My Itinerary is almost finished, Flying into Catania 6/21
Ortygia --> Taormina--> Aeolian Islands (Lipari) --->
Agrigento --> (side-trip to Piazza Armerina for Villa Romana del Casale on the way to Agrigento or back to Cefalu where husband arrives to meet us) -->
Cefalu --> Palermo --> San Vito Lo Capo --> Trapani (where we fly out to Barcelona 7/13)

To see Agrigento we will have to train or car on 6/30 from Milazzo after Aeolians and then cross back to Cefalu 7/3 to meet my husband. I see train from Milazzo 5 hrs + the ferry from Lipari, back to Cefalu 5 hrs more.

Is Agrigento really worth all that traveling?

Valle dei Templi was a highlight for me. It took my breath away, but because it was a priority for me from the get-go we had devised our itinerary in such a way that made sense logistically (kinda).

Really impossible for me to know whether it would be worth it for you and your family/friends. Drives in Sicily felt long to me (though not particularly stressful). Also, we traveled in early spring so the weather was sunny but coolish. Not much shade at Valle dei Templi.

Are these types of sites usually of high interest to you?

I am traveling with my 27 boy and 25 girl. We do like hikes and ruins so I believe it will be interesting for us. We loved Pompeii and Herculaneum. And the more I see Piazza Armenia and Valle dei Templi I think we will like them.

Based on what you have said, you and "the kids" would probably really like it. What would your travel day look like? How many nights would you have in/near Agrigento? Are you go-go-go people?

Sicily has an abundance of fascinating things to see. Really tough to choose.

Agrigento was one of the highlights of Sicily for us. And we had two college students with us and they loved it.

Can you jostle around your itin so that you can travel to Agrigento from Palermo instead of Aeolian Islands? Trenitalia is showing 2 hours from Palermo to Agrigento.

I might do that when we are in Cefalu and go for one night to Agrigento with husband in rental car then Palermo. Maybe Cefalu first for kids and I, then Agrigento with him. We will have to skip Piazza Armerina though.

We could also drive from Milazzo to Piazza Armerina and stay the first night then drive to Agrigento for the 2nd-3rd as originally planned.

We missed Piazza Armarina because it was closed when we were there. Not knowing what I missed I've survived just fine But the Vallei dei Templi is something to see alright.

Are you training or going by car? We enjoyed all the drives we did except when we went south from Trapani along the coast. Didn't really get to see the ocean and it was flat and a narrow road.

But through the interior, at times especially around Enna it almost looks like a moonscape with the odd hilltop town perched like its about to fall off the edge. Quite a sight. And we enjoy that kind of thing. The highways are good if you stay on the main roads so the drives are really not difficult.

Agrigento was definitely a highlight for me, too.

BTW, remember that the Villa Casala Romana is not IN Piazza Armerina, but a bit outside.

So another option:
Flying into Catania 6/21 -> Aeolian Islands (Lipari) ---> Taormina-->
Ortygia --> Agrigento --> (side-trip to Piazza Armerina for Villa Romana del Casale on the way to Agrigento or back to Cefalu where husband arrives to meet us) --> Cefalu --> Palermo --> San Vito Lo Capo --> Trapani (where we fly out to Barcelona 7/13)
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I certainly can't swear that would work, but it might be an option worth pursuing.

One advantage of this routing -- if it works -- is that it puts your jet lag time in the place that you might find most conducive to relaxing (the Aeolians).

If this does NOT work for you, then I would seriously encourage you to give up your aim of 2-3 night stays in each location. As you are discovering, Sicily really doesn't lend itself to that kind of timing unless one can give it a month of more....

Hope that helps!

Ok, I think I'm just going to go to Cefalu from AI-Lipari and as we will have extra 3 nights, I will allocate 2 from there to Agrigento then to Palermo 2hr train each way.

It' so much easier (and faster) to travel by car. Agrigento to Cefalu' is just over two hours. Visit the Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina en route. Total travel time by car is around three and a half hours.

There is a convenient bus from Palermo to Agrigento. We were told that buses are more reliable than trains. Loved Agrigento.

Your plan to take 3 days for this visit is definitely better than an overnighter. You will need at minimum 4 hours to visit the temples, plus lunch plus museum, plus travel time and the old part of Agrigento town and beach if you want to do that. So pretty hard to squeeze into one overnight.

except Mt Etna, Agrigento was the absolute highlight of Sicily for me - but like others say if it takes as long as you found out - no nothing is that spectacular (at least go to Segusta temples near Palermo).

Thanks everybody.
We will go to Agrigento for 2 nights from Cefalu then to Palermo, I will just move my reservations for Agrigento a week later.

You're going to have a great trip!

Thanks I really hope so. It's nice having an Itinerary and reservations done already.

Pookymimi mostly the sea is by your side, so if it gets too hot, just jump in! It will be wonderful. Can hardly wait we leave in 6 days.

sundriedtopepo, yes! my daughter asked if we would have beaches and I said, yes every single town!

Good luck in your trip and thanks for the info.