jackiexu

Our family (two adults + three teen boys) are visiting Italy this December. So far, we have booked our flight to arrive at Palermo on December 22 and leave Rome on Jan 1st.

Everything else is still to be decided.

Our current plan is to spend a couple of days and Christmas Eve in Palermo, take the train to Taormina, spend two or three days there, then go to Rome for the last 3 days of our trip.

Most of the trip reviews online are for summer visits. I am looking for advice for winter visit. I understand that December is cold and low season. I am looking for two types of advice: (a) are Erice, Syracuse, and Mount Eta also good places to visit in the winter? (b) what is the best way of traveling to Rome from Taormina? I have checked on line and have seen train schedule only up to mid December ...

Thanks.

bon_voyage

Here's a wonderful trip report from someone who traveled to Sicily during December:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#24359331

nytraveler

With very limited time you should just fly from icily to Rome - or you will lose w hole day,

TravelDonkey

If you are looking for some in depth information about Palermo check out this page: http://palermo.for91days.com

jackiexu

Thanks for the pointer! Very helpful!

GAC

From Taormina to Rome, you could take the overnight sleeper train (if you're not too fussy). New schedules are in process of being uploaded, but using the current schedules:

Depart Taormina-Giardini 21:18 Intercity Night Train
Arrive Roma Termini 7:08

While I rarely recommend the night trains (preferring instead the overnight car ferry to Naples or Civitavecchia), this particular train has one saving grace: it travels nonstop from Villa San Giovanni (around midnight) to Naples, giving 4.5 hours of uninterrupted travel and hence the possibility of getting some shut eye.

You would need one twin sleeper, plus one C4 (Quad) Comfort Couchette compartment (for the three teens). By booking in advance and selecting the "MINI" fare, you would save a lot of money. However, "MINI" fare tickets CANNOT be changed or refunded on the day of travel (and refunds carry a 50% forfeiture), so you would likely need to be very "firm" in your plans and itinerary. Being the end of the year (lots of people travelling), you would need to book this train in advance.

Alternatively, you could fly from CTA to FCO, which would be faster and not necessarily more expensive. There is airport bus service from Taormina to CTA on Interbus Lines.

Mt. Etna will be covered in snow, as will Erice (or at least very cold). By contrast, Siracusa, Agrigento and Selinunte would all be fine to visit. Since you will have only six nights in Sicily, there's not a great deal more which can be seen in such a short timeframe. I'd say that Palermo-Siracusa-Taormina could be a great itinerary. From Palermo, there is a direct bus to Siracusa (Interbus Lines; 3 hours), and from Siracusa to Taormina, you can travel by direct train or by bus (via Catania or CTA). There is local bus service between the Taormina train station and the historic town at the top of the hill nearby. Bus schedules are found on the Trenitalia website:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...3f16f90aRCRD#7

"MINI" fare rules and restrictions:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

Night trains:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...3f16f90aRCRD#2

(see "Vettura Letti Classica" and "Vettura Comfort")

Bunks measure 170 centimeters X 70 centimeters. Toilets are located at the end of each railcar. The sleepers have a washbasin. The couchetees do not have a washbasin.

This itinerary can be done entirely by public transportation.

zeppole

You will not be able to really visit Mt. Etna in winter. You will of course see it from many vantage points near by, but it does get snow and ice, and unless you are experienced trekkers with ice picks and a guide, a view from somewhere other than the volcano itself is all that is practical. But even so, it is still quite a sight.

If you end up deciding to fly to Rome from Catania, be sure to call the airline 24 hours in advance of your flight to confirm that your scheduled departure time is still the same. (In my experience, they can be changed on short notice.)

Also, like train or bus tickets, plane tickets need to be booked fairly well in advance. The Christmas holidays are a busy travel season within Italy.

Have a great time!

GAC

If the "MINI" fares on the Trenitalia trains don't give a discount of AT LEAST 30%, and IF at least ONE of your children is UNDER the age of 12 years and one day, THEN all five of you (travelling as a group) would qualify for the "FAMILIA" fare, which gives a discount of 20% for the adults and older children, and a 30% discount (on the sleeper trains, otherwise 50% on day trains) for the child under 12. The "FAMILIA" fare, which is also capacity-controlled, has less restrictive rules compared to the "MINI" fares. More information:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

These discounts (either the "MINI" fares or the "FAMILIA" fare (if you qualify) would make up for (and perhaps exceed) the additional cost of the empty bunk in the Quad Couchette compartment which you would need for your three children.

BTW, you can find detailed travel information on the Intercity Night train from Taormina to Roma Termini on the Trenitalia website, by clicking on the "select" round button, then "Details by Selection red icon", then "Info" round button:

http://orario.trenitalia.com/b2c/npp...g_r=1&x=35&y=6

This night train does not make a lot of stops, and indeed makes NO STOPS between Villa San Giovanni and Napoli Centrale.

zeppole

PS: There is a train the circles around Etna.

http://www.sicily-tourism.com/web/en...rcumetnea.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...y.html#REVIEWS

jackiexu

GAC on Oct 23, 11 at 8:51pm
From Taormina to Rome, you could take the overnight sleeper train (if you're not too fussy). New schedules are in process of being uploaded, but using the current schedules:

Depart Taormina-Giardini 21:18 Intercity Night Train
Arrive Roma Termini 7:08



GAC, thanks for the very helpful notes. However, when I was searching the web site for the train schedule, I could not find this train even for November ... where do I miss?

Also, when will the December train schedule be published?

Thanks again.

GAC

Look at the big hyperlink in my previous responsive posting, which shows the train for 25 October.

Current schedules expire on December 11, but new schedules are slowly being uploaded. I would continue checking over the several days and weeks.

I also had another thought: to save money, and for all of you to stay in one compartment in the same railcar, you could book a C6 Tourist Couchette Compartment. This is an older unit, which has SIX bunks stacked in pairs facing each other, each three high. There is no washbasin, and the toilets/washbasins are located at the end of the railcar. However, five (or six) persons in a small compartment might be a bit too claustrophobic for some, and the persons in the lowest bunks might feel too close to the floor (or the persons in the highest bunks might feel too close to the ceiling, unless short in height).

Otherwise, with my original suggestion (one twin sleeper and one quad comfort couchette compartment), you'd be in separate railcars (which you perhaps might wish to avoid, or actually prefer???)

Yet another (more expensive) solution would be: one twin sleeper and one triple sleeper (hopefully in the same railcar?).

So many choices ......

GAC

If you were looking on the www.lefrecce.it website, it currently does NOT list this Intercity NIGHT train, only the daylight Intercity trains. This will likely change in the future, as the lefrecce website is evolving. For the ICN trains, you currently must look on the main Trenitalia website: www.fsitaliane.it

Did you really want to take a DAYLIGHT train from Taormina to Roma Termini? I simply (and perhaps incorrectly) assumed that you wanted the NIGHT train to better utilize your short time in Italy.

mariacallas2

I have just returned from 2 weeks in Taormina, saw Mt Etna, and am now in Rome. I think you will have MORE fun staying in Rome the whole time and forget Taormina. Rome is SOOOO much more fun. You will be FASCINATED the entire time and WISH you could stay longer.

Lots of things in Sicily are closing down by now and you will find it boring this time of year I'm afraid. Trains, everything. And Mt Etna was FFFFREEEZING cold. A nice drive to the base of it but definitely NOT worth the trip IMHO.

That is my advice.

Yours
MC2

crusty

I went to Mt Etna in October. The winds were furocious, and very cold. I dont think its that exciting. Taormina is amazing and probably the most beautiful place Ihave ever been.

Marija

We returned from Sicily on Saturday. Definitely true that many restaurants and hotels are shutting down, especially in Taormina. Couldn't believe that on a Tuesday night all the restaurants that we wanted to go to were closed. Taormina is pretty but that's about it. Stay in Rome. Your teenagers will thank you.