Sicily and Amalfi Trip Help

Old Jul 19th, 2011, 10:30 AM
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MYP
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Sicily and Amalfi Trip Help

Hello there,

I am starting to think about a fun family trip for myself, my husband, my parents and my sister for my sister's 30th birthday trip next year (thinking early September 2012). We are going to book with miles, so we will need to figure out our general plan in the next few months.

We will have ~10 days and are thinking about starting in Sicily (no clue where yet), spending 4-5 days there, taking 2-3 days to drive up the western coast of Italy, spend 1 day in Pompeii and get rid of our car in Naples. From there, my husband and I will go to Rome for 2 days before we go back to Chicago and my family will go to Capri, on to Bari, then to Greece (or somewhere else...haven't gotten that far yet!).

All of us are active (hiking, camping, running...though mom and sister are on the lower end of the active scale), enjoy eating (the family is vegetarian and LOVES Italian food - esp pizza / pasta), and enjoy learning about other cultures. Would appreciate your must dos and any advice on driving from Sicily to Napoli.

I was wondering if you had any recommendations for an amazing 10 day trip. Any favorite places to visit (and stay)? We will likely rent a little apartment in Sicily and use that as a base to get around. We will try to stay in little B&Bs for the rest of the trip. I truly appreciate your suggestions! Thanks in advance for your help.

M
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 10:46 AM
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You may want to take a look at my Sicily trip report--just skip the medical section; click on my name to find it.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 11:29 AM
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With only 10 days you should decide if you are doing either the eastern or western side of Sicily.I am kinda confused-are you driving from the mainland to Sicily or flying or renting a car the whole time and from where?
I am assuming that you are flying from ORD to FCO and then onto Palermo or Catania? Are the ten days the whole time over in Italy or including travel time?The times that I have flown from ORD to Catania via either FCO of MXP-took close to 20 plus hours!
Personally I would fly into Catania and take the bus or private car/rental car down to Ortigia(old Siracusa) and base yourself there for a few days and then possibly go up near Etna and do Taormina,Mt. Etna for a day,etc.Return the car to the Catania airport and fly either to Naples or Rome to do your daytrips to Pompeii,etc.You will enjoy your trip more and have more hours for sightseeing and enjoying your family.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 12:09 PM
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Sorry, apologies for being unclear. We would fly into Palermo, probably rent a car right away and drive to the eastern side of Sicily.

We will have the 10 days in Italy (excluding travel time). We actually want to drive from Sicily to Naples, so we can see more of the country and explore some off the beaten paty options.

Michael, I will take a look at your report...thanks!
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 05:00 PM
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I have never done the drive from Sicily up through Calabria, but that is because most reports say it is dreary. Also, you need to check if you can take a car from Sicily to the mainland without incurring unpleasant drop-off fees.

You might consider the ferries, either to Salerno (where you can catch a train to Pompei) or into Napoli.

HOWEVER, I can tell you that there are one or two posters on Frommer's message boards who make yearly trips to Calabria and have often driven that stretch. Because they have family there, they see a lot of the non-touristy side of the region, and they love it. You might try posting on that Italy board.

I think it is a great idea you want to see something unusual in Italy. I will also suggest you check out staying in agriturismi in Sicily and elsewhere where you can be on farms and eat home cooking.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 06:43 PM
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I have done the drive from Sicily to Naples, and it is dreary in the sense that the road skips above the coastline after you leave Reggio di Calabria and doesn't pass through any pretty towns, etc, only skimming the coast at a few points before going inland. But the scenery is pretty enough, especially glimpses through the cliffs and tress at the sea, but it can be a long drive (allow around 7-8hrs from Reggio di Calabria to Naples. There are a few roadside stops (Autogrill, Fini, etc) on the A3, but they will be stretched out in the first part of the journey, so keep an eye out for signs on the side of the road for the distance to the next one. You can do Messina to Naples in a day if time is of the essence, otherwise you could stop at a point in between, like Rivello or Praia a Mare to break it up if you need, or even base in Sorrento (easy with a car, but check parking with your hotel) rather than Naples.

As has been noted, Sicily is a great choice, lots to see and you could easily spend the whole 10 days tootling around Sicily itself. If you keep it as you've stated, with 5 days, then cutting down from Palermo to Monreale then on to Agrigento would be a good starting route. Then you can visit Piazza Amerina on your way over to Siracusa, then up to Catania and visit Taormina and Etna before Messina and then the mainland. How much time you spend in each will depend on your interests, and if you decide to rent an apartment rather than change locations every day or 2, then Siracusa is a good base in that it's great for food and people as well as sights, and you can go all the way to Agrigento as well as up to Catania for day trips.

On another note, you can fly Rome-Greece if you don't want to take the train to and overnight ferry from Bari.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 08:26 PM
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IMHO, you will be spending a lot of time in transit to spend a relatively limited amount of time in the magnificent destinations on your itinerary. I travel "hard" - I move around a lot and give myself little if any down time - and even so, I would not want to undertake your planned trip. But if your goal is to skim the surface or to just visit one or two sites and if you are willing to spend a substantial proportion of your time in transit in order to do so, go for it! I love that people travel for different reasons and with different strategies.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 08:33 PM
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If you want to go to the eastern side then why are you flying into Palermo? As one midwesterner to another you are nuts to be driving from Sicily to Naples-too crazy and too much time that you are wasting that you could be using for sighseeing.
Fly into Catania,rent a car at the Catania airport(Europa has always been good for me) and do the eastern side. When you get finished with Sicily,hop onto a plane to Rome or Naples and do daytrips.
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 08:46 PM
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Like kja I travel hard and fast, but eight days in Sicily followed by five in Rome this past April (my 5th or 6th visit to Rome, 1st time to Sicily) left me exhausted. Are you set on flying into Palermo? I loved Palermo, but with your time frame I would think it would be much easier for you to fly into Catania and see the eastern side of the island.

Sicily is incredible!
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Old Jul 19th, 2011, 08:54 PM
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Agree with the others. Sicily really deserves more time, but you will have to pick either the east, and fly into Catania, or the west, and fly into Palermo. I would agree with basing in Ortigia if you're doing the east, but might suggest Trapani instead of Palermo if you do the west.

I took the train from Naples to Sicily, and after we left the Bay of Naples it got rather boring, sounds like it isn't much better by road. Click on my name for my Sicily and S. Italy TRs.
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 02:53 AM
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I agree with all of the above. I've never spent time in Calabria, but I do remember a seemingly endless bus ride a long time ago when I went from Naples to Reggio di Calabria. I'm wondering if you would enjoy simply staying on Sicily and flying to Naples together to visit Pompeii.

In Sicily, you can always fly into Catania, spend time on the Eastern side, drive across to Piazza Armerina, Agrigento, then up to Palermo and depart from there. Lots of wonderful hikes around Etna. Also, I've never been to the Aeolian islands, but if you decide to spend 10 days in/around Sicily, that might be something to explore (I hear the islands are wonderful). There is so much to do, and so much diversity on Sicily, I do not think you'll feel like you're missing anything at all!

Which reminds me - what about an overnight ferry from Sicily/Lipari to Naples? Having just done an overnight ferry in Greece, I now think it's a perfectly civilized way to travel, especially if you get a cabin (as opposed to my backpacking days when I "slept" on deck).

Have fun!!
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 03:32 AM
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Sorry - one more thought - if you want to do both Sicily and Amalfi coast, how about 5 days in Sicily (agree you'd then have to choose the east or west coast), then overnight ferry from either Messina or Palermo to Salerno, then 2 days on the coast, up to Pompeii, then on to Rome? I don't mean to be a ferry pusher, but it's kind of fun to wake up as the sun is rising and you're pulling into port for your next adventure (or to watch the sun set as you're heading out of port). Plus, after five days in Sicily, you might not be so interested in more driving.
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 04:28 AM
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This is just one traveler's opinion so take it for what it is worth. We love Sicily and wouldn't suggest spending less than a week, preferably 10 days. And, as suggested above, choose either the east or the west. While we enjoyed the Amalfi Coast for 4 days, we won't go back. It is beautiful and resorty. Since you plan to visit Pompeii, 3 days should do it. Sicily offers all of the things you are looing for and more. We talk about going back all the time. And, believe me, "off the beaten path" options are easier to find in Sicily than in most places in Italy.
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 07:42 AM
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I would spend 10 days in Sicily. We spent 15 days and still did not see it all. Here is what we did see:

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 08:29 AM
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After reading your suggestions, I think we will probably opt for the ferry option. That will then give us another 2 days in Sicily, which is seems like you all recommend!

Would you recommend renting a car for the 2 days we are in the Naples / Pompeii area? I know the roads around there are supposed to be quite treacherous...

As of now, we may fly into Palermo if that's the only Sicily airport option that we can use since we'll be booking on miles. If Catania is a viable option, we'll fly into there...

Thanks!
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 11:24 AM
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Many great suggestions above.
I'll just add that if you like hiking you should check out the Lo Zingaro nature reserve not far from Palermo. You can hike there with a dramatic and fantastic view of the sea(which is absolutely lovely since it's a natural reserve). And there are various stops, so you can decide how many miles you want to go. At the various stops you can relax sunbathe, and swim in the gorgeous sea !
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 01:36 PM
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We did roughly the same trip back in 2007.

Flew into Palermo for 3 nts. (loved this city!)
Then drove to Marsala
Agrigento
Siracusa
Taormina (Mt. Edna was the highlight)
Ended up in Catania where we took the ferry to the mainland and then drove to Salerno (boring beyond words - what a waste of a day!)
From there we spent 2 nts. in Sorrento then visited family in Cassino and ended up in Rome.

The trip was wonderful except for the drive from Sicily to Salerno. Do yourself a favor and listen to all the posts that suggest taking a ferry.
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 05:38 PM
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If you end up flying into Palermo, but want to head east, this is what we did. It was fast-paced--and we certainly wanted to linger for longer in each stop--but it was doable.

Day 1 - Arrive Palermo @ noon (from SFO). O/n Palermo.
Day 2 - O/n Palermo. Saw city sights and Monreale this day. Great!
Day 3 - Pick up car @ Palermo airport, drive to Segesta, see temple. Drive to Agrigento, visit Valle dei Templi. O/n Agrigento.
Day 4: To Modica via "scenic" route (we got lost...again). Sightsee Modica. O/n Modica.
Day 5: Drove to Piazza Armerina, visit Villa Romana del Casale. Leisurely, sightseeing in area during rest of day. O/n Modica.
Day 6: To Siracusa via scenic route (this was intentional). Get rid of car. Sightsee Siracusa. O/n Siracusa.
Day 7: Siracusa.
Day 8: Siracusa a.m., afternoon flight from Catania to Rome.

I wanted one more day in each location.
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 05:39 PM
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You will not regret spending the extra time in Sicily! As for the car, you could investigate keeping your Sicily rental, taking it on the ferry, and then returning it in Rome after you've used it to explore the coast and Pompeii. I imagine you could drive straight off the ferry to Positano (well not exactly straight since the roads are so curvy!). Then take a tour of Pompeii the next day. And drive back to Rome the day after that.
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Old Jul 20th, 2011, 08:17 PM
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Two extra days in Sicily - great!

But I still think you are trying to do much to much in the time you have. Just my opinion!

For comparison:
I had 10 days in Sicily, and I confirmed what I heard in advance: NOT ENOUGH TIME !!!

I took an overnight ferry to Naples and then spent 6 days in Naples and the Amalfi Coast. I confirmed what I heard in advance: NOT ENOUGH TIME !!!

On a different trip, I spent 5 days in Rome. NOT ENOUGH TIME !!!

As I noted in my previous post, when I travel, I move around a lot and give myself little if any down time. And I love the fact that people travel in different ways and for different reasons and with different styles. Vive la différence!

Just something to consider as you make your plans.
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