Self-Guided Tours in Sicily

Self-guided in Sicily mostly means a rented car, because the best of the island sits off the train lines, which follow the coasts. The Doric temple at Segesta stands alone on a hillside, unfinished. The Valley of the Temples is walked at your own speed along marked paths. Etna's trail heads, Rifugio Sapienza on the south side and Piano Provenzana on the north, are reached by road. So are the fishing village of Marzamemi and the salt flats around Marsala.

The self-drive routes come with a day-by-day plan of suggestions instead of a guide. The five-day one runs from Palermo to Catania, taking in Monreale, Cefalù, Taormina and Etna. The seven-day one loops through the west: Trapani, Marsala, Segesta, Erice and a ferry day to Favignana, where the car stays behind and bikes do the work. The eleven-day one circles the island through Taormina, Syracuse, Noto and Agrigento. Each includes hotels, breakfast, a small manual car, unlimited mileage and full insurance. Fuel is extra. On the five- and eleven-day routes the car can go back at either Palermo or Catania airport. Palermo's old centre also has a phone-led walking game for the city days.

Practical. Bring an international driving licence and a credit card in the driver's name; prepaid cards are not accepted, and drivers under 25 may pay a surcharge. Cars are manual. Plan on roughly three and a half hours from Palermo to Taormina and three from Noto to Agrigento. April and May afternoons run 20 to 24C, ideal for driving, while mid-August is the Italian holiday peak.