We're planning a trip through Calabria to Sicily in June of 2006. I'm trying to determine how much time we will need to visit the sights we're most interested in in Sicily. They are (followed by interests):

Palermo and environs including Cefalu -- 3 nights? (Norman architecture, mosaics, archaeological collections, street life)

Siracusa -- 2 nights (Greek ruins, Churches)

Roman Villa at Piazza Amerina -- 1 day (non-negotiable)

Agrigento - 1 night; Selinunte, Segesta -- visit in transit.

Erice/Trapani -- 1 night (urban- and sea-scapes)

Plan is to land in Messina, train to Siracusa. Rent car, stop at Piazza Amerina and continue on the Agrigento. <b><i>But</i></b> -- this looks like it might be a long drive on secondary roads. I've read that Enna and environs are attractive. Would it be worth stopping for a night and add a visit to Morgantina and the nearby hill towns?

Stay for the night in Agrigento. Visit Selinunte and Segesta on the way to Trapani/Erice. Spend the night, then drop car in Palermo, fly out three days later.

As you can see our main sightseeing interests are ancient ruins, mosaics, and medieval architecture. We appreciate good food and wine. We don't care much about shopping. We prefer to keep hotel costs under $300 a night and do not demand (or even expect) luxury. We prefer charm without too many rough edges.

I know we're cutting Taormina -- we may add it to allow a visit to Etna aas well as the Greek theater. Any other must-see places we're missing? Any restaurant or hotel suggestions?

Greatly appreciate your assistance.

Hi Pausanias,
I just returned from Sicily about two weeks ago and wrote a (very) detailed trip report on here, just click on my name (probably too many details, in fact... it makes for boring reading my friends tell me...) I mentioned hotels and restaurants, although our budget was slightly, lower so there are probably better options. I used Fodors and SlowTravel extensively to get ideas, so definitely do a search here.

Although others have far more experience &amp; I am far from a Sicily expert, I also wanted to comment on one particular part - I'd say your first day sounds rather long. We drove the other way, from Agrigento to Siracusa, and it took nearly 3 hours (even though we took the Autostrada part way, check out the details in my trip report). So combining that with a 2.5-3 hour train trip from Messina, you may not get too much sightseeing in that day.
Taormina seems to get mixed responses because it is a rather touristy town, so I guess it depends what you enjoy, but I thought it was really beautiful and amazing views, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it, especially since you'd be coming right through arriving in Messina.
As I said, I'm far from an expert but I'd be glad to help from my recent experience.

Good morning, your itinerary looks pretty good other than you maybe pushing it as to what sights you are
visiting, but Sicily is not that large
so you might be ok... We have used the
JOLLY hotel chain a number of times, both in and outside of Sicily. Have been very satisified with this chain
over the years. Richard of LaGrange Park, IL.

Thanks for the input so far. I see I made a error describing our itinerary -- we plan to stay in Siracusa two days before renting the car and continuing on to PA. Now I'll look at your trip report!

We returned from Sicily two weeks ago and your itinerary looks marvelous. Regretably, we missed the western portions of Sicily that you have included. Just a couple of suggestions. We loved Taormina - the views are spectacular. I can't remember a more beautiful view than that of Mt. Etna from the Greek Theatre. While in Palermo, be certain to visit the Cathedral at Monreale - wonderful mosaics and a beautiful cloister. It is quite spectacular. We loved Palermo - it was much cleaner and more hospitable than we had expected. And the people of Sicily are the warmest in all of our experience traveling in Italy. If you are driving from Siracusa to Piazza Armerina, you can drive on major roads - the roads in Sicily are quite good (though the drivers are the worst I have ever seen!). The trip from Piazza Armerina to Agrigento is about an hour. Hotel suggestions: for Agrigento - Colleverde Park; for Palermo - Principe di Villafranca; if you stay near Piazza Armerina, we enjoyed the Agritourismo Gigliotto and, if you decide to go to Taormina, I highly recommend the Hotel Villa Schuler. One of these days, I am going to write a trip report!

Hi-

I think your plan looks good. I've been to Sicily twice, once focusing on the East side and once on the West. You might be stretching it trying to see Mt Etna.
My last trip went to most of the places you are planning. If you want to see my travelogue, you can check it out (with lots of photos and dining recs) on my website:
http://www.wired2theworld.com
Have a fantastic trip, Sicily is amazing!

I want to thank you all for your input -- I've been reading your reports and checking out your recommendations. Of course, I also want to bring the request to the top again . . .

Here is my photo gallery from our trip in May. You can see the complete trip report at slowtrav.com Good luck !

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/169372/index.html

We leave for sicily in 11 days. 1st time

Our itinerary is
Palermo 3 nights: Hotel Prinicpe di VillaFrance. Rent car on departure
Marinella Di Salinunte: HOtel Aceste
Agrigento: Colleverde Park Hotel
Ragus: Eremo della Giubuliana
Syracuse 2 nights: Grand Hotel Siracusa
Taormina 2 nights: Hotel Villa Schuler

We did lots of planning with help from this site and tour books

Will try to do a deatiled report on our return as we have 6 days in Malta after Sicily

All the above hotels have a 3 day or less free cancellation. My theory is book early when there is no cost to cancel. You can always change as I did many times.

Hotel costs are from E70 to E230 so they are in your range.

We decided to stay in Ragusa and see Piazza Amerina on the way from there to Syracusa b/c the hotel and meals at our Ragusa locale had such outstanding reviews and we are foodies

I guess it all depends on what you want to do as far as driving and traveling while on vacation. We flew to Sicily from Germany last year and had only five days to spend after a conference. We did not want to deal with driving and basically wanted to relax. We were concerned about the negativity directed toward Taormina regarding it's &quot;touristy&quot; atmosphere, but hey, we live in Orlando. It was a wonderful stay and we enjoyed the people, shopping and restaurants. The view of Mt. Etna was as breathtaking as I could have imagined. We stayed at the Villa Schuler. Great breakfast, great view, great gardens and easy walking access to everything.