Sicily - Erice vs Noto
 

I will only be in Sicily for a whirlwind trip and I am looking for some advice on the best way to spend my time.

We will start in Taormina and spend 1 day and night there, and then go to Oritga for a day night, but my question is do I spend the following day exploring Noto,Ragusa, Modica before heading to Agrigento or skip the Baroque towns so that I have time after agrigento to go to Erice and Trapani. We fly out of Palermo, so were going to drive around the island in a circle. Let me know your thoughts thanks!

hi steph - would you mind posting a few more details, like where you're flying into, how many days you've got in each place and in what order, and where you leave from?

My initial thought is that I would drop Taormina and spend an extra night in Ortigia but you haven't told us where you'll be coming from before Taormina.

Sorry this is my first forum post, so was not sure how detailed to be.

I am doing the Amalfi coast first and then driving down to Taormina, thats why was going to spend a night and day there as I think we will be beat after driving from Furore down to Sicily (I know its a silly waste of time to drive, but my husband hates flying and is already up and arms about the flight to italy so wants to avoid as many other flights as possible).

The current rough plan is to arrive in the afternoon/night to Taormina so ...

1 night, and then the the first full following Day 1 Taormina
Day 2 : Ortiga

Day 3,4,and 5 are up in the air

I only have 5 Full days in Sicily and fly out of Palermo on the afternoon of the 6th day (i.e get into Taormina Friday night and then leave from Palermo on Thursday afternoon) and since I have started researching I know this is not enough time but we cannot change our flights at this point so just trying to maximize our time as best we can. My current debate is to do:

Day 3: Baroque
Day 4: Agrigento
Day 5: Palermo

vs.

Day 3: Agrigento
Day 4: Trapani/Erice
Day 5: Palermo

Or skip palermo and just stay there for the night before the flight is an option as well

Let me know, thanks!

Sorry this is my first forum post, so was not sure how detailed to be. >>

no problem, Steph, the detail you've now given is very helpful.

with only 5 days [and after all that driving to get there] I would not try to cram in ½ of what you have in mind.

a few ideas:

Plan A : [assuming you arrive in Messina], drive down to Taormina, 3 nights, then drive from there to Cefalu, I night and thence to Palermo, 2 nights

Plan B: Taormina 1 night, Siracuse 2 nights, Piazza Armerina 1 night, [so you can see the Villa Casale first thing in the morning] Palermo 2 nights.

Plan C - get the ferry from Naples to Palermo, spend time in western Sicily only

If you can get him to change his mind, the flight from Naples to Sicily is very short and easy. If not, would he consider an overnight ferry from Naples to
Sicily?

What will the drop off rate be to drop the car in Sicily? Could be a consideration.

Careful with spelling - Ortigia

This whirlwind trip whirls too much - at that pace you will see very little and remember even less.

Trapani and the little town of Erice above it are so far over on the other side, you’d have to race to make it there. Not worth it, a pretty hill-top location but holds no candle to the awesomeness of the Valley of Temples (actually a ridge, not a valley) down below Agrigento and its nearby Archeological Museum!

Cut back, and pass on Palermo itself - it’s a good city to visit if you have the time to do it justice, but not a city to rush in and out again.

Good idea to spend the last night near the airport outside of Palermo, best in Cinisi. We were very happy with the B+B Kunesias at Via Salvatore Badalamenti 246, 90045 Cinisi, ph. 3807716432, www.kunesias.com

Great, thank you for the advice I will work on editing my trip!

Count enough time for the visit of Siracusa/Ortigia, then head to Noto, the Roman villa in the Vendicari Park, the other Baroque cities and Agrigento and finally to Cefalu, Palermo and Monreale.

neckervd - they've only got 5 days.

I'm with those who recommend the ferry from Naples to Palermo.
We did it in the reverse direction. Palermo needs more time than you can give to it. Annhig's suggestion to spend the time in western Sicily is good.

it seems obvious to me, Gwendolynn. we never got to the western side [and we had 10 days flying into and out of Catania] but I'm sure that there's more than enough to fill the very short time that the OP has got.

"neckervd - they've only got 5 days"
Anhing is right: a reason more to skip Western Sicily!