Why aren't you booking directly with the Borghese Gallery?? See www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/einfo.htm

Thursdays, thanks for the info. Do you know anything about the Festival International di Musicae Arte Sacra in Rome during Oct. 10-14th? Think I will try and Google it.

mhyde1 - If you are on a budget, instead of booking the Galleria Borghese with an agency or directly, consider buying the Roma Pass for 20€. You get into your first two museums free and 50% off at many others. The Borghese alone will cost 13.5€ and if you use your other free entrance at the coloseum (9&euro then it's easy to get your money's worth. The pass is good for 3 days from activation, including use of metro/bus/trams/local trains. You would still need to call the Borghese to book a reservation (tell them you are using the Pass) as it's reservation only and you can't make it online for passes.
www.romapass.it

I have tried to purchase the Roma Passes over the internet, and I am having problems. One site says e20, another one says e25, plus I cannot get to the site to purchase them. Do I have to wait until we get to Rome?

Thursdays, I think I found the name of the island I thought you had mentioned. It is Ortygia .

mhyde1 - oh yes, Ortygia - the best part of Siracusa.

There are two different Roma Passes. The first one is called Roma Pass and the cost is 20€. The second one is called Roma & Piu Pass and the cost is 25€. The difference is in the transportation covered by the passes. The 25€ pass covers more of the outlying areas which you will not need. Buy at the tourist offices in Rome.

I decided to Goggle for information on the International Music Festival in Rome on Oct. 12-13th and found out it is by invitation only for patrons of the arts. The Pope will speak on Oct. 12th. Needless to say, we won't be getting tickets to attend. Sure sounds wonderful.

We are torn between Palermo and Catania along the east coast--since Catania is closer to Mt. Etna, Valley of the Temples, Greek Theater. There is a lot to see in Palermo, too. Wonder about the possibility of driving in Sicily--it has been recommended, but I do not know about driving there. Any ideas?

Stick with Palermo. With only 4 days in Sicily, I would not drive.

Jim Tardio has it right---keep it simple.

Zeppole, Thanks for the info and re-enforcement of my thoughts about driving. It just sounded so beautiful--the area around the east coast. Do you think they will have tour buses from Palermo to see Mt. Etna, the Greek theater, and other spots in that area? Think this will narrow down our stops to Palermo, Naples and Rome. Guess we will do a day trip to Capri. Everyone talks about Surrento, but it seems out of the way from the other areas.

What do you think of staying in Messina for two nights to do the tours of Mt. Etna, greek theater, and other sights. Then go on to Palermo. We can take the ferry from Palermo to Naples.

How are you getting to Messina?

mhyde1- if you find a copy of Lonely Planet Sicily it will have something on ways to see Mt. Etna without driving yourself. I agree with zeppole that with your limited time you're better off staying in Palermo, but if you really want to spend some time in the east I would take the train to or from Messina, and probably stay in Taormina rather than either Catania or Messina.

I enjoyed driving in Greece, but we were not pushed for time. It just seemed that everything we wanted to see was on the east coast--not in Palermo. And Thursdays talked about it so much. If we can get tours out of Palermo, we will just go ahead and go there (by train from Rome --on an over night). Everyone discourages me from getting a rail pass, but when I compare prices it cost me as much to go from Rome to Palermo as it does to get a 3 day rail pass. We will be taking either the ferry or the train to Salerno. Then the train to Naples. Take the side trips out of Naples. Then take the train back to Rome. We always stay in hotels near the train stations since we do not have a car. Yes, we will make reservations for the 8 pm overnight to Palermo, and for the one going back into Rome. If I had known in the beginning what I know now, we would have flown into Palermo and out of Rome. Guess we have learned a lesson.

Are you pricing your train tickets on Trenitalia?

Like kybourbon, I am curious as to whether your are pricing tickets on Trenitalia.

Also, I am curious as to whether you have looked at flying out of Roma directly to Sicily the same day you arrive in Roma -- either flying to Palermo or flying to Catania right away? You can buy a separate one-way ticket, just as you would a train ticket.

If you are taking the overnight train, and want to see Taormina, Etna and Siracusa, you should get off the train while it is on that side of Sicily.

When I gave you the advice to stick to Palermo, I thought you had switched your air tickets so that you were flying into Palermo. But if that is still open, rethink your transportation options into and out of Sicily.

This looks to me to be a very useufl website:

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/sicily/transport.html


PS: Sorrento is not far away from what you want to see on the mainland. It's right in the middle of it. Perhaps you would prefer to stay there than in Napoli.

mhyde,

In the thread, hazel previously posted:

"I just looked at some dates in October and Air One from FCO to Palermo is 179€ for two passengers, while an Amica fare for two via overnight train in a two bed compartment is 162€. Time wise, it would seem that the small additional price to pay would be well worth it, but you would also need to factor in that the train fare is also covering one night's lodging which would be an extra expense if flying is preferred over the train."

I am fairly certain the cost of two tickets from Rome FCO to Catania is the same cost as flying to Palermo.

Do you really want to sit around all day in Roma, jet lagged, and then try to sleep on an overnight train? Unless you are in your 20s, I would be afraid of getting sick.

I would either fly to Palermo or fly to Catania from FCO -- or at least reverse the trip:

Go from Rome by train to Sorrento and sleep. See what you want in that area (Pompeii, Capri, etc) before going to Sicily. Fly, boat or train back toward Rome.

Zeppole, you are giving me good advice. What do you know about the Quality Hotel Palermo Sicily. It states it is near the pier. I wonder how far it is from the train station. Will we be able to walk there? It is $79 euros a night which is a good rate. How can I get info about it because when I pull it up, they do not list an email address. Thanks.