My husband and I are planning our first trip to Sicily. We are flying into Catania and out of Palermo. We will not have a car and plan to take the train. What do you think of this itinerary?
3 nights in:
Syracusa
Taormina
Cefalu
and
4 nights in Palermo
Thank you, Inor

If you mean three nights in each of Syracusa, Taormina and Cefalu I hope you mean Ortygia, not Siracusa, and advise reducing the time in Taormina and probably Cefalu. Go to Erice and Trapani instead. Or the Aeolian islands.

Hi, yes I do mean 3 nights each and in Syracusa, we are staying in Ortygia. In Taormina we would be spending a day visiting Etna too.

As it is we are staying in 4 separate locations so I would prefer not to add anymore unless we got rid of one. Also couldn't we do a day trip to Trapani or Erice from Palermo since we have 4 nights there?

Thoughts.

Hi Inor you asked this same question I believe on Jan 6 and had some thought provoking responses. Am I missing something?

Others may have chosen differently, but you might have your own reasons for visiting these towns.
From Syracuse you can easily visit Noto and Modica, the baroque towns. From Taormina of course visit Etna.
Unless you want to drive through the mountains around Cefalu I am guessing that you are going there to relax.
And from Palermo, of course you can day trip to Monreale, Erice and Segesta, and even Agrigento. There are tours available if that is how you enjoy travel, but they are long 8 hour days except to Monreale, which has a local bus you can take.
Some others on here have travelled by public transportation all around the island, and may have ideas for you if you are interested.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...p-174100-2.cfm

@ sundriestopepo -- good catch!
@ thursdaysd -- thanks for linking the original thread!

@ inor -- I stand by what I said earlier.

Thank you, I guess I completely forgot about this. Too much on my mind.

I would recommend you to visit the Mount Etna, the highest volcano of Europe. I did a tour with Etna People 2 weeks ago which was amazing. The tour I did was a full day tour, with an awesome hike, a very knowledgeable guide, who studies volcanology, and an delicious lunch with wine tasting. And the Alcantara gorges are really impressive.

why no car? plan to do all tours? picked up our car as we left palermo last may and had it for nearly a month seeking out small out of the way mountain and seaside villages. we found Ortygia charming and loved the 3 days we stayed there - day trips to the baroque towns would put you on buses most of the day. simply hated Taormina - hundreds of day trippers from cruise ships and buses. other than the amphitheater not much that you can't find other places that are less crowded. loved lipari and the islands off the north coast - 4 days with great food, culture and the highlight of our time - a day on a 4 wheeler making our way around the island.