Trip Planning Advice for Sicily

I have not spent time in Catania, but if you are going to Palermo then I’d make my other base a smaller city. 2 big crowded cities might be a bit much.

Siracusa and Palermo would be perfect. Those were my 2 favorite places in Sicily. Siracusa for its Greek ruins and the charming, atmospheric Ortygia neighborhood. Lovely sea views, great place to wander. Feels like a smaller town on Ortygia even though it’s just a very short bridge from the rest of the city.
And Palermo is a bustling, fascinating big city with so many cultures and layers. It’s amazing. With those 2 and day trips you would get a good sense of Sicily in a short time. Of course there’s always more places but with 7-9 days you can’t see it all!

You seem to have done your research. Logistically, Catania makes sense for the east coast, but I'd still prefer Siracusa because I place a pretty high value on seeing several of the small Baroque towns in the interior (Ragusa, Noto, Modica, Scicli) that are more easily visited from Siracusa than from Catania. Along with the medieval Ortygia district, the archaeological park and the archaeological museum, that tilts the balance toward Siracusa for me.

Catania does have an attractive historic district and a lively market (but there are two good ones in Palermo). Taormina is stunning but very touristy, so I'm not someone who would want to stay long there.

Sicily is an at-least-two-weeks destination, so you'll need to leave parts of the island untouched. Definitely go for nine nights rather than seven.

Do you plan to rent a car, or will you be using public transportation? I only used buses and trains and got around pretty well, but I had 18 days and could afford to be patient. There's not a great deal of train service (check trenitalia.com), and routes into the interior will often require buses. A key thing to know is that in many if not most cases, the buses do not run on Sundays. So be very careful about how you plan your itinerary for Saturday-Monday.

Do not under any circumstances attempt to drive in Palermo. A good mix of transportation methods might be to use the train along the east coast and between Palermo and Cefalu. In the middle of the trip, it would save you some time to have a car for the Baroque towns and the drive through the interior toward Palermo, though there is a rail line between Catania and Palermo.

It's interesting to see the interior of Sicily. A car might give you time to stop along the way in Piazza Armerina to see the town and the nearby Villa Romana del Casale. Perhaps you could also see Monreale (outside Palermo) before you drop the car off somewhere on the outskirts of Palermo. There is public bus service to Monreale, but on a short trip, the time saved by using a car already rented for other purposes could allow you to fit in one more sight.

Assuming you will have a rental car upon leaving Palermo you can drive to Cefalu for a night, then on to Taormina for a night. Personally, Siracusa would be a better place to use as a base than Catania. After Palermo you will probably find Catania underwhelming and skippable. You can visit everything there in a half day. As acraven said, from Siracusa you can go to Ragusa, Modica, and Noto since they are all fairly close by. Having just been there, if I had to do it again, we would have skipped Catania and spent the time in Modica or Ragusa. We enjoyed both Noto and Siracusa.

Another vote for Siracusa as a base, specifically magical Ortygia. We spent 5 nights there after a Southern Italy/Sicily Tour. We stayed in a lovely B & B. It was walking distance to restaurants & historical sites. The piazza & the duomo are breathtaking at night. We enjoyed a guided tour of the baroque cities of Noto, Modica & Ragusa. We spent 2 nights in Taormina and absolutely loved it. We flew home from Catania after spending one night. It's a lovely city and 2 nights would be a good choice. I can't speak to Palermo because we did not visit the western side of Sicily. I think Sicily is calling us back for an extended visit! Enjoy your planning.

You mention that this will be your first time in Sicily. Perhaps you will visit more than once! When I visited Sicily this spring, I decided to plan a longer visit to the east / southeast and save the western side (Palermo, etc.) for another trip. I'm so glad I did!!

I flew into Catania and stayed with family in Caltagirone a few days before beginning my "vacation." After that, my 11 night itinerary was:

• drive to Ragusa
• 2 nights Ragusa
• visit Modica and Noto on the way to Siracusa/Ortigia
• 3 nights Siracusa / Ortigia
• 4 nights near (did not stay in) Taormina, including a day trip to Mt Etna
• 2 nights Catania before flying out

If I had it to do again, I would reduce my time in Taormina and add a night in Siracusa to allow me to spend more time seeing the Baroque towns of Modica and Noto. I enjoyed Taormina the most once I got off the main street and wandered through the public gardens enjoying the views.

You could reduce this itinerary to fit your timeframe in several ways:
- eliminate 2 nights in Ragusa, visit it as a day trip from Siracusa / Ortigia, making that your base, as others have suggested
- reduce nights in/near Taormina (though I encourage you to consider going up to Castelmola while you're in Taormina)
- spend only 1 night in Catania before flying out

I was traveling with friends, so we chose to have a car. If I were traveling alone, I wouldn't drive.