Sicily as 1st time to Italy?
 

My father has said for years that he wanted to take the family to Sicily. His father is from Sicily, and neither he nor the rest of our family have ever been to Italy!

He finally retired and we are putting the trip into action in early May. He asked me to plan the trip, limiting it to 10 days away from home.

There are a total of five travelers - my parents (active walkers who love gardens and want a leisurely trip), my husband (history buff and appointed driver), my little sister and myself (who love shopping/eating in picturesque towns).

Hoping for feedback on our potential itinerary, and in particular whether we are spending too much / too little time in any one place. We'd really struggling with how much time to spend in Rome - two days feels like too little, but then again we think/hope someday we'll be back!

Thurs AM - depart ORD to LHR
Thurs PM - overnight at LHR
Fri AM - LHR to Rome
Fri PM through Sunday - Rome
Sun PM - Rome to Palermo
Mon - Palermo
Tues - drive to Celafu, with overnight in Messina
Wed/Thurs - Taormina
Fri - Siracuse
Sat - Agrigento, drive back to Palermo for overnight
Sun - depart Palermo to Rome, to LHR to ORD

Thoughts/suggestions? Also hotel recommendations welcome, I think we'd like to try the Villa D'Amato in Palermo and Westin Excelsior in Rome (I am Starwood Plat) but no other target hotels identified, yet.

WOW!! A family trip to Italy. It doesn't get much better than that. Cefalu is a beautiful seaside town. The drive from Palermo to Messina is GORGEOUS. If you find for some reason you can't stay in Taormina try Letojanni. Nice little resort town at the beach area of Taormina. Siracusa, book a hotel on the island of Ortigia. Before you leave Agrigento see Scala dei Turchi. WHITE step cliffs about 5 miles west of Agrigento on the coast. Google image search "scala dei Turchi". What a fantastic family experience you are going to have!

While I have never been to Sicily, I have been to "more obscure" parts of some countries without going first "_on_ the beaten path". I see no reason why Sicily couldn't/shouldn't be your first/only (this time) destination on this trip to Italy.

It is possible to fly directly from London to Sicily, you know. I would consider a two "intro" visit to London just as valid an idea as (less than) 48 hours in Rome. It might "ease" you into Europe. A short two first days in Rome - - for some people - - will seem more like trial by fire!

Best wishes,

Rex

I think this is a very ambitious trip and a brief, fast survey of the highlights of Sicily (in addition to your two days in Rome) but not "leisurely." I count 8 cities in 11 days. It would give you and your family an overview but you'll be spending a lot of time moving from one location to another in Sicily.

I think your family might enjoy the trip more if you concentrated on fewer places. For example, you could visit Palermo, Agrigento, and Cefalu and leave the east coast of Sicily to another trip. You could visit Agrigento as a day trip by bus or train from Palermo. Similarly, you can reach Cefalu easily by train from Palermo.

If you still want to visit the east coast and Agrigento, you might skip either Syracuse or Agrigento to cut down on the driving and spend more time at fewer sights.

Another option is not to stay in Taormina or Syracuse (as charming as both those places are, especially Ortigia, part of Syracuse) but to stay on an agriturismo near Taormina or Syracuse for 2 or 3 nights and take daytrips from there. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Tenuta San Michele of the Murgo Winery in Santa Venerina in the foothills of Mt. Etna: www.murgo.it. Another highly recommended agriturismo is Tenuta di Roccadia www.roccadia.com/, which is 35 kilometers from Syracuse. Both offer excellent, reasonably priced dinners, too.

An agriturismo can be a wonderful introduction to the countryside. At Tenuta San Michele, we took walks through the vineyards, ate homemade preserves at breakfast time, made from fruit that grows on the estate, and drank their wine at dinnertime. We even saw Mt. Etna erupting two of the three nights we were there. We took a great drive around Mt. Etna that one of the owners recommended.

You can use the mapping websites such as www.mappy.com or www.viamichelin.com for estimates of driving times and distances. Note that the driving times are calculated for optimum conditions - no traffic jams, road construction, etc.

If you want to stick with your itinerary, I suggest not stopping in Messina but continuing on to Taormina. That would mean one less stop.

For Palermo, I recommend choosing a more centrally located hotel. The Centrale Palace hotel is beautiful and about as centrally located as could be: www.centralepalacehotel.it. A less expensive hotel with great ratings and great rooftop terrace is the Ambasciatori Hotel: www.ambasciatorihotelpalermo.com. I also like the looks of Hotel Conchiglio D'Oro www.hotelconchigliadoro.com in Mondello, which is on the Palermo city bus line. I think your parents would enjoy the gardens in Palermo and in Mondello.

Best wishes for a great trip to Italy! l

Pricewise, it was tough to find an affordable flight direct from LHR to Sicily (I looked for LHR to Rome, to Sicily, to LHR), but it wasn't really working for a multi-city trip). I'm wondering if we forgo Rome altogether to spend the whole time in Sicily.

My family isn't very well-traveled, but London is one family trip we did take, and my husband and I have been back several times since then.

Thank you so much - we are definitely not committed to the proposed itinerary (which was pretty much pulled directly from Frommer's) but I'm having trouble figuring out how to narrow our options...

And one of the reasons I'm asking for feedback is b/c I'm worried that we are trying to cover too much ground in too few days.

Will check out the reco's posted here and keep researching... Having a tough time finding availability in Taormina so that might make the decision for us!

Eurofly is a low cost airline that has non-stop NY-Palermo, I think twice a week. I've never used them so that's all I can say.

With only 10 days, you need to eliminate traveling through London and book a flight into Rome and out of Sicily. It may cost a bit more (perhaps not as much as you think), but you will save 2 extra days of travel and the cost of hotels in London.

Search flights on www.itasoftware.com
If you insist on going through London, search budget flights on www.skyscanner.net or www.whichbudget.com

With the time you've got, I would just fly directly in and out of Sicily and save Rome for another trip. Fly into Palermo and out of Catania, and spend five nights each in the Palermo area and the Taormina area and then make day trips. You can stay in Palermo and take a day trip to Cefalu, and stay in Taormina and take a day trip to Siracusa... that sort of thing.

Think about renting a nice vacation rental in the outskirts of these places and you will please all family members. Sicily is beautiful - you'll love it!

I think the OP is stopping in London because they want to take the day flight from the US to Europe. However, one's wasting a lot of time and effort going to a hotel and back to the airport at LHR the next morning. Kind of defeats the purpose of the day flight altogether.

Just fly non-stop ORD-FCO on American and save the trouble with London.

I think the itinerary is quite doable. Like others have said, no reason to overnight in Messina.

Oh yeah, fly into Catania and out of Palermo; or vice versa. Save a few hours of driving.

I would definitly skip London and Rome if at all possible. With 10 days in just Sicily you'll have a great time, but you're spending half your vacation in other places. See if you can't book directly from the US to Palermo (one ticket, it may mean you have to change planes in somewhere like Rome or London, but you'll be ticketed through and not have to spend a night).

We did 11 days in Sicily two years ago and though we saw alot and didn't feel rushed. We especially liked Taormina and Siracusa so definitly don't skip those. A couple of days in Palermo is plenty. We did Cefalu as a half-day trip from Palermo.

I wrote a trip report with hotel reccomendations. It's at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34657352

I've been to Sicily three times and I think you have planned a very nice introductory trip, although I too would skip London & Rome if possible & add time to Sicily.

Just one question - 5 of you plus luggage in one car ? Could be tight, especially in towns like Taormina with very narrow lanes where a largw vehicle is a liability. If you can manage 2 cars & drivers it would be easier.

Incidentally make sure you book hotels with parking.

I haven't stayed at the hotels you mention so am not sure what sort of budget you're looking at, but they sound fairly plush - is that what you are looking for ?

In Palermo we stayed at the Villa Igiea and it was gorgeous. It's out of the centre, by the sea, but they run a shuttle minibus into the centre every day. We didn't have a car there but I'm sure they would offer parking. Or just pick up a car when you leave. We spent a week there and loved Palermo.

Cefalu I didn't care for & cut my stay short, but most people seem to like it. Can't remember the hotel there but wouldn't recommend it anyway. Haven't stayed in Messina.

In Taormina I've stayed in 4 hotels. The plushest was the San Domenico Palace (part of our honeymoon) which is lovely, & I'm sure they could arrange parking. The Villa Belvedere is quite modest but pleasant and they parked our car for us on the street (not easy !). The Monte Tauro has parking - it's modern & not the most attractive from outside but the rooms were fine.

In Siracusa I've stayed twice at the Grand Hotel which I highly recommend, and it has parking.

My last time at Agrigento we stayed at the Baglio della Luna which is a couple of miles outside town, past the Valley of the Temples. It is charming, the food is great & it has parking.

Thanks so much for the feedback.

Re: commentary on flights, we are a bit limited - I want to fly AA since I have 10 VIP upgrades that should get at least some of us bumped to business class seats. My parents/sister have never flown in upgraded seats - and that day trip to London is really so pleasant with 4 meals, movies, etc!

AA cannot ticket us directly to Sicily. They do fly direct to Rome, but at a cost roughly $400 per person more - times 5 people, that's quite a cost, plus I figure either you lose a day to recover from jetlag once you arrive or you lose it on the plane/traveling. The only other option is to fly ORD to NY, then have a 6+ hour layover in NY and take the redeye that evening - which takes up just as much time.

Based on poster's comments I have been checking out villas - I think it would be lovely to split our trip between two properties. ThinkSicily seems to have some lovely ones!

I won't say budget isn't an issue (or wouldn't I be flying direct to Rome?), but this is a trip Dad has been planning for YEARS. He's not a seasoned traveler and maybe therefore has low tolerance. If I could average $700-800 a night for all 5 of us (assuming at some places my sister would bunk with me and my husband), I think that is consistent with his expecations.

I've proposed flying directly to Sicily from London, but remember my parents have never been to Italy. They are having a tough time with the idea of skipping it. But maybe I can use this feedback to make them reconsider.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. My flights are on hold with AA for another day but I'll do some additional research to see whether we want to make any changes.

Ginabee - I was just curious. Is your father planning to go to the town where his father is from? It would be an amazing experience for all of you.

Yes, we will absolutely visit his father's parent's hometome - Patti, which is on the northeast side of the island, on the way from Palermo to Messina.

What a nice place to happen to have family from!! You might consider a short stop in Cefalu, then stay the night in Patti instead of Messina. Patti has beautiful beach and marina with great seaviews and the Aeolian Islands. The train ride from Palermo across the north coast to Messina is GORGEOUS!!

Wow, great information - thanks

We are a family of seven going to Cefalu for two weeks in May. My mother in law is from Lascari, small town 10 minutes west of Cefaul. We are looking for housing near town so my children? (ages 26,22,& 20) could walk to and from town when they wish

As of today we are reserved with accomodations through solemar in Cefaul, it's holiday flat 20 minute walk to town center

Would appreciate any feedback or advice

Grazie

mdciti, as you may have seen from my comments above I didn't like Cefalu, but most people seem to. But however much you may like it, do you really want to stay there for the whole 2 weeks ? Personally I'd visit at least 2 or 3 or places first, doing a bit of a tour of the island, then stay the 2nd week in Cefalu.