Help! Sicily / Southern Italy itinerary
 

Fellow Fodorites,

I need your help!
I am planning a honeymoon to Southern Italy & Sicily for 13 nights - 12 days + flight home. I am having difficulty prioritizing the Sicily destinations. The one request from my fiance is that he wants to be able to do some relaxing and not be constantly on-the-go. At the moment, our plan is as follows:

8/25 fly to Italy via red-eye
8/26 Rome
8/27 Rome
8/28 Positano (visit Pompeii)
8/29 Positano
8/30 Positano
8/31 Overnight ferry to Sicily (Messina)
9/1 Taormina
9/2 Taormina (visit Mt Etna?)
9/3 Taormina (visit Lipari)
9/4 Agrigento?
9/5 Erice
9/6 Palermo (visit Cefalu)
Fly home morning of 7th

Plan was to take train from Rome through Pompeii, tour, then take train to Sorrento.

The section of the trip that I am having the most difficulty with is Sicily outside of Taormina. I know that I want to see Cefalu and possibly Erice. Is it an insane idea to do a small loop via Agrigento - Erice - Palermo at the end of the trip? I checked Via-Michelin for driving distances and this plan seemed conceivable.

The last time I planned a vacation (Portugal), I got into a bit of trouble because I tried to cover too much ground in the car (on bad roads) and we did not spend enough time at 'base' centers. However, I feel that Sicily may be small enough that doing the small loop at the end is doable. If you feel that we need an extra day to do the small loop, I could shave off one day from Positano. We do like to get off the beaten-path and i know that Positano and Taormina are both highly touristy. I did feel, however, that Taormina could serve as a useful and beautiful base for side-trips to Lipari and Mount Etna.

Beyond Taormina and Cefalu/Palermo, which were your favorite destinations in Sicily? Should we select Enna instead of Erice?

Thank you very much, in advance, for your feedback.

Best,
Musetta

I should also mention that my fiance and I tend to prefer small, quaint towns to big cities -- thus the choice to spend less time in Rome & Palermo.
Thanks!

I'd suggest skipping Rome on this trip and spending much more time in Sicily. I can't comment on the length of time in Positano, since I haven't been there. You do need more time in Sicily if you want to COMFORTABLY see Agrigento and Erice and if you want to see Palermo AT ALL, in addition to going to Cefalù from Palermo (one hour by train, fairly frequent except on Sundays).

you can also add another day to Positano for a possible visit to Capri. It takes less than 1 hour to get there from Positano so you can easily do it as a day trip. Capri is beautiful, don't miss it.

Your itinerary sounds very much like that you will be on the go constantly. At the very least try to wind down at the end of your trip, after Taormina choose one more spot in Sicily to base yourself. Are you flying out of Palermo to go home? I loved Palermo, but if you're not into cities starting in a city and ending in one could prove not to be a good plan for you. What time of year are you going?

Thank you for your responses! It is very helpful to get feedback from seasoned travelers who have done these routes.

We are starting in Rome and ending in Palermo because of our flight schedule. It sounds as though we should choose one more base other than Taormina for the Sicily portion of the trip. Would Palermo be the logical second base? We don't mind spending some time in a city (particularly if it's a base) -- just not the majority of the time.


Night 1 - Rome
Night 2 - Rome
Day 3 - travel via Pompeii to Positano

Night 3 - Positano
Night 4 - Positano
Night 5 - Positano
(possible day trip to Capri etc.)

Night 6 - Ferry to Sicily

Night 7 - Taormina
Night 8 - Taormina
Night 9 - Taormina
(side trips to Lipari and Mt Etna)

Night 10 - Palermo
Night 11 - Palermo
Night 12 - Palermo
leave early morning flight from Palermo
(Drive northern coastal route and stop in Cefalu; visit Segesta and possibly Erice)

Alternate option:
Spend night 10 in cefalu or Gangi; then nights 11 & 12 in Palermo

It sounds to me that Agrigento may not be worth the trip since the town is not that intriguing beyond the ruins. Perhaps by seeing Segesta we can whet our appetite for ruins?

I am reluctant to chop off time from Rome (already only 1 1/2 days) as I have heard many wonderful reports about the city and would at least like to get a bit of a taste for it. However, it may be possible to proceed directly to the Amalfi coast. One concern -- the last 2 times I flew to Italy (Northern), they lost my luggage for 24 hrs. Thus, it may not be bad to be in relative proximity to the airport for the first 24 hours.

What do you think of our new itinerary?

Thanks, again!!
Musetta

I should mention that we will definitely rent a car in Sicily. We will probably rely on trains and ferries for the Amalfi region.
M

If you will be having a car in Sicily, you can gainfully base yourself in or near Palermo and in or near Taormina, and thereby cover most of the island.

Positano is not good for more than a half day. Rapello(sp) which is nearby is much more special. Wishing you a good trip. jo

I think with your changes, staying in Palermo the last 3 nights, that you have created a slightly less hectic itinerary. Maybe do an organized tour from Palermo to hit Agrigento, check out: http://www.compagniasicilianaturismo.it/home.asp

GAC has suggested them, I didn't do an organized tour but I feel if you want to see a lot in a short time frame that it is the way to go.

Musetta-Hi and I'm also planning to travel from train from Rome to Sorrento with stop off in Pompeii. Will have luggage.. Not sure if you travel light, but will you be checking any bags or luggage in Pompeii prior to seeing the sights? Wondering if safe to leave 2 (22"-24" bags) there?