Jean

We are planning a Sicily trip for the last week in May. Right now we are thinking of the following places and hotels. I would appreciate comments or suggestions from those of you who know the hotels and know Sicily since this is our first trip.<BR><BR>Arrival in Catania<BR>1st night Taormina Villa Belvedere<BR>night 2&3 Cefalu area Atelier Sul Mare<BR>night 4&5 Argigento Dioscuri Bay Hotel<BR>night 6 Syracuse Villa Polti Hotel (hte night before the plane back from Catania)<BR><BR>Do you think that we should stay in Palermo or can we see the sights en route (we will have a car) I thought it might be more fun to stay out of the larger cities.<BR><BR>thanks for the help<BR><BR>Jean

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Davidx

If you e-mail me I will send you some notes on Sicily whoch I made after a holiday there ni February. I should hate to drive in Palermo but I do think you should not miss seeing it.<BR>As well as trains there are buses from almost anywhere in the island so it hsould not be difficult.

jpn

It is very easy drive to Palermo from Cefalu and you can even take a bus to Palermo to spend the day there. <BR>Your itinerary looks fine and is not overloaded with driving between places. Do you know anything about Dioscuri Bay Hotel? Why are you visiting Agrigento? If for the Greek temples and ruins I suggest staying in Belvedere Villa which has an amazing view of the ruims but remember to request a room with a view. And do not miss a museum in Agrigento where you can walk from the hotel. Certain days it closes early so make sure you check the opening hours. We almost got locked inside. It is a wonderful place to spend a few hours and the signs in English were very helpful to us. Also Cefalu cathedral is under renovation and we went there for this reason but unfortunately we could not see anything but scafolding. We love Sicily. Do not forget to visit or at least drive through some villages and enjoy peace and tranquility of those places.

Annie

We drove in and out of Palermo and found it very hectic. Wouldn't do it again. We spent two nights in Argigento and would change that to one night if we did it again. I can't remember the name of the hotel in Argigento but it was way off the beaten path and difficult to find. I think Taormina Villa Belvedere is a good selection, and would spend two nights there and one night in Argigento if I were planning the trip.

Jeanne

Jean, it looks like you put lots of work and research to your short itinerary. We visited all these places you have in mind last March and they are all wonderful. I would take a bus to Palermo from Cefalu. Also staying two nights in Agrigento is a great idea<BR>This was our itinerary<BR>Rented a car in Palermo and drove to Cefalu. By renting in the airport we avoided driving in Palermo city<BR>Cefalu 2 nights<BR>Agrigento 2 nights<BR>Siracusa 2 nights (I would change to 1 or just make a short stop on the way to Taormina)<BR>Taormina 3 nights (we were glad that we had at least 3 days there)<BR>Drove from Taormina in the morning to Catania where we returned our car.

GAC

Good luck finding parking in Palermo! I would take the train into town and make it into a full-day side trip. You will also want to visit Monreale, up the hill from Palermo. Its cathedral is the most fantastic in all of Southern Italy.

meg

Hi Jean<BR>We had 12 nights in Sicily last Nov. Our itinerary was as follows:<BR>3 nights in Palermo- we hired a car from the airport but didn't use it in the city. Either walked or used the buses. You must not miss Monreale (the cathedral there has the most beautiful mosaics). We then went to Erice (1 night) via Segesta (a fantastic Greek temple and theatre) On to Agrigento (2 nights); Siracusa 3 nights and finally Cefalu 3 nights. If you wantto email me off list I can supply more details on hotels, good restaurants etc

Jean

Meg, if you are not atravel aent please supply this information to all on this board. Just post them here but no advertising please

Angela

We were in Sicily last May for 5 days, had a car and loved it so much we are returning to see parts of the island we missed the first time. We spent two nights in Taormina--if we go back we are going to stay in Castelmola which is above Taormina and has the most beautiful views including the infamous Mt. Etna! We also spent a day/night in Enna on our way to Palermo which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We stayed in the only hotel in town, Hotel Siciliano which was beautfully authentic Sicilian. Our last few days in Palermo were not enough. Make sure if you go, see Cappuccini Catacombe(sp?), the Merrionette Museum, and the Vucciere outside market. The food in Sicily is outstanding especially if you are a seafood lover. Make sure you try the mussels at Da Angelina in Giardini-Naxos just south of Taormina.<BR>I received David's notes and they were quite helpful with planning our next trip. You will love Sicily and will most likely become addicted as we have!

Sasza

Personally I think it's quite hectic to drive all over the island to see all different things, it's not a small island. <BR>I have no suggestions about hotels or anything, but if you like some adventure it is very nice to go to Stromboli (depart from Milazzo with SNAV boat), since you can make these trips there to the top of the vulcano and actually see it erupt. This needs some preparation though; what we did was leave our car in Milazzo, we took the boat and went to Stromboli, and booked a trip and a place to stay as we got there. In the evening we made the walk to the top and we came back in the village by night. Next day we went back to Milazzo to pick up our car (we left it in a garage if that's the right word). I know this sounds very hectic,and it is also not free of danger to climb the vulcano, but looking back on at I have this wonderful experience that I will never ever forget. <BR>I wish you a very happy stay in Sicily, it's beautiful!

Jean

Thanks for the replies. Based on your remarks I may change the 2 nights in Argigento to 1 night and 1 night in Palermo instead. Any hotel suggestions there? We will have a car, so will have to at least drive into town even if we just park it and leave it while we are there....<BR><BR>I will check out the Belvedere Villa in Argigento-I don't know Dioscuri Bay Hotel although notcied that it the same hotel chain as the Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina.<BR><BR>I know our drive sounds a bit hectic-but it isn't as bad as it sounds-we live in Paris so won't have jet lag to deal with and we are going fly in and out Catania with the first 5 nights in Taormina, Cefalu area, Palermo and Argigento and then we are actually going to spend a week at the club Med on the south shore called Kamarina which is a tennis club and spa-and then spend 1 more night in Siracusa before flying back to Paris from Catania. We just didn't want to go to Sicily for the first time only to go to the club med, which is why we are spending 6 more nights driving around the island. Has anyone been to the club Med there? There is another one near Cefalu, but it is much more rustic and youth/party oriented. I would be interested to hear from anyone who knows the Kamarina club....

terry

To those who suggested taking a bus from Cefalu to Palermo - there is also a very good train service, which runs along side the very scenic coastline. I too would not advise driving in Palermo - stick to public transport.

Marty

The Conca Baglio d'Oro is a wonderful and reasonable hotel outside Palermo. It was converted from an old paper mill and has a fabulous restaurant. My husband and I stayed there for a total of 3 nights last Christmas-New Year's. We had a car, which was useful for driving up to Monreale, an absolute must, and then around the island. However, there is a bus that comes right by the hotel that you can take into Palermo, sparing you the madness of driving into Palermo itself. We loved the hotel so much that we ended up staying there on our last night in Sicily--after a couple nights of somewhat dismal hotels we wanted to be somewhere where we knew that we would have a great room, a great meal, and great service!

francesco

Hi, I am a Sicilian travel agent and I think you stay the most of your time in minor places: why two nights at Atelier and just one in Syracuse?<BR>Surely in 6 nights you cannot visit the whole island, but Palermo needs 2 days and I think Baglio Conca d'Oro got good rates and from there you can visit also Agrigento. I suggest 3 nights in Palermo and 3 in Syracuse: don't waste your time arranging your baggages...<BR>www.mediterraneo.it