Our trip to Sicily was wonderful. Top three experiences - the cathedral at Monreale (short bus ride from Palermo),the Roman mosaics at Piazza Armerina - fabulous, and view of Mt. Etna from Taormina.

I think Agrigento is a good place to stop because if you reach there in the afternoon, you will want to take time to tour the monuments. If you arrive near dark, you will want to see them in the morning. They are not a drive by.

For an overnight stay in Agrigento, try Camera con Vista. It's on the web. It's a newly built B&B, which makes me think the heating will be just fine, and a great location near the monuments, lots of parking, very good restaurant nearby. The friendly owners will give you good directions to get there.

The L'Orangerie in Modica is a wonderful place and in January, I would spend at least two nights there to do day trips to Noto and/or Ragusa.

In Siracusa, visiting the ruins and the archeological museum will fill a day, but in January, you might find that walking around Ortygia is not the idyll that it is in May. So I think you can get by with one or two nights in Siracusa/Ortygia, provided that gives you at least a day and a half there.

Truth is, for January, I don't think you need any more than 1 night in Taormina. Apart from the modestly sized Greek theatre and the views, there is nothing to do in Taormina except shop in boutique tourist stores. Were it me, I'd steal a night from Taormina to give the Modica/Noto/Ragusa leg, or to glow slower on the way to Agrigento. However, you might want the two nights in Taormina just to relax and reorganize before flying out.

Buon viaggio!

segesta is the pick of the ruins, Ibla old town is wonderful they film Inspector Montalbano there

I think that with just 8 nights, your choice of Palermo for 4, Siracusa for 2 & Taormina for 2 is perfect. Finishing in Taormina will be good as it is the most relaxing - i.e. there is the least to "do", it's mainly about just strolling round enjoying the views. If you don't want to "ruin-out" your friend, Siracusa will be plenty - the archaeological park there gives you almost a full day and a good mixture of Greek theatre/Roman arena/other interesting things. You may also be able to squeeze in the catacombs which are very good.

Ignore those who say 4 days is too much in Palermo : I spent a week there & it wasn't enough - we didn't even make it to Monreale ! I've also been to Taormina three times and Siracusa twice so you can see I think they are lovely. On our last holiday in Sicily we did your 3 locations + Agrigento + Ragusa but that was over 15 days. 3 locations is plenty for 8 days. I'd also take 4 nights in Rome rather than Rome + somewhere else.

Bookmarking for May '07.
Muchas gracias.
M (SMdA, Gto., MX)

Great help everyone. Do you think it would be worth it to stay in Catania the last night before flying out to Rome? Also any good restaurants?

No. It's only 40 minutes or so in a taxi from Taormina. Or you can get a bus.

Do you mean restaurants in any of these locations ?

Restaurants anywhere in towns we're visiting-Palermo, Taormina Siracusa Ragusa Modica Noto Agrigento

It sounds like you already have a tentative itinerary set, but here are my thoughts on Sicily, based on an early March trip in 2002:

Probably the most authentic place we went was a little town called Scopello. It is about an hour west of Palermo, just over from Castellamare del Golfo. It is a VERY small town (one small square, and only a few hotels), but it is right next to the big nature preserve on the coast there (called Zingara, I think?), and offers stunning views down the cliffs to the coast. There is also a mostly abandoned tonnara (tuna cannery) which is stunning-- we had it completely to ourselves. Funnily enough, I saw a picture of the view from the tonnara on the cover of the most recent Cadogan Sicily guide in the bookstore the other day. People there were also very friendly, and invited us to participate in the Festa di San Giuseppe in the town square, in which we jumped over a small bonfire (tradition), and ate sausage and local artichokes cooked directly on coals spread out over the square ...

Other than that, we loved the ruins at both Segesta and Selinunte. We had Selinunte and its wildflowers completely to ourselves as well, which made it all the more amazing. Erice was nice, but was completely fogged in when we were there. We skipped Agrigento, but didn't feel like we missed out on anything given our experience at Selinunte. Also, the area around Etna is interesting-- after getting sunburned in the warmth at Selinunte, to experience heavy snow at Etna's foothills a day later was an experience!

Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

I was just in Sicilia mid-September and frankly, found the best ruins to be in Agrigento. They are on the UNESCO World Heritage site and IMO, should not be missed. Maybe you could take off one of your Palermo days to take the 2 hour bus/train ride down south to Agrigento?
Or alternatively, maybe just spend 1 night in Taormina instead of 2 nights.

Siracusa has a park area of some ruins, but overall (IMO), not as well-preserved as the 5+ temples in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. That is not to say that I did not like Siracusa. On the other hand, I loved the charm and ambiance of Siracusa (esp. Ortigia) more so than any other city in Sicilia. I would return to Siracusa in a heartbeat.

Overall, Sicilia was an experience. The people are friendly, the traffic in Palermo frenetic, and the food is fabulous (with all the Arabic influences on their cuisine). Try the arancini balls (rice/meat mixture in a breaded, fried ball) and also their custard and cream-filled pastry desserts. Note that they adhere to the afternoon closures of ristorantes and shops, much more so than on the Italian mainland, so plan your trips around seeing things in the morning or later afternoon! Also, we experienced random changes of train departure times (usually later) or local busses (to Piazza Armerina, for example) that didn't come when the printed schedule and bus signage indicated they would. Keep a sense of humor and you will enjoy yourselves in Sicilia. Buon viaggio!

So you're now visiting 7 towns in 8 days ??? Completely mad IMO, but on your own head be it.

Taormina. 1) It's a couple of years since I was there but the best restaurant by a mile was Maffei. Especially if you let the maitre order you a selection of seafood antipasti. Quite expensive but worth it. 2) Il Duomo is quite nice & a great location. 3) La Grotta Azzurra is not fancy but good for fish. 4) Mamma Rosa for pizza at lunchtime.

Palermo : 1) Shangai (sic, not a Chinese restaurant) overlooking the Vucciria market is very atmospheric, cheap & does good fish & pasta. 2) We had the most amazing no-menu seafood banquet (13 antipasti, 3 primi, 2 secondi, wine, water, €13 pp !!) in a seafront place a few miles outside the city - I can't remember the name or town but it was in the Michelin red guide.

Agrigento. We stayed last time at the Baglio della Luna, a couple of miles outside town, and the dinners were very good.

Can't recommend anywhere especially good in any of the other places.

So far we're only staying in Palermo, Siracusa and Taormina. I'm thinking of staying in Modica just to get a small town feel, but think that we need a spot to stop for dinner and an overnight around Agrigento or Selinuite since it's too far of a ride from Palermo to the southeast. We're in Sicily starting the evening of 1/13 leaving on 1/25 AM so it's actually 12 nights. So it goes like this. Palermo 4 nights, Agrigento 1 or 2 nights, Modica 2 nights(see Noto and Ragusa while in Modica , Siracusa 2 nights Taormina 2 nights. That leaves 1 night to add to Siracusaor ?

bookmarking