"To get from Taormina to Naxos, you catch the train at the Taormina-Giardini Naxos station and change in Messina, it takes about an hour and a half".

Mimar - you might have mixed up the names of towns - Probably you intended to write Milazzo instead of Naxos?

EuropeSept2012 - I am looking again at your revied itinerary. Four nights out of your short trip is for Salina in the islands (would you consider staying for 3 nights instead since there is so much to see in Sicily?). Modica is in the very south of Sicily, I do not think it is feasible to do all that driving just to stay one night - I would skip it for sure. Agrigento is on the west and definitely a long drive from the north east coast, but if you are interested in visiting it, then of course do so. If you still want to fit in Modica you can do a day trip from Agrigento, since you have three nights there.

The relais you found close to Etna is very close to Taormina - so you might consider choosing accomodation between the two so that you would not waste much time to get to and settle in accomodation.

IF it were me, (as after all this is your holiday, and you would know your preferences the best), I would organize the holiday as follows:

3 nights in Taormina or in the relais you liked - depends whether you want to spend the evenings in Taormina (given you stay in Taormina during that time you might spend a day on the Etna, a day in surrounding countryside maybe booking a cooking class, and maybe fit in the gardens and arena). Alternatively, if you do not mind travelling to multiple destination, do 2 nights at the relais and 1 night in Taormina.

3 nights Salina (before starting off to Agrigento, if you have to change stations in Messina,as Mimar said, I would go for a short visit to the small city of Messina.

3 nights Agrigento

2 nights in Palermo, or in a coastal town very close, where you would have some time to visit Palermo, and also a full day to visit some coastal towns on the north/north west like Monreale, Lerici, etc.and the surrounding beautiful scenary.

Will you be hiring a car and driving around? And will you be taking the car and driving in Salina? If not, you might consider travelling from Catania first to Salina, and hiring a car after the 3 or 4 nights there, and then do your stop in Taormina/Etna area, then you drive to Agrigento, and lastly to final destination close to Palermo, depositing car at airport before flying back home.

Agrigento to Modica is at least a three hour drive, one way. Doesn't seem like a daytrip to me.

Thank you for your suggestions! We may consider just 3 nights in Salina, but I really want to see Modica so we are not going to skip it. I guess it's kind of a lot of driving--though really it seems like only 3 1/4 hours from Milazzo to Modica which to me is nothing. We are fine doing just one night there. We did think of doing Salina first, but since we won't be arriving in CTA until the afternoon it didn't seem feasible really. But perhaps we will spend an extra night in Taormina and just do 3 nights in Salina. Thanks for your thoughts.

Right, I meant to write "To get from Taormina to Milazzo." Aaaargh!

And thanks for the train/bus tips as well! We don't want to take the car to Salina so would prefer to pick it up after we get back from the islands.

You will be happy you decided to stay in Taormina. If possible get up early and be the first ones to get your entrance to the Greek Theatre before the tours start. Seeing Etna through the ruins is magical.

Modica recommendation (we stayed here 2 nights last September):
http://www.casatalia.it/english/stanze.htm

Bellissima, simpatica, meravigliosa!

If you do not mind checking-in at various hotels, and doing lots of driving in a short time then go for it - otherwise you might regret not having managed to visit places you longed to see.

But also bear in mind that driving in Sicily is not the same as driving in other countries in Europe,it is more strenuous, and you have to be extra careful and keep your eyes on the road all the time, as they all like to make their own regulations and have the first come first served attitude, even on their highways. You do get used to it of course, who drove there would know what I mean that it is not an enjoyable experience.

Yes, I know Modica is also far away from Agrigento much further south, but whether you stay there for the night or not the itinerary and the position of the towns mentioned are quite far away from each other. Your itinerary confused me when checking geographical positions of towns etc you want to visit. Just bear in mind that whilst Catania/ Agriturismo close to Etna/Taormina on your way to Salina are all to the east and roughly same route, other destinations are south and west and again you would have to drive northwards to Palermo to catch your flight back home. So you are going to go northwards from Catania, then to the very south to Modica, then drive westwards, then north again. It is a pity that you already booked tickets - I would have landed in Palermo.

So driving all that way, then doing just one night does not really give you time to see anything (I have done it myself several times just to experience the atmosphere of a particular town or area and have always regretted it afterwards, as we always ended up arriving in the evening and hardly any time to see anything or relax a bit. Then we do some sightseeing the next day and end up arriving again late at next destination. Why don't you lessen your one night stays by making 2 nights in Agrigento and 2 nights in Modica, since you really seem to want to stay there as well? LucieV describes the town with many nice adjectives, so that town might warrant a 2 night stay just as Agrigento does. If you have time on your hands during these 2 nights at Modica you might be interested in visiting Ragusa or Noto or even Syracuse during that stop.

Regarding Taormina and the agriturismo close to Etna (from map it seems close to the coastal resort of Giarre - I have been there to a disco long time ago in the late eightees lol - they are only a very short drive or bus ride from each other (roughly destination near Etna is roughly half way between Catania and Taormina), so in that case I would consider a 2 night stay at the Agriturismo and a 1 night stay in Taormina. Alternatively, choose one place and stay 3 nights and try and fit in the Mount Etna visit, Taormina, and the cooking class. Sundriedpachino is so right about Taormina in that you won't regret staying there - even the Sicilians themselves love this town.

I have never been to Modica, but I have tasted their chocolate a few times - must say I was not impressed - the chocolate is too coarse since the sugar granules are not melted so you feel them on your mouth. But it is all a matter of taste of course. I love the Sicilian jams, especially the marmalades and lemon jam, yummy the best, and also their caponata sauce and so many other delicious sauces, you must try them out, and their really really good pastries especially the almond ones and the rikotta cannoli.. Last but not least, their seafood platters,fried or the zuppa di pesce, boiled with lots of herbs etc like in a broth are so divine!! So try and taste them all, lol!!!

So maybe you can divide your itinerary as follows:

Arrive in Catania

2 nights agriturismo near Etna

1 night Taormina

3 night Islands (Salenta)

2 nights Modica

2 nights Agrigento

1 night Palermo area (really wish you had 2 - but at least you might view lovely scenary on the way - north Sicily is lovely)

Glad to be of assistance if you need any help!!



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Thanks for all the advice. We are a little sad to be missing North Sicily, but we will have to save that for another trip. I do hear you about the driving but we've driven in South America (including inside Montevideo which was a crazy experience) so we feel pretty confident we can handle it. I do appreciate your thoughts, and I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Enjoy your trip EuropSept2012. I am absolutely sure you can handle it, especially since you are an experienced driver in places where it is not so easy to drive, you will get used to their way of driving after a couple of days for sure - and it is relatively very easy outside city centres, like everywhere else.

But if I were you I would still buy excess insurance at car hire office on pick up of car to be on the safe side so that you would be fully covered, as in this case it is not only how you drive, but how the locals drive. Once we had found the side mirror broken, I remember, whilst our car was parked.

Be careful of pickpockets especially in city centres of Catania etc - my mother and several of my friends were robbed (this was many years ago - I used to visit Sicily at least 3 times a year during that time mostly for the shopping, I live in Malta which is only 60 miles away from Sicily, and a one hour and a half away by ferry crossing to Pozzallo, or a 20 minute flight to Catania, but nowadays, I prefer to visit further to the north of Italy or visit other countries, but my husband did mention he would like to visit Sicily again lately, so I will be happy to visit Sicily again soon for sure.

I would not know whether situation regarding theft is better now, as last time I have been to Sicily was in the mid ninetees with my husband and son, baby at the time, in a resort hotel close to Palermo). Anyway, a motorcyclist drove right near the pavement where my mum was walking, took her handbang and drove away with it. She went and reported the it to the police, who gave her little information but just said that they had a handbag which was found on a pavement and handed over to them, but of course the purse with money was gone.

So as much as possible, don't carry valuables, passports etc on you, and if you do have to, see that they are secure in a pocket belt etc. I used to find it best just to put some money in my jean pockets and that's it. We really used to go to Catania or Syracuse to do some shopping, eppecially for the Italian shoes and clothes, and of course to Taormina to chill out. But we did sometimes include some sightseeing in other towns and cities during the vacation. When I got married it was a matter of driving through Sicily to cross over to mainland Italy and then drive overland northwards.

I only once had something mugged, an itemm of clothes I had bought had been snatched without even me noticing as I was holding several plastic carrier bags. But as I said, hopefully the situation is much better now.

I would love to hear about your trip, and how you decided to divide your vacation days, one advice - go to the places where you really want to visit, and do not lose heart, otherwise you will regret it when you go back home!!!

Anna_Galea, you're killing me with the reminders of the food!

My visit was in spring, and there was such an abundance of lemons, blood oranges, yellow figs - trees in the fields and along laneways practically falling over with the weight of the fruit. My sister pointed out to me that Fanta orange soda is popular there - because on the island it's made like Orangina with the fruit pulp at the bottom-! Pistachios are local, too: look for pesto and jars of other sauces made with them that you can bring home for a continued taste of Sicily. We had a <i>crema di pistacchio</i> that was sooo good over wide pasta like fettuccine with a little grilled chicken...

We would stop at the markets attached to gas stations or little groceries in the center of small towns. They always had wonderful fresh sandwiches and fried snacks, especially <i>arancini</i> rice balls which happily have started to become popular here in NYC. (Well, my taste buds are happy even if my waistline suffers LOL.) I don't know if it was only because we were there in springtime, but arugula (rocket) was everywhere, especially good in bresaola salad that was popular there. At dinner, I could never get enough of the seafood, especially shellfish...

Condorelli is a brand of local Sicilian chocolate. I don't know if it's the stuff from Modica that Anna_Galea mentioned, but we enjoyed it! Especially the truffle-style ones filled with lemon, orange or pistachio, and also the chocolate-covered almond/pistachio nougat.

Okay, now I'm full just writing all this.

Sicilians drive *fast*, but IME follow road rules: stay in the middle or right travel lane, and move to the left only to pass before moving back to the right. Towns are almost always on hilltops, and between the ancient, narrow, twisting streets, pedestrian-only zones, parking challenges and the joys of manual shift, it can get a bit hairy. GPS helps a lot - make sure you have up-to-date maps, though! My sister said the roads are continually being improved, including changes to the routes themselves.

As for petty crime, we carried out the "usual" precautions - which for me means being aware, partner's wallet in front pocket, but not so far as a money belt or anything - and were careful not to leave anything visible in the vacant car (or to move something from car to trunk while parked at our destination). No problems. When my sister picked us up at Catania airport and then headed out of town in her car with all the windows rolled down, she did tell me to take my purse off my lap and place it under my feet in the passenger seat. Once we were out of Catania, she said it didn't matter as much.

Yes, definitely agree with your sister that Catania is the worst for pickpockets, (maybe that is why I am too aware of it since we used to visit mostly Catania for the shopping) but I used to be extra careful in Syracuse as well. But, as I said, I haven't been to Sicily for many years now - I guess I just had too much of it and saw it all in my younger days and it didn't seem like a vacation to me any more, as nowadays I prefer to visit other regions in Italy, so many of themm but I think it will soon be time for another short vacation there - you Fodorites are making me want to go again.

So hopefully pickpocketing has lessened considerably in Sicily.

I do not think that the Condorello chocolate is the same as the Modica chocolate. The ones I tasted was a plain chocolate which had whole suger granules that you could feel in your mouth, apparently this chocolate is hand made and its recipe originates from Spain, if I remember well. They purposely do not allow the sugar granules to melt whilst preparing it.

Yes, Sicilian food is so good and abundant, especially the seafood and shellfish, they have their own special way of cooking it. And of course their sauces, with pasta or meat. I also have been to several markets in Sicily, they have them everywhere - the fish markets, food markets with their abundant fruit and veg, and of course the ones that sell clothes, shoes, etc like the huge one in Catania, and in Syracuse.

I will try the Fanta orange for sure when I go again, I didn't know about that. Yes, the fruit is exquisite, especially the citrus fruits and the figs and nuts. And the rocket, but I really do not miss that much as we also get them in our country, since it is so geographically close.

And I just love their pastry shops, where they often also sell, as you said the arancini, and other yummy yummy snacks. But mostly I love their almond/pistaccio/fig etc sweet pastries, and when I crave for them I buy them online from cookiesfromitaly.com. They are homemade and are despatched from Sicily. They sell them online worldwide I think, and are so very very delicous. The really wrap them up beautifully as well, I ordered 3 times from them and was always satisfied. They also sell homegrown origano, and give so many good recipes on their website. Fodorites might be interested in having a look at this site.

I am sure that the roads are improving all the time, like they are in my country and in so many others - especially because of EU regulations and subsidies. And hopefully their driving got better too, lol. But all in all, the Sicilians are really really friendly people, I find their easy going character so unique from the rest of the Italy.

So EuroSept2012, enjoy every minute of this island, and try and visit as many areas that you might manage to fit in!!!
Have a lovely trip!!!

Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina is a UNESCO World Heritage site.. a mostly intact Roman villa with many impressive mosaics. Well worth a detour.

Giardini Naxos has many hotels, restaurants and the beach, near Taormina. Its a good alternative if you dont find accommodations in Taormina that suit your tastes and budget. There is also a local bus to Taormina if parking outside of the pedestrian zone is an issue.

anna - thanks for the link to the cookiesfromitaly.com. site. I am unlikely to order and of the biscuits, but the recipes look good so i have subscribed to the newsletter and am looking forward to receiving my first copy!

EuropeSept2012- Sicily offers an embarrassment of riches – but Taormina is a jewel.

Bottom line – there is a reason WHY it has been so popular with visitors for centuries- fabulous natural beauty with remarkable architecture. Mt. Etna, though distant, dominates the landscape.

Granted I spent a week there in late February about ten years ago so there were not many tourists. Many complain about the number of souvenir shops, but that doesn’t bother me because I am not a shopper and just pass them by.

You have some great advice here from every perspective – enjoy Sicily….

EuropeSept2012 -- I'm coming late to this string but I see that you haven't received many (if any) answers to your questions about the Aeolian Islands. They're possibly my favorite place in the world (been there 3 times in the past few years), and I recommend that you stay as many days as you can spare.

Here's a link to the blog I wrote while on my around-the-world trip last fall. The September 2011 entries are from the Aeolies (Panarea, Salina, Lipari), where we spent 3 weeks. Pictures included (if you're interested you can also take a look at my photo book from the trip, which I recently added to the blog). http://aprilaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/

To get to the Aeolians from Taormina or Catania you can take the train to Messina and then transfer to another train to Milazzo. Milazzo station is a few miles from the port, so you'll have to take a (cheap) local bus to the port. (Try not to get impatient and do what we did on our first trip--we took a taxi and were seriously overcharged, 25 euros.)

The advantage of taking the bus from Taormina (also requires a change in Messina to another bus) is that the latter bus drops you right at the port, making it unnecessary to take the local bus from the station. Either way is fine, however--they just take time.

During the season (July-early September) there is also a direct bus from Catania airport to Milazzo. We've never had the opportunity to take that, so I can't comment on how efficient it is.

From Milazzo you can catch the hydrofoil or ferry to the islands on either the Siremar and Ustica lines. Last year we took a hydrofoil from Palermo to Panarea (about 3 hours), but I think they stop running on September 15. You can also take a boat from Messina to the islands, but they run less frequently than the Milazzo boats and the schedule may be way briefer after Sept. 15.

Be aware that boats CAN be canceled if the weather is bad. A couple of years ago we were stuck in Milazzo for 2 days while we waited for the sea to stop roiling and the boats to run again. That was in May, though--on our September trip we encountered no bad weather and everything ran smoothly (though on island time--expect delays). You'll likely have to stop in Lipari first and may have to change boats, depending on which island we choose.

I adore both Salina and Panarea and would find it hard to choose between them. They really are different -- Panarea is classy, with small lanes and no cars (golf carts and walking are the means of transportation). The villas are gorgeous, whitewashed, flower-covered. Views of Stromboli and the little islands off Panarea are spectacular. There's an amazing rounded-stone beach at one end of the island, as well as a decent sandy beach (not great, but it's a place to sun and swim). You can hike from one end to the other and even do a round-trip if you're fit (my husband did it early one morning while I slept in). Several good restaurants, which should still be operating in September. Can't recommend a hotel because we've always rented places there.

Salina is different but just as nice in its own way. Much bigger, with 3 distinct towns and several smaller villages, including the stunning Pollara, where we stayed last September. There's a small inn there, but I didn't see inside (again, we rented). Malfa is a nice town with good hotels, as in Santa Marina, which might be the best location if you want to be in a town. Again, it doesn't lack for good restaurants. To get around you can rely on the local bus, which covers the whole island and is very convenient, or rent a car or motorbike.

From both Salina and Panarea you can arrange daytrips to other islands, which I recommend (most of the trips involve opportunities for swimming off the boat in beautiful coves--awesome).

Have a great trip!

Aprillilacs, thank you for the post. I did refer the OP to your trip report in her first thread!

And thanks for the link to your blog. I am going to bookmark that.

Annhig - you are welcome - they do post really good Sicilian recipes on their site.

apprillilacs - you describe the islands beautifully, they must be so different to mainland Sicily. It might just be a problem if weather gets rough and one has a plane to catch - that is always what puts me off visiting a small island off mainland. But is sure seems to be worth the risk for total relaxation..

Wow, thanks apprillilacs. That's very helpful! I think we might split our time between Panarea and Salina, or may base ourselves in Salina and do a day trip to Panarea. I am very excited for this part of the trip as the Aeolians juts seem incredible!

Hi all--just wanted to let you know we are back from an amazing trip to Sicily! Thank you for all your help. I am not sure I have time to write a trip report, but briefly--it was all fabulous. 1 night in Taormina was perfect--it's beautiful, but too touristy for us. 4 nights in the Aeolians (Panarea and Salina) were wonderful--I could have spent even longer. So beautiful and remote--we loved just relaxing by the pool, hiking and going to the beach. The islands are like another world.

We loved Modica and are so happy we made it there--didn't mind the distance at all from Milazzo. We just wandered the city for our full day there and enjoyed our b&b's terrace at night.

Our time at Mandranova near Agrigento was also great. The temples are fascinating, and the Azienda is charming with wonderful food. We spent our last day in Scopello, an incredibly cute little town with a great cove for swimming, and our last night in Castellammare del Golfo, which was super convenient to the airport. All in all, the trip was one of our best! Thanks to all of you for your advice. Any questions, let me know. I will try to check back here.