I've not been to Taormina, and I am decidedly not a beach person (anymore...sob...), but I'd be inclined to do 2/3/2. In spring 2011 we had two nights in Modica and two nights on Ortygia. I would have added a night to Modica because we took a day trip to Villa Romana del Casale one day and there were things I wanted to see close by but we just ran out of time.

Are you interested in ruins at all? If so, one could spend a lot of time at the archaeological museum and Greek sites in Syracusa. We rushed through the museum. I like that kind of stuff, so I wanted more time there too.

You are in for a great trip, no matter how you allocate your time! This area provides a wealth of opportunities that match your interests.

I loved my time in Syracusa! I spent about 2.5 days there and enjoyed every minute. My impression is that it would be easy to spend another 1/2 day or so there even if one travels at a fairly fast pace. For example, I didn't get onto the water at all while I was there, and had the impression that it would be very pleasant to do so.

I enjoyed my 2 nights in Taormina, if for vey different reasons. My impression was that huge cruise ships anchored off-shore and spewed hoards of people into the town's narrow medieval streets each day. (No criticism intended of the tourists - after all, I was a tourist there, too!) For one of my days there, I took a full-day tour of Mt. Etna and surrounding areas - a trip I greatly enjoyed. For the rest of my time in Taormina, I tried to balance my desire to avoid crowds with my desire to see the best of the place. I visited the spectacular theater and a few places in town that I considered high priorities, and then stepped off the main street, moving to a road parallel to the main shopping street. I moved from packed chaos to near solitude! I also visited Castelmola and Isola Bella after most cruise passengers returned to their ships. Once the day-trippers left, the town seemed to me to have a magical quality.

I also spent an evening and night in Noto and loved it! If the facades in Noto don't make you smile, please consult a mental health professional! I was very glad that I chose to ensure seeing these facades by the differing lighting conditions as day passed into evening and night.

I visited Sicily in 2007, so I'm sure my restaurant info is out of date, but for what its worth, here's the link:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/southern-italian-restaurants.cfm

Enjoy!

Don't worry about the nights; places are near.
If you have a car you can reach every place in few hour.
Between Ragusa and Noto i think is better to choose Noto; a small town with a loto of thing to do.
Restaurant? try the small places they are characteristics and very good.

Enjoy

There are some suggestions here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/bruce-and-marija-carless-in-sicily-in-november.cfm

2/3/2 would be my suggestion. As mentioned above, Taormina is stunning but very touristy. The view is the star & after 2 nights we were ready to move on. Siracusa (actually only the Ortygia part) is about atmosphere. Narrow, twisty streets with the sea only a turn or two away. You will eat well here. We used Modica as a base for day trips & enjoy its slice of Sicilian town life & head-turning beauty as the town rises from the Corso. We skipped Nota & visited Ragusa - which is best viewed from the bus/car on the way in. There are lots of great trip reports to read to help you. Here's mine:

http://members.rennlist.org/imcarthur/sicily.htm

Ian

Your trip sounds great. I think two bases would be nice, probably Taormina and Ortygia. You will see all of the things you are looking for - wonderful food, beautiful scenery and architecture and can take day trips. You will not see great beaches but the ocean views are stunning from Taormina which is on a cliff far above the water. The views of the sea and Mt. Etna from the rooms and terrace of the Villa Schuler in Taormina left a lasting impression. A hike to Castelmola, even higher, affords incredible vistas.

Have a lovely trip - Sicily is wonderful.

You have chosen well -- Sicily is one of my favorite places! If you want to see my Trip Report for our visit, you can click on my name. We spent a lot of time in the east.

I also think that two bases are best, but I would suggest that you stay in Ortigia and either Noto or Ragusa. We stayed in Ragusa and liked it very much -- really enjoyed the walk across the gorge between the old and new town.

For hotels, I highly recommend the hotel Aretusa Vacanze in Ortigia (www.aretusavacanze.com)and Risvegilo Ibleo (www.risveglioibleo.com) in Ragusa. For restaurants in Ragusa, I loved Locandina located in a gorgeous vaulted cellar made from white limestone (http://www.inlocandina.it) -- wonderful food and atmosphere.

If you still want to see Taormina, you could do it as a day trip from Ortigia (about 1 1/2 hrs. driving one way). We did it as a day trip from Catania. You don't say where your trip begins, but perhaps you could stop off in Taormina on your way down the coast. For us, a half day was plenty of time to see the remarkable Greek Theater and appreciate the view. I know many people recommend Taormina, but I thought it was the least authentic place we saw in Sicily.

Wow. Thanks for all the thoughtful responses! I am leaning toward 2/3/2, and I'm looking forward to looking through the recs this weekend. Thanks so much, everyone!

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Dina

You and I always seem to travel to the smae places, although you get to go far more often!

I'm going in April for 3 wks. Will stay in Scicli 2 nts, Ortygia 3 nts Taormina 1 nt before heading to Lipari for 5nts.


Let me know if you want my booked hotels. Most have been recommended here.

Buon viaggio!

ttt

Yes, Dayle, please!
I am overwhelmed by the hotel choices. Please share them, as well as in Scicli and Lipari.
How did you end up choosing Scicli?

In all our trips to Italy, we have never beend to Sicily.
Also looking forward to hearing about your trip when you get back!

Thanks!

Ian and Magster, thank so much for those detailed trip reports. They were so helpful and i have printed out and will use them for my trip to Sicily in May, 2013. Really appreciate it!

Oops! "I also visited Castelmola and Isola Bella BEFORE most cruise passengers returned to their ships."

Dina, our family of four was in Sicily in late June 2010. We particularly enjoyed our stays at the Villa Carlotta in Taormina and the Casa Talía in Modica, http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/it-was-sicily-for-our-special-trip.cfm.

bon voyage, marija, kja and ian,
Thanks so much for your trip reports -- i really enjoyed it and took a lot of notes!

So I think i've pretty much settled on three bases for the week.

I'm not quite sure which should get 2 days and which should get 3 -- but i will continue to do research on how much to there is to do in these places and hopefully that will help...

Meanwhile, these are the hotels I've narrowed down, so please comment if you can!

taormina - 2/3 NIGHTS?
hotel villa ducale -- my first choice, but is the walk into town too long?
villa belvedere
villa carlotta

ORTIGIA - 2/3 NIGHTS?
B&B La Via della Giudecca
palazzo del sale
Musciara Siracusa Resort
agliga ortigia charme hotel

and then 2/3 nights in one of the following...
MODICA
casa talia
le lumie
anime a sud (apt)

NOTO
seven rooms villadorata

OR
SCICLI -
palazzo hedone

Don't know if you are going to try and get there, but the Greek Temples in Agrigento are an amazing sight.

Loved both Palazzo del Sale and Casa Talia.

>hotel villa ducale -- my first choice, but is the walk into town too long?
We didn't attempt it. One man told me that it is about a 20 minute strenuous up & down hike. We used the free shuttle. I specifically booked it so we wouldn't be in the fray.

Ian

sassfrass..Would love to go to Agrigento one day. I think it seems to be a little over 2 hours drive, though, according to google maps. i'm guessing it's worth it?

ian -- thanks. does the shuttle run at specific times, or do you just let them know you want to go and they take you?

leely --- thanks for the validation.

Yes, absolutely worth it - one of the most impressive archeological sites I've seen, including Pompeii & Ephesus. I spent about five hours there and didn't see everything. It is a bit of a drive, but an easy, pretty one, which is what we did.

Dina

IIRC the shuttle runs more or less on demand. I agree that Agrigento is tremendous but it is a long drive from Modica on 2-lane roads with several town to go through. There & back plus 2-3 hours on site would eat up a day. You would be better off visiting Ragusa, Caltigirone, Piazza Armerina etc & saving the west for a future trip.

Ian

Please do yourself a favor and actually stay in Ortigia so you can wander the streets and enjoy the magic of this city.My daughter spent a semester abroad in Ortigia and it is fabulous. I would highly recommend the Hotel Roma which is just around the corner from the Duomo on Via Roma. Cafe Minerva and the restaurant Yaz(?) across the street from the hotel is wonderful.
. Ortigia is an ancient city located on an attached island and is only a mile by a mile and a half.There are over 4000 ships sunk in its harbor from centuries past. The town has been unfortunately discovered in the past decade as the Marriott hotel chain has decided to buy up the land where once was the local market but this piece do Sicily is so special! It is a wonderful city to wander around,enjoy a glass of wine,shop,see a puppet show or just sit on the Lungomare and watch the sea. You will love it!

dutyfree -- we are definitely staying in ortigia! and looking forward to it. i will look into the hotel roma.

ian -- that's what i was thinking -- maybe save agrigento for another trip... it will be a hard call.

Ian is right. Agrigento did take a whole day, and we missed lots of other things (Noto, Ragusa and Ortigia) because of that. I have such a big interest in Greek architecture, it was kind of on my bucket list, and DH indulges me. Now we have to go back and see the things you are going to see. Sicily is beautiful - and great food.

lol, Sassafrass - I'm the exact opposite. it's the beautiful towns of eastern Sicily that so interest me; I can take or leave the greek stuff.

Sassafrass

Speaking of ruins & the west . . . Segesta (albeit technically not Greek) is incredible. The view from the amphitheater & the remains of the city is simply stunning. But it was the ruins of Selinunte that gave me the best 'feel' of its ancient inhabitants. Yes, you have to go back.

Ian

Ok, we are now considering PLAN B.

my DH mentioned that maybe we should do taormina, syracusa (and visit noto from there), and then choose the aeolian islands as our third base, instead of one of the val di noto towns.

We've spent a lot of time in umbria and tuscany, have visited hill towns in puglia and beautiful lecce, so he thinks that staying on one of the islands for a couple of nights might be fun and different.

So I need to do a little more research (maybe start a new thread?) about splitting up our week with 2-3 nights each in Taormina, one of the aeolian islands, and syracusa (ortigia).

we will be arriving in sicily from athens, and then heading to rome. if we do PLAN B, not sure if Catania is still a good in/out airport, or what order we should plan to visit the towns....

suggestions, please?

thanks for your patience and all your amazing help!!
dina

So with a slight twist, we've readjusted and (i think) finalized our itinerary

2 nights Taormina (Villa Ducale)
2 nights Panarea (Hotel Cincotta)
3 nights Siracusa (Palazzo del Sale)

I have some questions as to how best to enjoy our time in siracusa:

1. We are looking forward to just walking and enjoying the island and seeing the archaeological sites, but not sure how much time to allot to the ancient sites. Any tips?

2. we would like to take a late afternoon drive one day -- maybe to Ilba Ragusa and Noto. Would like to be in Noto at dusk and possibly for dinner, since the drive back to Siracusa from there is pretty short.

3. Is Piazza Armeria too far for a day trip?

4. Are there any good wineries to visit?

5. We also love to take a dip in the sea -- any suggestions for a beach (don't need sand!) with chairs/umbrellas where we could relax for a few hours?

Thanks!!
Dina

Dina - so far as I can do, it looks a very good itinerary.

i'll be interested to read about how it goes.

Dina

The large site in Siracusa is 10 minutes away by car/taxi from Ortygia. Allow a couple of hours. Fill in the rest of the day chilling in Ortygia.

Piazza Armerina is a 2 hour drive one way. I would leave early, visit Armerina & swing down to Ragusa for lunch, drive through Modica & get back before dark. I am not a fan of driving strange roads in a strange country after dark.

You can go to the stony beach in Taormina & rent. Just take the cable car down.

Ian

> not sure how much time to allot to the ancient sites.

Maybe 1/2 hour for the theater in Taormina; a few hours for the sites in Siracusa plus at least an hour for its archeological museum.

> Would like to be in Noto at dusk

That's a wonderful time to visit Noto! Try to get there early enough to see it in daylight, too.

> any suggestions for a beach

There's a beach below Taormina.

if you want a swim, you can't do better than the beach below Commissario Montalbano's apartment:

http://www.lacasadimontalbano.com/

watch out for any floating dead bodies or horses on the beach, though!

Dina

Have you posted previously about the ferries around Southern Italy?

Ann

I am sure Caterella will help out this bodies on the beach.

During your stay in Taormina don't miss to visit the Alcantara Gorges Geological and Botanic Park, here's the link http://www.terralcantara.it/en. It is an incredible wildlife scenery drawn by a river passing through a "lava" wall (volcanic material). Here you can just stroll with Etna on the background or even try some river trekking. Really a great experience. You can reach it by car or ask to your hotel and they will indicated you an organized tour for it.

Vinard,

i don't care if you are advertising, the Alcantara Gorge looks great.

Thanks again for all the great info...

Vinard -- i've read about the gorge and it's beauty. just not sure we can fit in the time with only one full day in taormina.

Ann - no haven't posted about ferry info in southern sicily.... is there something i should know? we are planning to ferry to aeolians from milazzo, or maybe messina.

Ann - no haven't posted about ferry info in southern sicily.... is there something i should know? we are planning to ferry to aeolians from milazzo, or maybe messina.>>

Dina, that wasn't me, that was dickie!

sorry, ann (and dickie!)

Sorry Dina

I seem to remember posts last year, one poster may have had a login very similar to yours.

The thread concluded that it wasn't possible to get from Sardinia to Sicily. My wife bought me the book "Vroom by the sea" for Christmas and Peter Moore, the author, managed to get a ferry from Cagliari to Palermo.

Ps the drive back from Noto to Siracusa is very easy, even by Sicilian standards. The road is straight and I think you may pass through a couple of small towns.

. I remember we had a nightmare in Avola just chaotic roads system and roads. Had problems with Ragusa and Modica, both have upper new towns and lower old towns.

not at all, Dina!