Southern Italy/Sicily

Segesta. Just a short drive from Palermo airport. Not sure if you start at Catania or Palermo.

Segesta is included on the tour.
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/sicily

Hi lutzgal,
Cefalu is not included on the RS Sicily tour and it’s a very nice small town about an hour or less by train from Palermo . I stayed there for 3 nights before the tour, but it’s do-able as a day trip from Palermo.
Hope you have a great time, I have been wanting to do the Southern Italy tour so would be interested in what you think about it.
Cheryl

I second the recommendation of Cefalu. It is an easy train ride from Palermo and perfect as a day trip. If you like to hike, make the trek up La Rocca, the rock formation that looms over the town....the views from the top are amazing. Enjoy Sicily and Southern Italy.....those areas are spectacular!

I did what I consider Southern Italy in November 2024. Lecce, Matera, Tropea, Monopoli, Bari.

There are plenty of areas to view before, during and after the tour depending on your availability. For example, before the tour there are Cefalù (as others suggested), Castelbuono, Castellamare del Golfo, Mondello, Santa Rosalia, and Castroreale to name a few. Ustica from Palermo is considered a nice day trip for anyone wanting to springboard to an island away from an island via Ferry. During the tour you can decide to take a night food/art tour of Palermo (usually it starts at 6:00pm). I am doing this with my daughter on the second night of the tour right before we move on to the next city. At the end of the tour, you have so many directions and will only suggest a few. For example, private visit to Catania in Maggiolone Cabriolet (car), Catania and cyclops riviera, myths, and cultural traditions of Sicily both tours pick-up at hotel and drop off. Or take a wine tasting, cooking, hiking Etna tour. There is a small island off Taormina that gives the feeling you have entered a small island paradise called Isola Bella. Also, tantalizing tours to Noto, Ragusa and Modica which can be reached by train. I had thought about taking a train or via private car to visit these cities during our free time in Syracuse & Ortigia. I have compiled a general list of things to see and do, etc. on my FB page. I started the page because of the mainland of Italy overshadows Sicily and I could not find enough info, therefore I started a page just for 2025 RS Sicily tours, but anyone can generally get help through accessing it. I research everything in Sicily because like yourself I am on a RS tour of Sicily, and I am traveling on an unconventional route to and from Sicily via the way of Istanbul. Check all your layovers and airport maps before your vacation starts. I booked very early and already my flights times have changed a bit in and out of Istanbul airport. Before you book check to see if you have sky miles to use or sign up for them. Note, I heard Delta is adding Sicily by May 2025, thereby making it easier to get from JFK to Catania, Sicily from the USA.