Sicily Hotel/Sites
 

I've decided to spend 5 days in Sicily with my 21 y/o daughter, end of April. I'm looking for a higher end resort property for some pampering. A place with a spa would be fantastic! But being centrally located with a fair amount of local sites would be priority. I plan to rent a car for some exploring of the island so it need not be in the middle of town, but near enough by. I am also looking for some "must sees" as we are there just a short time. Looking forward to hearing all the fab ideas!!

You don't say where in Sicily you would like to stay but I stayed at the Grand Hotel Minareto in Syracuse (SE Sicily). Really splendid waterfront property with complimentary mini-bus or boat shuttle into Ortygia and Syracuse centre where you can enjoy the ruins, duomo, archaeological museum, etc. Food was excellent with swimming pool, beaches and spa. Others love Ortygia but I am happy I stayed outside it and not in Syracuse centre.

With only 5 days, you will need to be extremely selective. I suggest that you consult a good guidebook or two to decide what appeals to you.

Sicily has a number of excellent sites, but you can't reach them by being "centrally located". Sicily just doesn't lend itself to that kind of trip, and five days is far too short in any case. If you just want some pampering, BowenLinda's suggestion is no doubt good.

Suggest you take a look at some guidebooks and decide if Sicily is really a good fit for what you want. There are also a number of TRs on this board.

Well I yield to your suggestions...is there an area that makes sense for 5 days? May be to chilly for laying on the beach but a visit to scenic ones, some good historical exploring, great local meals, market shopping, is there a boat trip? As I mentioned I also plan to rent a car so we can venture out on a day trip.

My inclination would be to suggest Palermo. You can day trip to Cefalu (for the beach), Zingaro National Park (beach and hike), Erice (views) and Trapani, possibly Segesta (although I was just reading that only the temple was open), and, of course, Monreale. Except you don't want a car IN Palermo. Maybe somewhere on the outskirts. Maybe an agriturismo or winery a bit further out. Not that you need a car aside from the national park and perhaps Segesta.

Or you could base in or near Ortygia and day trip to Taormina (good views but mobbed), Mt. Etna, Noto (baroque) and maybe a beach (I don't do beaches).

Either way you'd miss the Villa Casale, the second must-see after Monreale, and Agrigento, the third.

Actually, it's starting to get warm in Sicily already this year.

Have you booked flights yet, and therefore know which airports you'll be using? If you are flying into Palermo or Trapani, I wouldn't go too far from there since your trip is so short. Ditto if you are using Catania airport.

I suggest that (a) you post your question on the message forum for Sicily on Tripadvisor, and also (b) that you do a bit of googling for something like "spa resort boutique luxury Sicily" and see whether anything appeals to you (also try "luxury agriturismo Sicily", and then start nosing around to find out what's nearby of interest. Again, TripAdvisor is a tremendous asset for planning a trip to Sicily, with some outstanding Sicilians hanging around the message boards over there who are really generous is trying to figure out what you are looking for and coming up with solutions (they know all of the island well) and not trying to steer you to taking their "favorite" trip or impose their values on you.

What thursdaysd said. Also, I believe the cathedral in Cefalu was recently added to UNESCO's World Heritage Site list, so you might want a stop there even if not for the beach.