Hi and welcome!

Sicily is a wonderful place to visit, but many of the 'must see' sights are off the beaten track. There are very limited train services - Messina to Palermo or Messina to Catania/Syracuse, often linked with the ferry to the mainland, and local bus services. I would strongly advise you to rent a car, with FULL insurance (some of the inland roads are quite poorly surfaced, but not as bad to be considered 'off road', as coach tours will come in pricey and you will be limited to someone else's timetable and their choice of rest or meal stops! (Commission earning comes to mind!)

BUT you will have someone to drive you, someone to park your transport and pick you up, but it depends on whether you like to be herded en masse.

Good beaches, hmm. Lots of visitors go to Giardini Naxos and Taormina, but they are quite 'Italianised' with paying private sections, and not necessarily sandy and golden (don't forget Etna is a volcano!).

I would suggest beaches around Cefalu are nicer and softer on the feet.

Why not contact the Sicilian Tourist Board for information - I found them very helpful and they have loads of leaflets. They even have an official list of hotels and guest houses on the island with current prices, so you can see if you are being ripped off or not ..........