Cefalu nights and just take a day trip to Cefalu, which from my perspective would help.

A tour to Ragusa, Noto and Modica would be an efficient way to cover those three places. I'm pretty sure it would leave me frustrated by the amount of time available at each stop. However, I like to cover as much of the historic center as I can in towns like that, so I'm weird.

I think I will have enough time in Palermo (I hope) as we do not plan to go to any beaches or see the Monreale cathedral (perhaps a mistake?). In Palermo, we hope to do a walking food tour, see buildings in the historic center and visit a market or two. In Taormina, we will arrive mid afternoon so prob see the town that day. Next two days, see Isola Bella and the town above Taormina and just take it slow. No trip to Mt Etna, I don't believe. We were at volcano National Park in Hawaii and not really impressed. If Etna is different, let me know. May also visit a vineyard. I had thought about staying extra in Palermo to reduce hotel transfers but that would eventually make for a long travel day coming from Castellemmare di Golfo to Taormina. We will have to stop at the Palermo Airport to drop off rental car and then take train which would include 2 or 3 transfers. I thought stopping for a few days in Cefalu after Castellemmare would break up the travel times.

Monreale is arguably the top sight in Sicily, so I think it's a real shame to miss it. If you just cannot get out there, I recommend the Norman Palace in Palermo itself. The Capella Palatina there is gorgeous.

I think it looks good Renee. We only had 9 nights total, so you are getting to places we missed. Unlike the prior poster we liked Taormina, but I think we were lucky that it was not too crowded when we were there. Palermo does have a lot to see, and if you could pull one night from elsewhere you will easily fill it there, but you have a nice mix of the island.

I would extend my stay in Palermo and visit Cefalù on a day trip from Palermo.
3 nights in Palermo is only 2 full days, that is not enough in my opinion.

Roberto and Lisa. After reading the comments and doing a little more thinking, I have decided to add another night to Palermo, so 3 instead of 2. I chose not to do a day visit to Cefalu as I am using this stop to break up a heavy travel day if I went from Casstelmmarre to Taormina. this would mean driving about 45 min to Palermo airport to drop off rental car then taking a 5 hour and 20 min train ride with two changes to get to Taormina. Too much for me in one day. Would not get to Taormina until late, wasting a full day on travel.

One more question for your opinions: either 2.5 days in Taormina and 3 in Ortigia OR 1.5 days in Taormina and 4 days in Ortigia? In Taormina we plan to see the town, see the upper town and Isola Bella with a little beach time. In Ortigia, we will see the town, take a one day excursion to the 3 Baroque cities and perhaps a boat tour. Such a hard decision!!! Going in 2026 at the end of September so crowds should be thinner.