We are looking at a 7 night stay in Sicily in May. Right now we are thinking of spending 2 nights in Taormina area, 3 nights at the Atelier sul Mare near Cefalu and then 2 nights near Agrigento somewhere.....<BR><BR>Any thoughts about these areas as bases-Taormina sound nice but some folks here have said it is touristy and disappointing-like Eze and St Paul de Vence in that way in France....but it sounds like it might be nice to stay nearer the beach than right in town<BR><BR>Any thoughts about these general areas as a "bases" and hotel suggestions would be welcome

Jean, Taormina is touristy, yes, and with good reason. It is a gloriously beautiful place and I don't think you'll be sorry you included it in a visit to Sicily. Like Venice, the weekends are especially crowded with tourists. If you can arrange to spend your time in Taormina mid-week that would be best. Taormina is wonderful for walking around, of course there's the beach, and it's close enough to Mt. Etna, Messina, and even Catania for daytrips. <BR><BR>Cefalu is a much smaller town. Unless you are planning to use it as a base for visits to Palermo (about 40 minutes driving time) three nights might be too long. Besides the temples, what else were you planning to see near Agrigento? <BR>

Two thoughts: stay in Taormina proper rather than along the coastline. The views from Taormina of Mt. Etna are breathtaking, and the town is fun for walking around.<BR><BR>Second, you seem to have skipped Siracusa entirely. Consider at least a day trip there, preferably an overnight on Ortigia Island (recommendation: Hotel Domus Mariae).

We spent a week in Cefalu followed by five days in Taormina which was a lovely combination.We had the most wonderful self catering accomodation in Cefalu that I've ever had and we've recommended it to others who said the same.<BR>From Cefalu we took a day trip to Palermo and another to Agrigento.the town of Cefalu is so Italian it made me feel it was out of Epcot!The main square had a Moorish church and fabulous ice cream and canoli shops.We ate in the town every night although the traffic after dark is unbelievable.The only down side is that the town pongs a bit-the closer you get to the far end -probably where the sewerage enters the sea!<BR>Taormine was magical and I can't wait to go back.We stayed in the hotel Villa Belvedere which is recommended but do make sure you get a room with a/c.<BR>We took a trip up Etna-don't miss it.Every night we walked in the town and it was lovely.<BR>For two centres these can't be beaten but there was a lot of the island we didn't see-mainly because it was so hot and we wanted to swim .<BR>Our two teenage daughters were with us and they also enjoyed it.

Taormina is not to be missed, but also don't miss Siracusa<BR><BR>Our book, InvitationTo Italy says<BR><BR>… Siracusa is picturesque and has many ruins of note. It was as exciting as people said it would be. For its size, there are more ancient items of interest, than any other city we can remember. <BR>… … <BR>Siracusa was colonized by the Greeks a long time ago, in 734 BC. The largest city of antiquity, Siracusa boasted half a million inhabitants, surrounded by a fourteen mile city wall, at a time when Rome was little more than a village. <BR><BR>www.InvitationToTravel.com

I am e-mailing you a oflder of notes I made on Sicily which includes all these places.

Getting mixed up with answering too many - need to stop and eat! What I meant to say is that I will e-mail some notes if you send me an e-mail!

3 nights in Palermo (you can visit Agrigento from there) and 4 in Ragusa should be nice. Ragusa, south-east of Sicily, is lovely: there are nice beaches and there are towns that are jawels of Baroque (Scicli, Modica and Ibla). The most important thing is to choose nice hotels. I think that all around Sicily there are 15-20 good hotels, no more. If you want, have a look at www.mediterraneo.it

Fransesco here is advertising again. Please be aware that we stayed in one place that suppose to be a nice place according to his website but it was a dump. I would never use his recommendations again