Sicily help

Old Sep 20th, 2017, 01:52 PM
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Sicily help

We will be in Sicily for 14 days in May 2018. We were thinking of flying into Catania, renting a car, driving down to Ortigia, and spending three days there touring the Syracuse area.

What would be another home base that may not be too crowded in May to do day trips in the Taormina area? Then on to the West coast--again I'm trying to figure out another home base for the Trapani area. Lastly, go to Palermo for a few days then fly out.
It looks like there are some very nice AIRBNB's all over Sicily. We also enjoy a the
luxury of a nice hotel. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 02:07 PM
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What would be another home base that may not be too crowded in May to do day trips in the Taormina area?>

Giardini-Naxos is the seaside resort area lying under the pile of rocks Taormina is perched on. It will still be off-season and hotels very cheap compared to Taormina - not a dreamy old town but really local restaurants, etc.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/s...giardini-naxos
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 05:19 PM
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I’m not sure I understand the logic of going from Catania to Siracusa and then back north to Taormina, nor do I understand what, exactly, you hope to see in the area of Taormina – perhaps you could say a bit more?
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 05:57 PM
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I highly recommend if you have not already done this that you ask your questions on the TripAdvisor Sicily forum where several residents of Sicily post daily to answer questions & provide excellent detail about places to stay and towns that make good bases that are unknown to tourists. (I would not pick Giardini-Naxos in May, which is not "off-season" for the area of Taormina.
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 06:00 PM
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It's certainly not high season - mostly Italians go there (G-Naxos) and in May should be a slack season - the fact that Taormina may be mobbed means little for G-Naxos where none of those tourists venture.

I was there in October and there was nearly no tourists around - not much different than May I would presume. What do you base your take on? Have you been there in May?
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Old Sep 20th, 2017, 08:31 PM
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I must admit that I don't understand why massimop consistently recommends TA when SHE doesn't think she had relevant expertise -- maybe consulting TA is worthwhile, but they may (in fact) be Fodorites who have relevant experience and/or expertise....
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Old Sep 21st, 2017, 06:41 AM
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kja,

Because massimop is solely concerned with the needs of the OP traveling, not to flash around her ego and her limited experience of Sicily -- which is based on 2 more trips to the island than you have taken to it, kja, by the way. massimop couldn't care less if it pricks the egos of the Fodorites posting here to direct posters to better sources of information if there are better sources elsewhere.

The OP may not realize that the strident opinions about Siciliy he or she reads and this forum are only strident, not necessarily the best advice around. The natives of Sicily who post on TripAdvisor know the island extremely well, and they have been outstanding in helping thousands of travelers new to the island. Moreover, they are much more flexible in helping a traveler create a personal trip they will enjoy, based on the traveler's stated desires, rather than some idiotic dogma based on fixed ideas of Sicily which are irrelevant to most people's needs or wants. It would be selfish not share such a good source of information about Sicily as Vagabonda on TripAdvisor.

IMO. hope that's clear to YOU now.
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Old Sep 21st, 2017, 06:52 AM
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palenq,

Giardini=Naxos is now a cruise ship port. Have you been there since the explosion in cruise ship travel? Look at how many cruise ships pulled in the month of May this year

http://crew-center.com/giardini-naxo...-schedule-2017

Don't imagine that everybody who gets off a cruise hip in Giardini-Naxos spends the entire day outside of that town. Thousands of them skip sightseeing in favor of beach time and souvenir shopping.

The OP specifically asked for an uncrowded base near Taormina in May. Sicilians who post on TripAdvisor don't have just one experience of that area from years ago. They have very active knowledge of great alternatives to crowded cruise ship ports.

why keep trying to get in the way of travelers getting great, up-to-date advice? If you want to do that, don't expect not to be contradicted by people who care a lot about new posters needs.
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Old Sep 21st, 2017, 07:54 AM
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JonV

This trip report follows a good chunk of the itinerary you are planning and might be useful to you that way. It's not an exact parallel since these people went a month earlier and to more places, and also has a lot of personal detail irrelevant to your trip, but passing it along

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...gy-Sicily.html
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Old Sep 21st, 2017, 03:27 PM
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@ massimop: I understand your reasons better now. It had seemed that you were recommending TA because people there would recommend bases that are unknown to tourists, but you now make it clear that your reasons are broader.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2017, 09:08 AM
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Thanks for the help?
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Old Sep 22nd, 2017, 09:19 AM
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massimop -what places would you recommend to OP?
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Old Sep 22nd, 2017, 12:22 PM
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jon, I followed massimop's link to the trip report on TA, and i have to say that it seems to be a very good plan that you could easily adapt for your trip.

It starts in the way that i would have suggested, which is to put the Taormina portion first, and then proceed to Ortgia etc. Personally we did not enjoy Taormina very much when we were there about a year ago; the town itself was very crowded and the area we stayed in, Castelmola which is high above the town, was only reachable by a very long and arduous uphill drive. The views of Etna were terrific, but IMO that was not enough to outweigh the disadvantages. That said there are a lot of people here who have enjoyed staying there and you might do so too.

I would recommend some time in the Baroque south east, around Noto, Ragusa, Modica and Scicli but I am a Montalbano fan and loved seeing some of the places I'd seen on the TV in the flesh. They may not appeal to you so much, and again, driving in and out can be testing.

And the Villa Casale should really not be missed.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2017, 03:24 PM
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Jon_V: Again, I’m not sure what, exactly, you hope to see with a base in the Taormina area, and that would, I think, be critical to providing any suggestions. So at the risk of being repetitive, and with the caveat that I might not have any reasonable suggestions (though others might), I would again ask you to say a bit more.
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Old Sep 26th, 2017, 02:18 PM
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Huge thanks for your replies. We are renting a car and would like to see beautiful areas and the coasts. We would

enjoy the culture and food. We are not the hiking types. We want to explore the west coast of Sicily

around Trapani and the Marsala area. And the east coast as well. We are now considering flying in and out of Catania and skipping Palermo.

Which towns do you recommend as home bases? We are planning on 14 days. How many home bases would you think are good to see both coasts? Thank you!!!
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Old Sep 26th, 2017, 03:05 PM
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IMO, Sicily does not lend itself well to bases, and I'm not much of a base-seeker, so I'm probably not the best person to answer, but, FWIW....

I think some of us already strongly recommended Ortygia.

I skipped Trapani and Marsala -- not for lack of interest, but lack of time. But any number of Fodorites have visited that region, so you might try searching for those city names.

I adored Palermo, but understand that it is not everyone's cup of tea.

If you are trying to see both the east and west coasts, I'm not sure why you would fly into and out of Catania, as you would then have to backtrack. Even if you don't visit Palermo, it should be easy enough for you to reach its airport.

Shall we assume that seeing the ruins, Villa Romana del Casale, and Baroque towns are not a high priority for you?
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