studenttobe

Hi folks, After reading many threads, great TRs, and many other materials, I’m writing to share the basic plan for a 13 night trip with DH to Eastern Sicily + Palermo in May. I’m looking for feedback on whether the basic vision seems to make sense given our style of travel (described below), the time we have, and even whether the logistics make sense. I’d also welcome any/all leads on specific things, marked with a *. I hope I am not providing too much information (as is my wont) or dipping into the well too much for suggestions. I do plan to do another pass on the threads and TRs regarding lodging/drivers/guides, but thought I’d see if any responses to the * items happen to be top of mind for any folks here. We don’t want to move lodging more than 3 times in Eastern Sicily and don’t want to move once we get to Palermo. We can rent a car. BUT would much rather use a driver when moving around.

The trip that I envision is organized around three interests: (1) nature (specifically a love of walking & hiking), (2) enjoying the feel/look of special places w/o any pressure to see everything (i.e., we want to loaf and wander around towns, rather than seeing lots of ruins, churches, and/or mosaics), and (3) a great enjoyment of food. I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea for a trip to this amazing region. But (barring something tragic) it will not be my last trip to Sicily, and when traveling on my own or with a friend, I always plan more art, ruins and trips with fuller days. (I’ve also had the benefit of seeing amazing ruins and mosaics elsewhere in Italy and beyond. I only mention all of this because I know some will think it nuts not to build, e.g., a visit to Villa del Casale during this visit.) My last trip to Sicily with a friend had me moving around Western Sicily + Palermo (loved every minute)-can’t wait for this trip. Here goes what I envision for this upcoming trip. I’m planning to post this as well to TA to see if the amazing Vagabonda has any suggestions for me. Thanks in advance for any reflections or suggestions and apologies if I am asking too much.

1. Arrive Catania airport at 625pm on Thursday, May 5 and transfer to Ragusa Ibla. (We will have been in Rome working and studying for 5 weeks so jet lag will not be an issue.)

(Note: I was toying with have Scicli as our home base, but decided for various reasons on Ragusa Ibla). Stay night #1 in Ragusa.

Settle into lodging in Ragusa Ibla and go to dinner.

*I’d welcome any leads on a driver for this transfer-private or group van would be fine. Also, any leads on a lovely hotel or Airbnb--the former preferred. Ideally, the hotel would have some laundry facilities; Euro 150 per night is close to our ceiling—lower would be better).


2. Friday, May 6. Walking/driving tour of Ragusa, Modica, and Scicli. Stay night #2 Ragusa.

*If anyone has a recommendation for a driver/tour guide who might take us around these towns for a day that would be great. Would prefer not to be with a group. (It looks like there isn’t any sort of loop bus that travels regularly between Ragusa, Modica, and Scicli. That would be the ideal for us so that we could spend as much or as little time as we like in each town.)


3. Saturday, May 7. Long walk in Vendicari Nature Reserve. Stay night #3 in Ragusa.

*If anyone has a lead on a driver who might transport us from Ragusa Ibla to the Vendicari Reserve and then later in the day pick us up that would be great. We would not need a guide to hike with us. (I saw Tour of Sicily and Girasole mentioned in various places. But I haven’t contacted them to see if they would do this kind of pickup/dropoff without a full tour package.)

*Another option here: transfer to Ortygia on Sat. May 7 in time to check into lodging and have a late dinner in Ortygia. Wake up in Ortygia on Sunday, May 8 (which would mean 4 nights stay in Ortygia). Any thoughts? I would note that we enjoy Baroque, but it's not a strong passion of ours. However, we like a slower pace and not changing losing a lot when traveling.

4. Sunday, May 8. Transfer Ragusa to Ortygia. Stay night #1 in Ortygia

Walk around Ortygia and Siracusa on our own.

*Any leads on a driver for this transfer would be appreciated. Also, any leads on a lovely hotel or Airbnb would be appreciated—the former preferred. Ideally, the hotel would have some laundry facilities; Euro 150 per night is close to our ceiling—lower would be better.)



5. Monday, May 9. Hike in Anapo River Valley. Stay night #2 in Ortygia.

*If anyone has a lead on a driver who might transport us from Ortygia to the Anapo River Valley and then later in the day pick us up that would be great. In this case, we are fine with the alternative of hiking with a guide—either with just us, or less preferably with a group. (Here, too, I’m not sure if contacting Tour of Sicily and/or Girasole would be appropriate, or if there’s a better option. I did notice that Tour of Sicily rents hiking poles, which for this hike might be helpful. I’d rather not pack ours.)



6. Tuesday, May 10. Stay night #3 in Ortygia.

Continue to explore Ortygia and Siracusa.



7. Wednesday, May 11. Transfer to Taormina. Stay night #1 in Taormina.

(Note: I read a lot of the Catania/Taormina discussions and settled on Taormina for base #3. Between the long stay in Rome prior to this trip and closing out the Sicily trip with a Palermo stay, would like a resort/luxury sort of feeling at this point.)

Depending on how things feel at that point, might see if the driver can let us stop and walk around Catania for a few hours (perhaps for lunch and say a 2 hour walk on our own in the city, but only if the driver would watch our luggage) before taking us to Taormina. OR, we will just go straight to Taormina from Ortygia, settle into our lodging and walk around Taormina a bit. Might walk up to Castlemola and down again early evening (perhaps we can have dinner there?). If we are not up for the walk up, I’ve taken note of many who have emphasized the idea of taking the bus up and then walking down from Castlemola around sunset.

*Any leads on a driver for this transfer would be appreciated. Also, any leads on a lovely hotel or Airbnb would be appreciated—the former preferred. Ideally, the hotel would have some laundry facilities; Euro 200 per night is close to our ceiling for this part of the trip, but would go a little higher as we suspect this area will be pricey at this time of year. I’ve noted many TRs that sing the praises of Hotel Villa Schuler. But when I check the website it looks like they are only booking somewhat longer stays at this time.)



8. Thursday, May 12. Hike on Mt. Etna. Stay night #2 in Taormina.

*I understand that Etna is not to be hiked alone. I’d welcome any lead on a driver/hiking guide who might take us there and hike with us—either privately or with a small group. (Here, too, I’m not sure if contacting Tour of Sicily and/or Girasole would be appropriate, or if there’s a better option. Hiking poles I can see are a must for the more challenging versions of this hike. So, would very much want to rent poles.)

*Note: would love to have a wonderful, simple dinner at an agrosturismo during any one of our three Eastern Sicily landings (namely, Ragusa, Ortygia, or Taormina).It would be great if they offered an olive oil tasting as part of the experience. Would welcome any suggestions.



9. Friday, May 13. Walk around Savoca (including the countryside) and maybe (before or after) walk the Capo Milazzo Trail around the peninsula. Stay night #3 Taormina.

*I’d welcome any recommendations on a driver for this outing, and any recommendations as to whether it would be better to walk the Capo Milazzo Trail before Savoca or after Savoca. Would not need a guide to walk the trail with us.



10. Saturday, May 14. Transfer to Palermo. Stay night #1 Palermo.

Settle into lodging, walk a bit nearby, and have dinner.

*I’d welcome leads on a driver who could take us from Taormina to Palermo lodging--a shared van would be fine in this case. Also, any leads on a lovely hotel or Airbnb,

preferably with some laundry facilities.



11. Sunday, May 15. Stay night #2 in Palermo.

Walk around Palermo on our own (revisiting some places I’ve seen previously).



12. Monday, May 16. Walk one of the trails in the Zingaro Nature Reserve. Stay night #3 in Palermo.

*I’d welcome any leads on a driver who might take us there and pick us up, whether privately or if transporting groups. Would not need a guide to walk with us.



13. Tuesday, May 17. Take a cooking class, preferably involving making and eating a wonderful lunch rather than dinner. The cooking class could include a trip to the Capo (or other) market, but that is not a necessity. Stay night #4 in Palermo.

*I’d welcome any leads on a great cooking class. DH and I love to cook and be around

food. Would be wonderful if the course were taught in Italian, but realize that’s not

likely.



14. Wednesday, May 18. Sad face here—going home.

* Would welcome any lead on a driver that could take us to the airport in Palermo.

Thanks in advance for any nuggets of wisdom!

HappyTrvlr

Sicily- driver, transfers, Sicily Life. Based in Taormina but covers Sicily.
sicilylife.com. We used them twice and recommend them.

studenttobe

Thanks for this lead! Will follow up.

Leely2

I haven't been to Sicily in 10(?) years, but I remember that I received a lot of good tips and recommendations on the Sicily TripAdvisor board. We ended up booking a private driver from Siracusa to Catania that a poster there, Vagabonda, recommended.

For what it's worth, we stayed in Modica for our Sicilian Baroque town and thought it was an excellent base with a slightly workaday feel, which we enjoyed.

progol

We were in Sicily in 2016, starting in Ortygia, which we loved. It’s an incredibly atmospheric town and, though there are enough sights to keep one busy, it’s pleasure is in wandering. The Cathedral is worth a visit and the piazza in front is especially beautiful at night. One activity we found very worthwhile was attending a classical performance at the Greek theatre in the Roman amphitheater at the Archeological park. While we didn’t understand the words, the experience was incredibly moving. I see they are starting performance as of May 17, and if you’re there at that time, I’d recommend it highly.
https://www.indafondazione.org/wp-co...INDA2022-5.pdf

We stayed in the well-located and very charming tiny b&b, Approdo delle Sirene:
https://www.apprododellesirene.com

While our orientations differ, you might still enjoy my brief trip report. Of course, we were focused on the ancient sites and our trip was a tour of the entire island, and I see you’ve already visited the western half, but I hope this gives you some ideas:
A brief but selective report on our Sicilian sojourn

Leely2

Duh, I didn't notice that you were already aware of the amazing Vagabonda. Sorry for being repetitive! I'm slow, what can I say?

studenttobe

Thanks very much for the suggestion on Modica (will take a look at options there) and also for underscoring Vagabonda’s generosity.. Finding lots of lodging options booked not surprising given that the trip comes at the last minute, so will keep an open mind on options and will also mine TRs for leads.

studenttobe

No worries-my fault-a very long post to start off the conversation—appreciate your response now and in the past.

studenttobe

Thanks so much for the suggestions on places to visit (the performance sounds very special indeed!), the B&B lead (looks wonderful-will write to confirm that the on line calendar is correct, meaning unfortunately fully booked, but will surely keep in mind for a future trip with more lead time), and the link to your TR. Plan is to study it and several more that I downloaded tonight and get ‘cracking’ on some bookings. many tnx!

Leely2

On Ortigia we stayed here and were delighted:

https://www.palazzodelsale.com/it/

In Modica we stayed in Casa Talìa, which was wonderful but many steps up and down to the main drag (that's Modica for you).

https://www.casatalia.it/en/

studenttobe

Thanks so much, Leely2. These suggestions are priceless. I see that both have availability-- I am grabbing the rooms right now! (I was starting to get a bit freaked out). I might look in the morning to see if there are any other options for a sea view room in Ortygia or anything in Ragusa Ibla while I'm in the 24 hour cancellation period with both of these places. But having such great options (and they really do look wonderful) now reserved means a great night sleep for me. Thanks so very much for these leads. (On the stairs--I'm ready. Will consider it part of my favorite activity, which oddly is walking up and down hills, albeit this time stone ones.)

studenttobe

Just finished your trip report-it's wonderful and so very useful. Thanks for taking the time to write it and for drawing my attention to it.

progol

I’m glad you enjoyed it and that you’re finding it helpful!

studenttobe

--Thanks again for the great leads. All set on Ortygia. We did end up finding a sea view w/terrace room in another lodging that gets good reviews in many TRs and from the amazing Vagabonda--i.e., Hotel Henry Charme House. We even 'stole" one night from our plan to stay 4 nights in Palermo (I've been before-loved it) to have another night in Ortygia. Reading so many TRs, where people said 'wish I could have stayed longer in Ortygia,' convinced me that we should stay 4 rather than 3 nights, and then the sea terrace sealed the deal. We live so far from the sea that the idea of a sea view room for this trip--part of an anniversary/end of sabbatical celebration--was appealing. But I have bookmarked Palazzo del Sale for a future trip since I can already see that this trip to Sicily will not be enough to satisfy me.
--And having now studied so many TRs and discussion threads here and in TA, I moved our 3 nite baroque town stay to Modica since it seems to suit us a bit better. It was so helpful to read the thoughtful discussions of pros/cons/initial impressions in the great Modica/Ragusa Ibla/Scicli debate Am now in dialogue with folks at Casa Talia and two other well reviewed Modica B&Bs, i.e, Le Lumie and Edel Domus about room availability. Thanks again for all the great leads, Leely2.