I'll have about a week in Italy in May 2020, though I may extend that time. Have a rough plan to stay in Taormina and Siracusa. Not sure about whether to see Palermo or other areas. Whaddya think? Any info about the cities I've mentioned is appreciated, as well as other places. Should I do more than a week? Thanks.

"Should I do more than a week?"

If you can, why not?

You won't run out of places to see and stuff to do even if you stay a month.

"You won't run out of places to see and stuff to do even if you stay a month."
For example?

I spent 15 days in 2005 in May and still did not see the islands.
If you are going anyway you might as well do it right.
You will enjoy it. Search for my trip report.

As a general starting point, seeing just the highlights of Sicily takes 2.5 to 3 weeks. You can see some wonderful things with less time; only you can decide if the transportation time justifies the limited sampling you'll be able to experience. Many people with less than 2 weeks focus on either the east or the west of the island, not that doing so is your only option.

For what to see, consult a good guide book. I found the Rough Guide especially good for Sicily, but any guide book should prove useful, and the cost will be nugatory in comparison to the cost of your trip. Or you can go to a library or book store.

Of the places you mention:

• I love Palermo, which has more than enough to keep one happily busy (very busy!) for 3 or 4 days.
• I also really enjoyed Siracusa, which also has more than enough for a stop of 3 or 4 days. And BTW, stay in Ortigia.
• Taormina is beautiful, but so crammed packed with day trippers that it can be incredibly unpleasant during the day.

Thanks to all. Our itinerary and time frame are flexible, so it looks like we may in fact extend the time in Sicily. What I'm hearing here about Taormina matches the results of my other research on the subject. Might skip it. We had friends who weren't crazy about Palermo, but I think sometimes a place just hits you wrong, and that may be what happened with them.

I'll keep researching. The stuff here puts me on the right trail.

I would not skip Taormina, no matter how crowded and touristy it may be.

The sunset view of the Etna from the Greek theatre on a good day is one of the most memorable scenes from Sicily.

My mind will probably change several times between now and the time of the trip, but at least I have some good ideas. I'll put Taormina back on the "maybe" list for a day or three.

We visited Sicily for the first time a few months ago and had a wonderful time visiting Palermo, Agrigento, Villa Romano Casale and Siracusa. We would love to go back and see more.

I spent three weeks on Sicily and would love to go back. My TR is dated (can't believe it's been so long!) but you might find it useful anyway: Crumbling Palazzos and Creamy Cannoli - Savoring Sicily

I would not do Taormina as a day trip, you'll share it with the worst of the crowds. If you're going, spend one night and arrive late afternoon and leave in the morning. Do spend time in Ortigia, Trapani and Erice. Do not miss the Villa Casale and Monreale! I was fine with Palermo, but I stayed in a more residential section.

I'll probably do AirBnB or VRBO, I tend to stay in neighborhoods every place I go, when possible. Would probably do that in Palermo. What's a good area to stay in?

Hi vinny! It's giuli here!
I'm Italian and my husband is from Sicily, I know the whole island perfectly and I want to share with you some precious recommendations [img]cid4A7D464-924D-44F7-A63C-51DDBA7CFD84[/img]
First of all, if you can stay for more than a week, please do it!
Probably you will land in Catania, right? Catania is midway between Taormina and Siracusa (please check the map). So you can decide where to start!


About Palermo, yes for sure you have to visit it but, you will stay between Taormina and Siracusa and Palermo is on the opposite side. So it would take around 4 hours driving (without traffic) to reach Palermo. If you have the opportunity to come back, i would enjoy another trip in Sicily on the west side and this time enjoy the eastern part, to truly live it!
Here's my suggestions:
- Rent a car directly at the airport, so that you will return it before you take your flight back home and you are free to move around as you prefer (also because public transportations are not the best in Sicily);
- Start going north to Taormina, stopping by Acireale, Acitrezza, Giarre, Letojanni (stop at da Nino for dinner, it's delicious!!!);
- Proceed always north, reaching Messina where you can admire the Strait (the strait between Sicily and Calabria);
- Go to Milazzo, lovely little town, main port for the Aeolian Islands. Have you heard about them? This is a volcanic archipelago composed by 7 wonderful islands, their names are Stromboli, Panarea, Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Alicudi and Filicudi. I would strongly strongly strongly recommend to enjoy at least one boat charter in the Aeolian Islands to sail around this unique paradise on earth!
- Don't miss Cefalu and then go back to Catania's area. From there you will reach Siracusa, where you will surely visit Ortigia (go the market and don't miss "Caseificio Borderi", its definitively exquisite!!!). From the proceed a bit south to Marzamemi, another little pearl of Sicily!

Unless you know, for certain, that the OP will not be crossing any time zones before landing in Sicily (whether Catania or Palermo), recommending that someone should rent a car from an airport is truly BAD advice. Driving after crossing several times zones is JUST as dangerous, to oneself and others, as driving drunk, and there is absolutely nothing that anyone can do to avoid that, other than spending at least a day in the time zone in which one lands.

Thanks for the info. Don't have my flight plans yet but almost certainly will be landing in Catania.
Appreciate the heads-up on driving jet lagged, but I will have been in Europe for at least a couple of weeks before arriving in Sicily.

I'm glad to hear that! Sorry for the diatribe.

"I will have been in Europe for at least a couple of weeks before arriving in Sicily."

Where are you going to leave from to Sicily?

Somewhere in Italy. Not certain yet.