Hello, my husband and I are planning our trip to Sicily in June 2026 for 3 weeks. We are spending a couple days in Naples before flying to either Palermo or Catania. We are wanting to pick only 2 bases. We will rent a car and are deciding whether to stay in those two cities or the nearby quieter towns/cities. If staying in Palermo and Catania, we'd pick central areas as we don't necessarily want to drive in those cities but rather do alot of walking to explore and then drive to do day trips to smaller towns. Alternatively, If we stay in nearby towns, is it relatively easy to drive to the large cities, find parking and explore by foot to avoid the chaos of driving in the city itself? If so, which 2 towns would you recommend as bases?
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Sicily - deciding on 2 home bases
- Thread starter Ana3
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Alpinista
500+ Posts
Here is our itinerary from last fall. Based in Syracuse; then transit to Palermo (sightseeing on the way); and then another base in Palermo. Found the itinerary very easy to do with plenty of time to enjoy each place plus time to wander around too.
Only glitch was finding that the airline with whom we scheduled the car rental had us picking up car in Catania and dropping off in Palermo -- except the contracted car rental company did not have an office in Palermo. We had to drive back to Catania to drop the car and fly from there (while eating non-refundable tickets out of Palermo -- yeah, still angry about that).
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Only glitch was finding that the airline with whom we scheduled the car rental had us picking up car in Catania and dropping off in Palermo -- except the contracted car rental company did not have an office in Palermo. We had to drive back to Catania to drop the car and fly from there (while eating non-refundable tickets out of Palermo -- yeah, still angry about that).
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Alpinista
500+ Posts
A19 from Syracuse to Villa Romana. SS640 to Agrigento. SS189 to Bagni and then on to Palermo. Allocate a lot of time for Villa Romana -- it is stunning. Agrigento is also worth a very unrushed visit to appreciate the architecture.
We did a day trip from Syracuse to Catania, October 20. The fish market was closed (Sunday). We were not overly taken with the city as a whole, but enjoyed an impromptu beach stop on the way back home. We had been to Etna on an earlier visit to Sicily, so other than a photo op, that was not in our plans this time.
Will note we had torrential/flooding rains on a couple of days. The other lasting impression was how much garbage there was along the highways and at the scenic overlooks. The cities were clean, but not the countryside.
I would very much recommend Ortigia/Syracuse as a lodging spot. Lots of interesting sights and plentiful food choices all within easy reach of our hotel.
California Go Girl
10+ Posts
If not Syracuse, then my favorite Baroque town, Ragusa Ibla. Slow travel at its best
Are both Syracuse and Ragusa Ibla better bases than a large city like Catania for the south-east? If you don't mind What are the pros and cons?
Alpinista
500+ Posts
We were in Ortigia adjacent to a number of points of interest within walking distance. Getting to the places we wanted to visit in Syracuse by car was easy and no issues with parking (will note that the Neapolis Archeological Park that is marked as a half hour walk on the itinerary was made by car instead, with close-by parking). The drive through Syracuse to get on the road for our day trips was painless. The day we spent in Catania really felt like we were just driving around in a big city with nothing but buildings around us with only limited sights and activities.
Georgia & Zig
100+ Posts
I vote for Catania. It’s easy to rent a car there and drive to an agriturismo or other small town to stay in. Mount Etna is within a day trip as well as Taormina and Syracuse. It’s beautiful there!
Georgia & Zig
100+ Posts
Georgia & Zig
100+ Posts
We stayed near Monreale at the Convento San Baida. There’s a beautiful view down over Palermo. It’s located behind the Church of St John the Baptist. See our Sicily 2019 trip report.
Georgia & Zig
100+ Posts
The little town of Monreale may have small hotels too. The church there is lovely.
I read this in your trip report. It sounds like quite the frantic adventure driving out of the Palermo airport to your destination! This is partly why we want to stay in a quieter area. I'll take a look at Monreale, and if there are other similar towns, I'd love to hear some other recommendations. In the evenings, we'd like to have several restaurant options within walking distance rather than driving back home to our accomodation. So if a town is too small, it might not work for us.
Georgia & Zig
100+ Posts
We were trying to get there without having to pay for internet on our phones, so we weren’t following Google Maps. I had printed out the directions and once we missed our first exit we were totally lost. Lesson learned. Never drive again without Google maps open with your destination address plugged in.
If you search on Google Maps for Monreale, you can zoom in on it and the restaurants and hotels there are marked.
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Georgia & Zig
100+ Posts
And restaurants:
Alpinista
500+ Posts
The other direction from Monreale, but on our forced drive back to Catania from Palermo, we spent a very nice morning in the beach town of Cefalu. Had a very good lunch on the duomo square and wandered the old town section. There were a lot of local visitors to the beach, but we did find parking and enjoyed our half day.
Thank you!
