To see most of Sicily's highlights, plan on spending at least 5 to 7 days and moving a few times. Everything is very spread out -- Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, 177km (110 miles) north to south and 281km (175 miles) wide. Taormina, the most popular resort, is a great place to relax and play in the sun for a couple of days; from here you can also visit Mount Etna. The town is rather isolated in the east, however, so it may not be the best base for seeing the island's other highlights. The quickest and most efficient way to see the majority of Sicily is to fly into Palermo, rent a car, and travel east to Taormina; then return your car and fly back to the mainland from Catania. (Conversely, you can fly into Catania, perhaps from Rome, and end your itinerary in Palermo, returning the car there before flying back to Rome.)
This section is devoted to the where, when, and how of your trip -- the advance planning required to get it together and take it on the road.
