twins77

Good afternoon. Looking at taking my twin almost 21 year old twin boys this summer to Sicily.
They are not exactly museum enthusiasts but enjoy traveling. I was originally looking at Spain at Seville, Madrid, Granada and Malaga.
I am starting to think it might have too many museums and walking tours for them for this summer.
We traveled to Tanzania last summer for almost 3 weeks and my family would enjoy a much lighter trip this year.
I was thinking we could arrive in Catania spend 3 nights in the south in Noto or Ragusa and explore the cities and Syracusa from here.
Then we could go to Arigento to see the temples and along the way see the amazing mosaics in Armerina.
Then on to Taorima 2-3 nights explore and take away trip to Mt. Etna.
Possibly finish with 3-4 nights Aeolian Islands or Sikelia.
One night back Taorima or Syracuse and head home.
I am not sure if there is enough to do on this itinerary since I do not think the weather will be warm enough to swim yet.
Any suggestions or recommendations are appreciated. Thank you so much.
Happy and safe travels to all.

tuscanlifeedit

I'm really not the expert here, as I went to Sicily for the first time late last April. I can tell you about the weather, or at least about what I was told. We were there at the end of April and everything was very green and flowering. When we remarked on the wild flowers, we were told that the green would be gone by the end of May and that things would be yellow in June. There were people at the beaches we passed by and I don't think the end of May/beginning of June will be too cold for the beach. I only know what I've been told.

I don't think your itinerary is too light. I could not have done the Valley of the Temples and Piazza Armerina on the same day, but of course, I'm not a 21 year old man.

What about:
fly into Catania, visit, then north to Taormina and Etna, then the islands or your other choice.
Then head south (Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Baroque towns) but save Siracusa/Ortigia for the end, hitting the other places first. There is decent transportation to Catania if you are leaving from there. This kind of makes a circle for you and saves backtracking. It's a lot of driving but it sounds like you're OK with that.

Anyway, there are folks here with more experience than I. I will add that it was a great trip, most of our activities were outdoors, and we didn't do much indoors outside of Palermo.

whitehall

Our daughter-in-law and grandson went swimming around Thanksgiving in Sicily, but they are used to the Finger Lakes of New York. I think you can expect sea temperatures in high 60's to low 70's and high temperatures similar, maybe a couple degrees warmer.

We can travel at a fast pace, so think your itinerary is do-able but probably not too light. There is a lot to see and do in Sicily. I think your general itinerary is workable. We have been in Trapani-Erice and Palermo-Cefalu areas as well, but you may need to save those areas for another trip, especially if you plan to go to the Aeolian Islands. I am not sure what you mean by "one night back Taormina or Syracuse and head home." I am assuming you will go from the islands back to Catania airport? If you haven't done so, you may want to check on the islands; I believe at some point in the season, they limit the number of cars you can bring to some of them.

Another option you might consider, with similar weather, is Sardinia. Here is our trip report from last fall: Sardinia! You Gotta Go!! 8 nights. October

kja

You can visit Andalusia without visiting its museums, just as you can visit Sicily without visiting its museums. And you don’t need to take walking tours anywhere unless you want them.

If you decide on Sicily:
- consider staying in Siracusa (specifically, Ortigia) rather than Catania.
- I agree that it would be difficult to see both the Valley of the Temples and the Villa Romana del Casale in one day. YMMV.
- Taormina is beautiful, but IME, it is truly unpleasant during the day when the town is jammed full of daytrippers.

Dayle

If you plans 3 nts in one of the Baroque towns, that gives you 2.5 days for sightseeing/exploring. Not really enough time to visit and enjoy Ortigia/Siracusa. I would allow 2 nts in a Baroque town and at least 2 in Ortigia, 3 is much better. Villa Romana just outside of Piazza Armerina could be done as a day trip from either, but allow the time. It's not an indoor museum, but an actual site. It was the greatest of so many highlights in Sicily.

I also spent 5 nts on Lipari in early May. Highly recommend a visit to the Aeolians as your "light' part of the trip. Beach time, hiking, volcano treks, mud baths, boat excursions. You will love the islands!

Buon viaggio!