My husband and I are traveling to Sicily in January. We start in Palermo for 4 days and then Siracusa for 2 nights. We plan on then going to Taormina for 2 nights. Is there anything else we should see? We skipped Agrigento because we will have a friend with us and I think we'll burn him out with too many ruins.
We then are going to Rome for a couple of nights with perhaps 2 nights in Florence or somewhere close to Rome. We fly out of Rome.

can't really hlep you with sicily, as it's on my "to do" list, but as you are touring around sicily, afterwards I would definitely consider staying in one place ie Rome as you are flying back from there.
As there are 3 of you, you could book an apartment for 4 nights or so; you can do a day trip to florence if you really want, on the train.

Any reason you have 4 nights in Palermo? I thought 2 was plenty. You say you are skipping Agrigento but don't mention which ruins you are doing. The three biggies are Selunite, Segesta and Agrigento. We saw all three and I agree you don't "need" them all - I just couldn't decide which one to skip so I went to all of them. We also loved Erice, which is not on your list. We drove there from Palermo, stopping in Segesta and that was one of our best days. We loved both of them. Also loved Siracusa and Taormina, had three nights in each of them.

Agrigento was an absolute highlight of my Sicilian trip - the finest ruins in Italy if you ask me - stupendous - cut 2 days off Palermo if you ask me too. Agrigento is an easy drive from Syracuse.

I agree with you about not wishing to "ruin" your trip...Siracusa has some wonderful ancient bits (see the "ear" for sure...). Think about a sidetrip to Noto while you are in that area-well worth it.

I thought we could do a couple of day trips out of Palermo, Cefalu,Monreale and a day in Palermo to get use to the time change ugh!
Maybe we should hit Taormina first after Palermo, then Siracusa the Arigento and go back to Palermo hitting Erice and Segesta flying out of Palermo to Rome. Is that do-able?

I really loved Palermo and thought my 3 days there were not enough but I suppose it is a matter of taste. We took a day trip to Cefalu and also loved that.

Monreale is not a full day trip - half a day will be sufficient. I would also strongly recommend Agrigento - maybe it will be good to cut off a day from Palermo and sleep a night close to Agrigento.

I would not recommend Palermo - Taormina - Syracusa - Agrigento - Palermo. This will mean criss crossing over a very large area and wasting a lot of time. Fly in Catania - visiting Taormina and Syracusa - driving to Agrigento and Erice and end in Palermo - and fly back from there. Or the other way round - in Palermo and out Catania.

I envy you - Sicily is wonderful!

Hi there!
In fact Sicily is big enough, there are a lot of things worthing visiting! In my opinion Palermo takes 2-3 days, including a half day trip to Monreale, then you could go to Agrigento (Palermo-Agrigento = 1 hour and a half). At the end of January the Valley of the Temples is already full of white flowered almond trees... Spring begins very early in Sicily!!!Then you could drive to Siracusa (2 hs from Agrigento), spend the night and some days in Siracusa or Catania or Taormina. Siracusa- Catania = 45 ms. Taormina-Catania = half an hour. Then go back to Palermo (Catania-Palermo = 2 hs and a half). If you need some more information or if you are looking for some Sicilian B&B, ask me and I will give you the addresses of my favorite ones.

It would be great to have recommendations for hotels/B&B's in Taormina and Agrigento (or nearby) Waiting to hear from you

Hello there!
First of all, it has to be said that in Sicily Bed&Breakfasts have nothing missing if you compare them to Hotels! On the other hand, prices are cheaper and owners very friendly and helpful! That's why I recomend Sicilian B&Bs rather than Sicilian Hotels!

Here are my suggestions:

Agrigento: B&B Terrazze di Montelusa - www.terrazzedimontelusa.it - in the historical center of Agrigento, very good b&B, charming furniture, large bedrooms and wide terraces with view of the Valley of the Temples and the sea.
Palermo: B&B Al Viandante - www.alviandante.it - the place is good, SAFE, NOT too much
crowded (cars...) and that is difficult to find in Palermo...
Catania : B&B Amenano - www.amenano.it - two steps away from the Piazza Duomo, Piazza Università, via Etnea - bars, restaurants and pubs around - friendly
Taormina: B&B Guest House Isoco - www.isoco.it - with a private garden, rooms with view, very friendly
Siracusa: Oikos - www.bboikos.it - in Ortigia, the heart of old Siracuse, view of the sea and the Vecchio porto - friendly

Take a look to their websites! If you need some more help, e-mail me!

Have a good Sicilian trip,

Axel71

They look great. I am sending emails to Taormina and Agrigento. We are staying at the Grand in Syracuse and the Hotel Principe de Villefranca. I know the Grand is very pricey but our friend wants to stay there. The B&B's will offset the price and I look B&B's. They're so personel
Thanks for your help! Do you know of anyplace in Rome to stay?

Alel71 I didn't hear back from the Taormina B & B. It really looks nice too

You should consider flying into or out of Catania, and out of Palermo (or vice versa).

In Agrigento, another good B&B is Camere con Vista.

Personally, I think 2 nights in Taormina is more than you need, especially in January. In fact, it can be done as a day trip.

Thus far, no one has mentioned to you the beautiful baroque towns of Italy (Ragusa, Noto, Modica) in the southwest corner of Italy. You might read up on them and think about whether your party might prefer to eee them in lieu of greek ruins or seaside locations.

A good B&B in Modica is L'Orangerie.

Thanks I'll check into it.

I'm just getting back to the sicily trip. After Sicily, we're going to Spain/Portugal and with the help of all of you fodorites, that part of the trip is just about in place with a few minor details.
As I said before, we're staying in Palermo from 1/13th checking out of 1/17. Based on what you tell me, we will circle Sicily hitting Agrigento, Siracusa Taoromina and fly out of Catania. We have reservations in Siracusa for 2 nights. On the west coast should our next overnight be in Agrigento (one of the B&B's mentioned) or is there another town we should stay? We fly out of Rome on 1/28 and plan to stay at least the nights of 1/26 and 1/27. So we have a lot more time in Sicily

Palermo 1/13 - 1/17
?Erice Agrigento?
Noto? /ragusa?
Siracusa- 2 nights
Taormina?
Rome 1/26-1/28

My advice: Wherever you are going to stay in Sicily in January, make sure they have central heating. I remember these large
freezing bedrooms... not to mention the bathrooms!

if you decide to stay in Taormina, I recommend the Hotel Residence. Ask for a balcony. They can also arrange for side trips you may wish to take.

I forgot to warn you about booking tours with Sicily Life. We had a very bad experience with them. They "accidentally" took us to the wrong hotel very late at night. Funny though, that the driver had a key for the room.

I just need some final input from all of the Fedorites for our trip to Sicily. Here's what I have at this point.

Palermo 1/13-17 Stay Villa Principal
See areas near Palermo, Cefalu, Monreale

Agrigento 1/17-1/18 Stay B&B

Modica 1/19 Stay B&B L'Orange

Syricusa 1/20-1/21 Grand Hotel

Taormina 1/22,23 Hotel Villa Diodora

Catania 1/24

Fly to Rome 1/25 Stay to 1/28

I'm not sure about staying in Agrigento but we need a base to see that region and a break in the drive. I there a better place to stop, leaving from Palermo?

Also we want to see Noto,Ragusa and Modica and thought between the stay in Modica and Syracusa we could do that.

Any thoughts?

Let me clear up that previous post

Take 2

I just need some final input from all of the Fedorites for our trip to Sicily. Here's what I have at this point.

Palermo 1/13-17 Stay Villa Principal
See areas near Palermo, Cefalu, Monreale

Agrigento 1/17-1/18 Stay B&B

Modica 1/19 Stay B&B L'Orange

Syricusa 1/20-1/21 Grand Hotel

Taormina 1/22,23 Hotel Villa Diodora

Catania 1/24 then fly to Rome on 1/ 25 and out of Italy on 1/28.

Question 1. Is Argigento the best place to stop on the trip from Palermo to Syracusa?

Question 2 Does it make sense to stop in Modica rather than spending three nights in Syracuse?