Our 'road warrior' experience in Sicily took place in Siracusa. After finding our B&B, my husband found parking on a nearby street, which was a one way street and blocked off partially because of road work. All was good until Monday morning when he went to fetch the car to leave, the street had become one of the main thoroughfares, and they had reversed the one way! My husband came into the B&B as white as a sheet, as he had had to drive the 'wrong' way half on the sidewalk for a good half block into oncoming traffic. What a hoot!
Still, I can hardly wait to go back one day to enjoy a glass of wine and enjoy the evening passegiata in Piazza del Duomo.

We had two of the tiny pick up trucks which use motor cycles as a drive train coming towards us in the road near Noto. They were side by side racing and each was driven by two old gents who must have had a combined age of 210 years. The one overtaking couldn't get enough speed and the other would not yield. I was driving towards them and had to drive into a field to avoid hitting them.

Typical Sicily.

I am loving your honesty barefoot! We are planning a two week (mis)adventure in Sicily June 2013...I may hide this report from bikerscott as he is nervous about driving as it is!! Haha

DickieG. sundriedpachinio and jamikins.....thanks for sharing your driving horror stories...all I can say is, I'm so glad I wasn't driving! Thankfully, we all escaped without bodily harm....and (spoiler alert!) was never so grateful to return the car to the rental agency without a scratch...well, one that they noticed anyway. Still, the misery endured is nothing compared to the agony I'd experience on a guided group BUS TRIP!!

barefoot
Since Sicily is on my list, and i think it is better toured with a car, after your experience, would you recommend renting a car and avoiding certain rural areas, or should i just forget about it?

clausar, we drove everywhere, and really, the episode above was the only mishap I can remember. I Google mapped every destination's accomodations plus my husband downloaded a gps app to his smartphone, and it was fine. I was nervous about driving there too, after reading reports, but would have no qualms about it after being there. With one qualifier; we only drove OUT of Palermo after picking up our rental. Traffic there is insane. But the highways were nearly empty in Oct.

clauser, I would still drive (but as sundried said, pick your car up at the Palermo airport and drive away from there)....but also consider where you're staying as to the ease of parking. The more detailed instructions you can get from your hotel or B&B the better. Our problem with Villa Diana was that we didn't have current conditions instructions....but being Sicily, anything can change at the drop of a hat. If you stick to driving major or secondary roads, you'll be OK. In rural areas, signage is often missing....or they'll tell you once what road you're on and never again. You do need a GPS and the best road map you can get. Many hotels/inns help you with parking....once you get there, you can hand the car over to them to park. The last place we went, Taormina, we dropped off our car before we entered the city, and then took a city bus up....and then later hired a driver service to take us to the Catania airport so we didn't have to deal with driving into that city while trying to catch a flight....one less hassle.

Yes, I agree Sicily is better seen with a car. Though you can cover some areas by bus or train. The train goes to Agrigento for example. But I'd drive and just roll with the punches. In terms of other drivers, Sicily is much like what I hear about Greece. Sicilian highways are generally very good. However, twice we encountered fences across a freeway, wooden fences like it's a field. We compliant Anglo-types didn't think of driving around the fence. So it's important to have a good map and/or a GPS that can find alternate routes.

And, of course, using public transportation takes more time since you have to adapt to their schedule.

Sicilian sights for which you need a car: Segesta, Selinunte, the Roman villa at Casale near Piazza Armerina. I'm sure there are others.

clausar, I did all the driving on my Sicily trip (control freak). I didn't find the driving itself at all difficult, just the getting lost. My itinerary was pretty tight, so getting lost was stressful.

We loved Modica. Hurry up, barefoot! ;)

We don't regret our decision not to rent a car. Public transportation was convenient and easy.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-november.cfm

Enjoying this, thank you. Agree about the beauty of Capella Palatina. Monreale of course is more of the same and bigger.

More, please!

Another beautiful sunny, warm day, and we decided to see the Scala dei Turchi before driving to Modica, which was a bit of backtracking. Theyʼre about 15km west of the Valley of the Temples on SP68, accessed through the beach at Realmonte. Theyʼre not very well known and I believe I heard about them on Fodorʼs Forums. The name translates into Turkish Steps and apparently this is where the Arab Pirates (“Turks”) used to anchor their boats out of the wind while they pillaged the coast. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a big waste of time for us because you couldnʼt get to them without a bit of a hike from the beach, and I didnʼt want to leave all our luggage in the car (our two roll-aboards were visible in the back seat). So, I left DH in the car while I hiked along the beach until I could see them back in a cove. They are a beautiful blinding white series of huge, wide soft chalky limestone steps, sinuously terraced by the wind from the top of the cliff to the sea. People sunbathe on the flat surface at the sea or hike down on the curving steps. Itʼs as if the normal brown cliffs on either side got bleached out in the middle somehow. They were still pretty far away, so I just got some photos and hiked back to the car. Then, we drove along the road to see if we could see it from there, and we could from a bit of a distance so I was able to get another photograph. It looked like a fun thing to do if you had time and no luggage with you.

Next, we decided to drive the coastal road to Modica and eat lunch along the way. I have to say this was another “not worth it” experience....it was a long, torturous drive, mostly through commercial agriculture fields covered by white cloths to protect the fields of tomatoes, grapes, etc....couldnʼt actually see much coast, and the coastal towns we did see werenʼt great. I kept delaying lunch until I saw something that looked good, until it was 2:40pm, we were starving and reached Ristorante Al Molo, across from the wharf in Donnalucata. At first, the snippy hostess didnʼt want to serve us...”Too late, too late”, despite a good crowd of locals still eating. Finally, she relented and we hurriedly ordered. I couldnʼt catch what she said about the “daily catch”...it sounded like spigola, (sea bass) which Iʼve had before and loved...no, she said it was “spatola” (paddlefish), which Iʼve never heard of, but I tried it. Delicious prepared with honey, almonds and capers. DH had a wonderful spaghetti with mussels, garlic and olive oil. Tried a new wine, Herea Nero d”Avola ʼ07...excellent. We were finished and out the door before several other “local” tables left.

Now, weʼre ready to attempt our drive north to Modica. Getting there is not the problem...finding your hotel is. I knew our hotel, Palazzo de Failla is in the upper town, not the lower town. So, we logically got off at what looked like the upper town. It looks way too modern (i.e. not charming) and cruised hopelessly around asking various non- English speaking people for directions. Finally, we come across a woman who speaks English and find out that weʼre too high....we have to go back down and enter through the lower town and then drive up to the more historic upper town. By now, weʼre getting real tired of Sicilian driving....and Angela, our GPS, doesnʼt seem to be a lot of help.

When we reach Palazzo Failla, at the highest point of the old upper town, we gratefully turn over the car to be parked and luggage upacked by the bellman. Itʼs a lovely old Sicilian style mansion filled with antiques, majolica, frescoes, wrought iron, etc. So, Iʼm disappointed when weʼre shown our “Superior” room on the top floor. By now I should realize that often top floors were the servants quarters tucked under the eaves. We took the small elevator up, so I didnʼt notice the difference in how the stairs and hallways between the second and third floor were furnished, which wouldʼve been a clue. The room was tight and dark, as there was just the small windowed door to the small terrace (framed by two massive a/c compressors partially hidden with plants), and another small bathroom shower. The only thing I liked about it were the ancient tile floors....and the color blue. So, DH gallantly went down to complain...this couldnʼt be a “Superior” room! Turns out, it was, and that was what I booked. The “Deluxe” rooms were on the second floor but were already taken....we would have to stay here for two nights but on the third we could change. Another frustration. The only thing that helped get me out of my foul mood was a text message that our good friends, whoʼd been
visiting family in Calabria, were going to be able to meet us in Siracusa for a couple of nights.

Next, dinner would be a challenge because we had to walk down (but then back up!) about 250 stone steps to the main shopping/restaurant street. Itʼs dark out, not a lot of lights, but it feels safe. We arrive at Osteria Sapporo de Perduti at 8pm, which means itʼs still pretty empty, and sit outside on their narrow terrace. Thereʼs a very old man sitting on the steps next to us, playing his flute all evening...accepting donations. He keeps playing the SAME vaguely familiar song all night...very badly....so we laughingly said (to ourselves) that weʼd pay him to stop! Part of Sicilian ambience. This is a casual, local kind of restaurant and the food is pretty good. DH loves his Ravioli in tomato sauce and I love the Cavatini with broccoli and ricotta. Tonightʼs wine is Principi di Butera by Riesi....very good. We decide to slowly walk back up the steps, rather than taking a taxi. Itʼs such a lovely night with a large moon and itʼs really not that bad. The Church of San Giorgio, about half-way up, is magnificent lit up in all itʼs baroque glory. We sleep very well. All the beds and pillows seem very hard in Sicily (and the other islands), but we havenʼt had any aches or pains at all on this trip, which is unusual.
Next: Ragusa day trip

Did you try some Modica chocolate?

sundried, I forgot to mention we did make it to Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the famous Modica chocolate shop, before dinner. Modica chocolate is famous for being made straight from the cocoa bean without any fillers or dairy, but it tastes grainy because the sugar doesn't melt. I'm a chocoholic, but I have to admit I wasn't a fan of this chocolate. I kept trying to like it though!

Just a few more observations from my last report. When I said that going to Scala dei Turchi and taking the coastal road was a waste of time, I meant it would have been better if we'd beelined right to Modica so we could've explored the town more. It looked so charming with it's intricate alleyways and steps going up and down the mountain on both sides of the valley.

Earlier, when we were trying to find a lunch restaurant (which was no longer in business) in one of the coastal towns, my husband stopped to ask a burly, 'enforcer' looking guy in shorts for directions. As he was talking to my husband through the car window, another car behind us laid on the horn, and the guy stood up and gave him "the finger". Pure Sicily.

Also, that elusive song that the old man kept playing on his flute...it came to DH the next day that it was "The Mexican Hat Dance"...surreal.

Barefoot

The coast between Argrigento and Marina di Ragusa is a complete enigma.

I have covered well over half the Southern European coast over 40 years and never seen such a good beach, with a gentle shelve of sea bed covered in ..... well tomato sheds. In Spain there would be multi million pound apartment developments. In Sicily, tomato sheds prevent you from getting onto the beach.

We didn't make it Scala dei Turchi which is a shame, as I love geological features like that.

I agree about Modica chocolate, far too high quality for my taste buds. I was brought up on Cadburys Dairy Milk.

DickieG,
Glad you felt the same way about that coastline. Should mention for others that Donnalucata and other areas around there were used in the filming of the BBC series, "Inspector Montalbano" based on the detective novels. We bought the first DVD, with 3 or 4 episodes on it, from Amazon, and I'd highly recommend watching this if you're going to Sicily. It really gives you a sense of the quirkiness.
I guess that Modica chocolate is high quality, but it just tasted too sweet and not rich and creamy....I do love dark chocolate but that was more of a sugary, gritty taste.

The character development in Montalbano is the best I have seen in years, English language or otherwise.

Loved the way an investigation would take a different turn when Salvo discovered food was involved.

We found it a scream, in view of the fact that his girlfriend was played by an Austrain who couldn't speak Italian. They obviously wanted a blond with a nice body regardless of acting ability. We watched our version with her first dubbed from German into Italian then with English subtitles.

Only in Italy.

I know you are coming to it next but did you make it the Vendicari Nature Reserve? Again, this coast sums up Sicily. We travelled through Marina di Avola. It was the worst residential coastal district that I have seen in Europe with no concept of communal living, building regulations or planning control.

Then 5 miles away we found Vendicari.

One of my favourite pieces of coast in Europe, flamingos and all.

I think your OP said it all, the two Fs.

We had a relaxing, delicious lunch at La Gazza Lladra, the restaurant in your hotel. It was a long, hot sweaty walk from our hotel, Casa Talia, on the other high-but-old side of town, to Palazzo Failla. But what a great walk. I run hills daily in my normal life, but my traveling companions do not and found walking around Modica a bit more challenging.

Looking forward to reading about Ragusa. We ended up enjoying poking around Modica so much that we never made it there.

We also bought chocolate at Bonajuto, and felt the same way about the texture, not what we are accustomed to. Unfortunately Modica was our last stop of the day, and we found out too late that we would have loved to spend more time there. It was Friday night and all the local people were coming down for the evening so it was packed with 'real' Sicilians, not tourists.
Dougie, you are making me so regret that we never made it to Vendicari. Next trip, we will get there, along with Piazza Armerina, which was closed. We did stop at Enna, fantastic views of the moonscape of central Sicily, as well as a really good lunch at Centrale in Enna.
Barefoot, we also enjoyed Cucina Papoff in Palermo.

Dickie,
No, we didn't get to Vendicari but we should have. Leely2, I'll have to look up your review because I originally planned on staying at Casa Talia...it looked so intriguing. That was a long up and down walk for you. We never at in La Gazza Lladra (except for a wonderful breakfast) because the dinner menu was very expensive....those Michelin stars really jack up the price!
sundried, Enna sounds great...wish we could've fit that it.