Sicily in Depth — Self-Launched Version

Fly into Catania (CTA) — the usual cheap arrival point — then take the Interbus/SAIS bus or the train down to Siracusa (bus is quicker, ~1h45, around £6-7; train ~£8 and slower). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse on Ortygia or in the Ortigia-adjacent neighbourhoods. Wander Ortygia Island in the late afternoon: the Artemis Fountain in Piazza Archimede, the Baroque facade of Syracuse Cathedral (built into the old Temple of Athena — free to enter, small charge for some sections) and the seafront at Fonte Aretusa. Have dinner on the island — arancini and pasta alla siracusana for under £12. Your 'welcome meeting' is you and a map: buy your Neapolis ticket online tonight for tomorrow.

🚌Airport bus/train Catania → Siracusa (~£6-8), on foot in Ortygia

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse on/near Ortygia, twin or dorm (~£18-25 pp/night)

• →Walk Ortygia Island
• →Artemis Fountain & Piazza Archimede
• →Syracuse Cathedral (exterior & interior)
• →Fonte Aretusa

Walk 20 minutes from Ortygia to the Neapolis Archaeological Park (Parco Archeologico della Neapolis) and buy the combined ticket at the gate or in advance (~£13-15, includes the Greek Theatre, Roman Amphitheatre and the Latomia del Paradiso quarries with the Ear of Dionysius). Go early — it opens around 8:30 and gets hot and busy. If you want the historian's context, book a small-group guided tour of the park via GetYourGuide (~£25-30) or grab the official audio guide. Afternoon: free wander back through Ortygia's Baroque lanes, the Duomo square, and the Castello Maniace tip of the island. Optional: the Paolo Orsi archaeological museum (~£8) to underpin everything you'll see this fortnight.

🚌On foot

🛏Same hostel/guesthouse, Syracuse (~£18-25 pp)

• →Neapolis Archaeological Park (Greek Theatre, Roman Amphitheatre, quarries)
• →Optional small-group guided tour of Neapolis
• →Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum (optional)
• →Ortygia Baroque backstreets

Take the early AST bus from Siracusa to Noto (~40 min, ~£2.50). Noto is the honey-coloured capital of Sicilian Baroque — walk Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the cathedral steps and Palazzo Nicolaci. Continue by AST bus to Ragusa (~1h15, ~£4) and explore Ragusa Ibla, the lower old town, via the Santa Maria delle Scale steps. Late afternoon, take the bus back toward Catania/Siracusa and connect onward — or, more comfortably, base tonight in Ragusa or Noto and shift to Piazza Armerina tomorrow morning. Buses to Piazza Armerina are infrequent; check SAIS/Etna Trasporti timetables and plan one connection via Catania (~£10-12 total) or take the train Siracusa–Caltagirone–(bus)–Piazza Armerina.

🚌AST regional buses Siracusa–Noto–Ragusa, connection onward by bus/train (~£10-14 total)

🛏Budget B&B in Noto or Ragusa, or push through to Piazza Armerina (~£20-28 pp)

• →Noto Baroque old town
• →Ragusa Ibla & Santa Maria delle Scale
• →Palazzo Nicolaci (optional)

Villa Romana del Casale is 5 km outside Piazza Armerina — get there by local bus from the town (limited service, ~£1.50 each way) or a shared taxi/transfer (~£10-15 return; ask at your B&B, many run shuttles). The villa's mosaics — the 'bikini girls', the great hunt — are the single best Roman sight on the island; entry ~£10-12, go at opening (9am) to beat the coach groups. In the afternoon, arrange a taxi for the 9 km hop to Morgantina and its museum at Aidone (~£25-35 return shared) to see the Hellenistic town excavations and the famous acroliths. If you're travelling solo, post in a local Facebook group or ask your host to pair you with other travellers for the taxi.

🚌Local shuttle/taxi to Villa Romana del Casale and Morgantina (~£15-20 pp if shared)

🛏Guesthouse in Piazza Armerina (~£22-28 pp)

• →Villa Romana del Casale mosaics
• →Morgantina excavations & Aidone museum

Morning bus from Piazza Armerina to Caltanissetta or Enna, then on to Agrigento (SAIS/SAIS Trasporti; total ~2h30-3h, roughly £8-10). Drop bags at a hostel or B&B in the modern town and walk or take local bus 1/2/3 down to the Valley of the Temples. The combined ticket (~£13-15) covers the Temple of Hera/Juno, the perfectly preserved Temple of Concord, the Temple of Hercules and the Acropolis remains — plus the Regional Archaeological Museum (worth an hour for the Telamon and the Ephebe). Stay for sunset from the ridge; it's the best light of the day. Enna and Lake Pergusa are the guided tour's scenic detour — you'll see Enna's hilltop silhouette from the bus instead.

🚌Regional buses Piazza Armerina → Agrigento (~£8-10), local city bus to the temples (~£1.50)

🛏Hostel or B&B in Agrigento (~£20-26 pp)

• →Valley of the Temples (Concord, Juno, Hercules)
• →Regional Archaeological Museum
• →Sunset from the temple ridge

Early local bus or a short taxi (~£8) to Scala dei Turchi for the white marl cliff photo stop (note: access to the beach has been restricted and the cliff itself is off-limits to climb — check locally on the day). Then take the train Agrigento → Castelvetrano (~1h30, ~£5), where a local bus or taxi (~£4-8) runs the 12 km to Selinunte's vast archaeological park — the temples E, F and G, the acropolis and the fortifications (entry ~£8-10; a golf-cart shuttle inside costs extra). Late afternoon train Castelvetrano → Marsala (~40 min, ~£3) for two nights in the west.

🚌Local bus/taxi, train Agrigento–Castelvetrano–Marsala (~£10-14 total)

🛏Guesthouse/B&B in Marsala (~£20-26 pp)

• →Scala dei Turchi viewpoint
• →Selinunte acropolis and temples

Take the local bus or a short taxi to the Salina di San Teodoro dock in Marsala and cross by ferry to Mozia (Isola di San Pantaleo) — the boat is run by the Whitaker Foundation, roughly £9-11 return including the island's entry, with crossings several times a day (check seasonal times). Walk the Phoenician town site, the tophet and the Whitaker Museum with the 'Mozia Youth' statue. Back in Marsala, visit the Phoenician Ship Museum (Museo Archeologico Baglio Anselmi) to see the recovered Punic warship (~£8). Evening: a glass of Marsala at a cantina or a cheap seafood dinner by the port.

🚌Local bus/taxi to dock, ferry to Mozia (~£10 pp return)

🛏Same Marsala guesthouse (~£20-26 pp)

• →Ferry & entry to Mozia Island
• →Whitaker Museum & Phoenician town site
• →Baglio Anselmi Phoenician Ship Museum

Bus from Marsala up to Trapani (~45 min), then the cable car (funivia) or bus up to Erice, the medieval hilltop town (~£5-6 cable car each way) — wander the cobbles, the Norman castle and the bakeries selling almond pastries. Descend and take the bus/train to Segesta, where the Doric temple stands alone in a green valley (entry ~£8; the theatre on the hill is a 20-minute climb and worth it). From Segesta, catch the train or bus onward to Palermo (~1h, ~£5) and check into a hostel or budget hotel in the historic centre near the Quattro Canti.

🚌Bus Marsala–Trapani, funivia Erice, bus/train via Segesta to Palermo (~£15-18 total)

🛏Hostel/budget hotel in Palermo centre (~£22-30 pp)

• →Erice medieval old town
• →Temple of Segesta & hillside theatre

Start with San Giovanni degli Eremiti (the red-domed Arab-Norman church with its cloister, ~£4-6) and the nearby Norman Palace complex if you haven't saved it for tomorrow. Then take local transport (bus toward Santa Flavia, ~£2) or the train to Santa Flavia/Casteldaccia to walk up to Solunto, the Hellenistic town on a headland with paved streets, mosaic houses, a theatre, bouleuterion and cisterns — entry a few euros and usually near-empty. Back in Palermo in the afternoon, join a pay-what-you-wish or small-group street-food walking tour via GetYourGuide (~£25-35) to get oriented in the markets and the Quattro Canti.

🚌City bus/train to Santa Flavia (~£3-4 return)

🛏Same Palermo hostel/hotel (~£22-30 pp)

• →San Giovanni degli Eremiti
• →Solunto Roman/Hellenistic ruins
• →Optional street-food walking tour

Bus 389 or the AMAT bus up to Monreale (~£1.50-2) to see the cathedral's 6,000 sq m of gold mosaics — the Pantocrator is the highlight of the whole trip for many visitors — plus the Arabic-style cloister (~£10-12 combined, timed entry possible). Back in Palermo, visit the Norman Palace and the Cappella Palatina (~£15-19 with timed slot, book ahead in high season) and the Cathedral of Palermo (free or a small roof/treasury fee). Finish with a wander through the Capo street market — grab pane e panelle and a sfincione for lunch for under £6.

🚌AMAT buses to Monreale and around town (~£4)

🛏Same Palermo hostel/hotel (~£22-30 pp)

• →Monreale Cathedral mosaics & cloister
• →Norman Palace & Cappella Palatina
• →Palermo Cathedral
• →Capo market food walk

A proper slow day. Hit Ballarò and Vucciria markets in the morning, then pick your own Palermo: the Palazzo Abatellis (Antonello da Messina's 'Annunciata', ~£8), the modern art at Palazzo Riso, the catacombs of the Capuchins (~£4), or the mosaic-lined rooms of the Villa Palagonia if you fancy a day trip. Or take bus 806 to Mondello beach for a swim and a granita (~£3 transport, beach free). Eat at a cheap trattoria in the Kalsa district — Palermo is Italy's best-value food city.

🚌City buses or on foot (~£3-5)

🛏Same Palermo hostel/hotel (~£22-30 pp)

• →Ballarò & Vucciria markets
• →Palazzo Abatellis (optional)
• →Mondello beach (optional)
• →Kalsa district evening

Take the early train or SAIS bus Palermo → Cefalù (~1h, ~£5) and see the Norman Cathedral's Christ Pantocrator mosaic and the beach below La Rocca (climb the rock ~£6 if you have energy). Continue by train along the coast to Patti-San Piero Patti, then a local bus up to Tindari (~£2) for the hilltop sanctuary and the Graeco-Roman archaeological site with its theatre and the view over the lagoon. Train onward to Taormina-Giardini station (~1h30, ~£8) and check into a guesthouse in Giardini Naxos, the beach town below Taormina — cheaper than Taormina itself and on the bus line.

🚌Trains Palermo–Cefalù–Patti–Giardini (~£15-18 total), local bus to Tindari

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Giardini Naxos (~£22-28 pp)

• →Cefalù Norman Cathedral
• →Tindari archaeological site & sanctuary
• →Beach time in Giardini Naxos

Book an Etna day tour or joined transfer via GetYourGuide (~£45-65 depending on inclusions) — the standard version runs you up to Rifugio Sapienza (1,900 m) to walk the Silvestri Craters, with the cable car (funivia, ~£28) and 4x4+guide to ~2,900 m (another ~£55) as paid extras on the day. Alternatively, DIY it: AST bus from Catania to Rifugio Sapienza (~£5-6 each way, seasonal, check times) and buy the cable car/4x4 on arrival — cheaper but you'll need to plan around the return bus. On the way back, stop in Catania: Piazza del Duomo, the Elephant Fountain, Via Crociferi, the University Square and the black-lava Baroque centre. Bus back to Giardini Naxos (~£3-4, 40 min).

🚌Etna tour/transfer or AST bus, local buses (~£12-50 pp depending on option)

🛏Same Giardini Naxos guesthouse (~£22-28 pp)

• →Rifugio Sapienza & Silvestri Craters
• →Optional cable car & 4x4 to 2,900 m
• →Catania old town walk

Take the local bus or train up to Taormina (~£2-3) — do the Graeco-Roman theatre first thing (~£12-14, quietest before 10am) for the classic Etna-framed view. Wander Corso Umberto, the Villa Comunale gardens and the viewpoints over Isola Bella, then walk (or bus) up to Castelmola for the even-bigger panorama and a coffee with almonds. Lunch in Taormina is pricey — eat in Giardini Naxos instead (~£10) for your own 'final group meal' of seafood pasta by the sea.

🚌Local bus/train Giardini–Taormina (~£3-5 return)

🛏Same Giardini Naxos guesthouse (~£22-28 pp)

• →Taormina Graeco-Roman theatre
• →Corso Umberto & Villa Comunale
• →Castelmola village & viewpoint
• →Isola Bella

Bus or train from Giardini Naxos/Taormina to Catania (~£3-5, 45-60 min), then the Alibus or AMT bus to Fontanarossa airport (~£2-4). If your flight is late, leave your bag at the station and spend a last couple of hours over a granita and a brioche in Catania's Piazza Duomo. That's the loop closed — every site on the Explore! itinerary, done on your own timetable.

🚌Train/bus to Catania (~£4) + airport bus (~£3)

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Catania last-minute wandering (optional)