15+ days in Sicily -- first crack at itinerary
Aug 27th, 2016, 06:00 AM
#81
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Hi, Just to explain the method to my madness. I am kind of like yestravel. I start with an online list or two of top places to visit in Sicily and a map, and then I mark the places with a pen on my printed out map. And I also used the forum. So in my case, I came up with Taormina (sentimental value), Ortygia, some place in Baroque towns, Agrigento, Selinunte, somewhere in the northwest near ERice and Segesta, ending in Palermo. Then I look for places to stay and try to imagine the logistics (in this case it was complicated by the "no luggage in the trunk" criterion). Once I get the stops and the days figured out, I turn to the guidebooks to "pad" the itinerary with additional things in the area. I don't need the guidebooks for deciding the must see stops, they are helpful in giving me driving ideas and places in the vicinity of the must see stops. I always try to have a list of ideas in the vicinity that will far exceed our time and interest, so we can go with the flow. Make sense? But you guys have been an incredibly important part of that initial step, make no mistake about it!
Sep 18th, 2016, 12:35 PM
#84
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I just want to chime in and say you will love Villa Sogno. We have stayed there on 3 different trips. The ruins at Selinunte are nearby, and we actually visited Trapani, Segesta, Erice, Monreale, Marsala, and Scopello from there, all in less than an hour's drive. i think you will be surprised at how easily you can get around in Sicily. The roads are good, and there are very few places where we found any traffic congestion. (Palermo, of course!) When you are in Noto, I would also recommend visiting the small beautiful city of Sclici. If you are a fan of the Montalbano series, this is the town that is home to the police headquarters. We stayed in Ragusa Ibla and really liked this quiet town.
Sep 18th, 2016, 08:19 PM
#85
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anniemaki--
Glad you too enjoyed the apartment we stayed in (I suspect I may have been the one to recommend it) in Ortygia. It had a few flaws, but the view and location definitely overcame those.
Glad you too enjoyed the apartment we stayed in (I suspect I may have been the one to recommend it) in Ortygia. It had a few flaws, but the view and location definitely overcame those.
Sep 20th, 2016, 08:00 AM
#86
lreynold,
we just got back from our Sicily trip yesterday, and while I'm working on my TR, I thought that I would comment on your original questions/queries:
-- not sure we should even go to Taormina, I am torn.
-- Assuming we arrive in Siracusa with a car, I was thinking someplace a bit out of town, like B&B Le Saline, for our base. Then taxi/car to parking garage/bus into town, with day trips out of town being easier.
-- I had originally thought that we would visit the mosaics in Piazza Armerina as we drove from Siracusa to Agrigento, but I do not want to be worried about luggage in the car, and so I"m leaning to doing what Dayle did with leaving luggage at agriturismo and then going back after the visit to pick it up. That may seem extreme to some, I know that the odds are probably low, but I just hate having to even think about it. I've seen enough car break-ins, pickpockets, etc in Spain and Portugal To last a lifetime.
-- Would Mazara del Vallo be a better base than Selinunte?
-- I hadn't planned on any islands, given the time of year, but am open to suggestions.
1. Taormina or not? My opinion would be not. There are probably loads of more attractive, less busy and touristy places that are easier to get to and get around when you are there. Getting to Taormina itself is bad enough but we had the added self-inflicted problem of having booked a hotel in Castelmola - it has wonderful views but driving there was impossibly stressful. We spent half a day in Taormina itself and then got a cab back to our hotel [we couldn't face the driving] and sat around the pool for the afternoon.
2. Whether to stay in our just outside Siracuse is a difficult one. We stayed in Ortigia for 3 nights and loved it, but you're right that it's difficult to get into and out of [we just left our car where it was for the time we were there] and as a base for touring it's not very good. We found enough to do there for a couple of days or so, but after that we'd really exhausted the possibilities; we eventually ended up getting a local bus to the Necropolis and walking back; there are HOHO buses but the only one we saw was full. A cab might have been easier. I'd have loved to have stayed longer as the general ambiance is terrific especially the wonderful area around the Duomo and you could eat at a different restaurant every night for a year and never have a bad meal but the traffic getting in and out of the city rules that out.
3. I wouldn't leave a car with anything in it in Catania or Palermo but you don't need to worry in the car parks of places like the Villa Casale or even on the streets in Ragusa Ibla or Modica. That's not to say that I'd leave things in plain view inside a car but if everything is locked away in the boot you should be fine parked in a car park or on the street. We saw no signs of any problems nor did we meet any other tourists who had experienced any. The only "crime" we came across was the woman selling tickets to enter the Duomo in Ortigia, who tried to short-change my husband when he gave her a €20 note and she tried to give him change for a €10. A sharp look from my DH made her hand over the rest. Of course, I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but after a few days we realised that such fears were groundless, at least out of the major centres. but if you want to leave your luggage at your accommodation, I'm sure that would be fine too.
I can't help with the other two questions as we didn't get that far west.
As for where to stay, I would now change my itinerary and with 10 nights I'd do something like this:
4 nights Marina di Ragusa [using it as a base to visit the hill towns with swimming possibilities in the late afternoon/evening]
2 nights in Agrigento
1 night Piazza Armerina [the b&b we stayed in was just outside]
3 nights in Ortigia
we just got back from our Sicily trip yesterday, and while I'm working on my TR, I thought that I would comment on your original questions/queries:
-- not sure we should even go to Taormina, I am torn.
-- Assuming we arrive in Siracusa with a car, I was thinking someplace a bit out of town, like B&B Le Saline, for our base. Then taxi/car to parking garage/bus into town, with day trips out of town being easier.
-- I had originally thought that we would visit the mosaics in Piazza Armerina as we drove from Siracusa to Agrigento, but I do not want to be worried about luggage in the car, and so I"m leaning to doing what Dayle did with leaving luggage at agriturismo and then going back after the visit to pick it up. That may seem extreme to some, I know that the odds are probably low, but I just hate having to even think about it. I've seen enough car break-ins, pickpockets, etc in Spain and Portugal To last a lifetime.
-- Would Mazara del Vallo be a better base than Selinunte?
-- I hadn't planned on any islands, given the time of year, but am open to suggestions.
1. Taormina or not? My opinion would be not. There are probably loads of more attractive, less busy and touristy places that are easier to get to and get around when you are there. Getting to Taormina itself is bad enough but we had the added self-inflicted problem of having booked a hotel in Castelmola - it has wonderful views but driving there was impossibly stressful. We spent half a day in Taormina itself and then got a cab back to our hotel [we couldn't face the driving] and sat around the pool for the afternoon.
2. Whether to stay in our just outside Siracuse is a difficult one. We stayed in Ortigia for 3 nights and loved it, but you're right that it's difficult to get into and out of [we just left our car where it was for the time we were there] and as a base for touring it's not very good. We found enough to do there for a couple of days or so, but after that we'd really exhausted the possibilities; we eventually ended up getting a local bus to the Necropolis and walking back; there are HOHO buses but the only one we saw was full. A cab might have been easier. I'd have loved to have stayed longer as the general ambiance is terrific especially the wonderful area around the Duomo and you could eat at a different restaurant every night for a year and never have a bad meal but the traffic getting in and out of the city rules that out.
3. I wouldn't leave a car with anything in it in Catania or Palermo but you don't need to worry in the car parks of places like the Villa Casale or even on the streets in Ragusa Ibla or Modica. That's not to say that I'd leave things in plain view inside a car but if everything is locked away in the boot you should be fine parked in a car park or on the street. We saw no signs of any problems nor did we meet any other tourists who had experienced any. The only "crime" we came across was the woman selling tickets to enter the Duomo in Ortigia, who tried to short-change my husband when he gave her a €20 note and she tried to give him change for a €10. A sharp look from my DH made her hand over the rest. Of course, I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but after a few days we realised that such fears were groundless, at least out of the major centres. but if you want to leave your luggage at your accommodation, I'm sure that would be fine too.
I can't help with the other two questions as we didn't get that far west.
As for where to stay, I would now change my itinerary and with 10 nights I'd do something like this:
4 nights Marina di Ragusa [using it as a base to visit the hill towns with swimming possibilities in the late afternoon/evening]
2 nights in Agrigento
1 night Piazza Armerina [the b&b we stayed in was just outside]
3 nights in Ortigia
Sep 23rd, 2016, 07:03 PM
#87
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Many thanks, annhig! Only two weeks till our departure. We're not going to have our car for the first 4 or 5 days, and that sounds like a good decision. So we will take a cab from Catania airport to Taormina (We've got a hotel that seems like a good place to get over jet lag), train to Siracusa, and then pick up the car as we're leaving. We opted for staying in Ortygia, which became an easier decision when we decided to delay the car rental till after we were done. And thanks for the reassurance about the car. I've pretty much got it worked out so that it's not a problem, but it's good to know that I shouldn't be stressing if we decide to make a stop with luggage in the car.
I'll check in for your trip report, looking forward to some good restaurant recommendations, too.
.
I'll check in for your trip report, looking forward to some good restaurant recommendations, too.
.
Sep 23rd, 2016, 07:19 PM
#88
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Oh, I thought you only wanted restaurant recommendations for a limited set of places! I’ve already recommended the Osteria Nero d’Avola in Taormina and Per Bacco in Agrigento. Other places I enjoyed that still get good reviews include Casa Del Brodo and Osteria Dei Vespri in Palermo and Il Cenacolo and Ristorante Porta Marina in Siracusa (Ortygia). Here's a link to the ancient thread in which I noted my comments:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...estaurants.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...estaurants.cfm
Sep 24th, 2016, 01:39 AM
#89
I'll check in for your trip report, looking forward to some good restaurant recommendations, too>>
I'll try to get them done before you go, lreynolds. Not having a car in Taormina is a great idea. As it's at the end of our trip so I may not get to it in the TR before you leave, I can say that a trip in the bus up to Castelmola would be a good idea - it's lovely once you get there. And the giardini publicci founded by Florence Trevelyan at the beginning of the C20 are an oasis of calm and very beautiful. we did some good souvenir shopping too but otherwise, we weren't bowled over by it. Perhaps half a day was not long enough [or too long, depending on your POV] to discover the delights of Taormina. I will try to lost the location of the restaurant we had lunch in - it was quite nice but much pricier than comparable places - even in Ortigia.
Glad that i have relieved some of your worries about the car hire, anyway.
I'll try to get them done before you go, lreynolds. Not having a car in Taormina is a great idea. As it's at the end of our trip so I may not get to it in the TR before you leave, I can say that a trip in the bus up to Castelmola would be a good idea - it's lovely once you get there. And the giardini publicci founded by Florence Trevelyan at the beginning of the C20 are an oasis of calm and very beautiful. we did some good souvenir shopping too but otherwise, we weren't bowled over by it. Perhaps half a day was not long enough [or too long, depending on your POV] to discover the delights of Taormina. I will try to lost the location of the restaurant we had lunch in - it was quite nice but much pricier than comparable places - even in Ortigia.
Glad that i have relieved some of your worries about the car hire, anyway.
Sep 24th, 2016, 05:46 PM
#90
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I only drove for 3 days when I was in Sicily, from Palermo through Segesta and Selinunte to Agrigento; to Enna; through Piazza Armenira to Caltigirone; and to Siracusa. I thought the drivers absolutely crazy -- driving way above the speed limit, tailgating, passing in no passing zones, creating lanes where there were none, and whipping around blind corners in the middle of the road. The roads varied -- the major autostrada were very good, well banked, and well signed. The narrow twisty back roads climbing to hill top towns were quite a different story. I had more than a few white knuckle moments getting to and from Enna!
Sep 24th, 2016, 07:09 PM
#91
Clearly we all have very different experiences. We drove for 3 weeks in Sicily last May and had no difficulty. I agree that the autostradas were very good. We found very little traffic on the secondary and tertiary roads. Yes, they could be twisty and hilly, but really not an issue if you drive slowly. Our biggest issue was navigating in the towns with the tiny roads and many dead end & one way streets. For Taormina we parked in a garge on the outskirts of the town and walked into town.
