Sicily Honeymoon Help
 

Okay, so we've been trying to plan a honeymoon for about 2 months now. I think we have it narrowed down to Sicily for the majority of our time. <BR><BR>Our main goal is to relax. We would love to stay on a beautiful white sandy beach, and have fantastic food and lots of wine. We were contemplating Lampedusa but we don't know enough about it. Has anyone heard of the U'Piddu Club there? It sounds interesting, but we would love to hear personal comments on it.<BR><BR>I spoke to a travel agent and they said that THE hotel to stay in is San Domenico Palace for a honeymoon. It sounds wonderful, but a little pricey and also not on a beach - but near a beach. <BR><BR>So I guess my question is - can anyone give us advice on this. I'm starting to go mental from all this planning.<BR><BR>Thanks!

The best beaches in Italy are on Sardinia, not Sicily. However, Sicily has its own attractions which overall make it a MUCH more significant tourist destination than Sardinia. If you want a relaxing vacation, I'd stick to the traditional favorites: Taormina and its coastline, or the Island of Lipari. Lampedusa and Pantelleria are very remote and somewhat limiting (and also very crowded in July and August), but are great for scubadiving. The Island of Ustica was recently voted as having one of the most beautiful and immaculate coastlines of Italy. However, I would still recommend Lipari, since it makes an excellent base for visiting the other six Aeolian Islands, each of which is unique and spectacular. May and late September are the best times to go. The very limited beaches of the Aeolian Islands are mainly volcanic, with black sand (on Lipari, the only white sand beach (Spiaggia bianca) is a small stretch directly north of the main Canneto Beach). I've written extensively on Lipari on this site, and highly recommend the Hotel Carasco there. Taormina is, of course, much more elegant and urbane. There are several good beaches along its coastline north and south, but nothing really spectacular. Hotels to consider in Taormina are: San Domenico Palace and Hotel Timeo (both 5 star deluxe), Hotel Excelsior (superior 4 star) and Hotel Villa Belvedere (superior 3 star, B/B only).

We stayed at the San Domenico last July. Yes, it is a beautiful hotel, but not exactly close to a beach. You would need to go down the mountain Taormina is set on and across the highway to get to a not too great pebbly beach. Other than the small white sand beach on Lipari, Sicily, and most of Italy for that matter, does not have those gorgeous stretchs of white sand that the Caribbean has. Lipari is very nice but hotels there are more in the three star catagory; not what I'd choose for a honeymoon. There is the Hotel Raya on Panarea that is lovely. Of course, with Stromboli acting up recently, the Aeolians might not be the place to go.

The Hotel Meligunis on Lipari is a small, elegant four-star property, although I still prefer the superior three-star Carasco (originally a four-star hotel, and voluntarily lowered in classification for tax purposes) for its stunning views. Hotel Raya on Panarea is a good choice, though there is little to do on Panarea itself other than snorkelling, boating, candlelight dining, and gazing at Stromboli all day. Maybe ideal for a honeymoon?

Lauren,<BR>We were in Taormina last August, and the best hotel to stay at is the San Domenico Palace. No, it is not on the beach, but the beach is so crowded, I wouldn't want to stay there. It's such nice to go there for a little while. The hotel was very, very beautiful. A great place to stay on a honeymoon. When you look back at your honeymoon memories, you're not going to remember how much money you saved by staying at a less expensive hotel - you're just going to remember the hotel.<BR><BR>Anyway, if you do go, ask for Room 130. Very high ceilings - at least 25 feet. The beds were very comfortable. Beautiful marble bath. Luxurious robe and even slippers with the hotel name on it! The terrace overlooking the coastline is much better than being on the beach on the coastline. The restaurant was very romantic. Walking around the gardens is also very romantic. They also have a pool. I have just stayed at the hotel and never left it. It was expensive, but we just stayed 1 less day and then the price evens out.

I concur with the previous posting. I've stayed at the San Domenico and confirm that it is a unique property.