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-   -   Sicily in mid to late March? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/sicily-in-mid-to-late-march-996753/)

wrenwood Nov 2nd, 2013 08:26 AM

Sicily in mid to late March?
 
Would mid to late March be a good time to visit Sicily? (first time)

Decent weather (not interested in beaches) and are businesses and tourist/cultural sites open?

traveller1959 Nov 2nd, 2013 09:02 AM

I was there in late March/early April.

You should be prepared for everything. It can be pretty cold (Mount Etna's summit will be snow-covered) so take a warm jacket. It can also be nice and warm. Most probably you will enjoy clear skies and springlike sunshine but you may encounter rain.

Conclusion: It is a good time for travelling, but be prepared to dress onion-like.

And, yes, everything is open year-round (except Mount Etna which will be a ski resort in late March).

Leely2 Nov 2nd, 2013 01:30 PM

I was also there late March/early April. We were lucky and had very pleasant weather. It drizzled two afternoons but was otherwise temperate and often sunny. Jackets and scarves in the morning, peeling them off in the afternoon. As traveler1959 says, everything was open.

latedaytraveler Nov 3rd, 2013 06:17 AM

Wrenwood,

I agree with above posts. I spent a week in Sicily in February 2000. The weather was great for touring, sunny days, and chilly at night. So March should be even better. Enjoy…

wrenwood Nov 5th, 2013 02:04 AM

Thanks all, due to my work traveling in April, May, and the beginning of June is almost impossible, so I'm looking to add a trip next year in March if my husband will consent. :o

Will it be difficult to book accomodations last minute? When is "high" tourist season in Sicily?

Dickie_Gr Nov 5th, 2013 02:32 AM

High season in the whole of Italy is August full stop. Crazy time.

Outside that month most locations are less busy. (Other than the usual suspects of Rome, Venice and Florence)

Sicily should be no problem, I would plenty of research as there are lovely areas and not so lovely ones!

wrenwood Nov 5th, 2013 03:19 AM

Dickie_Gr can you tell me more about "lovely areas and not so lovely ones", especially the unlovely ones?

Dickie_Gr Nov 5th, 2013 04:08 AM

Most of the towns in the SE had a new and old area. The old towns were in the main well preserved and beautiful. Most of the town also had a new area in which the word plan was a four letter word, the road systems were at best strange and it was easy to miss the old area all together.

Ragusa is a good example. The new town on top of the hill needs clearing of people and cluster bombing, Ragusa Ibla further down the hill is quite rightly a world heritage site.

Be careful when travelling round the coast, we found stunning nature reserve like Vendicari with flocks of flamingo. We also found uncontrolled development which simply amounted to shanty towns around Lido D Avola and Lido di Noto.


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