Itinerary Help for Sicily
 

My hubby and I are planning a 10 day trip to Sicily this summer. Wishing we had more time with all there is to do there but we're going to have to fit in what we can without feeling like we're constantly packing & unpacking. Typically we like to stay at each hotel for 3 nights but we may cut down in a few places in order to see a little more this time around.
We like culture, beautiful scenery, good food & drink, mountains, beach & swimming. While we appreciate art & architecture we don't want to plan this trip around this....we love to be outdoors. We're in our upper 40's.
We're trying to decide on which side of the island to focus on. Can anyone advise? Below are our considerations:

Northern focus:
Arrive Catania
2 nights: Stay in TAORMINA at Hotel Villa Ducale or on the foothills of Mt. Etna at Monaci delle Terre Nere (not sure what type of vantage point we'll have of Mt Etna at either. Also not sure if there's enough dining options around the latter option. We will have car so can stay at either and drive to explore, eat etc.
In this area we would like to see:
Town of Taormina for a cpl of hours for some shopping, eating, vistas, etc. ,Mt Etna, Alcantara Gorge

1-2 nights -Aeolian Islands: Lipari or Salina - Want to see Stromboli lava lit up at night
Head toward Tripani with a stop in Cefalu- in order to dine at restaurant with terrace built on rocks over the ocean
(not sure if we should stay in/near Cefalu in which we would also want to see Enna)

3 nights Tripani/San Vito Lo Capo/Scopello area
Want to see Scopello (beach time)
Erice
Beach areas in vicinity

2 nights in/near Palermo
Want to see farmers/food market, catacombs, Corleone
Fly out of Palermo

OR

Arrive Catania
2 nights Taormina (feel like we should see while here)
2 nights in Modica (looks like really beautiful city), explore area
3 nights in Agrigento (Hotel Villa Athena looks beautiful with gorgeous evening views of the ruins lit up)..Want to see ruins, Scala dei Turchi (Stair of the Turks-beach with limestone cliffs), Sciacca
2 nights in/near Palermo

Any advice??
Thanks so much!

My best advice is for you to use the TripAdvisor forum for Sicily to plan a short trip to Sicily in the summer. Right now, both your "wish lists" have you spending a lot of time traveling from one "highlight" to another, and not spending enough time there to recuperate and enjoy what you came to see. Vagabonda on TripAdvisor could help you plan a much more compact itinerary that would still be filled with a sequence of WOWS, but you wouldn't be zigzagging from one end of the island to the other just to have a great time.

Thanks Massimop, I posted there! :)

I don't think you need 3 nights at Agrigento. Just one night, if you want to see the temples illuminated, is more than enough. If not, the day tours are pretty comprehensive. I've taken one from Taormina that included Enna, Piazza Armerina and Agrigento. It was long but we saw a lot.

If the weather is clear, you can get wonderful views of Mt. Etna from the Greek Theater, which is a must see in Taormina.

Since you have limited time, I'd spend it on Sicily mainland itself, and perhaps take a day trip to the Aeolian Islands.

I agree with Massimo that your plan includes too much jumping around from place to place.

I don't usually post on TripAdvisor, but have seen a number of posts from Vagabonda while randomly browsing over there. Seems like she's the resident expert with lots of good advice. Good luck with your planning.

I forgot to mention. You could add an extra night in Palermo and visit Cefalu from there. It's just an hour away by train.

Thanks so much for your insight panecott.
We were thinking multiple nights in Agregento so we could explore some of the neighboring areas in addition to the ruins without jumping around too much. Do you think that will be hard to do from there or not enough else to see? We will have a car.
We might take your advice and skip the islands..im wondering if there's a way to see Stromboli lit up at night (which will be late in July) without staying over. Can anyone comment on that?
I think we have to figure out if we should focus on the northern or southern part of the island...I wish we had more time!

Unfortunately you will need to make some hard choices. But Sicily is so great--it really is. You'll be back.

I'd probably move the two "extra" nights in Agrigento to either Modica and Palermo or Modica and Taormina. (haven't been to Taormina, and never wanted to visit, but might be nice to really get some r-and-r when you first arrive.)

JES, a few thoughts. I think it's wise for you to try to limit your focus to a smaller area. As Leely said, you'll go back to Sicily!

There is a day trip from Taormina, boat from Milazzo, which goes to Panarea and Stromboli, with the focus at the end of the day on seeing the lava from the boat, which then returns to Milazzo. It's a long trip but you don't have to stay over.

BTW, you mentioned Corleone, but The Godfather was not filmed there. I've never been, but supposedly, when the movie was made the town was already too modernized to be the proper setting. The movie was filmed in Forza d'Agro and Savoca, two villages near Taormina, which should be easy to get to with a car. I've actually been to Forza d'Agro on my first trip to Sicily years ago. My friend and I just hopped on the train to do some exploring and wound up there. It was a quiet Sicilian hill town that was a fun visit.

Does your hotel in Taormina have parking? You should find out, otherwise, a car can be quite an inconvenience. The Via Luigi Pirandello, which leads up to the town, is a steep, winding road with spectacular views at every turn, but the buses travel on it, so it can be quite an adventure. I'm not trying to scare you b/c I look upon these things as fun experiences, but you should just be aware. There is also a back road that leads up to Taormina, much easier, but it leaves you at the other end of town. So check with your hotel. I would plan on at least 3 nights in Taormina, maybe 4, b/c there's much to see and do from there.

I don't think I'd care to have a car in Palermo, but if that doesn't bother you, then okay. Otherwise, you might consider making Cefalu your base and doing some exploring from there, including Agrigento and Selinunte, and Erice. It has a great beach right in town.

I haven't been to Modica, so I can't comment on that.

This is so helpful, thank you so much!
We definitely do plan to visit Savoca while in Taormina for the views and a visit to Bar Vito! I wasn't aware most of it was filmed in Forza d'Agro, we'll add it to our list! We wanted to see Corleone mostly because of it's history being the home of so many mafia bosses but if it's now modernized then it sounds like we might just want to skip it.
I have been trying to find out of my hotel in Taormina has parking but I can't find info on their website and the email listed keeps getting returned as non deliverable when I've tried to send them a message asking. Does anyone here happen to know about parking at Villa Ducale?
Great to know about the day trip to Stromboli and that it lasts into the evening for the lava viewing. We typically like to do things independently vs a tour so I'm wondering if instead we could make up our own day trip and go from Milazzo, go to the islands we want to see at our own pace, a boat ride to Stromboli at night and then back? Do you think that would work with the available boat options? That way we can still avoid the overnight in the islands.
It resoundingly sounds like I don't need as much time in Agrigento, even to see the surrounding area.
Maybe we will return the car when we get to Palermo and then just taxi or bus it to the airport for our departure. How do you typically get around Palermo without a car? by foot?

We had no trouble at all walking around Palermo proper. We took the bus for longer city jaunts and the train for daytrips out of the city. The airport bus was a convenient way to get into the city after returning our car to the airport. We are extremely independent travellers and we were very happy not to have a car in Palermo. Not needed at all...

As for Etna, we had a very enjoyable day driving up to the cable car station and then taking an all-terrain bus over the volcanic fields to a crater near the top where we hiked for a short time. No lava, but plenty of smoke near our feet and incredible views!

-Annie

That's great insight Anniemaki, thank you! We will definitely plan to do that in Palermo...and also Etna. When did you go to Etna? I'm wondering with the recent eruption how often the lava is visible.

I think it's a good idea to ditch the car in Palermo. Many of the main historic sights are all within walking distance of one another, and there's good local bus service, e.g., up to Monreale.

I've always used public transportation in Sicily with ease. This is the first time I'm renting a car there, only b/c I want to explore the west and southwest for the first week and I think driving there will be relatively easy. Then I'm ditching it in Siracusa and will use public trans for the rest of the trip.

I don't see any reason why you can't do the boat to Panarea and Stromboli on your own. They are public ferries and hydrofoils so it should be okay. Obviously just check in advance and know the schedules.

I just checked Villa Ducale on Booking.com, and under "Facilities" it says private parking is available on site for 20Eu per day.

Pannecott, I did find driving around Sicily amazingly easy and relaxing. Just the opposite of what I was prepared for!

Jes, from what I remember in checking the boat, hydrofoil services between islands, there was not a return from Stromboli late enough to allow seeing eruptions at night. Also, our tour boat came into the marina on the north side of the island and the view of the volcano action was from the eastern side, off shore.

It would depend on the route the public boats take whether or not you would have a view of the volcanos eruptions.

There may be later public boats during peak season!

Unfortunately, Sicily is – IMO – not well suited to bases of 3 nights, nor is it well suited to a trip of less than 2 or 3 weeks. But you should be able to see some wonderful things! Some comments:

• Taormina can be truly unpleasant during the daytime, when daytrippers can mob the place. It is beautiful, though!
• A visit to Mt. Etna and the Alcantara Gorge is likely to take the better part of a day – count on a very early morning departure with a return late afternoon. FWIW, I was glad I devoted a day to a tour that included these two destinations.
• Please note that you can’t actually count on seeing Stromboli’s lava at night. I was on a ferry that passed Stromboli after sunset on one of the few nights when it was quiescent – not even a spark. :-(
• 2 nights is, IMO, very little for Palermo, which has a wealth of options.
• Whatever you do, do NOT miss the cathedral in Monreale, just outside of Palermo! It is, IMO, among the world’s most impressive man-made spaces.
• I skipped Modica, but then, I’m not a fan of Baroque architecture. Despite that, I adored the playfulness of Noto’s Baroque….
• 3 nights in Agrigento would be a bit much for me – the Valley of the Temples easily merits two nights (so you have one full day for the ruins, museum, and medieval core of the city); you might want a part of a day for the Scala dei Turchi (which I didn’t have time to visit, so I could be mistaken, but I don’t think they would take a full day -- I was aiming for just a half hour or so there).
• Agreed: you can easily visit Cefalu from Palermo.
• Booking.com provides information about parking options.

Hope that helps! Enjoy spectacular Sicily! :-)

Dayle, I'm glad to hear that about the driving, b/c Sicily has a reputation for crazy drivers, but maybe that's just in the cities, altho' that's true all over Italy!

I think the west is more rural and less crowded than the rest of the island and I'm looking forward to just exploring the countryside.

panecott, I did all the driving on my trip to Sicily. The only real difficulty I encountered was getting lost, again and again. But we didn't get a GPS, instead trusting our on-the-fly map-reading skills. Mistake.

Have a great trip!

Thanks, Leely.

I never use a GPS and I get lost even traveling in the US, so I fully expect to get lost in Sicily. But it's all part of the adventure!

Panecott,
Thank you so much for finding out about the parking at the hotel!
And although I actually enjoy the crazy driving, like in Naples(!) I will take all of the advice and ditch the car in Palermo. It sounds like the smartest thing to do.

Kja, thanks so much for all of your comments and advice - really so helpful.
What did you think about Alcantara Gorge? Is it worth the trip? I was wondering if it would be ultra crowded and unpleasant at the end of July. Does it take a long time to hike into the area you can swim? Is there an area you found prettiest or is it obvious where you need to go once you get there?

I think we will only spend a couple of hours in Taormina to shop around and maybe have lunch but otherwise use it as a base. Hotel Ducale seems like a beautiful spot to settle at night with the views and since the town quiets down then from what I hear, but I'm wondering if we should stay at Monaci delle Terre Nere instead as a base..

I enjoyed the Alcantara Gorge, but then, I wanted to see the fractured basalt formations, not swim. I selected a day-long tour from Taormina that included the Alcantara Gorge and Mt. Etna. IIRC, it was an easy and well-marked walk from the parking lot where the bus stopped to an interesting area at the base of the gorge. I don't think we were given enough time to swim, but that wasn't a goal of mine so I can't really speak to that question.

If you want to go to the top of Mt. Etna, I would strongly encourage you to take a tour -- getting there requires multiple changes of transportation, and the tour can make those changes much easier. And if you do go to the top, bring lots of layers (it can be bitterly cold and windy up there) and thick-soled shoes, and consider taking protective eye wear.

Thank you Kja, our goal is both to see the beautiful formations at their most dramatic point in the gorge as well as to swim...and I should re-word and say that swimming is secondary :)

Question for those who have commented on Agrigento and that 2 nights are more than enough...we were considering it because the Hotel Villa Athena looked beautiful with the ruins all lit up at night and to use it as a base to explore the southern coast as the beaches look beautiful and probably not as packed as those in Tripani (although we know they will be crowded that time of year), Sciacca, etc.
INSTEAD, should we consider another area and just drive to Agrigento for an evening viewing of the ruins lit up at night? We were also considering staying in La Foresteria Planeta Estate in Menfi as the base. Can anyone comment on which vantage point would be better as a base? Is there another place we should consider in that area instead?

Just to weigh in on driving in Sicily: we had no problem with "crazy" drivers or with traffic, and the roads were good.

Our problems were:

1. Fog in the morning at Erice--almost impenetrable on our way back down to Trapani.

2. Finding our hotel in Siracusa--we drove around and around and around Ortigia. Finally saw it but could not park nearby, so left the car, the luggage and my spouse in a public parking structure and walked to the hotel, checked in, then got a cab to fetch my spouse and our luggage.

3. Taking a wrong turn in a little town in the mountains and finding that the street went up but no street went down; so we had to back the car out of the cul-de-sac.
Should note we did not and do not use GPS--this was just my own stupid driving error.

We did not stay in Taormina and drove to it, but found no place to park so drove away. I'm not sure if we missed anything or not, frankly. It is very touristy and very, very crowded.


We stayed two nites in Agrigento and enjoyed it, but that was enough. It was really nice to come back to the hotel in the hot afternoon and have a swim!

You don't need a car in Palermo so drop it when you arrive and take the bus or walk. Palermo is a wonderful city with lots to see.

Taormina is touristy and crowded, but it is also spectacularly beautiful and should not be missed. I will be staying there on my upcoming trip for the fifth time, altho' I do plan on a number of day trips from there. For me, I can't imagine going to Sicily and not visiting Taormina. It has been 18 years since my last visit so I'll see if things have changed.

I think the Villa Ducale is a good choice, JES, it looks beautiful from the photos and since it has parking, that will not be an issue. You can walk or shuttle to town and do your excursions by car. Then again the Monaci delle Nere looks beautiful also.

Decisions!!

IMO, whether a stay of 2 nights is a good fit for Agrigento depends on when you would arrive and depart and what, exactly, you hope to do while there. In case it helps you plan, I spent between 5 and 6 hours at the Valley of the Temples (closer to 6, as I recall), about 1.5 hours at the archeology museum, and another hour or so roaming Agrigento’s medieval core.

I did encounter absolutely insane drivers several times in Sicily. =-O

I'm really enjoying this discussion and it's helping with my plans for next April. If anyone would care to throw in a comment or two about Sicily in April, especially crowds in Taormina.

I visited in mid-May, but maybe I can offer a comment or two about Taormina that might prove helpful.

When I was there, it was unpleasant during the day because of day-trippers, mostly from a cruise ship. IMO, the town simply is not large enough to accommodate the number of day-trippers, and I was unintentionally -- and quite unpleasantly -- swept up in, and rather frighteningly crushed by -- the crowd until I managed to disengage a block or two later.

BUT Taormina does offer some spectacular views, which I was glad to have seen. If you go prepared, and plan to spend most of your day-time hours out of the city, you could have a wonderful experience. There really isn't THAT much to see in Taormina itself, so you should be able to visit most sites of interest to you either before or after the day-trippers overtake the place.

tuscan, I was in Sicily late-March/early April and had great weather, sunny and coolish, mostly 60s in the afternoons, some light drizzle the day we visited Segesta and that was it. Lots of wildflowers, blue skies. Of course anything can happen with weather. No crowds the places we visited that time of year (this was several years ago). We didn't encounter any fellow native-English speakers other than in Ortigia.

We chose not to visit Taormina. It just didn't appeal as much as other places and we had limited time.

Thank you both.

I do want to visit Taormina, but will plan for daytime activities away from the town.

And Leely, that weather sounds perfect to me. I was shooting for May, but the award ticket I wanted was only available in April and I'm happy with that. Heat is not my friend.

JES28 - We were in Sicily from April 26th thru May 5th of this year and if you click on my name you can see a brief trip report of the basic itinerary that I posted. It was a lot of moving around but we had a great time and we had fantastic weather every day.

To expand a little on my trip report we spent two nights at Villa Athena and thought it was just right. We arrived in late afternoon the first day in time to have a drink at the outside bar while enjoying the view of the temple. We then had a very good dinner at the hotel restaurant before ending with a nightcap again at the outside bar enjoying the now lit up temple. The hotel staff was outstanding. The next day we walked over to the temple on the private path from the hotel and had a very nice visit. Back for more cocktails at the hotel before going out for dinner up on the hill with a nice view down at the Valley of the Temples. We left the next morning after breakfast for Taormina.

We spent three nights at the San Domenico Palace in Taormina and it worked out well for us. Not sure why but the hotel upgraded to us to rooms with fantastic balconies. We spent a lot of time on the balcony enjoying the view and even had breakfast delivered there one morning. The first day we walked around the tourist section - it was crowded but not super crazy. The second day we went to Mount Etna on a fantastic Viator tour from Taormina very similar to what anniemakie describes. The last day we spent a lot of time on our balcony and took a bus to Castelmora which was very enjoyable. Even in early May we had to make restaurant reservations every night in Taormina.

Sure we wish we had more time in Sicily and we made some choices to miss places we would have liked to see. But in the end we enjoyed the places we stayed and the things we were able to see.

Thank you so much for the responses and sorry for my late reply! The kids finished up school and it has been chaos since! Finally some time to sit back down and try and finish up this planning.
John, great to know you visited Sicily for the same amount of time we plan to. It looks like you had a fantastic trip all the way around in your other destinations as well!
It sounds like you had a very good experience staying in Agrigento at the Villa Athena for 2 nights. I have been reading that other than the ruins the surrounding area is more modern and not very attractive, did you find that?
We were going to use it as a base to see the other areas from there but we are rethinking our route..especially looking at how long the day will be from the Aeolians.
Here are the 2 options we're leaning toward now. The arrival is set, the departure location is not:

Arr Catania
2 nights Taormina
2 nights Aeolian (thinking 1 night in Panarea at Hotel Quartara and 1 night in Salina at Principe di Salina in Malfa and just bringing backpack to islands so easy to transfer)
2 nights Palermo
2 nights Menfi/Castelvatrano area as base (La Forsteria Planeta or Villa Sicilia Baglio) - explore vineyards, Sciaccia, Trapani, Erice
Dept Palermo

OR
Arr Catania
2 nights Taormina
2 nights Aeolian
2 nights Palermo
2 nights Syracuse as base - explore Modica, Ragusa, etc..not sure of lodging yet
Dept Catania

what do Fodorites advise?? :)

The city of Agrigenta, which is on a ridge above the Valley of the Temples and above the Villa Athena, has what I found to be an evocative medieval core, well worth roaming.

I trust that you’ve considered the timing of your plan for the Aeolians, but I must admit that it sounds very rushed to me. When planning, remember that you need to work around ferry schedules and possible weather-related delays, and (of course) you need to leave time for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost / oriented, etc.

2 nights is extremly little for Palermo.

2 nights is extremly little for Siracusa, particularly if you plan to use it to explore the Baroque towns.

It’s your trip and your call, but I think you might want to consider skipping one or more of these destinations, worthy as they are. I'm happy to relocate every day or two when it fits my purposes, but would still find this trip terribly unsatisfying as I would spend a disproportionate amount of time in transit, while skipping so very much in even the places I did choose to stop. JMO.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your input kja.
We are set with the 2 nights in Taormina and 1-2 in the Aeolian islands. We heard that many ppl do a 1 day tour there and back from Taormina so we felt staying over for a night or 2 would be doable and less rushed. The1st 3 nights of the trip are booked and non-refundable at this point so we need to plan from there.
Given this and your thoughts and experience in Sicily what do you think should change for the rest of the trip?
Pls Keep in mind what we are trying to achieve: Beautiful old Sicily, views, vistas, amazing food, shopping, beach time, towns with a lot of charm, luxury accommodations but within vicinity of "real sicily". While we will appreciate the architecture etc, We don't want to spend time visiting churches, museums etc.
thank you!

You might want to read up on "sunk costs."

IME experience, you can experience the things you seek in just about any part of Sicily -- if you give yourselves time and plan accordingly. Beach time? not so much.

Good luck!