Sicily Itinerary: 7, 10 and 14 Days from Palermo to Taormina

The best Sicily itinerary crosses the island one way: fly into Palermo, drive south to Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, east through the Baroque towns of Ragusa, Modica and Noto to Siracusa and Ortigia, and finish in Taormina below Mount Etna, flying home from Catania. Seven days cover the highlights at a brisk pace; ten days, the trip we recommend, add Cefalù, the Baroque towns and an Etna day without rushing; fourteen days add the west, with Segesta, Trapani, Erice and the salt pans of Marsala.

We design Sicily for food lovers, history lovers and couples, by rental car or with a private driver. Below are our 7, 10 and 14-day routes with the driving distances we checked, what we would cut, the rules for Etna and the Scala dei Turchi, and how to handle the cities without a car.

Sicily driving distances

Times are for normal traffic with a short margin; city exits in Palermo and Catania and summer weekends add more.

Sicily in 7 days: the classic crossing

1. Day 1 · Palermo. Arrive, walk the old center between the Quattro Canti, Piazza Pretoria and the Ballarò market.
2. Day 2 · Palermo and Monreale. The Palatine Chapel and the cathedral in the morning, the gold mosaics of Monreale Cathedral in the afternoon.
3. Day 3 · Palermo to Agrigento. Drive south through the interior; Valley of the Temples at sunset.
4. Day 4 · Agrigento to Ortigia. The Scala dei Turchi viewpoint early, then the long drive east to Siracusa, about three hours of driving plus a lunch stop.
5. Day 5 · Siracusa and Ortigia. The Greek theater in the Neapolis park, then Ortigia's cathedral and market.
6. Day 6 · Noto and Taormina. A morning in Noto, then north to Taormina.
7. Day 7 · Taormina and departure. The Greek theater above the sea, then Catania airport.

Seven days work, but Etna and the inland Baroque towns are rushed or missed. If you only have a week, we sometimes stay on the east side only: Ortigia, Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Etna and Taormina, flying in and out of Catania.

Sicily in 10 days: the route we recommend

This version gives each region two nights and keeps the longest drive at about two and a half hours. Cefalù can also be a one-night stop between Palermo and Agrigento if you prefer the sea to a third night in the city. For a ready-made version, see our Sicily 10-Day Highlights trip.

Sicily in 14 days: add the west

With two weeks, start in the west and take it slowly:

• Days 1 to 3 · Palermo, with Monreale and Cefalù.
• Days 4 to 5 · Trapani or Erice. Segesta's Greek temple on the way, 76 km (47 miles) from Palermo; the hill town of Erice above Trapani; the salt pans and wineries around Marsala.
• Day 6 · Selinunte to Agrigento. The ruins of Selinunte by the sea, then the Valley of the Temples.
• Days 7 to 8 · Ragusa or Modica.
• Days 9 to 11 · Ortigia, with Noto and a beach day at the Vendicari reserve.
• Days 12 to 14 · Taormina, with Etna and a slow last day.

Our 14-day Italy itineraries show other ways to spend two weeks, including Sicily after Rome.

The main stops in a few lines

Palermo is the most intense city in Italy after Naples: Arab-Norman churches, street food in the markets, and a large old center where we prefer walking with a guide on the first morning. Monreale, above the city, has one of the great mosaic interiors of the Mediterranean. Cefalù is a seaside town with a Norman cathedral and a sandy beach.

Agrigento's Valley of the Temples is a ridge of Greek temples, the Temple of Concordia among the best preserved anywhere. In summer, go at opening time or at the end of the day; in 2026 the park offered evening visits from June 20 to September 20. Allow two to three hours and bring water and a hat. The Scala dei Turchi, a white marl cliff west of the city, has been closed, reopened with paid, limited access and closed again several times since 2020; we check the current ordinance before each trip and usually view it from the beach and the viewpoint above.

Ragusa, Modica and Noto are Baroque towns rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake, listed by UNESCO with the other towns of the Val di Noto. Ragusa Ibla is the most atmospheric for a night, Modica is famous for its grainy cold-worked chocolate, and Noto's main street of golden stone is best in the late afternoon. Siracusa has a great Greek theater and quarries; its island of Ortigia is the place we most like to stay, flat, walkable and by the sea. Taormina sits on a terrace above the sea, with its Greek theater framing Etna.

Etna: what you can visit and the access rules

Etna is Europe's most active volcano, and access depends on its activity. A road climbs the south side to the Rifugio Sapienza, at about 1,900 m (6,200 ft), where a cable car continues to about 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Above that, the rules are set by the mayors of the towns around the volcano according to the alert level: when activity is normal, visitors without a guide could go up to about 2,920 m (9,580 ft) at the Torre del Filosofo on the south side, and the summit craters were only open with authorized volcanological guides. In August 2026, with eruptive activity, ordinances suspended excursions above 2,500 m. We always book Etna with a licensed guide and confirm the rules the week before.

For travelers who do not want a high-altitude walk, the lower craters around the Rifugio Sapienza, a jeep tour on the lava flows and a lunch at a winery on the northern slopes are just as memorable.

Rental car or private driver

Sicily is easiest by car: the sights are spread out, the main highways are good and the interior roads are quiet. The difficult parts are the cities. Palermo and Catania traffic is chaotic, and the historic centers of Palermo, Ortigia and Taormina have restricted traffic zones (ZTL) with cameras and fines. Our approach:

• Palermo without a car. Arrive with a transfer, walk and use taxis, and collect the rental car on the day you leave.
• Hotels with parking in Ortigia and Taormina, or a garage at the edge of the zone, confirmed before arrival.
• A private driver for travelers who prefer not to drive, for the Etna day, or for the whole trip. It costs more, but you see the countryside instead of the road.

Trains link Palermo, Cefalù, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina and Catania, but services between the south and east coasts are slow and infrequent. We use them only for single legs.

Best time to go

April to early June and September to October are the best months: warm days, green countryside in spring, warm sea in autumn and fewer crowds than in summer. July and August are very hot inland and at Agrigento, and Taormina and Ortigia are crowded; it is a beach trip more than a touring one. Winter is mild on the coasts and quiet, with snow on Etna, but some seaside hotels close. Easter week brings processions in many towns. Our best time to visit Italy guide compares the regions month by month.

Sicily with reduced mobility

Sicily mixes very accessible places with very steep ones. Ortigia is flat and compact, and central Palermo has long pedestrian streets. The Valley of the Temples has a long main path with slopes and uneven sections; with a driver dropping you at one entrance and collecting you at the other, much of it is manageable. Ragusa Ibla, Modica and Taormina's upper streets involve stairs and steep lanes, so we choose hotels with car access and lifts, and use a private driver for the touring days.

Trips that include Sicily

Our Sicily 10-Day Highlights trip is our ready-made ten-day itinerary for the island. See all our Italy trips and 10-day Italy itineraries, or estimate a budget with our Europe trip cost calculator.

Tell us your dates, whether you want to drive, and what you love to eat, and our travel designers will send you a custom Sicily itinerary with prices.