Sicily Itinerary
 

Since I have read so many good suggestions when others have posted their itineraries, I am posting our plan for 16 days in Sicily. I plan to book our accommodations shortly. Any advice or suggestions you may have would be most appreciated.<BR><BR>1. Fly from USA<BR>2. Arrive Palermo, pick up rental car, drive to Erice (possible stop at Segesta) (Sleep Siracusa)<BR>3. Segesta, Selinunte, Agrigento (sleep Agrigento)<BR>4. Finish Agrigento ruins, see Villa del Casale, possible stop at Caltagirone, drive to Siracusa (sleep Siracusa 2 nights) <BR>5. Visit Siracusa ruins and museum<BR>6. Ortygia walk and drive to Taormina (sleep Taormina 4 nights)<BR>7, 8, and 9. Taormina and side trips to Mt Etna, Alacantra Gorge, beach, Castalmola<BR>10. Drive to Milazzo to take ferry to Lipari. Possibly return rental car. (sleep Lipari for 3 nights)<BR>11 and 12. Lipari with day trip to Stromboli and Pancrea and another to Alicudi and Filicudi, or rent mopeds and explore Lipari.<BR>13. Try for ferry/hydrofoil to Palermo, if not go to Milazzo and take train or bus to Palermo. Alternately, we could keep car in garage in Milazzo and drive with stop in Cefalu. Still to be determined. (Sleep Palermo for 3 nights)<BR>14, 15. Palermo sights, plus Monreale.<BR>16. Fly to USA

Great itinerary. Here are my thoughts:<BR>1. Don't for your life skip Segesta.<BR>2. Don't take the car to Lipari. Drop it in Milazzo. Rely on public transportation for the rest of the trip (you don't need or want a car in Palermo either).<BR>3. Take the hydrofoil from Lipari to Palermo, as you will stop briefly in both Filicudi and Alicudi.<BR>4. If you instead return to Milazzo, take the train to Cefalu, store your luggage at the station, tour the old town on foot, and return on the afternoon train to Palermo.<BR><BR>WARNING: recently, there have been disruptions of both rail and road traffic near Termini Imerese (east of Palermo), due to the announced closure of the FIAT assembly line there. Check local television before you embark on the Milazzo to Palermo segment of your proposed trip.

GAC, I am going to follow your suggestions, especially about dropping off the car in Milazzo. I'll check on the trains before deciding whether to ferry back to Milazzo or Palermo. I still wonder whether I'm better off taking the hydrofoil directly to Palermo or going on the train with the Cefalu stop. Thanks so much for reviewing our plan. <BR><BR>Somewhere I read that Siracusa could be skipped and was the least interesting of the sites. What do you think? We could shorten this trip and use the two days or our next journey as we have limited vacation time. However, if it is really worthwhile, since it is the only time we will be in Sicily, I would not want to miss seeing something wonderful.

I loved Siracusa and would not skip it! I think it was amazing.<BR><BR>Also, I think you hit everything, but the islands on the western side of the island, There are 12,000 year old cave paintings that are worth a trip.

I beg to differ- I think you're trying to do way too much. During our trip of 10 days we spent 3 days in Palermo; 1 day in Erice (you should NOT miss Segesta!); 2 days in Agrigento; 2 days in Siracusa and 2 days in Cefalu. On the way from Agrigento to Siracusa we visited the Roman mosaics at Piazza Amerina- quite remarkable. Enjoy your trip

Beth, I just don't see how we can also go to the ilands off Marsala. Thanks for your feedback on Siracusa.<BR><BR>Meg, how would you adjust our itinerary? I don't know what to leave out and where to extend the stay. Where did you stay in Agrigento? The Villa Athena would only book us for 3 nights and I don't want to be there that long, especially considering how expensive it is. We don't spend a lot of time in in-door museums which can take up a lot of time.

I do highly recommend Siracusa. As for Cefalu, you could skip it if you've already visited the Cathedral of Monreale.

I do highly recommend Siracusa. Bear in mind that, three times a week, the SNAV hydrofoil from Lipari to Palermo stops briefly at Cefalu (this enables you to see the Cathedral from the water).

Meg, <BR><BR>Fair enough about the Egali (sp) Islands. They are not nearly as pretty as Lipari et al, and I would think to really worth a visit except for the cave paintings which were great. <BR><BR>You know, I don't think your doing to much, I just think you'll be going all the time. <BR><BR>I did 10 days in Sicily and did not do Palermo but did about what you are doing and it was fine. <BR><BR>I stayed at Villa Athena, so I can't help you with places to say in that part of Sicily, but I would encouarge you to eat dinner at Villa Athena. <BR><BR><BR><BR>In terms of places to stay, I loved the Grand hotel in Sircusa on Ortygia and would highly recommend it. It's pricey, but nice and in the old part of town. <BR><BR>I loved, just absolutely love Villa Ducale in Taormina. I would love to stay there again. I don't remember how much it was, I think it was moderately priced. <BR>http://www.venere.it/sicilia/taormina/villaducale/index.html.en<BR><BR>Have fun!<BR><BR>Beth<BR><BR><BR>

Opps, guess I screwed up on names in my post above. Sorry Meg and Eveyln<BR><BR>