OK I went back to my old trip plans pre-Covid and am trying again. This time though my kids are in college.

1. I am thinking of flying into Rome on April 4 (arrive the 5th) and fly from there to Palermo. Fly out of Catania to Rome and fly back to NYC from there.
a. What is a good, safe convenient neighborhood in Palermo for either a hotel or airbnb?
b. Can we hold off on the rental car until we leave Palermo?

2. Next we want to see ruins and hike. To visit Selinunte or Segeste we are thinking of staying in Trapani.
a. Suggestions of neighborhoods to look? Two nights?

3. Agrigento. Would alos like to see Villa del Casale and maybe scala di Turchi probably not both.
a. Suggestions on places to stay. We enjoy small towns that are quiet after other tourists leave or a rural place to enjoy quiet (we live in NY)
Willing to splurge one or two nights but since I was laid off, this is not a luxury vacation

4. Siracusa: ruins and maybe Noto OR Ragusa.
a. Sircuasa also gives us an opportunity to consider driving to Mt. Etna or not. Suggestions for neighborhoods worth staying in that are not super loud?

Just started to plan again and I am going to speed this up. Between the lay off and election, my head has been spinning.

FYI: we like local cusine, nature (birds), hiking, ruins, artwork, museums, espresso and wine. HA did I narrow that down?

You might want to look for flights into Palermo and out of Catania without specifying Rome as the stop-over point – go for whatever works and make sure that it’s all on ONE TICKET. That way, if there’s any problem with the flight to Palermo (or whatever), it’s up to the airline to get you there, rather than leaving you scrambling to find an alternative.

Yes, wait until you leave Palermo to pick up a rental car!

Selinunte can take three or four hours; Segeste maybe two hours. You might be able to see them both in a single day trip from Trapani – so two nights in Trapani – but if you also want to see Trapani, I would think you would need more time there. Or – if you are comfortable leaving luggage in your car -- you could see Segesta on the way from Palermo to Trapani and Selinunte on the way from Trapani to Agrigento.

If you can, look for lodging in Agrigento that gives you a night-time view of the temples.

Yes, pick up the car on the way out of Palermo.

We liked Trapani very much and I think three nights would be great, including trip to the salt pans (half day) and to Segesta.....maybe Erice as well although I did not fall in love with that town, although visits only on a day trip.
We stayed at RESIDENCE LA GANCIA on the sea in the historic district at the end of the peninsula of Trapani. It's a very walkable city; I never needed a bus or taxi. I've been too long ago to Segesta and Selinunte to offer any useful information. Trapani has fantastic eating spots at very moderate prices.

I've stayed at the COLLEVERDE PARK HOTEL with a view of the temples of Agrigento and do not recommend that hotel. We did have a view of the temples but it was a bit distant and not worth the extra price, in my opinion, to have that view.

There are many nice small inns and B&Bs in that area--look under PORTO EMPEDOCLE and SAN LEONE. You'll be close to Scala di Turchi in Porto Empedocle. Last time I was in this area was two years ago and I liked this small hotel very much; an old farm complex lovingly restored by an architect and his wife; they serve dinners on site if you prefer not to drive at night.

BORGO DELLE PIETRE. https://www.borgodellepietre.com
There are a couple of other small hotels nearby that I considered.

I'd chose staying in Ragusa over Noto, just my two cents here....we stayed in a lovely B&B there named SABBINIRICA.

https://sabbinirica.com/en/

You can get to Etna easily from Catania if you fly home from there.

I found the driving in Sicily, outside the towns, very easy and not at all scary, but I did have a GPS in the car on both recent trips--2023 and 2024. I always request that now when I book a car rental.

I'm from NYC as well; we usually fly through FCO when we go to southern Italy, but last September we found a good flights from JFK to Catania via Munich on Lufthansa. So do check that, as well as other connecting points, not only Rome, as advised, above. (We spent 5 nights in Munich but you could just go right on through if time is limited)

Palermo has many very good small hotels and B&Bs. But if you are flying home from Catania, do not discount a day or two in that city if you have the time.

Hope that helps a bit.....I believe I wrote trip reports here on those two recent trips to Sicily; I know I wrote food reports on Hungry Onion and will link those if food is of interest.

Responding serially:
1. I agree with kja, about flight connections. We enjoyed the Politeama/Liberta area of downtown Palermo. You absolutely don't need or want a car in Palermo, until you leave. We picked up ours at the airport (all major agencies, wide choice of cars incl automatics) - this avoids driving within the city and the airport is anyway on your westward route to Trapani, so you're not backtracking.

2. We spent 3 nights in delightful Trapani, just outside the old town. While there visit Erice. We visited Marsala en route to Agrigento to try its eponymous wine.

3. We stayed in Agrigento itself, and visited the Valley of the Temples later in the evening - viewing them in daylight, at dusk and lit up by night in the process - it's a truly magical place.

4. Stay on Ortigia island while basing on Siracusa, very atmospheric. We spent a night in Etna post-Ortigia, after which we returned our car at Catania airport.

Responding seriously serially:

1. Ditto. There are a lot of daily flights to/from Palermo & Catania to Rome on several airlines, and also hubs like Frankfurt or Munich with Lufthansa. ITA Airlines is now owned by Lufthansa but I don't know if they have started to integrate the network yet. We rented with Sixt and had a seamless in/out rental experience. Using the app to upload info/pre checkin saved some time at the counter. We reserved through booking.com, then accessed the reservation on the Sixt App. We got all insurance through booking.
3. Scala di Turchi can be viewed from above in a stop of about an hour or so. We stayed right in the town of Porto Empedocle, at Palazzo Melluso (on booking.com). I have famiy that emigrated from PE before 1900, which is why we stayed in the heart of that town. In April that town may be very quiet as it relies heavily on summer tourism. It's not a fancy town (understatement), and there are areas that are crumbled ruins and abandoned. Hotels and restaurants along the waterfront/beach area on the north side of Porto Empedocle may not be open in April. You'd have to check.

It seemed cheaper to fly into Rome and then grab like a Ryan Air to Sicily but that was what Skyscanner pulled up. Let me keep looking. These are good ideas as we could easily have a delay on miss the connection

1. One idea was to consider staying at an agritourismo place one night on route somewhere. If anyone stayed at a place that they particularly loved.
2. We do love birds so any opportuities to sneak in birding along the way.. would be great.
3. What about Sciaccia as one of our bases?

Any favorite guide books? I have Rick Steves from pre-covid (who we actually sat next to in a restaurant last year in Madrid)

Thank you

Here's my trip report: Trip Report: Sicily, April 2010

Sciacca is a cute little port town. In late Nov it was quite sleepy. But not far from Agrigento, or points to the northwest. You may not find much to do in Sciacca, but if you want slow travel, enjoy the weather, and local culture & fresh seafood it would be great.

We bought some ceramic dishes & bowls at a side-road roadside studio just outside Sciacca, called Peronte. Straight from the artist himself, an elderly gentleman who spoke little Italian, mostly Sicilian, and at times his local Sciacese dielect of Sicilian...... , which is different from the dialect of nearby Agrigento. We managed. He understood my limited Italian, and I understood enough of his replies to be able to converse... There are also several ceramics stores in town. I would much rather directly support a local artisan than buy the same items in an airport gift shop...

There is an italian detective book series by Andrea Camilleri's called Inspector Montalbano that is set on that stretch of Sicily in the 90's / 2000's in the town of Porto Empedocle, Agrigento, and surroundings. They are quick reads, and will give glimpse into Italian police hijinx, culture, food, of that era....

Here's the location of Peronte ceramics in Sciacca
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qchLVeM7rkcCNCP9A

I'd review but looking at buses and trains as an option. rome2rio really helps to do this quickly so if doesn't work you you can just move on.

Only really the Villa Romana is hard without a car.
Do not leave luggage in a car without being present.
You don't want a car in Palermo, even Monreale is easy by bus

1. Palermo Hotel.
We stayed at B&B Hotel Palermo Quattro Canti (via booking.com). In terms of American hotel standards it was rather basic - It is a larger property - several buildings connected together, with lots of rooms. Nothing fancy in the rooms, clean and comfortable, breakfast buffet was utilitarian, but more than adequate for our needs. The best part was the location - right in the heart of Palermo historical district, close walk to the various food markets, shopping streets, and some historic sights. We were there off season, and at times it seemed like we were the only non-locals. We went everywhere on foot, and never felt pressured, accosted, or otherwise bothered by anyone. Lots of happy people out and about on a chilly fall evening. Didnt see a single ruffian. OK, we were approached by a troop of girl scouts with baskets of small items to sell for a fundraiser. We enjoyed bantering with them - us in Italian, and a few of them in English (that was our deal).... On the weekends at least Via Maqueda is a pedestrian only zone.

At an intersection a local band was playing what sounded like quintessential Sicilian tunes, many people joining in and dancing. Loads of fun.

So whether you choose that hotel or some other, we loved that area. The singlular focus of our trip was to experience local people, sounds, aromas and tastes - didn't have any interest in seeing another church or ancient ruins so I can't advise on any "must sees"

Favorite guidebooks for Sicily: Micheliin Green and Rough Guide.

When we visited Sicily in 2018, we were starting from further west in the U.S. than you are. We couldn't find flights that worked for us on the outbound, to get to Palermo via Rome. So we took a direct flight from our home city to London, and spent the night in London, visiting with friends who live there. The next morning, we flew directly to Palermo. At the end of our time in Sicily, we spent two nights in Taormina, taking a birthday-gift all-day tour and hike on Mt. Etna with a great guide, then flew from Catania to Rome. Our focus on this trip was ancient ruins and mosaics, and less on the Baroque time period

In Palermo, we stayed at the Massimo Plaza Hotel, near the Teatro Massimo. It wasn't luxurious but we liked the location. Many mosaics in and near Palermo! Upon leaving, we picked up our rental car, and visited Segesta and Sellinunte. We had a splurge night at a wine estate outside Menfi. The next day we drove on to Agrigento, where we stayed at Villa la Lumia. We loved the place and all of its cats, rosemary bushes, and pomegranate trees. Then Piazza Armerina. While staying there, I enjoyed another birthday-gift (or was it Christmas?), a guided all-day tour of Villa Romana de Casale (didn't really need a guide for this), Morgantina archaeological park (Etruscan), which was very good to have a guide at, and the Aidone Archelogical Museum. I wanted to visit that museum, in particular, because Italy/Sicily now has, at that museum, the returned Goddess of Morgantina. This was a fantastic day for me.

We then spent a couple of nights in Ortigia (part of Siracusa), where we stayed at I Santi Coronati, a lovely B&B. While in Ortigia, we took a day trip to Noto, which was pretty.

We dropped our rental car in Ortigia, then took the train to Taormina, which worked well for us. We didn't need the car while in Taormina, then took a cab from there to the Catania airport.

I love Sicily and the melting pot of history and cultures; I would love to return.

The roads were generally in good condition, though the couple of times that it rained, we noticed that the highways were not cambered, so there was a lot of standing water.

Thank you. I sent that to my husband.

I think your wife is a saint. What a trip report!

these are all great tips. I will look for a connecting flight. I want to avoid US airlines now to avoid Boeing but I see Swissair, ITA and Lufthansa seem to have that option.
We are looking to combine, archeology, some churches and baroque architecture with nature (walking, hiking, bird watching).

We have limited time due to my husband's vacation. I have more time since I was laid off. )-:
Palermo: thinking two nights leave on third morning and pick up car at airport. We live in a gritty city so I want to make sure we have time away from hustle and bustle. Want to walk, see the markets and take a half day trip out to Monreale (we manage to get a lot in during a day).
Trapani. 3 nights. this seems like a good base to go to Salinunte. I would really love to see the paleolithic cave paintings at Grotta del Genovese. Has anyone done that? And Saline di Trapani to hike around. If no on the cave paintings then maybe Erice.
Agrigento: I figure that is a full day. I was kind of wondering about the beach--are there airbnbs near Riserva Natural Torres Salsa or a beach front (hard to tell on airbnb)--is it too far from Agrigento -- (not for swimming--just to be by the water)
Villa Romana (uhm? on the way to Ortygia--sounds like they have parking lot with buses there so we can keep luggage in car).
Ortygia: 3 nights. Sightsee maybe try to get in Mt Etna. Maybe a winery. No interest in Taormina... did not like it when I was there 25 years ago .
Fly out from Catania and well, pay the extra fee to drop off the car at that airport.

Open to ideas and suggestions from this experienced group. We both want some nature/bird watching mixed in. Some time relaxing. And alot of sight seeing.
Thankyou



I am open for ideas from this experienced group that might blend in: archeology/history, art, architecture, small town cafes and nature. Maybe a tall ask. Thank you for all the great tips so far. I am about to buy the ticket with my severence pay.

Claiming a rental car at the Palermo airport is certainly an option and may be best for you, particularly if you want an automatic transmission, but you can also pick a car up on the outskirts of Palermo if that fits your route better.

Yes, Agrigento is likely to take a full day. I spent between 5 and 6 hours at the Valley of the Temples … and I skipped almost all of the Temple of Zeus. I also spent about 1.5 or 2 hours at the archeological museum in Agrigento, and would have loved more time there.

There are at least two different reasons why people visit Mt. Etna (which is what I assume you mean): (a) to see a volcano up close or (b) to explore the wineries around the base. Which is the one you mean? It makes a BIG difference to how you approach it.

Three nights (two days) is not much for Ortigia / Siracusa. The ruins are extensive and the archeological museum is well worth seeing IMO. There’s more than enough in Ortigia to occupy most of a day. And I think you said you were considering a visit to Noto, an easy day trip from Siracusa? If you admire Baroque architecture, Noto’s is really quite spectacular and occasionally quite humorous – and I say that as someone not overly enamored of that style.

An alternative to returning the car at Catania’s airport would be to return it in Ortigia and using public transportation to get to the airport.

My husband grew up on a standard so either one works for us. yes Mt. Etna (woops). I am interestedin seeing a volcano up close (Just finished Mary Beard's Vesuvius) but a winery works too.
I think I just need to figure out my husband's vacation days!! To figure if we can squeeze a couple extra days. OK good to know about the museum in Agrigento. I am thinking we do need an extra night in Ortigia.
I am intereseted in cave art but since its not like Neanderthal art... I could hold off on that idea. Thank you.

You need to decide!

Going to the top of Mt. Etna to see the volcano can really only be done on a tour, as it involves several complicated changes of vehicle (train, four-wheel, cable car, etc.). It also takes pretty much a full day, The first part of the tour I took went through some of the wine country by train.

Driving around to see a winery or two is something you can do on your own and can take whatever amount of time you choose to give it.