waldenpond

I would appreciate some feedback on this itinerary. We will be picking up a car after our visit to Palermo.

tenthumbs

You''ll get better responses if you post in the Europe forum.

kja

Could be wonderful -- May can be a glorious time to visit Sicily!

Whether this plan works for you really depends on your interests. For example, I wanted more time in Palermo; I would have found 2 nights at Piazza Armerina way too much; and I would have wanted at least 1 more night in Ortigia if my time there included a day trip to Noto (which I'm glad I saw). And although I found the views from Taormina stunning, it was so overfull with daytrippers when I was there (May of 2007) that I found it truly unpleasant. BUT it really depends on what you want to see and experience.

Hope that helps!

neckervd

I suppose Sciacca is a beach stop. Otherwise you could visit Selinunte on the way from Erice to Agrigento.
2 nights at Piazza Armerina/Roman villa at Casale seams too much, indeed.
More time for the Baroque cities and the beaches around Noto - Vendicari could be fine.
Taormina IS touristy, but it's worth to see nevertheless.

waldenpond

Thanks for your advice. I was thinking that during the 2 days in Piazza Armerina we could visit central Sicily, like Enna.
I heard that Sciacca is beautiful. My other thought is that it might not be so pleasant to be on the go so much and spend only 1 night in places.
On the other hand, from the comments, I might enjoy staying 5 nights in Ortigia.
By the way, I am interested in gardens. Any suggestions?

TDudette

Looks good. You could make Agrigento a day-trip from Piazza Armerina. Or vice versa. DH and I went to Agrigento by bus from Palermo and had time to walk around the town a bit and liked it. Hilly. We couldn't make Piazza Armerina so I can't say what staying there is like.

I can't help with gardens but heartily recommend the Papyrus museum in Siracusa.

PalenQ

Catania is a nice underrated town IMO - but just walked around it for a day.

Cefalu near Palermo is a seaside gem of an old town.

Palermo itself a day was enough for me and a day in Montreale.

How about Corleone - actually a classic Italian hill town.

tuscanlifeedit

Your plans are a lot like mine; we go in April. One suggestion I might offer is that we are leaving Erice and driving to an agriturismo in the country between Agrigento and Piazza Armerina. I worked my itinerary to death and this was a way to eliminate both a one night stop, and sightseeing with luggage in the car. We will leave Erice very early, drive to the agriturismo, drop off our stuff, and head to Agrigento. Agrigento is much closer to the agriturismo than is Piazza Armerina , but we can have the next full day to visit there.

Of course, I have nothing more to offer since we haven't gone yet!

kja

Not really, but FWIW, Palermo has a Botanical Garden that I had hoped to see, but missed the opening hours, so I can't speak to its quality. If you go to Taormina, the (small) Garden of the Villa Comunale could be worth a short stroll. Sicily can be absolutely filled with wildflowers in May, and you don't need to go anywhere particular for them, although I thought they were particularly glorious at Segesta and Selinunte.

Dayle

I also enjoyed te wildflowers in spring and I did make it a point to visit the Botanical Gardens in Palermo. Huge disapointment. The gardens looked like they had not been cared for in years, not watered, not weeded. The tree were in good shape since trees long established can live neglected.

I do understand that perhaps there was no money to spend on the gardens. Also, my trip was in 2013 so maybe things have changed. I would pose this specific question on your post on the other web site and let the local experts answer regarding the garden. Marco lives in Palermo I believe. Dont know exactly where the other expert lives.

panecott

I agree that 2 days are too much at Piazza Armerina. In fact, I am probably the only person on Fodor's who was not awed by the mosaics at the Villa Romana. I even visited them twice, 20 years apart, to see if my perspective changed, but it didn't. So that particular stop, and I know I'm in the minority on this, would not be a big priority for me. In any event, one night there is more than enough. Enna is a nice town to visit, and it can be done on the way to PA,or after. You will see a lot of countryside between Agrigento to Siracusa.

I spent 2 days and 2 nights in Erice and, altho' I enjoyed it, I felt that one day there would have been sufficient, however, since you're planning on doing 2 day trips from there, your plan should work out. Unless you're very adventurous, take the road from Valderice up to the town of Erice. It's the newest and easiest to drive of the three roads that lead up to Erice. You can park your car in the parking lot just outside the Porta Trapani.

I would also stay in Selinunte instead of Sciacca. It's a nice enough little city but I found a couple of hours there to be plenty. It is an easy drive from Selinunte and if you're interested in beaches, the beaches at Selinunte are lovely, as is the surrounding countryside - and of course the magnificent temples are right there. Staying overnight you will be able to see them illuminated.

I also think 3 days in Taormina is too much. Altho' it is very beautiful, it is sadly overrun with tourists, so it's no longer a lovely place to linger and relax. You can see the town in one day, and do Etna on the other day and that would be plenty of time. If you are planning to take a tour from Taormina to Etna - and Etna is one place that lends itself to tours - most of them are a half day so you would have additional time in Taormina if you wish. You can take the bus up to the charming town of Castelmola. Add the other day to Ortigia.

Bear in mind that parking will be very difficult in Taormina, as will driving in and around the town, and you should check with your hotel about availability. Also, only residents are allowed to park in Ortigia so you will have to park your car in Siracusa, just across the bridge. In fact, since you are planning to spend several days in Ortigia, where you won't need a car, you might consider turning in your car in Siracusa and using public transport for the rest of your trip. You can get to Noto by train or bus. Taormina is easily reached from Siracusa by train, and you can get the bus up to the town right outside the train station. And when you depart, there is a bus that goes directly from Taormina to both the city of Catania and its airport.

waldenpond

Thank you panecott and others for your thoughtful answers.

Now I'm thinking of spending 4 nights in Palermo, 3 nights Erice, 2 nights, Selinunte, 1 night Agrigento, 1 night Piazza Armerina, 4 nights Otigia and 2 nights in Taormina.
There wasn't really enough time in Palermo to see all we wanted to 3 nights.
In Taormina we are thinking of taking the Etna People full day tour of Mt Etna and Alcantara. Then we would have one day to visit Taormina.
That's an interesting suggestion to turn in the car in Siracusa. I was thinking of visiting a garden that I read about on the way to Taormina. Does anyone have any garden suggestions in Sicily?
I assume the buses to Catania airport from Taormina are reliable. I will look into that.

Thanks again!

panecott

I think your revised itinerary is much better, and very workable.

The buses to Catania depart from the outdoor bus terminal at the edge of Taormina. Check the schedules when you arrive. I once took the bus to the airport and had no problems.

If you are looking for hotel suggestions, the Pietre Antiche apartments in Erice are excellent. Massimo is a wonderful host who will help you with everything you need, including top notch driving directions.
In Ortigia, I loved the Domus Mariae, a small, simple hotel that is a converted convent. It has wonderful service and is right on the Lungomare. Ask for a room with a balcony and sea view and you won't be disappointed. The views are breathtaking. I could have stayed there forever. There is a larger sister hotel just across the street where breakfast is served. I should add that the breakfasts were outstanding, with homemade breads and pastries, and home made ricotta - the most delicious ricotta I've ever tasted. I'd say the breakfasts were the best of my entire trip.

waldenpond

Thank you! I will look into your recommendations.
Right now I am looking into Palermo reservations. Any suggestions?

panecott

In Palermo I stayed at a B&B, Nell'Ombra del Massimo. It occupied two floors in a very old building directly across the street from the Teatro Massimo. The location is excellent and it seemed to be recently renovated. My room, "La Favorita", was fabulous, with a nice sized balcony overlooking the theater. A lovely view. The room was large and furnished in a modern style with, interestingly, a NYC theme. It turned out to be fitting as Palermo was my last stop before heading home to NY. lol It also has AC, which came in handy as it was hot and muggy when I was there. The bathroom was very large and newly renovated. Several of the rooms also had balconies. The service is nice and Gabriella (I think that was her name) was lovely. Breakfast is modest but adequate.

My only complaint was that the only source of light on the upper floors was from the elevator and if you're a little slow getting up the few stairs from the elevator to the door, you could be left in the dark. I had a small flashlight with me, and of course, cell phones can light the way, but I really felt that there should be a light in the hallway. I suggested they install one, but I don't know if they did.

Based on that, I would probably stay elsewhere if I return to Palermo, but as I said, other than that it was quite nice once you got inside the B&B.

TDudette

Get ready to eat!

We stayed in the Cristal Palace. It has been some years ago so do check. We worked with a travel agent who added us to her tours--we got the plane and hotel but didn't participate in the tour. We walked to the 4 corners and the big park. Cabbed otherwise.

Hotel Cristal Palace Palermo - Hotel 4 stelle in centro

kja

I agree that your new itinerary is much better.

And I fully agree that returning your car in Siracusa would be a great option -- it really won't be an advantage after that, and could easily prove quite an inconvenience.

If the tour you mean to take of Mt. Etna and the Gole dell'Alcantara is like the one I took, please take lots of layers -- the top of Mt. Etna can be extremely cold and windy. I even had protective eye goggles and ear-muffs, and was the envy of everyone there that day.

annhig

<<2 nights at Piazza Armerina/Roman villa at Casale seams too much, indeed.>>

Being someone who has spent 2 nights in Piazza Armerina and would have quite liked another night, I cannot agree with what seems to be the consensus here. We arrived [from the direction of Castiglione, for me a "must see"] in time for supper in town, where there are a number of restaurants. It's also fun for a wander round as unlike the other hill towns like Ragusa, etc it's medieval not baroque. In the morning, we were able to get to the Villa Casale before most of the crowds and before it got too hot [an important consideration in September], and unlike panecott we loved the mosaics and the cost of hiring a guide was money well spent. [we split the €40 fee with a group of 3 Irish people and actually gave the guide €10 each which for a highly informative and well-delivered tour of 90 mins+ struck me as very good value].

Then we took advantage of the free entry to the Greek site which is about 10 kms away [have lunch first as there is nothing there, as we discovered to our cost] and then ended up at the museum that is also included in the ticket.

That took us the vast majority of the day, so we missed out on Enna which I should liked to have seen, and Agrigento which we also missed. In the evening we had another great meal in a different part of the town.

I see that your itinerary now has two one-night stands in a row, which I would try to avoid if at all possible.

Dayle

waldenpond,

Since your itinerary is very similar to mine from 2013, click on my name if you would like to read my TR. It's long and detailed, but gives my lodging choices and the places I visited. I did turn in my car in Ortigia and continued by public trans from there. I think you will be glad to cut back on nights in Taormina and the added night in Palermo. I would highly recommend La Foresteria Planeta Estate in Menfi (very near Selinute) if you can get a reservation. Heavenly!

I did four 1 nighters in a row and while I would have preferred not to do this, I had to adjust since my priorities were the sights I wanted to see. For me, it wasn't a big deal and allowed me to leave my luggage at my lodging while I did my sightseeing.

Happy planning!

waldenpond

Thank you everyone for your help. My trip is planned.
4 nights in Palermo, 3 nights in Erice, 2 nights by Selinunte, 1 night in Agrigento and 1 night in Piazza Armerina, 3 nights in Ortigia, and 2 nights in Taormina.
The forum has been a big help!