Itinerary for Sicily
 

I would greatly appreciate comments, suggestions,etc regarding our proposed itinerary for July 2005.It is our first trip to southern Italy. We would like to drive a maximum of three hours on most travel days and stay in clean, airconditioned hotels with comfortable bedding, and good locations.
We will be arriving from New York to Palermo and picking up a car at the airport and staying two nights at the Villa Igiea. We plan to take their shuttle into Palermo since driving in Palermo seems to make NYC look tame.
From Palermo we want to stop in Ericce on our way to Agrigento for two nights at the Villa Athena.
From Agrigento we want to go thru Enna and see the Villa Imperiale on the way to Siracusa. For two nights we will be at the Hotel Grand Villa Politi.
Then we are on to three nights in Taormina at the Hotel Villa Belvedere.We want to do a day trip to Mt Etna from there. From what I've read the north side seems to be the most interesting.
From Taormina we were going to drive back to Palermo to spend the night befor flying to Rome for the second leg of the trip. We are still searching fo a hotel near the Palermo airport. We plan to drive ourselves however hiring a driver is a consideration we would consider.
Thanks to all!!

Why not fly in Palermo and out Catania so you don't have to back track to Palermo? You don't need a car in Palermo at all, so why not pick it up the day that you are leaving? You could get rid of the car in Taormina as it's not needed there either, and take an organized trip to Mt. Etna.

Here's a link to my report on Sicily:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34412340

I agree with AP6380 about flying into Palermo and out of Catania. If you fly Alpieagles or Meridiana you will be paying for two one-way flights anyway, so the round trip would not be any cheaper. Also, if you are planning to drive from Palermo to Erice and then from Erice to Agrigento in the same day, I think it will take longer than the three-hour limit you mentioned. You might want to spend a night in Selinunte or Porto Palo to break it up.

rbrazill - do you know anything about the 2 airlines you mentioned? Someone did mention Meridiana on a post I read & it sounded ok. I haven't read anything on the other one. Are they like a Jet Blue, Southwest, etc. type of airline or are they subsidiaries of Alitalia or some other "big" airline company. Who knows if Alitalia will be around much longer???

We are flying in and out of Palermo because we have frequent flyer tickets and do not have another option. Does anyone know how long a drive it is from Taormina to Palermo in the summer traffic?
We elected to pick up the car at the airport and deliver it there because it seemed from other posts that there was no other convenient option for a car pickup in Palermo. We also don't want to spend a lot of time in car rental offices.

Here are some hotels near the Palermo airport:


http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...airport+hotels


Taormina to the Palermo Airport can be as short as four hours on the superhighway, or as much as eight hours by normal roads. If you spend the last night near the airport, you should have no worries.

We are doing a similar itinerary in reverse in May. I like you hotel choices, but too much for my budget. I suggest you drop Erice in favor of Selinunte enroute to Agrigento. I have read too many stories of tough access to Erice--and fog. Good luck and watch for my report come late May.

I picked up a car pretty conveniently in the heart of Palermo, I don't remember the name of the street but it may be in my report. I rented through autoeurope.

I encountered significant fog in Erice. We tried to see Erice and also saw Segesta when we were driving from Palermo to Sciacca.

ec-Alpi Eagles and Meridiana are both Italian-based low-cost airlines. They code share with each other. I don't believe either is affiliated with Alitalia. Here are their links:
http://www.alpieagles.com/en/
http://www.meridiana.it/en/index.html

cdg1265 - I agree with Bob's recommendation of dropping Erice in favor of Selinunte. I also strongly recommend Segesta which has both an in-tact temple to rival anything in Agrigento and a huge Greek theatre (better preserved than Taormina), and none of the crowds you will likely find in those places.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. They are much appreciated!

rbrazill - I am just getting back to this site after the holidays. Thanks for your help.

I also agree with dropping Erice in favor of Selinunte or Segesta. Are planning on Monreale? It would also easy to visit on the way to Segesta.

I just thought I'd give another opinion about Erice. Maybe it was just a combination of things at that particular time-we encountered no fog- but I thought Erice was one of the most charming towns in all of Sicily. Maybe it was the old Sicilian horse-drawn cart we saw going down the road, or the wedding being photographed against the most beautiful back-drop I've ever seen or the best cannoli I had in all of Italy, but I'm glad we didn't miss Erice.