BillJ

Trying to plan a trip to Sicily is difficult at this time, with an unknown timetable for vaccinations (us), as well as trying forecast when Italy will be "fully" opened up. Spring might be too soon. So how is fall (more time for Covid to go away)? Have not been there before, and intend to join a land tour for 12 days and post extend for quality beach time.
Is fall similar to spring since its also a shoulder season? Someone told me it wouldn't make any difference, but I am not sure I believe that. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

thursdaysd

I went in the spring and the wildflowers were gorgeous. I would go back in the spring for that reason, but if you want to swim the water would be warmer in the fall. I am not making any travel plans at this point, but I'm doubly high risk. On the one hand, there's the vaccines, but on the other there's this new variant.

Michael

April flowers:

https://flic.kr/p/8hRA1W
which I can't compare to a Fall scenery. On the other hand, planning for Fall might be a safer bet given the pandemic and the slow roll-out of the vaccine. The big question: will the sights and the tourist venues (restaurants, hotels) be open in the Spring.

Traveler_Nick

This autumn?

If you believe the government I might get my first jab in September. I wouldn't count on Italy being back to normal until next year at the earliest.

Sicily is obviously further south and warmer than the rest of the country but if you're thinking shoulder season you would still likely need to avoid the holidays. Nov 1st and the week or so before Christmas.

Spring you have Easter, April 25th and May 1st holidays to avoid.

That means that depending on your dates things can be still closed or pretty busy.

neckervd

August is high season with tons of Italian tourists anyway. The first half of September is still warm and usually dry and the sea water will be warm enough.

Heimdall

Spring is only a few months away, and the pandemic is getting worse both in the USA where I come from and the UK where I now live. Even with the rollout of vaccines, I don’t believe international travel in the spring is a realistic prospect. As Traveler_Nick wrote, even autumn may be too soon. I wouldn’t want to go through the hassle of cancelling a holiday and trying to get refunds for flights, etc, so I won’t be going anywhere this year.

I can’t speak for Sicily, but the year before last I went to Sardinia in September, and it was very pleasant. August crowds were gone, but the island resorts were still lively. Sea water was warm, and weather perfect. It may possible for you to make last minute plans if things suddenly improve.

BillJ

Thanks, all. Just no way to make a decision at this time, and $$$ aren't due for another couple of months. It does look bleak, though.

It does appear that fall would be a viable alternative.

yestravel

I've been in both the Fall (September) and Spring (May). Virus aside, when I went in the fall I thought I'd love to come back in the spring when everything is green and flowers. I loved it in the fall, but it was brown. The Spring was beautiful so I'd choose the Spring.

annhig

What yestravel said, except that if swimming is important to you, the sea is a lot warmer in Autumn. We spent an afternoon on the beach at Marina di Ragusa which was delightful, and which we thought might be a good place to spend a few days as there are lots of interesting places within a day's excursion time, e.g. Ragusa, Modica and Scicli are all within about a 30 minute drive, Noto and Caltigirone are both about 1 ¼ hour away, with Piazza Armerina [for the Villa Casale] 1 ½ hours away and Agrigento a bit further at 2 hours. But of course if those were all places visited by the tour you might want to pick a place which it doesn't go to and base yourself there. Ortygia [the island off Syracuse] is definitely a place I would want to see either on the tour or independently.

authorinitaly

My husband is from Sicily, so while we normally live in Milan now that I've moved to Italy, Sicily is the place I've visited the most. I've been there in every season but winter (so far), and they are all great in different ways. Both spring and fall are good bets because there are fewer people than there are in the summer. Spring is great for flowers, but fall has a whole other set of plants and flowers that are just as beautiful. If you go in September or sometimes even early October, you can still usually go to the beach, as others have said, which gives it a slight advantage over the spring. If you want to go around to see the archeological sites or climb the mountains and volcanoes, though, I might recommend waiting for the next spring, otherwise it could be too hot to really enjoy it. It all depends on what you want to do most, but there really is no wrong choice.

BillJ

Thanks to all for the wonderful comments. Have not made air yet for mid May departure. We're in Group 1B, but so what? Question is when? and no answers.
Will bide our time, and see what develops. Wife not convinced about Fall, so that's a maybe. Had to cancel this trip last year, maybe this year, too. (Tour is 12 days Sicily with Secret Italia Tours)
Thanks again, all. Hope we can travel this year. Fingers crossed. Stay safe everyone.

thursdaysd

Is it this? https://www.secretitalia.it/tours/12...ll-group-tour/

Not a bad itinerary if so, although more time in touristy Taormina than I would want. I would recommend adding time on before and/or after for more than beach time. I did that when I visited Sicily (see: Crumbling Palazzos and Creamy Cannoli - Savoring Sicily )

BillJ

Yes, thursdaysd, that is it. There are some day trips out of Taormina. We had intended on post extending at some beach down the coast, closer to Catania from where we will begin our return flights. Researched last year, but have not started looking again so far. Just checked our state dept's Italy page, and "non-essential travel" is frowned upon at this time. Not looking good for spring. We are late 70's, so taking care.
I am reading & enjoying your report. Wondering if all those wonderful restaurants made it through the Covid. Thanks for your input.