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Sicily for 9 days
Hi everyone!
I'm going to Sicily with my man who is turning 50 in Mid april!! He is a godfather fan...hence starting out in Taormina/Savoca/bar Vitelli :-) I need advice on a lot of things. My plan is to go from Taormina-Mt Etna-Siracusa-Ragusa-Agrigento-Trapani-Palermo and fly out of there. I do plan to rent a car but not for the Taormina part (2 days) Questions: easiest way to transfer to taormina (I prefer taxi/towncar) Best way to rent a car What are the best agriturismos in Sicily Your favorite restaurants and things not to miss!!! I am an outdoor person, love hiking, nature, great authentic italian foods. Thanks for all your help in advance!! Ciao! |
Moved to Europe board
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I suspect that nearly everyone will tell you that you are trying to do too much in too little time. However, we have done many ambitious (others might call them rushed) trips, and have enjoyed them all. This fall we plan to spend 10 days in Sicily (5 in Ragusa and 5 in Ortygia), but we have done quicker trips in Sicily. It all depends on your interests and travel style.
Possible itinerary: Taormina 3 nights (Godfather and Mt. Etna day trips) Ortyigia 3 nights (day trip to Ragusa, Noto, Modica) see Agrigento in long day trip to Trapani Trapani 2 nights (day trip to Erice) Palermo 1 night Car rental: AutoEurope, a broker, is a favorite of many Fodorites. Great rates, excellent Maine-based service, and often full insurance rates for a fraction of the counter charge from the car rental community you will be using. |
Thanks Whitehall!! I appreciate your input. I think that's exactly what I'm going to do!!
So stay in Taormina, Ortigia, Trapani and Palermo!! Any recommendations for agriturismos there? Fav restaurants? |
You should stay in Taormina and Ortigia,not outside of town in agriturismos. In Trapani order Fish Couscous, delicious dish influenced by North Africa. There is a wonderful walk up window in Ortigia’s Duomo Square where you can buy a made to order cannoli. For an airport transfer and tours( including Godfather), contact Sicily Life. Go to AutoEurope for car rentals. |
We always rent apartments, usually through airbnb, and we prefer to stay in the historic centers. We love local markets and do some cooking and meal prep at home. Otherise, we generally look for small places, frequented by locals, and usually get pizza, pasta or fish. Haven’t been disappointed. Even if you aren’t in a mood for a sandwich, you have to go to the Ortygia market and see the character at Caseficio Borderi who makes sandwiches that are nothing like you have ever seen. (And you can see them in youtube videos).
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With 9 days, you can see some wonderful things -- but you can NOT see all of Sicily's gems, and so would do well to think through your priorities in advance. Some specific comments:
Taormina is beautiful, but during the day it can be very unpleasantly packed with daytrippers. Plan your time accordingly. Visiting Mt. Etna can mean going to the top or going to the wineries on the slopes – very different things. For Siracusa, stay in Ortigia. Consider spending a half day to visit the cathedral in Monreale from Palermo (an easy, short bus-ride away). I must admit that I could not possibly fit everything you want to see into the time you have, but maybe “seeing” these places means something different to you than it means to me. I recommend that you consult some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost/oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. As for restaurants, lodging, etc. -- you will find many excellent trip reports on Sicily on this forum. Search them! |
With a car, we loved staying in the countryside, granted that the places we stayed in had excellent restaurants on premises with the most amazing breathtaking views. You have only 9 days, so renting an apartment does not make sense. We took a private transfer to Taormina from Catania Airport arranged by our FABULOUS hotel, “Villa Ducale”. It is located between Taormina and Castelmola and, if you are a hiker, you can hike up to Castelmola from “Villa Ducale” and enjoy the views to die for. A few steps from “Villa Ducale” is one of the best restaurants in Taormina, “Al Saraceno”, the locals’ favorite. Our pasta with porcini was so good that we tried to return for another dinner, but the restaurant was fully booked for the wedding. We also arranged a half-day Jeep 4x4 tour with “Discover Etna” to Mount Etna from Taormina and enjoyed it so much. Really fun ride on the lava fields. We stayed at the beautiful modern hotel “Hotel Balarte” in the vicinities of Modica and made a day trip to Ortygia/Siracusa (wanted one more day In Ortygia for sure). We also explored beautiful Baroque towns of Modica, Scicli and Ragusa from our base. Very convenient! In Agrigento, we stayed at the hotel “La Foresteria Della Baglio Luna” with pretty good restaurant but not so good rooms, IMO. From there, we drive to Piazza Armerina to see divine Villa Romano Del Casale. Yes, it was a detour, but it was so worth it. The Valley of the Temples In Agrigento is a five minutes drive from this hotel. And another highlight of our trip was staying on the La Planeta vineyards in Menfi, very close to the Archeological Park of Selinunte. Our gorgeous hotel, La Foresteria Planeta, is one of our most memorable accommodation choice in all our extensive travels. It was a dream... Their restaurant is superb and every meal was a masterpiece... We day-tripped to Erice from the La Foresteria Planeta and parked in Trapani just next to the funicular to Erice. In Palermo, we stayed at the B&B “Palazzo Pantaleo”, loved by most. We were underwhelmed - way too basic for us. But meeting the owner was worth a little discomfort: Guiseppe is someone we will never forget. |
There are frequent buses between Catanai airport and Taormina.
Count 2 days for a somewhat serious visit of Palermo and Monreale. Don't forget to visit Segesta on the way from Trapani to Palermo. |
Thank you all so much! I'm excited about this trip...I will stay in Ortigia instead of Siracusa since that seems to be the consensus here :-)...any B&B recs?
I do want a day in Agrigento...don't want to miss valley of temples...may be cut down a day in Palermo |
For trains info: www.trenitalia.com - www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Prety much all regional trains and buses that you can just hop on and regional trains do no even take reservations - dirt cheap flat fare - buy at station.
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It seems to me that the OP intends to rent a car, which is a great idea in Sicily. We rented with Hertz, as we always do in Europe, and easily got a very nice Fiat500L automatic. We picked up our car in perfect condition at Catania Airport and dropped it off at Palermo Airport. Great service, English speaking staff, very helpful in both Hertz offices. We did buy full coverage for additional $300 and decided not to rely to our credit card insurance - full coverage is highly recommended in Sicily because of frequent car thefts. |
We visited Sicily in October, with a little more time than you have. Our focuses were food, Byzantine mosaics, Roman and Greek structures, and Mt. Etna. All of those were great! And the Sicilians were wonderful and kind.
Comment on The Godfather: This an American movie, about the perceptions of the Mafia in the U.S. Sicilians do not see it as real, true or about them. Many Sicilians view "them" as a destructive force on their island, not to be romanticized. There are obviously Godfather tours, etc., but that's for Americans. Here's our itinerary, to give you ideas / suggestions: - We started in the U.S, flew to London, spent a night there visiting a friend and providing an easier trip on to Sicily. - Flew into Palermo, 3 nights there. We visited Monreale on one of those days, and took the train to Cefalu another day. We stayed at Massimo Plaza Hotel (across from the Opera House, seen in Godfather III); the staff was very friendly and helpful, and we loved the location. - Picked up our rental car from the Palermo airport, drove to Segesta to visit the Greek Temple; we walked up to the theater and ate a picnic lunch there. Amazing. We drove on to our one-night's stay at la Foresteria, a lovely vineyard with a restaurant, dropped off our bags, then drove to the nearby Selinunte. Also amazing, though I think I liked Segesta more. - The next day we drove on to a one-night stay in Agrigento, stopping on the way to view the unique sculptures of artist Filippo Bentivegna, called the Castello Incantato (just google it). In Agrigento, we stayed at Villa la Lumia, which we loved and was gorgeous; we had a great lunch at Trattoria dei Templi, then spent the rest of the day visiting the Valley of the Kings (we walked there from our hotel). - The next day we spent a little time in Agrigento before heading toward our next destination (visiting Enna on the way), two nights in Piazza Armerina, at La Casa Sulla Collina d'Oro Hotel, the owner was delightful. We had a full-day tour with the wonderful guide Rossella, of Passage to Sicily; I am a big history buff, so seeing these sites with an expert was important to me; many people do not go to Morgantina, because it's more ruinous; our guide brought the site to life. We also visited Villa Romana del Casale and the Archaeological Museum of Aidone. - We visited Caltagirone on our way to Siracusa, where we spent three nights at I Santi Coronati, on Ortigia, a beautiful B&B. On one of those days, we drove to Noto, which was very pretty. - We dropped off our rental car on day two in Siracusa, so when we left, we took the train to Taormina, staying at Taodamus. We spent two nights there; the highlight was an all-day tour to visit and hike on Mt. Etna. Another marvelous tour, this time with guide Davide, of Mountain Etna Tours (Continente Sicilia). He was a delight, and extremely knowledgeable, about much more than volcanoes. - Took a car to Catania for a flight to Rome for two nights before heading home. |
I personally would give Palermo at least a couple of days if you can. And we loved Modica and made that a base to explore Ragusa & Scicli. That was the "we could move here" town on the trip for us. In Ortigia I can recommend Lemoni Suite. The room was spacious and the breakfast was amazing! Nearby we enjoyed Retroscena for dinner.
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In Ortigia, I was very happy with L’Approdo delle Sirene:
http://www.apprododellesirene.com Whether to cut your time in Palermo depends on your interests. I felt that I had shortchanged it with “just” 2.5 days – and those were very full, up and at it ALL day days. OTOH, Palermo is one of the cities that is easiest to visit in Sicily, as it has an international airport, so it would be easier to include on a future trip than most locations. The fact is that you do NOT have time for everything, and so WILL have to skip some things. Only you can decide which. |
Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! I will post my trip report once back :-)
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