Will be in Sicily for a week to 10 days (after traveling from Malta). Will have a car. Thought of basing ourselves in Taormina for several nights and then perhaps in, or near, Palermo from which we will fly to Zurich.

Does this seem reasonable and if more info is needed please let me know. Thanks very much for any input.

Click on my name for my Sicily TR, and my reasons for recommending Siracusa (specifically Ortigia) over Taormina as a base. Palermo is also a good choice, although you could consider Trapani. You don't need (or want) a car in Taormina, Siracusa or Palermo.

I agree with thursdaysd. Staying in Taormina is not necessary. A day trip there is good. It is extremely commercial and touristy but quaint. It's worth a visit, but Siracusa is better for staying. Trapani is about an hour from the airport. Anywhere you want to stay on that side of Sicily is good. We have also stayed in Palermo and enjoyed it. We dropped the car off at the airport and took a taxi into the city. Then we took the ferry back to Rome.

WE did not stay in Trapani so I do not know about it (we just changed there a bus on out way from Palermo to Erice). However, we loved Palermo. There are so many sites to be visited there! Also, you can easy make day trips from there (by bus) to Erice, to Monreale and by train to Cefalu.

We stayed in both Taormina and Siracusa (Ortigia). Taormina offers splendid views and we were happy to stay there. We visited Castelmola (15 min. by bus) and took a guided trip to Piazza Armerina and Agrigento.

Ortigia is the old part of Siracusa, great architecture, beautiful cathedral and interesting archeological museum. A day trip (by bus) to Noto (one of baroque towns) was a highlight of the Sicily tour.

I understand that you will arrive in Sicily from Malta. We did the inverse route, flying from Catania to La Valletta. Between Catania and Siracusa (or to Taormina) it is a bus, very easy to travel by.

Thanks everyone for responding and the recommendations. Very helpful

We stayed in both Palermo and Taormina and loved both. We spent 3 days in Taormina at the end of our trip and found plenty to do and see (although sitting in the garden or on the terrace of our hotel was extremely pleasant as well). Taormina has the most beautiful views in Sicily. We also stayed in Ortigia, and for one night each in Agrigento and just outside Piazza Amerina.

We loved ever place we stayed and would choose Palermo and Taormina as bases again.

I agree---Taormina is a special place, tourists or not. I have been there twice, both in the spring before the hordes arrive. Click on my name for my TR. Here are the images.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

Thanks again for the responses, and particularly to Bob for the picture link

I, too, stayed in Taormina in the spring - April 21-23 to be precise - and the tourist hordes had already arrived. Maybe we have different definition of "horde". Or maybe Bob is a shopper, aside from the views, which I agree are magnificent, the place is wall-to-wall tourist shops, restaurants, and hotels. I'm glad I saw it, but two nights were more than enough.