The itinerary Gfeibleman made is almost perfect. As she/he knows day 4 will be a long drive day going thought Selinunte. If you go via Selinunte and if you like a bit of Archaeology, you can visit the Isle of Mothia, witch is a few kilometres from Trapani on the salt road. The isle is situated in the Stagnone lagoon, and was discovered by the English Whitaker (its house - museum is still on the isle) Mothia is about 45 hectares (about 100 acres) and has been founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th century B.C.
After Mothia you can also visit the Nave Punica Museum in Marsala (very close to Mothia) where the rest of ancient Punic war boat is visible.
Ciao

Gfeibleman : difficult for me to suggest what you can fit into one day in Palermo since we spent a week there & could have spent longer. Probably best to get a guidebook with one suggested walk centred around the Quattro Canti; to take in architecture generally, churches, crumbling palazzi, markets, etc. Don't miss the Vucciria market, and I'd suggest having lunch at the Shanghai restaurant (Italian, not Chinese) overlooking it. We booked for the opera at Teatro Massimo via www.charta.it.

In Agrigento make sure to explore the valley of the temples on both sides of the road (many people miss all the remains on the less obvious side), plus don't miss the Hellenistic Roman Quarter.

You say you're not sure what to do on your final day but you don't seem to have allocated any time for sightseeing in Taormina, so won't you be doing that, that day ? If you are visiting Siracusa en route you won't have much left out of the day you arrive, if you do the (very large) archaeological park, the catacombs and walk round Ortygia. And for your one day in Taormina you are going off to Etna. So won't you need to see Taormina on your final day ? You must at least visit the Greek/Roman theatre (at least a couple of hours) and explore the rest of the town. I don't know what time of year you're going but if the weather's good, you could get the cable car down to the coast, walk along to the Isola Bella and back, and have a nice seafood lunch overlooking the sea.

Personally I'd drop the 2nd night at the Eremo della Giubiliana (and I have stayed there) and stay that night in Siracusa instead. The Grand Hotel on Ortygia is nice. Then you could explore Ortygia in the evening.

We are going to be taking our children, ages 14, 12, and 7 to Sicily for about 10 days in October. Any ideas about what to do with kids?

Where in Sicily will you be, argo ? If you're like me on my first trip, you'll find it a much bigger place than you thought.

I imagine kids would like the archaeological park & the catacombs in Siracusa & the catacombs in Palermo. Trip up Etna ?

Pzza. Armerina is a long, long daytrip from Ragusa. It's all backroads. I wouldn't do that personally.

I have just returned from 14 days in Sicily. As I found this topic very useful when planning my trip, I thought I would add briefly to it. Some quick opinions :

Piazza Armerina - I take RAR's points about the greenhouse, but I loved it. I have to confess a great liking for Roman mosaics, and this set are the best I have ever seen.

Agrigento - Liked it, but agree about overated, and completely agree that it is not as good as Selinunte - but I am hard pressed to decide between Selinunte and Segeste in terms of favourites.

Siracusa. Our base for a week - Theatre good, Ortigia pleasant, Paolo Orsi archeological museum excellent.

I thought Noto a very pretty town, but didn't get to Ragusa or Modica, so cannot compare.

I will try to write a trip report at some stage, what I realise is that in 14 days, my list of things I failed to do, far exceeds the list of things I did.

Oh well, I'll just have to plan another trip.

Anyone care to add to thread?

The only place in Sicily I didn't enjoy was Taormina. Had I known how touristy it was, I would have stayed in Castelmola. But otherwise I was incredibly excited to be in Sicily.

I like it when I see ancient theaters being used today, and therefore was charmed to find stagehands and set designers busy constructing a set for the summer program at the Greek theater in Siracusa. I was stunned to find myself utterly alone at the nearby Roman theater until I read in my guidebook it was a "lesser" site. Apparently most footsore tourists -- who could give a rat's behind about cultural sightseeing anyway -- didn't think it was worth the 100 extra steps and that hanging out at the souvenir stalls was a better use of their time.

I think the baroque architectectural details rendered in pink stone in Noto were delightful and unique and I can hardly wait to go back when the scaffolding on the major buildings is down.

In Agrigento, I had a wonderful stay in a small b&b near Pirandello's house that had a view of the temples, which I found maginificent. There were less than 3 dozen tourists when I visited the monuments late in the afternoon on a spring day, and I returned to my hotel (Camere con Vista) to watch the sunset over the ruins, and then had a very nice meal down the road.

I'm sorry I didn't have more time to visit every attraction. RAR's remarks don't discourage me in the slightest from wanting to go to the places he found "overrated."

Hi there! For those willing to spend some days in Agrigento (Valley of the Temples!), I suggest the B&B Terrazze di Montelusa: located in the historical center, huge panoramic terraces, bedrooms with airconditioning and private bathrooms, ambiance 5 star hotel but B&B rates!!! The owner is very friendly and gave us all information we needed. We really loved it!

Advertising alert ! Axel71 has posted 10 times, each the identical message advertising this hotel. You are the owner, aren't you, Axel71 ?

What's wrong with you Caroline? If someone is looking for a good place to stay, may I give them some good advise? I was in this B&B in July and really enjoyed it. That's all.

Jean - I am so sorry you changed your mind about Erice. It was one of the highlights on our trip. The road up is not that bad, even at night - we have been on much worse. We drove up up in the rain AND at night. We stayed there for two nights and absolutely loved it. Probably too much of a "sleepy village" for some, though.

Cefalu was another highlight. The pension we stayed in had breathtaking views down onto the village.

Over-rated sites - someone mentioned Taormina and I would agree. I also found that the Greek theatre at Siricusa was underwhelming.

Trapani? I must say I am surprised to see it in the underrated category. While we did not dislike it we found it too large and industrial for our tastes. We are more of the small town/village/hamlet people. The salt pans were kind of interesting, however!

Regardless, enjoy Sicily! Prepare yourself for a fantastic experience - you will soon be able to form your own opinions and find your own treasures.

Axel71: I apologise if I am wrong BUT it seems highly suspicious when someone who has never posted before suddenly posts 10 identical messages plugging one hotel.