Travel from Tropea to Sicily

We drove it, took approx 4 hours or so. The worst part was actually getting from Tropea back to the autostrada....GPS took me in circles for awhile. Sicily....that side of the island:
Etna, Taormina, visit Castelmola which sits above Taormina, Catania, Giardino Naxos, Syracusa, Piazza Armerina, Ragusa. I'm sure you'll get a few more suggestions too.

From Tropea you can take the train to Messina Centrale. The trip takes about 2.5-3 hours. There is a change of trains in Villa San Giovanni. You may be able to take the bus, without having to change. In either case, the train or bus gets loaded onto a ferry for the crossing from Villa San Giovanni to Messina Maritima, then continues to Messina Centrale. While the train or bus is on the ferry, you can leave the train or bus and grab a cup of coffee or watch the crossing from the upper decks, but I've never felt comfortable leaving carry-on bags on the train or bus. The crossing takes about 20 minutes, but the loading/unloading of the vehicles takes much longer. I love Sicily, have been several times. If you want to stay on the northern coast, you can visit Cefalu, Palermo, Segesta, Trapani/Erice. Along the eastern side, there's Taormina, Giardini-Naxos, Noto and Siracusa, with many smaller-scale ruins and archeological zones in between. Catania is on this route as well, if you are interested in Mt. Etna close up. Further inland are some beautiful hill towns, Enna and Piazza Armerina among them, with the Roman Villa of Casale nearby. South and further west is Agrigento, and the ruins of Selinunte. Sicily is huge, you'll have to choose your itinerary and allow some extra travel time (not many fast trains).

Thank you Zoe and Ron for your helpful replies. We will probably train it to Sicily and then rent a car for our stay there. We don't plan on driving in Palermo FWIW. There will be 4 adults and we will be in the 5th week of our Italy trip so will not be looking for as many museum and duomo visits. More interested in small villages, cultural experiences. relaxing in piazzas and hopefully visiting agriturismos that offer wine tasting and tours. Suggestions are gratefully accepted. Starting to get very excited about our trip now that our itinerary is getting finalized. Sherry

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Sherry, Zoe 'hit the nail on the head"; Sicily is huge. Pick up a copy of a Lonely Planet guidebook and do some reading to determine what you want to see and do, then plan your trip. May is the perfect time to visit Sicily. Renting a car is a great option.( a small wagon like a Ford Focus should fit your group and luggage and can manuver in Sicily) Rent from AutoEurope. Also check out some of the B&B's and Agritourisimos on the island; they can be wonderful experiences. Use Trip Advisor to vett the places that you may plan on staying. http://www.bestofsicily.com/agriturismo.htm

We are travelling back to Canada from Rome. Our BA flight is at 3:00 pm. Is it feasible to fly back from Sicily the same morning as flight home. That would gain us another day and night in Sicily. Thanks again everyone for all your previous reponses. Sherry

Sherry, we have flown the same day from Sicily to the mainland, and caught our final flight home. Use Kayak, Whichbudget.com, etc. to search flights from Catania and Palermo to your exit airport, making sure that pay attention to the luggage restrictions, etc. Book directly with the airline, and allow yourself PLENTY of time for transfers, etc.