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Good info, thank you! I wanted a place near Palermo airport, although I could bypass Palermo and take a few days in the mountains to the east...stay at a B&B highly recommended and THEN go to airport. The good thing is that I have money saved up from trips not taken....
Opinions of staying in the Madonie (sp?) mountains? Solo? Upscale, or at least very comfortable? If I stayed in Palermo a couple of days...which hotel? |
Back in 2010 we stayed at the Grand Hotel Wagner in Palermo, https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...al-trip-850672. Lots of gilt and red are not normally to my taste but the rooms were spacious, the service was good, and I really liked the location between the old and new cities.
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I've only stayed once in Palermo and once in Catania.
Palermo looked run down, though I liked the cathedral. Catania was also old but you could see some newer restaurants and hotels and lot of the public buildings looked renovated, clean facades. That's based on more recent stay in Catania than Palermo. |
Castelbuono in the Madonie is a great town, lots of energy in the evenings, nice shops, great vibe. Alle Querce is a very nice hotel in town, but it’s up on a hill so you have to walk a bit to get there and back from the center.
Hotel e Ristorante "Alle Querce" ? Hotel e Ristorante a Castelbuono For upscale outside of town there is Santa Anastasia. They are also the big winery in the area. Website is here: Home Solo I would choose to stay in town. Castelbuono is fun. If you stay in Alle Querce or anywhere else around and do not want to drive at night, here is a service you can use. https://www.cefalutransfer.it Marco is a lovely guy and lives in Castelbuono. His wife is a guide should you be interested in one. In Palermo, Della Vittorie is a great boutique hotel, very centrally located. https://www.bbdellevittorie.it/it/ I like the Best Western Ai Cavalieri too but it’s not quite as central. It is however really close to a fantastic supermarket Prezzemolo e Vitale (Eataly Sicilian style) and the fab wine bar Enoteca Picone. oh and the best gelato in the universe, Brioscia. Visit all three of those places no matter where you stay... |
ekscrunchy I will follow your travel with great interest!
I had to cancel planned two week trip to Sicily at Easter. I might reschedule for Oct/Nov - I have it planned, but not booking flights until we see what happens re potential second wave. My plan is to do it entirely by public transportation with the occasional organized day tour for hard to get to places. I would be grateful if you can share what you learn re private taxi Regards … Ger |
Ger,
Maybe we can meet up if the situation improves for USA citizens. I did hear back, immediately, from Excursions Sicily, the company I mentioned above. It sounds as if a FULL day would be in the area of 400 euro but the owner informed me that I should not worry because most of my days wouldl not require a full time drive for the whole day. When I am in a town, I can walk, or in the extreme, to reach an out of town restaurant at night, I could take a taxi. They answered so promptly that I was impressed. In Spain (Sevilla) solo, last year, my hotel told me that a driver would be less than a taxi due to the llimits of where taxis can go, etc etc. The driver I hired confirmed that. I ended up missing my train from Sevilla to Cadiz because I got really sick feeling that morning.....so ended up not up to schlepping my bags (as usual, loaded to bursting with foods, cans, etc) and took a driver recommended by the hotel. It was over 100 euro and I am noto proud of divulging that! I know these sorts of things are out of ordinary on this forum, but I am getting older, with no kids, so I feel as if I can splurge right now although I should not say this online....well, there I said it...I always talk too much! |
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Ekscrunchy:
I currently have two trips in standby for Oct/Nov – Sicily and Greece, both for 19 days. No flights as yet – waiting to see what happens over the following couple of months. I let my driving license lapse when I moved to London so need to take some lessons and a test before I get back on the road. I did drive in Sicily several years ago, and it was a nightmare. Three times in remoted areas men tried to get into my car! Don’t think I’d fancy that again. Anyway, if I decide on Sicily and the COVID situation improves, it would be great to meet somewhere 😊. Here is my current itinerary |
Ok, here is mine, and I can surely make changes. This begins early October., departing JFK about the 10th.I can post the exact dates later on..
Fly to Catania via Rome: 3 nights Catania (one day to relax after flight)..is this too many? I've been to Etna twice but never to the towns around the volcano. Not so interested in wine tasting. 4 nights Ragusa with day trip to Modica. Sister had stayed in B&B and loved it. I have the name, but there are many in that town. Included would be dinner at Il Duomo. Drive from Ragusa to Realmonte, with lunch stop at La Madia in Licata. You can see where the money flows from my wwallet..food, food, all the way, but mostly I prefer local spots, not these two fancy places... Three nights Realmonte...Scala dei Turchi cliffs (who has been there? How difficult is the hike down to the cliffs? October ok?? They remind me of those cliffs in turkey..Pamukkale or some such, where I never had time to visit..worth the trip> The B&B in Realmonte got such grand reports!) salt cathedral; dinner one night in Porto empedocle at Salmorigio. (anyone have opinions on Realmonte...B&B is Casa Balata) 3 nights Castelveltrano environs. B&B Villa Sogno...olive oill mill, relax, maybe visit salt pans between here and Trapani....Opinions??? Maybe visit Selinunte, although have been before. Visit Marina de Selinunte, walk around....my favorite thing is just to walk around and chat and look in windows, shop for food...meet locals, shop for more food to take home..... Drive to Trapani..2 nights. Notes say "Erico" for lunch. I did this plan so many months ago that I forgot why I chose this, and some other spots. Drive from Trapani to Scopello with lunch stop at Sirena di Sansica in Bonagia (could also be taxi ride from Trapani)..Eager to try food which sounds different from rest of the island. (closed Tuesdays). Scopello area????? Where to stay????? Hiking not of interest. Swimming in warm pool..yes, or warm sea..yes but not likely to be warm in October, for me, at least. Stay in area 3 nights (??) This would be last stop, probably, before driving to airport.... Then get taxi to airport at Punta Raisa, unless decide to take day or three in Mondello..then taxi to airport. Have been to Palermo before..do not want to extend trip by so much to include it this time unless someone convinces me otherwise. Is Mondello good for me for three or two nights, as a solo American Feeling kind of sad because who knows how many more years of trips I have in me..usual anxiety,, I am not that old to be thinking about this but think I do, especially about partner in his 70s, just. Please comment if you have the time, and Ger, let me know if we would connect in any way.. |
Just learned via TA (Vagabonda, who is terrific) that Scala del Turchi cliffs are closed. No time or estimate of re-opening.
So if closed, where to substitue without doing entire itinerary again......stay in Sciaccia? More time in Trapani??? Add Modica or someplace near Vendicari area before or after Ragusa?? As I mentioned, no air tickets have been purchased. Or just take driver and do all on the fly???? (last minute) ($$$$$$$$) |
Just a comment that if you have four nights in Ragusa, you don't need to add nights in Modica, if that's what you're proposing as an alternative to Scala dei Turchi--not sure.
It was years ago, but we stayed in Modica and loved it. Visited Ragusa from there. They are so close, you don't need to stay in both. I hope you are able to take this trip at some point, sooner rather than later. I was supposed to be in Basilicata now. Take care of yourself! |
Maybe extend your stay in Ragusa and do day trips to places like Noto or Caltagirone.
I myself haven't visited the Scala dei Turchi, because the parking situation there was uncertain and I was mainly prioritizing Agrigento. The Valle dei Templi more than held up for me on a second visit. It is about half way between Ragusa and Trapani. But maybe if you have more days, you have to choose the types of things you want to see, nature vs. architecture in a city like Palermo and nearby Monreale? |
Rialtogrl’s description of Castelbuono sounded enticing. I, too, dream of a return to Sicily someday.
Leely, I’m sorry you’re not in Basilicata. |
a place you haven't mentioned which we loved [and in which someone here stayed] is Scicli. A bit further south than the other Baroque towns and familiar if you ever watch Montalbano, as Ragusa is as well. From there you can explore the whole of the SE corner of Sicily. Or stay in Noto where I gather that the colour of the stones at dusk is something marvellous to see. You could swim off the beach where Montalbano swims.
The other notable omission from your itinerary in that area is the Villa Casale near Piazza Armerina [if you've not seen it you should go, the mosaics are exceptional] which pairs very well with a visit to Caltagirone famous for its ceramics and shops selling things for Presepi including a Presepi museum I think. The steps up to the Cathedral [about 200 of them] are each faced with ceramic tiles which are lovely. Leely2 - I'm sorry that you are missing Basilicata. That's too bad. I am missing Venice but in another way. |
scrb11, we encountered those twisting, rural roads in Sicily...in dense fog!
eks, I hope I can offer offer you some help in regard to the area of western Sicily near Castelveltrano. You have helped us so many times with our trip planning, especially in the Piemonte which we loved. We wanted to see Selinunte on the way from Palermo to Agrigento and decided to stay in that area for two nights. We rode along the beach area of Marina de Selinunte and then went to the BnB you are considering. The area turned us off completely and we found that this western coastal area of Sicily is rather run down in places. Honestly, we felt very uncomfortable here and we have been all over the world and stayed in all levels of accommodation. But we had we some fabulous meals so it was not a total waste of time. We left after one night, having spent the day at the amazing archeological site, Selinunte. For anyone visiting it, I recommend buying a ticket for the golf cart rides as it is very large and spread out. The owners of that BnB have done a beautiful job of restoring the villa and landscaping the property. The decor in the rooms was a little bizarre though.There is a nice pool too. We are not fans of staying at BnBs and this was not a good fit for us at all. It was more the surrounding area than the BnB itself. Yes the breakfast was nice. The property has a large gate which we felt was a good idea. It has wonderful reviews, the owners have worked very hard to restore the property, but as I said, we are not fans of BnBs. We loved every other place we stayed in Sicily. The meals: we stumbled into a little seafood place , Ristorante Pizzeria Baffo’s, on the water in Marinella di Selinunte at lunchtime. We both ordered the Fish Coucous which may have been my favorite meal in Sicily. The bubbling soup with fish was served in a small cauldron and poured over the couscous on the plate. Service was excellent. This part of of Sicily is is not far from North Africa and this dish reflects it’s influences.It was located in a row of other restaurants in a rather tacky seafront area. We had a very good grilled fish dinner at Baffo’s sister restaurant, Baffo’s Castle, near the BnB, but according to TripAdvisor it is closed. I hope you are able to take this trip as planned. October was the perfect time to visit Sicily. |
Yeah Seliunte seems pretty barren. But I've stayed overnight twice because my next destination was usually Agrigento and didn't really explore if there was anything in between worth stopping for.
Even without the golf carts, if you're pretty mobile, you can go from the main temple north of the entrance and then head out west for the ruins overlooking the coastline in a couple of hours if you are reasonably fit. It's a lot of walking but unless it's unbearably hot, it's doable. It's a great setting though, those columns against the blue water of the sea in the distance. Liked it better than Segesta. |
Segesta is so beautiful though but ekscrunchy has already been to these sites on an earlier trip.
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I appreciated everyone's info and pleased you found a convenient contact...amazing!
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Thank you a million times for telling me of the closure of Scala dei Turchi....the driver's company did not mention it....not a good omen. Closed for the virus, do you know??
Now mid-August and it does not seems as if Italy will allow Americans any time soon but I can only hope... I like the idea of Ragusa OR Modica, not having to change hotels. Will take a further look at Scicli. Also, what about Sciaccia, for wandering and eating for two nights???? This sounds really bad but in a way I would look forward to going it alone so oI could do the things I like without feeling guilty that I was dragging partner along to food markets and places he has little interest in seeing. The fear of going alone soon disapates, I've found, once I arrive in a place and if the hosts at the hotel or inn are kind. I've never did this private driver type trip alone for more than a day, though..but surely the drivers are used to (oh, bad, bad me)--silly tourists!!)It will be good for me if it comes to pass, but this is looking a little more unlikely as time passes. |
My landlord in Venice won't even let me make a reservation for next March, even though he's sitting on my deposit from over a year ago. He doesn't think we (U.S. tourists) will be traveling there by then.
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