swidoc

We are planning a too short visit to Sicily, arriving May 12 at Palermo and leaving May 20 from Catania. Reading prior postings has been most helpful and I have some general ideas. My wife would prefer a minimum number of sleeping places, but I got her to accept 3 or 4, only one of which can be for one night. From prior postings we have gotten the message that the best place to stay for the first nights is Monreale. Would appreciate recommendation as to 3 or 4 stopping places (including hotels) and the number of days at each. My current stab is Monreale/2 nights, Agrigento, 2 nights, Ragussa/1 night, and Taormina/3 nights. I am desperately seeking advice before I lock things in place. Your help would be deeply appreciated. By the way, foregoing Cefalu sems to make the whole trip work better. Is that a mistake?

Eloise

My suggestion would be Palermo 3 nights (Monreale is a suburb of Palermo; I'm not sure it has a hotel), Agrigento 1 night (there is nothing very interesting near it, except for its own Valley of the Temples, of course), Siracusa 2 nights (with a day trip to Ragusa), Taormina 2 nights. Cefalu is a town on the coast; the most important thing to see there is the Cathedral, but if you have seen the Cathedral in Monreale, you can perhaps give the one in Cefalu a pass. Or you can do a day trip from Taormina.

You can switch to Palermo 2 nights and Taormina 3 nights, if you are more interested in rest and relaxation in a very pretty but fairly heavily touristed town than in sightseeing.

cmt

Why do you want to stay in Monreale instead of Palermo? I think Palermo would be MUCH better.

dutyfree

I would definitely agree with Eloise about changing and staying two nights in Siracusa-actually stay in Ortigia. Then do the day trips to Noto or Ragusa if you want. Ortigia is really fun and interesting and a great base for that area.

swidoc

Thanks "guys". Monreale was suggested by a few folks in earlier postings I had read while scanning this web site. On your suggestion I'll reconsider. I suspect that one of the reasons was convenience to other locastions such as Segesta and Erice. Perhaps I should fill out the in betweens and repost. I wlll definitely consider 2 nights in Siracusa/Ortigia. Can you recommend any moderately priced hotels, good restaurants? Please keep the suggestions coming.

dutyfree

I stay at the Hotel Gutkowski in Ortigia. (I just got back from there this last Saturday in fact!) It is in many travel books;on tripadvisor.com;Frommers website,etc. and a great place to stay. The view from the sea view windows is fabulous! It runs from 80 to about 100 euros for two a night depending on the season.It has a nice breakfast in the annex building.The staff is very helpful;speak English and the location is great as you can walk everywhere from there. It is actually a few doors down from the Domus Mariae(sp?) which is also highly recommended but more expensive. There are other places on the island to stay but they seem to be way more expensive such as the Grand Hotel and Hotel Roma.The best way to describe Ortigia is what the director of the school that my daughter is at in Ortigia said to me this past week(she is doing her semester abroad for college there)-the place is out of central casting on a Disney soundstage.Its very unique and a wonderful experience to stay there.The people of Ortigia are very friendly and helpful and for the restaurants I don't think that you can go wrong with any of them. The seafood is out of this world!I cannot say enough wonderful things about Sicily and its unique little towns that you will discover!

swidoc

Thank you all. My mouth is watering already. With your input we have begun narrowing our options. Our last open booking is Argimento. Searching the web, we came upon a sight that listed a mess of B&B's there. Does anybody have B&B recommendations there or any knowledge of Villa Goethe as a B&B?

mamc

I highly recommend staying in Palermo instead of Monreale but be sure to visit Monreale - it was one of our favorites and easily done in a half day. I agree with Eloise's suggestions. We liked the Hotel Principe de Villafranca in Palermo and the Villa Schuler in Taormina.

Eloise

If you are only in Palermo 2 or 3 nights, you will really not have time to day trip to Erice (not worth it, in my opinion: a tiny medieval village whose main claim to fame is its location at the top of a tortuous drive and a pastry shop) and Segesta. You will probably arrive in Palermo at around noon, giving you 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 days at most in Palermo (including the half-day visit to Monreale).