kja

I agree with thursdaysd. I'm not sure whether your two nights on Ortygia means that you will have 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days there; I encourage you to give it at least 2 full days. IMO, it would be worth sacrificing time in the Baroque towns to make sure you have enough time to savor Ortygia and Siracusa.

Renting the car in Siracusa and dropping it off in Trapani makes perfect sense.

BTW, I enjoyed Caltagirone, but it is IMO a far lower priority than the Villa Romana. You would probably do well to visit the Villa Romana first, and then, if you have time, visit Caltagirone (especially because you won't have to worry about opening hours for La Scala).

I am a bit puzzled that you are giving 2 nights -- and so a full day -- to Selinunte, which will likely take at most 1/2 day and that's if you visit it thoroughly and at leisure. In contrast, you could easily use a full day in Agrigento -- 5 or 6 hours or so for the ruins, another hour or two for its museum, and an hour or two for its maze of medieval streets. But maybe I'm missing something?

allyboy

I am listening to all of you and appreciate your input!

So I could do the following:

Spend 3 days in Ortygia ( is there enough to do and see with no day trips?

Spend 2 days in either Ragusa or Modica ( day trip to Villa Romana and Caltagirone). Which town is best?

Leave Ragusa or Modica and drive to Agrigento and then overnight near or in Selinunte. Spend some time in the morning at Selinunte and then drive to Trapani for 2 nights.

Leely2

For us Ortigia was the relaxing part of our Sicily vacation; we did not go to Taormina. Coming off of --how many ??--days of r-and-r in Taormina, I'm not sure how much time you need to relax in Ortigia. For me, one full day on Ortigia and 2/3 day seeing the archaeological museum in Siracusa would be enough if I had already relaxed quite a bit. But I am an admittedly high-energy sightseer.

I liked having a full day to poke around Modica (much less touristy than Ortigia) and then a day trip to Villa Romana del Casale.

allyboy

Latest itinerary possibility:

Sept. 12 Leave JFK for Rome .

Sept 13. Arrive Rome. Fly into Catania. Arrange Transport to Taormina



Sept. 14. Taormina . Day trip to Alcantara and Castelmola



Sept. 15 Taormina. Day trip to Mt. Etna



Sept. 16 **Rent car or take train or bus to Siracusa/ Orteiga



Sept. 17 Orteiga . ** Rent car ( if didn't already rent one)


Sept. 18 Ragusa or Modica. ?? See other town (s) either Ragusa or Modica.



Sept. 19 Ragusa or Modica. Day trip to Caltagirone and Villa Roma Casale



Sept. 20 Leave Ragusa or Modica early and drive to Agrigento to spend time at ruins. Drive to or near Selinunte for the night.

Sept. 21. See ruins in Selinunte and then drive to Trapani. Either drive first to Segesta ( see ruins and then onto Trapani ) or drive to Trapani through Marsala.

Sept. 22 Trapani. Spend time in Erice

Sept. 23 Trapani. Visit Segesta if didn't do this already, otherwise perhaps day trip to Egadi Island. ** Can drop off rental here.



Sept. 24-26 Palermo. Drop car off or Bus or Train to Palermo. Day trips to Cefalu and Monreale



Sept. 27. Head for home

thursdaysd

That's ORTYGIA.

I wouldn't bother with the Egadi islands, very little to do there.

itsawonderfulworld

My husband and I were just there last September, we stayed in Cefalu- and stayed at the Artemis. The sleepy town is absolutely breath taking. I highly recommend it!

kja

"Sept. 14. Taormina . Day trip to Alcantara and Castelmola

 ...
Sept. 15 Taormina. Day trip to Mt. Etna

 "

You need only 1 day for these places. The only way I know to visit the Gole Alcantara is by a day trip that includes Mt. Etna. You can see Castelmola in the evening of that day.

Dayle

Hi alleyboy,

I've been busy, but wanted to get back about Lo Zingaro. It's a 7km one-way hike. The difficulty is that the northern end of the trail is a long distance from San Vito Lo Capo without public trans. The southern entrance is just a short way from the tiny village of Scopello. There are tours/excursions that will help with hiking connections, or take you by boat along the coast. I would recommend Francesco, at Bianca Buggia who has a beautiful catamaran.

I stayed in Scopello just one night to do the hike (part way) and I had a car. Due to rain, I only did about 1 American mile. Still beautiful. You could visit Lo Zingaro from Trapani or Erice.

I chose to stay in Erice (3 nts) and picked up my car in downtown Trapani. Very easy. Took the bus down to get the car, then visited Segesta and the salt pans nearest Trapani that day. Parking outside the walls of Erice is free after 8pm. Metered otherwise. Heavenly stay at Erice Pietre Antiche, in the Ginestra apartment (1 of just 4). I think I need to check that spelling for you.

If your itinerary ends up allowing a stay near Selinute, I highly recommend La Foresteria Planeta Estate****. See my trip report here or read my TA review!

I loved my 3 nts in Ortigia! Stayed at La Via della Guidecca, another high recommendation from me. Would have liked to stay 1 more. I wandered, took a boat ride along the island to the caves and back. Visited the duomo (unique) and enjoyed one of the most perfectly beautiful piazza in Italy in front of the duomo. I also liked a visit to the little family run puppet museum, the Arch Park, and most especially the Archeological Museum, excellent. Be sure to go down to the lower level and see the coin collection. I'm not into coins, but this blew me away!

It would be impossible to say what my ultimate highlight of Sicily was. Loved it all!

Your trip will be great and you might need to return.

Villa Romana is not to be missed. I spent about 3 hours there.

Buon viaggio!

Dayle

PS - I was also going to say, you could also visit Lo Zingaro (or Segesta) before dropping your car, then travel on to the Palermo airport and drop it there. Either would work well.

allyboy

Questions for Leely2: I am considering Casa Talia in Modica ( Sirah room is available).

How difficult is it to find this B & B?
Will we able to drop off our luggage at Casa Talia without walking too far?

Since we will be driving from Ortygia I like your idea of spending time in Ragusa and Modica on Day 1 and day tripping to Villa Roma/Caltagirone on Day 2. How early would you suggest we leave Modica to cover both of these sites and still be back in daylight?

Thanks!

Dayle

Allyboy,

I see by your last itinerary, you may travel to Ortigia by train, then rent a car there. These two transporation activities will eat a lot of time out of your 2 nts on the island. Still think you need one more night on Ortigia!

In case it helps, I use Autoeurope and given the cities I wanted to pick up/drop, the option was Hertz. All went perfectly, car was excellent, people helpful and efficient. Rental rate was very reasonable and when I saw Hertz offering a lower rate a couple months after I reserved with Autoeurope, Autoeurope gladly matched. I booked an "economy" class, knowing full well I would probably get "upgraded" to a compact. I did

Your trip is going to be incredible. Wish I was going again!
Buon viaggio

allyboy

Hello Dayle. Thanks so much for your help. I have decided to stay in Ortygia for 3 nights. My problem right now is in renting a car. I only drive an automatic so I have limited options. My choices are: taking a bus from Taormina to Catania airport and renting; taking busses from Taormina to Siracusa and renting there. I will be dropping off in Palermo ( airport). So far I am looking into Autoeurope, Kemwel ( which is basically the same as Autoeurope) and now Europcar. Idealy I would love to rent a car in Taormina ( on the day we are leaving for Ortygia), however, running into lots of obstacles.

kja

I arranged my rental while in Sicily through gemut.com, and have been very satisfied with their services over the years. You might give them a call:
http://www.gemut.com

I'm glad you added a night to marvelous Ortygia.

Dayle

I'm also glad you are adding a night to Ortigia! I have never picked up/dropped at an airport location, but the general advice on Fodor's is you need to use the larger rental locations to have the best chance of actually getting the automatic you have reserved. If the agency you end up using cannot guarantee an automatic in Ortigia or Taormina, then maybe just starting off with one upon arrival would be more time efficient? You will have to make that call. Pay rental for days when a car is not really needed? Take time to backtrack to Catania airport to pick up?

When I was planning my Sicily trip, I found I really had to evaluate priorities. So much to take into consideration! Time available, what you really want to see and do, cost, etc. , etc. Many more choices to be made than on mainland Italy.

All in all, I was very happy with my trip and would have changed only a couple minor things. Came away with lovely memories, a fabulous experience and a couple extra pounds . Mostly a very wonderful impression of the Sicilian people and the amazing cultural crossroads that is Sicily.

Be sure to have lots of granita and seafood. Two of the things Sicily does best.

Dayle

Ooh, just saw you are checking Europcar! They get very bad reviews and warnings to stay away here and on Trip Advisor, where there is a very lively Sicily forum.

No personal experience with that company on my part.

kja

My rentals, arranged through gemut (as noted above), have frequently been with Europcar. I have never had a trouble.

bon_voyage

Like you, we began our trip to Sicily in Taormina. We rented an automatic through Autoeurope, and our original plan was to pick the car up in Giardini Naxos on leaving Taormina. For a relatively small extra charge we were able to have the car brought to our hotel, the Villa Carlotta. The VC was relatively easy to access by car which may have been a factor. You might also check in with the Tripadvisor Sicily Forum to get up-to-the-minute input from Vagabonda.

Leely2

allyboy, it is not difficult to find Casa Talia. We found it easily and didn't even have a GPS (a mistake in many other ways, but not for finding Casa Talia). Be aware, though, that if you have mobility problems, Casa Talia is composed of several small buildings on the hill. Many stairs.

We ended up getting lost several times!!! on our visit to Villa Romana del Casale. Lost on the way, ended up taking the long, long scenic route. Lost in Piazza Armerina. Lost in Caltagirone. Lost again coming back into Modica. So I'm not sure how early you would need to leave in order to return before dark. Maybe by 9am if you packed picnic supplies? I'm sure we didn't leave before 10am.

kja

"day tripping to Villa Roma/Caltagirone on Day 2. How early would you suggest we leave Modica to cover both of these sites and still be back in daylight?" -- I can't imagine that covering both as a daytime day-trip would be a problem as long as you go to the Villa Romana del Casale first, because (a) it has opening and closing hours; (b) it is, IMO, much more worthy of a visit than Caltagirone; and © there just isn't that much to see in Caltagirone, unless you have a special interest in its museum. Just keep an eye on the time so you know when to leave Caltagirone.

I didn't have the problems that Leely2 had with getting lost when visiting either the Villa Romana del Casale or Caltagirone, and I was driving solo without a GPS. I thought the way to the Villa extremely well marked (watch for signs for the mosaics). I had a bit of difficulty finding my B&B in Caltagirone, only because I ran into loops of one-way streets; getting into the core of Caltagirone's Old Town was not a problem.

Lois2

I simply cannot imagine a trip to Sicily in September without including at least a night or two on one of the Aeolian Islands. They are so beautiful and the whole aliscafi experience getting there from Milazzo is fun. They should be quiet but still open and beautiful in September. I would consider it.