Perche

When I go to Sicily I go by train from Rome. The train stops at Napoli. The train has private sleeper cars, so you have a bed. It's very economical. Around sunrise, the train is loaded onto a ferry to take you across the water to Messina. It's a great time to grab a coffee and go outside. I would never stay in Messina, but from there you can take a train to Siracusa and other places south, or on to Palermo and places in between. It's nice, the train runs near the water, and there's a lot to see.

You'll inevitably want to rent a car in Sicily, and it's no problem. The roads are excellent, even into small towns. Just get a SIM card so you can use GPS, and don't worry about it. It's not like it's dense, with a lot of highways and streets, so you can't get lost. You only want the car for exploring the interior and the coasts. You don't want one in any of the cities. It's pretty chaotic to drive in Palermo, but not something that someone who has driven in any major US city can't handle. It's worse than the USA, but not a quantum leap different. They have great buses there. I usually wind up ending my trip there, and upon arrival, drop the car off. But I've never had any trouble driving around anywhere else.

There is a nice overnight ferry that I take back. It goes to a lot of places, but I always wind up taking it back to Rome. It's an overnighter. Spectacular views. Dining car. You can rent a private suite with a bed and ocean view. Much better than driving.

The train from Rome, to Sicily, the ferry from Sicily back, driving only in the hinterlands and coastal roads in Sicily, really simplifies things. And, the train and ferry are quite economical.