Is that the Quality Hotel President Palermo? Because if so it has some pretty bad reviews on tripadvisor. Why do you want to stay there? The area round the port isn't that nice. Did you look at the B&B I recommended? (http://www.bed-and-breakfast.palermo...g/booking.aspx - 75E for a double).

Don't you have a guide book for Sicily yet? Because if so it should have a map that will let you figure out where a hotel is in relation to the train station - but in any case the buses are good.

I am surprised about the reviews. It is a 4 star hotel and only had 3 rooms available for when we are there. I went ahead and made reservations at the B&B you recommended, and I see it is more in the central part of town--even though we will need to take a bus there. We have never stayed in a B&B before so this will be a new experience for us. I just hope they have tour buses out of Palermo to Mt. Etna and the Greek theater because we really want to see them. Thanks for the info.

You know, I'm now really confused about your itinerary. Maybe you should post your day-by-day. If you're in Palermo you're on the other side of the island from Mt. Etna and Taormina and I wouldn't expect there to be day trips from Palermo. Didn't zeppole suggest starting at one side and finishing on the other? Sicily is a big island - it's 255 km from Palermo to Taormina - around 160 miles.

Thursdays, I made reservations for the B&B you recommended, and when I received their notice, I cancelled my other reservations. This a.m. they told me that they are booked during 3 of the days I had made reservations for. I asked them if we could stay for the 1st 2 nights, then we will need to find another place. Zeppole suggested I not rent a car, but go to Palermo and do my touring from there. Actually, this is a new experience for me--trying to do everything on line. But I had hoped it would save money. We were going to spend 4-5 nights in Sicily, but now I wonder if it is worth the long trip, and I know my cousin will not agree to fly.I really appreciate all of the wonderful ideas.

Sorry you had problems with the B&B! BTW, just because a hotel says it's a 4-star doesn't mean it's any good. In Europe it may just mean it has certain facilities, like an elevator or a dining room. Do NOT choose a place just based on the number of stars.

You don't need a car to get from one side of Sicily to the other - start on one side, spend 2-3 nights, take the train or a bus to the other. If your cousin won't fly, take the ferry one way to Sicily and the train the other.

Of course, you could always go to Trapani and/or Erice from Palermo for a couple of nights.

Learned another "new" thing. I thought you could choose a hotel by the "stars". Thanks. I really wish I could just "wing it" instead of spending so much time worrying about it. I have been told that October is a very popular month in Italy, and that we need to make reservations early. I even tried to do the train over the internet, but I cannot find out the cost first. I really think we will do without the rail pass and just get tickets for the segments we will be using the train (it is now narrowed down to two days).

" I even tried to do the train over the internet, but I cannot find out the cost first" ???

Go to trenitalia.it. Click on English. Enter Roma and Palermo and your date. Select the train, then select your accommodation. For example, for the direct night train from Rome to Palermo the Amica fare for a a bunk in a two-bunk compartment is 76.20E, for one in a four-bunk couchette it is 57E. If you don't mind sitting all night it goes down to 41.30E - not worth the discomfort in my mind. For a description of couchettes, etc., see seat61.com/Italy.htm.

Just for giggles, I checked raileurope.com for the same train and date. They will only sell you first class tickets, restricted for $186 (126E) and flex for $258 (175E)!!!

I went to trenitalia.it, and even registered on the site. Got all the way up to the departure time at 8 pm. I think it is 8:15 p.m. to be exact, but they would not tell me the fee. I think we will just get our tickets when we arrive in Rome. Now, you know why the AAA agent told me it would be cheaper to get a rail pass, but you are much wiser. We will not get rail passes. We will just get our tickets when we get there. Actually, it gives us more freedom that way. You have been super great with your ideas, and I sure love the way you travel!

mhyde1 - you need to click on "buy" in order to get price info - don't worry, they can't charge you for anything at that point! Then you select your accommodation type and you should get a price in the small greyed out boxes - hard to see and easy to miss.

I am just going to wait until we get to Rome in the morning to get tickets for that night. I have been told that October is a very busy month in Italy so I hope we will be able to get on the train.

In that case you won't get the Amica discount (20%) - I think it's a min. of 24 hours ahead. You also may get on the train, but not get a couchette or sleeper.

Thursdays, I think you were the one who mentioned the fact that you have to change trains going from Naples to Rome. I have asked my AAA agent about it, but he has not replied. But then, he didn't know that the train divides up going to Palermo with the back of the train going down the east coast. I learned that from a Fudorite!

No, I was the one who said you DIDN'T need to change in Naples. Have you looked at the schedules on bahn.de and trenitalia.it? What is your TA actually doing for you?

My ta is really only answering questions that I asked. It was much easier last time to just have AAA make all of the arrangements, but I am learning so much from Fodorites that I am trying to do it on my own. Yes, I found out about the train being direct from Naples to Rome--2 hour trip. I was able to get the B&B you recommended in Palermo for one night. Thank goodness. It has also been a big relief to not make train reservations with a rail pass--frees up our schedule.

So sorry I have been away from the thread for awhile. I was having headaches and a nausea for several days, and I couldn't understand why. Found out that my blood pressure which is usually 120s over 60s had gone up to 179 over 78. This was the first time it has ever happened. I have been told I am not drinking enough water so I am trying to do better. It finally got back down to normal yesterday. I cannot believe that I am getting that upset over this trip. To have our airline tickets rewritten would cost $150 each so we are committed to flying in and out of Rome. I was able to get reservations at the B&B you recommended Thursdays in Palermo. So I think we will stay in Palermo, Naples and back to Rome. Take day trips out of Naples. I am going to try and make train reservations right now.

O.K. zeppo, you live in Italy--maybe you can answer this one. I have been told that the ferry does not run from Catania after Sept. 9th or something like that. We had hoped to take the ferry back to Salerno or Naples. Will that be possible. Thanks. Margaret

Margaret - so sorry to hear about your health problem! And that you're stressing out. Try to think that so long as you make your flight to Rome, and then the flight home from Rome, everything else will work itself out.

I don't know about the Catania - Salerno ferry, but the Catania - Naples ferry is still running in October - see booking.tttlines.it.

Thanks, Thursdays, I feel as if I know you! I have tried the Grimaldi and Terrenia Ferries. Now, I will check the one you recommended. Thanks.

Margaret - I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip - when do you leave?

The ferry company you gave me goes out of Catania! I don't know why the AAA agent couldn't find it. We leave on Sept. 30th and come back Oct. 14th. Just got back from the week-end in Dayton, Ohio. Went up to watch my granddaughter play in a volleyball tournament. Will get back on my trip right now. Thanks for all of the information. I have a friend who is going to teach me how to do limoncello (sp)!

"I don't know why the AAA agent couldn't find it." I seem to remember mentioning somewhere up-thread that AAA agents are good for cruises and Disneyland and Trafalgar tours, but not much else.

I found the ferry company by pulling my Lonely Planet Sicily guidebook (bought for my spring trip) off the shelf and looking up "Getting There and Away" at the back. I very much doubt that you'd find a LP guidebook to Sicily, or even a Fodors' "Italy" in your local AAA office. (Actually, a simple google turns up the same info.) BTW, have you bought a guidebook yet?

I see this thread has made it to 100 posts! Wow!

I want to thank you, Thursdays, for all of your help on this trip. Thank goodness, I was able to get in the B&B you recommended in Palermo for two nights Oct. 1, 2. On the 3rd, we will take a bus to Catania for 2 nights. I have left the next two nights open in case we want to stay longer in Catania. Then we have 5 nights in Naples and will do all of the sightseeing from there rather than stop in Salerno. We will take the ferry right up to Naples. Then, our last three nights will be in Rome. This way, we won't be as rushed with the extra two nights determined as we go along. Would love to take the train to Salerno, but I don't think we will want to do that after the day trip across the water on the way down.

Operation Countdown. It is less than a week before we leave for Italy and Sicily. Was able to get the B&B recommended by Thursdays in Palermo. ( The reason for going to Palermo is because my son flew in and out of there for the Navy, and it sounded interesting.) Plus, my cousin is more interested in Sicily because we have been to Italy 4 times (I know there is much more to see. We will take the bus to Catania. (3 and a half hours. This will be our "Godfather" part of the tour. Checked the winter ferry schedule, and it does not run from Catania to Salerno. For some reason, I really wanted to visit it because of Paestum and the Cliento National Park. We can take the train to Salerno in 6 and a half hours. Or we can take the ferry straight to Naples. (which we may end up doing. We have hotel reservations in Palermo, Catania, Naples and Rome. I have left two free nights between Catania and Naples in case we decide to do Salerno. We will do a day trip to Capri from Naples. Either way we will do the AC from Salerno or Naples. The hotel is in the Piazza Garibaldi which is convenient to going on day trips and the train station. I still have not been able to get our train tickets on the website. Nor have I secured reservations for the Galleria Boughese (sp). I have followed all of the directions, given all info requested, but they will not confirm. Will need to go back to postings because someone went through an agency and got the train tickets. Need to get the phone number. Again, thanks for all of your help. I feel as if I know you all so well.

You're staying near the Naples train station? You might want to check some previous threads on whether that's a good idea. While I felt safe in Naples (aside from the Spanish Quarter at dusk, and I would have been fine there if I hadn't been alone) I chose not to stay near the train station. The buses/trams in Naples are cheap and easy for getting around.

You might consider using those extra two days to stay in Ortigia (Siracusa).

I can't believe the time has come to leave on our trip. After weeks of preparations and thinking we had taken care of everything, the economy in the U.S. falls to the bottom! I cannot even imagine the value of a dollar to a euro! So I guess the trip will be even more expensive than we had figured. I hesitate to leave the country with the situation so dire, but we have no choice. It would cost $300.00 to change the airline tickets and lots of time to cancel our reservations at the hotels, trains, etc. Wish we luck. We have really looked forward to this. We could never have done it at all without your help and suggestions. Thank you.p.s. I will provide information when we get back. I will not be taking the computer.

Have a wonderful trip! (BTW, I found some internet cafes in Sicily - although it was a bit difficult in Palermo) Also the dollar was close to 1.60 to the euro when I was traveling this spring, it's up to 1.43 right now. Of course, no knowing what will happen even tomorrow...

Well, we're back! When I am able to get my head straight , I will write about our trip. I notice that Fodor has a list of 12 mistakes travelers make, I will be able to add to the list. I saw a tee-shirt that read "I came, I saw, I crawled". That pretty much described us at the end of the trip. We both decided (my cousin decided first) that, from now on, we will go on guided tours--where someone tells us where, and when, to go, where to sit, when to stand, when to walk. I think I will do like Thursdays, though, go by myself and then join a tour. I am so glad we got down to Sicily and southern Italy (which we had not done before). The B & B recommended for Palermo was delightful, and I would recommend it to anyone. The train was an hour and a half late the first night so we took a taxi to the B & B and the manager had gone for the night so we had to take another hotel the first night, but we enjoyed the B & B much more than the hotel. I am glad we took the ferry across from Italy to Sicily on the train. That was some experience to watch! Our two free nights, we came back up to Salerno and went to Pasteum which was a high light of the trip. We found a wonderful coffee shop near the hotel. Our four nights in Naples allowed us to see: Pompeii, Archaeological Museum which houses all of the wonderful art from Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius (I'm glad we went to the top), Sorrento (wish we had spent more time there), Amalfi Coast, Positano, Capri (we took the ferry from Positano to Capri and then back to Naples.) Could have spent more than three days in Rome, but we did get in to see the Galleria Borghese without reservations (I do not recommend it, though). Everyone told us we couldn't get in without a reservation, but someone in the hotel told us to take a chance that someone wouldn't "show" for their tickets, so we did--and we got in! We got a tour of the Colosseum. We had been there twice, but never taken a tour. We also got to see St. Peter's Church with the chains (on the hill from the Colosseum). The chains that held Peter while he was in prison in Rome are on the alter. Also, Michangelo's (sp) statue of Moses is in the church. He spent 30 years, off and on, working on this piece. Still adjusting to the time change. Good to be home.

Welcome home! Good to hear from you. Glad you had a good trip, and I'm looking forward to the trip report. Re: tours - sounds like you were VERY busy, independent travel tends to work better if you slow down a bit!

Next time, Thursdays, I am going to travel like you do!

We are back, and I will now tell about our travels. Day one; My cousin and I meet in Atlanta for our flight to Rome. I have purchased a 30 day membership in Delta Crown Rooms so that we can wait, in peace and quiet, while on our trips because we, sometimes, have 1-2 hours in the airport. It turned out, that with our connections, we didn't get to use it very much. They were getting ready to board when we met. We have a very simple rule in traveling: we don't check luggage. You have to pack everything you need in one suitcase and one carry-on. The bad thing about that is my carry-on book bag sometimes weighs more than my suitcase (or, at least, it seems that way!) Our original plans were to take the 8 p.m. train to Palermo, but when checking the schedule again, we found a train at 11:30 a.m. right out of the train station we arrived in around 9 a.m. So we took the time and got some euros, ate breakfast and boarded the train. In a way, I am glad we did because we got to see the southern part of Italy we had not seen before, and we met three of the most interesting people on the trip: one was an attorney from Salerno, one a student at the University of Rome, who was the interpreter, and another who was a journalist. Even though we were tired, our conversation was lively, and we all exchanged email addresses. The attorney from Salerno said she was determined to learn English so that she could communicate with us more. I am not sure what "express" means in Italy because this was supposed to be an express train, and by the time we reached Palermo, we were an hour and a half late. On all of our other travels on European trains, they always ran on time. It was dark by the time the train boarded the ferry for the trip across the strait to Sicily (which was the reason for taking the train--we wanted to see it). By the time we reached Palermo, the manager at our B&B had given up on us (after all, it was past mid-night), but we had tried to call and tell him we were late--to no avail. We had taken a cab to the B&B, and the driver wanted to drop us off, but my cousin refused to get out of the taxi, so the driver took us to another area that had more hotels. All of them were sold out, but the manager at the third hotel called another hotel and found a room. I think our taxi driver couldn't comprehend that it would be better to call and get a room rather than drive all over town. We finally got in our room around 1 p.m. and paid the driver 35 euros. Our room did not have air-condition so I opened up a window to outside traffic rather than try and sleep in a stuffy room. Turned out the hotel was the one Thursdays told me not to stay because it was so close to the pier. They charged us 130 euros for the night, but we would have paid anything at this time just to have a roof over our heads. Not the best way to start a 14 day vacation! Especially one that I had worked so hard with all of you Fodorites to make perfect.

Great to see you're getting the trip report up. But a suggestion - this is a very long thread now, more people will likely see your report if you start a new thread for it.

And yes, I had doubts about the "espressness" of trains on that route, especially after they reach Sicily! Although I think mine actually ran to schedule, I wouldn't count on that happening with an Italian train....

BTW - what was your opinion of the hotel near the pier? Will you be posting reviews on tripadvisor?

This is a new experience for me. How do I start a new thread? How do I post on the Trip Advisor chart? Yes, I was going to do a review of the hotel because I would not recommend it to anyone, but, apparently, tours use it a lot to stay in before boarding their ships. I had planned on adding my travel experience to this thread. Is that not a good idea? I used so much info gained from this source, I wanted to share mine, too. So good to hear from you.

Day 2. Found out the name of the hotel last night was the President Hotel in Palermo. Today we spent the time to find the B&B where we were supposed to be staying. Here again, we took a cab because we just wanted to get settled in. Today it was 15 euros for a 5 min. ride. It was so good to find Sky Sleeping B&B. You would never know it to see it from the street. It is on the 6th floor of a commercial building. It has nice sized rooms, and a wonderful terrace over-looking Palermo. Located in a small part of town, it represents the working people of Palermo with a local bakery, local fruit and flowers, local fish market. Everything right there. After unpacking, we walked down to the Cathedral located in the heart of town. There was a huge crowd there in the square, and we were pleased to see a wedding party enter. They had roped off the front part of the church, but we were allowed to sit in the rear and watch. It was a beautiful wedding. We walked through a large park hoping to find Montreal, but we didn't. Stopped at a small cafe on the corner going back to the room and had a lemoncello. Good. Cool. Refreshing. Thought about going back for supper, but it was too far. Then, we decided it would be worth it so we walked back and had the most delightful pasta dinner with a cold, refreshing salad-which I loved. Plus, homemade bread. Came back to the B&B to rest. Stayed out on the terrace and enjoyed the cool breezes until bed time. Somehow, we were too busy to have lunch so supper was really good!

To start a new thread you click on "Post a New Message" at top left. Select Italy from the list at center right and put in a heading. Then you can copy and paste what you've written here. If that's a problem let me know and I'll do it for you.

So glad you liked the B&B and its street - I loved the "local" feel, and thought the B&B was great value.

For tripadvisor, you need to go to tripadvisor.com and register like you did here (top right). Then you can click on "write a review" down on the left and follow the prompts.

I have tried, several times, to cut and paste the two articles I have written since I got home. This is a new computer for me, but I followed the directions, but couldn't move it from one site to another. I started up a new site Italy, I Came, I Saw, I Crawled, but I lost all that I had cut and pasted when I tried to transfer it. I think I will start from scratch and write it all over. Unless you can do it from your computer! I am computer illiterate.

OK, have done. I've started a new thread with your title and your two report posts from here. Click on your name to find it. Love the title, BTW.

Clicking on her name won't locate it because she hasn't posted on it. Click on thursdaysd's name to find it.

O.K. Thursdays and thank you for setting up the new site. Now, how do I find it? I looked for it under the title, under your name, and I still cannot find the site.

Here it is.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35162930