Just adding a few comments here on our travels to Sicily in 2016. ekscrunchy, I hope you do get there soon, though given the current restrictions, it’s seeming more and more unlikely for this year. I do have a trip report which I’ll repost.

I’m one of those folks who stayed in Scicli and absolutely loved it. I had initially planned to stay in Modica but I do have some mobility issues and since it’s basically all uphill and downhill, I was glad we stayed elsewhere. But we found Scicli to be a perfect city - just large enough to have enough of interest for a few days and small enough for a feeling of intimacy. And as a huge Montalbano fan, we were thrilled when we ran into a filming of an episode!The Fodorite who inspired me by her description was Dayle.

We also stayed in Selinunte at the B&B that is mentioned above. We loved it! Yes, the decor is a bit odd, but the host couple were most warm and welcoming, and the breakfast was superb. We also loved the site nearby. It was a bit too cool to swim when we were there but the extensive garden is lovely and a great place to relax.

Trip report:
A brief but selective report on our Sicilian sojourn

He may not be wrong.

Trip to Sicily has been cancelled..no loss of money and all hotels/inns have been incredibly kind.

Not so for trip to Patagonia which I can discuss on another thread.

So sorry about that eck. I was very jealous when my friends who live in Venice managed to get their 2 week holiday in Sicily earlier in the year. Glad that the hoteliers were so kind.

rialtogrl: I’m looking for a driver in Cefalu to take us out for a day trip to towns in the Madonie mountains in late September, so if you still have the name of that driver I’d love to know it.

Thanks!

Caleb

calebq sure.. https://www.cefalutransfer.it/ and there is more info in post #24. Marco is cool and as I say in that post he lives in Castelbuono so he knows the area well. I think his team all live there. Have a great time!

Ok, once again planning trip to Sicily in late October/early November. I know this is not a prime time but it is really one of the only months we can travel due to other issues.

So once again, I heard from the hotel (B&B) in Ragusa (my sister loved it) and they can supply driver to take us around from there..where..Modica, Noto, etc (??)

And to Realmonte, and then she suggested getting different drive to take us to Castelvetrano and Trapani.Please fo give typos..I lost my good glasses in a pool and it became filled with frogs and could not get the glasses for fear of the frogs (TMI<-I know)

Is Realmonte a good stop, now that Scala dei Turchi may be closed and Salt Cathedral seems to be a hassle to get permissiion to visit...(??)

So where after Ragusa (4 nights planned)...where on southern coast. Already spent time in Agrigento so no need to return. Want to go along south coast.

And THEN, after Trapani (how many days??) where to stay near punta Raisa Ralermo airport????? Castellamare del Golfo??? Any interest there for a tourist?


Ditto for Scopello (???)

So glad to back here...I was not traveling and am not a fervent Lounger, so did not post in a long time, mostly due to medical reasons we were not traveling. My back is now so bad I hope I can walk but am continuing PT and partner is cured of his ailments but is in his late 70s, so who knows how many more trips are on the horizon???? Gets me pretty scared at times but try to keep living day to day,

Thanks to all my Fodors friends who have meant so much to me in past years and I wish you well and hope I havae not offended anyone beyond repair with some of my commenets that might be snobby to some.....

What are you specifically looking for? If you like Baroque duomos, definitely Noto and Siracusa if you haven't been already. It is a 90 minute drive each way.

Noto is closer to Siracusa than Ragusa and Modica is closer to Ragusa.

I think both times, I stayed in both Ragusa and Siracusa. Also once stayed in Noto overnight to see how the duomo there was lit at night, was brilliant.

Caltagirone is an hour NW of Ragusa. It's famous for these ceramic steps, a lot of them. Good for day trip.

Villa Romana Casale, near Piazza Armerina, is further NW, 90 minutes away. It has the famous mosaics, kind of out of the way but it attracts people.

Caltagirone and Villa Romana Casale are not near the coast, more inland.

Modica is certainly near Ragusa. I've only been once and there's a belvedere overlooking the city, kind of hard to get to. Would like to go again. There is also a baroque duomo there too.

Never been to Scicli, but that's also near Ragusa and Modica.


Not familiar with what's in Realmonte. I guess mostly that Agrigento is nearby.

Realmonte is 2.5 hours drive west of Ragusa, Casteltravano is 3.5-4 hours and Trapani is as much as 5 hours drive west of Ragusa.

So I guess it depends on how long a trip you want to tolerate as well as what there might be to see nearby.

I didn't stay in Casteltravano but considered it. It is near Seliunte, reconstructed roman temple near the coastline, pretty scenic. There are also ruins about 2 kilometers away, right on the coast. Really nice.

Also you can reach Segesta, another temple that I believe is reconstructed.

I've stayed once is Trapani, it's okay, kind of dilapidated when I visited. Mostly used it as a base to visit Erice for the views. That's a tough drive, winding and uphill. I didn't visit Masala, which is near Trapani as well.

Between Trapani and Palermo airport, I've stayed in Castellamare del Golfo, mostly for the location, which was less than an hour drive from PMO. I never encountered traffic between PMO and Catellamare del Golfo. It's a pleasant town but I would say the waterfront wasn't really memorable. I had wanted to drive to San Vito Lo Capo from Castellamare but didn't go.

I think a driver could be expensive for each of these possible excursions. Is renting a car and driving on your own not an option?

Ekscrunchy, how good to see you back here! I hope your back does not prevent you from traveling. My dh has severe back problems so we fly Business Class and carry lumbar pillows. Your advice has been invaluable to me when planning trips, and hotels, restaurant
recommendations were wonderful!
I recall that you have been to Sicily before. Siracusa/ Ortigia was our favorite place. We used a driver from Sicily Life several times after we turned in our rental car upon arrival in Ortigia.
We enjoyed visiting the ruins at Selinunte in the west but did not care for Marinella di Selinunte nor the city of Casteltrevano and did fell comfortable in either of them. We spent one night and were happy to move on.

Eck - I too am very pleased to see you back here and contemplating travel, especially in Sicily. I have only been to Scicli for a day but loved it, and had a wonderful impromptu meal in a cafe near the centre. Plus, if you are a fan of Montalbano you will see many places that look familiar. Go further south and you can see and even stay in his beach side apartment which is now a BnB, if you are so minded.

https://www.lacasadimontalbano.com/en/

HI to all my Fodor friends!! After canceling the Sicily trip 3 times due to the virus and, then, medical issues (resolved!), I've finally settled on a trip for May. I'm still looking for a private driver for a part of the trip, so please post if you have any recent info.

Since this thread is old, I think I ought to begin a new one, and will do so later today (hopefully will have time and stop procrastinating!) I will include the general plan, which is different than the one I noted on this thread (decided to include Salina and Taormina). So post here with any new driver info, and please comment on the almost-ready-to-be posted new one!!

Happy travels, everyone!!

Will put driver information in your new thread when you post it! Glad to help you as we have benefited so much from your knowledge of traveling in Europe.

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Thanks so much, HappyT! I will start the new thread tomorrow..I am a terrible procrastinator!

So far, so good....Sicily still planned for May, although partner just found out that a hip replacement is imminent!!! I am determined to go, and think all should be well.....if not, by this time I am ready to go it alone.

I will post more soon, but just wanted to update to say that I've eliminated Castelveltrano; have to admit that Happy's comments made me curious, but not THAT curious!! It's working out better anyway, going from Trapani to the B&B near Agrigento (Porto Empedocle).

Before I go on and on here, I will just offer this info, with the hopes that it might help anyone else planning to drive, or be driven, in Sicily.

I got lots of recommendations for both agencies and private drivers. I did not want to contact a dozen people for each drive, so whittled them down quite a bit. I also asked the hotels I had booked for the names of a recommended driver and the price of the transfer. To make a long story short, so far, the hotel recommendations are turning out to be very much better priced than the agencies. In one case, for the drive from Trapani to Porto Empedocle (about 2.2 hours) with a stop en route for lunch, the price of the hotel's driver came to 100 euro less than the price of the agency driver I had written to. Now this may be an outlier, but just thought I would note it here, and I will continue to post as I firm up the rest of the drives. (We will do some transfers by bus, but for most of them, given that we want to make stops on some drives, a driver came to be far more convenient, although as you imagine, it is also far, far more costly, but considering the price of car rental and petrol, and the tension associated with driving at night on small rural roads, hiring drivers turned out to be the best plan for us. So far, anyway!!!!

Thanks to all for the information and help you've provided!

Hope you will post about restaurants on Hungry Onion!

[I just changed my Puglia flights (more $ down the well) because I determined I don't have enough time to plan a three week trip in two months--started to feel overwhelmed. Cut the trip back 4 days.]

We found the drivers at Sicily Life through our hotel, Hotel Villa Schuler, in Taormina. They had their contact info on the hotel's website which gave some us confidence in them.I can't wait to read your upcoming trip reports Eks! We are going to Brittany this spring;any dining recs from you for that part of France?