Sicily - Home Base, or Hotel/AirBNB Hopping?
 

We are a group of 6 adults planning to make our first trip to Sicily next May. We have traveled extensively in Italy, but never to Sicily!

After our first trip to the big 3 in Italy (Rome, Florence, and Venice) where we used hotels, for recent trips we normally rent a villa or Airbnb for a week and do day trips from there. We have up to 2 weeks then may head to a Greek Island for a week. We will have at least 1 car - maybe 2.

Sicily seems like a big island... Would 2 home bases in different parts of Sicily make sense to see most of the must-see places if we did 2 weeks, or is it better to do 2/3 nights stays and move more frequently?

What recommendations for must-see places would you recommend for first-timers to Sicily? One of our travelers has family ties to San Vito Lo Capo, so that is definitely on our list.

Any help would be appreciated!!

Thank you.

Thanks so much. I am trying hard to do research - thank you for the suggestions on the various apps. I'm glad to hear that a base for 7 days and day tripping works for Sicily. We love having our common areas to hang out, and also like to cook sometimes!

I read at least a dozen trip reports here, and no one suggested one base and train travel. At the very least, you will need to divide the island in half and have two bases.

We did 4:
Palermo 3 nights
Erice 2 nights (day to Segesta)
Agrigento (really an agriturismo between Agrigento and Piazza Armerina) 2 nights, visiting both the Valley of the Temples and Villa Romana del Casale on separate days.
Ortygia 3 nights. visting Siracusa and Noto as well.

We still missed half of what there was to see and experience. I would go back for Selinunte, Catania, Taormina, and one more Baroque town (we only saw Noto).

It completely depends on what you want to see and YOU need to do the homework to decide that. Sicily is a huge island and like mainland Italy, there is so much of everything to see and enjoy! Is your trip a total of 2 weeks? One week for Sicily and 1 week for Greek island? Just 1 week for Sicily will seriously limit you and even with 1 week, I would not stay in one place. 2 would be better.

I did:
3 nts Erice
1 nt Scopello
1 nt Menfi (Selinute)
1 nt Agrigento
1 nt near Piazza Armerina for the Villa Romana & Caltagirone
2 nts Scicli
3 nts Ortigia
1 nt Taormina
5 nts Lipari
4 nts Palermo

1 night stays aren't for everyone, but I prefer them to backtracking. Especially when staying put requires more than 4 hours in the car every day and then driving the same route all over again to change locations. I travel light and solo and never completely unpack (why?). With this itinerary I was able to do all my top priorities, but really none of the secondary ones. Sicily is that big. Many travelers living in Europe have the opportunity to go multiple times so to them a week in one place doing nearby day trips is fine. If you are visiting from much further away like the western US or Australia, your perspective will be different!

If your trip is just a week, better consult all 6 travelers and pick no more than 2 destinations within short drives to your priority sights. There have been others here who initially thought to combine Sicily with Greek islands and quickly changed their minds after starting some research on Sicily.

If you just want a place to settle in for a week, Palermo could work -- its got a lot to offer and you can reach some delightful things from there. (I love Palermo and its vibrant energy. Some people find it too "gritty" for their tastes.) But seeing just the highlights of Sicily easily takes 2.5 to 3 weeks and is not easily accomplished with a base-and-hub strategy. It really depends on what you want. And as Dayle notes, combining it with Greece can be surprising challenge.

There are a LOT of threads on Sicily on this forum, and not just trip reports, but planning threads, many of which pose the same basic question you are posing. Doing even a quick search might give you some much needed information. And a good guidebook -- perhaps the Rough Guide -- is likely to prove invaluable.

Good luck!

Thank you kja -

Part of our fun in traveling is staying in amazing places (villas, apartments), which is why we have found renting something for a week is what we like to do. The experience of living somewhere in a village where we get to go for our morning coffee in the same place, and meeting locals is really part of the draw. I'll look into basing out of Palermo for a week, and then maybe something on the East side for a week. What city would you recommend?

I am going to search for trip reports. And I'm checking the highlights of each place mentioned above to narrow down our choices for the group. We live in California and an hour to 2 hour drive is not really anything for us. So driving is not a concern. I don't think we'll travel by train.

For the east coast, I would recommend Siracusa, and specifically, Ortigia. And for that location, if you're willing to consider a B&B, you might look at L'approdo Delle Sirene.

Please look at planning threads, not just trip reports! VERY few people visit everything that many of us consider Sicily's highlights on a single trip. And that's another reason to consult a good guidebook.

BTW -- Agrigento, one of the highlights of Sicily, is more than 2 hours from either Palermo or Ortigia and easily takes 6 or more hours to visit. It's just one example of why 2 bases are usually considered ill-advised for the highlights of Sicily. Another example: the Villa Romana del Casale, more than 2 hours from either city. But it all depends on what you want to see and experience.

Just another note: I loved Palermo and you could arrange day trips from there but please check times and transport. Also, having two cars in Palermo wouldn't see simple to me.

If you stayed in Palermo, you could easily train to Cefalu, and maybe hire a van for Segesta and Erice/Trapani. I'm not sure about training to other spots.

My other suggestion would be to find the right house for all of you and prioritize togetherness over sightseeing. My group once did that in France where we made the most of what we could easily reach with two cars, but had no intentions of seeing major sites or cities/towns.

We've decided we will have 2 weeks for Sicily in May 2020 and we will have a car to get around.

We will most likely fly into Palermo.

Itinerary A
ERICE - 3 nights.
From there we would like to Visit San Vito Lo Capo and perhaps the Zingaro Nature Reserve. We would also like to boat to Favignana from Erice. Is Erice a good base? I've read that you must take the funicular to the top, is it not possible to drive up and park? If not, would it be better to stay in Trapani and do Erice as a day trip from there?

CEFALU - 3 nights. I assume that we will visit Palermo for a day from this location. What else could we do from this base, or is it enough just to enjoy Cefalu on its own? Or would it be better to base in Palermo for 3 nights, and do a day trip to Cefalu? I am a little worried about the "gritty" nature of Palermo.

TAORMINA or CASTELMOTO - 3 Nights.
Taormina has always been on my bucket list, but I've read so many negative things about the crowds. Will the crowds be a problem in May? I'm wondering if it might be better to base in Castelmoto and do Taormina as a day trip. Thoughts?

Piazza Armerina - 1 night
To visit Villa Romana del Casale

Stop in Caltagirone for ceramic shopping on way to

NOTO - 2 nights, visit Ragusa and Modica?

ORTIGIA - 3 nights

Fly to next destination (Greece for some, Amalfi Coast for others)

I realize that we've left out Agrigento. I'm not a huge fan of ruins, but I need to check with the group because that might be a must-see for some. We could see ruins from Taormina, correct?

Itinerary B
ERICE - 3 nights.
CEFALU - 3 nights.
Piazza Armerina - 1 night

Remove Taormina and add :

AGRIGENTO - 2 nights; Valley of the Temples

Stop in Caltagirone for ceramic shopping on way to

ORTIGIA - 4 nights; day trip to Noto, Ragusa, Modica?

Can add 1 night somewhere in this itinerary.

Any help that anyone has would be appreciated. Also, any recommendations for winery visits in any of the areas would be great!

Thanks so much!

Some thoughts:

Consider flying into Palermo and out of Catania or vice versa.

There's a ton to see in Palermo, far more than you could possibly manage in a day trip. Maybe you and your group aren't interested in its treasures, but FWIW, the city easily holds enough for 3 or more days. Don't miss Monreale.

What about Palermo's "grittineness" worries you? It's a dynamic, vibrant city with a glorious history reflected in its diverse architecture. The areas of greatest interest to tourists are safe. It doesn't try to buff up for tourists.

I visited Taormina in May of 2007. It was so crowded during the day that I was literally bruised by people bumping into me.

Noto is less than an hour from Ortigia and easily visited from there. You and your group must have a serious interest in Baroque architecture to stay in Noto and visit both Ragusa and Modica.

Taormina has a Greek theater that was re-worked by Romans. The Valley of the Temples holds some extraordinary Greek temples. Hardly the same thing. Seems like you are opting to skip most of Sicily's most magnificent Greek ruins. Your trip, your call.

Thanks, KJA, I appreciate the feedback . My Itinerary B includes the Valley of the Temples and eliminates the Taormina stop. Do you think that is a better plan? Also, one question I had was if basing in Palermo and doing a day trip to Cefalu might make more sense? Based on your response and love for Palermo I take that as a yes. Perhaps you could recommend an area to stay in Palermo?

I was wondering if visiting Ragusa and Modica from Noto was a good idea, but I take it that you feel it's too much. I have read reviews that people have really enjoyed Noto, which is why I added it.

We like to see beautiful places, have nice meals and have some down time.

How would you arrange an itinerary to fly into Palermo and out of Catania? What did I leave out that you would recommend? I really do appreciate the feedback!

Thank you.

I decline to comment on which itinerary would be better -- it depends on your interests and preferences.

Skipping all of Sicily's Greek temples is not a choice I would make. YMMV.

Some people find the views from Taormina sufficiently wonderful to put up with the crowds. The views are magnificent, and it's better in the evening than when mobbed with day trippers. Those features can make it worth spending a night or two there. You'll need to make your own call.

I love Palermo; I've noted that some people don't like it. It's only an hour from Palermo to Cefalu by bus or train, so one could, in theory, stay in Cefalu and day trip to Palermo several days in a row. (I, personally, wouldn't use a car for that -- the traffic around Palermo can be very heavy and parking in the city can be a challenge.) Personally, I wouldn't base in Cefalu to see Palermo, but again, my choice would seem irrelevant. From what you've said of your interests, if you stay in Palermo, you might start your search in the area around the Teatro Politeama or Teatro Massimo. JMO.

Some people love Ragusa and Modica; if you want to see them, you could stay in one of them or you could visit from Ortigia -- assuming you add enough time to Ortigia to allow those visits. Noto is, IMO, glorious -- and I say that as someone who is not fond of Baroque architecture. Noto is less than an hour by bus or train from Ortigia. And Noto is lovely at night -- I have no regrets about having spent a night there despite having to relocate, but you seemed interested in finding bases for your stays.

If you haven't already done so, consult rome2rio.com for transportation options (including car); consult google maps for driving distances. And if you look at a map, I think you'll see that Catania is to the east, and so you could end at the airport there very easily from any place to the east of the island rather than backtracking to Palermo.

BTW, those going on to the Amalfi Coast wouldn't necessarily have to fly -- they could take the train or a ferry.

Thanks KJA. Do you have an area in Palermo to recommend to stay?

Asked and answered in post # 14..

No worries.