ciao72

We are going to Sicily for 11 nights in late September - our third trip to Italy, first to Sicily. Our plan is to fly into Palermo for 3 nights, then pick up car. We don't yet have a place to stay in Palermo, but we want a good, central location. We've considered Hotel Ambasciatori or Giorgio's House B & B. Any ideas there? We will be leaving Palermo on a Sunday and have heard that the only (and best) place to get the car on Sunday would be the airport. Any thoughts on this? We do not want to drive in Palermo. Then we plan to visit Erice and end up in Selinunte for 1 night at Hotel Alceste. Then 1 night in Piazza Amerina at Agriturismo Gigliotto. Then 2 nights in Ortigia at L'Approdo delle Sirene (where we'll visit Noto, Ragusa and/or Modica). Then Taormina for 3 nights at Villa Schuler. Our last night will be in or near Catania because we have a 6:30 am flight out the following morning. Any suggestions where to stay that night? Please give us any feedback you have on our itinerary, hotels, restaurants you recommend, driving, things not to miss, etc. etc. We would probably prefer not to do as much driving as this will entail, but how else can we see all we want to see? We've read lots of trip reports and gotten some good tips and ideas from them - bobthenavigator, thursdaysd, and many others. Any suggestions and recommendations would be much appreciated. We don't want to plan or do too much, but we want to see as much as possible during our time there. Thanks so much.

thursdaysd

ciao72 - sounds pretty good - have a great time! Glad my TR is helpful. You don't need a car for Erice, and I'd recommend spending the night there if possible, which might let you pick up a car in Trapani instead of Palermo.

No need to drive in Palermo - the buses are fine. You can get to and from the airport by bus, and up to Monreale as well. I stayed at the Sky Sleeping B&B (www.bed-and-breakfast.palermo.it/eng) in Palermo (haven't got there yet in my TR), and although it wasn't right in the center I really liked the B&B, and the almost village feel of the street it was on.

I'd opt for three nights in Ortigia and two in Taormina, especially if you're making all those day trips, but depends on what interests you.

kja

Hi, ciao72 -

I think your plan sounds good in general, but am not sure whether 2 nights in Ortygia (L'Approdo delle Sirene is wonderful!) means 1, 2, or 3 days there. I would think you would want at least 2 days there if you plan to see Noto, etc.

You might find some of my comments on restaurants helpful - see

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

Enjoy!

dutyfree

Plan more time in Ortigia-you won't regret it!

ciao72

thursdaysd - thanks for your reply. Is it possible to take the bus or train to Erice from Palermo? And then to Trapani to get a car? Sky Sleeping looked good - I will check that out. Could you walk to most sights in Palermo from there? We decided on 3 nights in Taormina because we plan to see Mt. Etna from there and figured that would be 1 day.

kja - Glad to hear your thoughts about L'Approdo delle Sirene! Since we're coming to Ortigia from Piazza Amerina, which isn't too far, we figured we'd have a 2 full days there to see Noto, etc. Your restaurant reviews were great! Thanks - we'll certainly go to some of them.

dutyfree - You're the third (out of 3) to advise us to spend more time in Ortigia! It must be wonderful - I think we'll take the advice. Villa Schuler in Taormina requires a minimum 3 night stay, but maybe we could spend most of our arrival day in Taormina in the Siracusa area. Does anyone know how long the drive to Taormina from Siracusa takes? Should we plan to visit all 3 - Noto, Ragusa and Modica? If you had to skip one, which one?

thursdaysd

ciao72 - you have to go to Trapani to get to Erice (I just posted that bit to my TR yesterday). You can take either the train or bus to Trapani - the bus station is next to the train station in both places. Then you take a bus up to Erice. But I forgot that Sunday is not the best day for that, as there are only three buses in each direction to Erice that day.

Sky Sleeping was about 10 minutes walk from downtown Palermo for me, or you can take a bus - buy a ticket from the Tabacchi - 1 euro gets you 120 minutes.

ilanit

We enjoyed out stay at Agriturismo Gigliotto. Also vote for more time in Ortigia. Have a wonderful time.

isabel

Sounds like almost the same trip we took a few years ago. We even stayed at Hotel Alceste in Selinunte. In Palermo we stayed at Hotel Joli and I highly recommend it. Very central and great value for the price. Here are my photos from Sicily and the third one is of the ceiling of the lobby in the Hotel Joli. www.pbase.com/annforcier/sicily_2005

We spent the first night after Palermo just outside of Erice (which was beautiful in the evening), then Selinunte, then Agrigento where we stayed at a great little B&B. Then we did 3 nights in Siricusa where we did day trips to Ragusa, etc, and ended with three in Taormina. It was a great trip. All my photos are labeled with the names of the towns. We stopped at a couple of small inland towns that were featured in the book, The Stone Boudoir. It was a nice contrast to the more touristy places. We did those on the way from Agrigento to Siracusa. I would definitely repeat that trip and it sounds like what you have planned is very similiar.

Sassafrass

You did not mention Agrigento in your itinerary. I know it is not for everybody, and it may be just because I've loved studying Greek and Roman architecture since middle school, but those magnificent temples perched high on the hill are stunning and, for me, a highlight of trips to Europe. It is a good distance to get there though.

Royal

I have been trying to interest my husband in a trip to Sicily for the fall of 2009.

Thank you Isabel for your fabulous photos - think they will convince him of the beauty and history this area has to offer.

As always great tips from all the Fodorites.

isabel

I just found my old trip report from my Sicily trip in case anyone is interested. It has hotel recommendations, etc. It's at: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34657352

ciao72

isabel - your photos are so fantastic! and your trip report is wonderful. I especially loved your pictures and description of Erice - now I'm thinking of 2 nights in Palermo and 1 in Erice instead of 3 in Palermo. Where did you stay in Erice? Can you drive into the town or what? Thanks for info on Hotel Joli.

sassafrass - we are definitely looking forward to Agrigento - we will go on our way to Piazza Amerina from Selinunte. How much time do you need for Agrigento?

thursdaysd - we're thinking now of staying 1 night in Erice - where did you stay? Sky Sleeping in Palermo looks good - I'll check it out.

Thanks to everyone for all the tips! I'll be happy to hear any more info anyone has!

ciao72

isabel - Sorry,I just re-read your trip report and saw the name of the hotel you stayed at in Erice. I went to the website and found that the hotel closed in October 2007.

thursdaysd

Ciao - I think staying the night in Erice is a great idea! There are a few cars on the streets, but you'd have to park outside - you'd need to check with your hotel about driving into town to drop your luggage - I took the bus up and then walked.

I stayed at the Hotel Moderno (www.hotelmodernoerice.it/modernoeng.htm) - you can read my take on Erice and the hotel at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35133064 towards the end. I haven't really started work on my photos yet, but you can see my unedited Erice photos here: kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/519560 password erice.

I also noticed this place: www.lapinetadierice.com/en/index.htm, outside the wall on the northwest, but I'd prefer to stay in town.

kja

> How much time do you need for Agrigento?

One could easily spend an entire day! If you visit only the major sites of the eastern zone (the Tempio di Ercole, Tempio della Concordia, and Tempio di Giunone) and if you don't dally, you could probably get by with a very busy 2 hours. Add at least another hour for the wonderful museum, maybe an hour for the western zone (including the Tempio di Giove), and some time for getting between these places. As I recall, I was there for about 4.5 hours total and did not spend as much time in the western zone or museum as I would have liked. Do remember to bring lots of water with you!

Hope that helps!

ciao72

thursdaysd - your Erice photos are fantastic! I feel like I've been there after seeing them! Can't wait to go. Both hotels look good - but location of Moderno is better - thanks so much!!!!

kja - thanks for info on Agrigento. We'll try to allow more than 4 hours, but at least I know we could see a lot in that amount of time.

thursdaysd

Glad you liked them, ciao. You could probably see that driving in town is not for the faint of heart!

BTW, I also liked Trapani, a lot more than I expected, so if you have time, take a look at the old town.

IdyllicItaly

Before you leave, I recommend that you check the Villa Casale del Romano website http://www.villaromanadelcasale.it/ to verify that the restoration planned for Nov. 2 to Feb. 28, 2009, is completed.

We, too, enjoyed Trapani and stayed at a pleasant little hotel on the water just on the outskirts, also called L'Approdo. It was plain but in excellent repair and almost all the rooms have balconies facing the Mediterranean. The buffet breakfasts were excellent. The restaurant is very popular. Half board is available and is an excellent value; otherwise, the restaurant is moderately expensive.

We enjoyed the gondola ski-lift type ride from Trapani up to Erice. I recommend that in at least one direction. We did it both ways and parked our car in the parking lot at the gondola station at the base.

thursdaysd

That's interesting IdyllicItaly - I saw no sign of a gondola - where are the start end end points? I found the bus trip quite interesting enough!

IdyllicItaly

Here's a link to the Trapani-Erice funivia: http://www.funiviaerice.it/.

Here's a link to pictures of Trapani:
http://www.worldcruisingguide.net/index.php?area_id=89.