RAR

I have 11 days, arriving in Palermo from Bologna (no jet lag to worry about). Me and my friends will be camping, and using public transportation. Here's what I'm looking at now:<BR><BR>Palermo (4 nights)<BR>-daytrips to Cefalu' and Agrigento<BR><BR>training to...<BR><BR>Trapani (2 nights)<BR>-see Erice and Segesta<BR><BR>train to Palermo, hydrofoil to...<BR><BR>Lipari (2 nights)<BR><BR>hydrofoil to Milazzo, bus to...<BR><BR>Taormina (3 nights)<BR>-daytrip to Siricusa<BR><BR>..night train back to Bologna.<BR><BR>I might extend my trip an extra night and stay there in Siricusa. Is a daytrip there enough? I imagine being able to explore the ruins during the day, and the town's island during the evening. Not sure how late the buses run back to Taormina, however.<BR><BR>Is Trapani a decent enough place to spend a couple nights? I know I can daytrip Erice and Segesta from Palermo, but spending 6 nights in Palermo seemed like overkill. Perhaps there is a nicer spot in the Trapani area to stay? Again, we'll be camping and using public transportation.<BR>

GAC

1. From Palermo to and from Trapani, take the SEGESTA bus, which operates every 30-60 minutes, rather than the infrequent and slow train. You can board the bus either at the central train station, or in Piazza Castelnuovo/Politeama.<BR><BR>2. You can see Segesta as a daytrip by bus from either Trapani or Palermo. I've posted info on the bus (TARANTOLA) out of Palermo. There is more bus service out of Trapani (Monday through Saturday).<BR><BR>3. If you spend two nights in Trapani and have time to spare, consider doing a day trip to Selinunte (train to Castelvetrano, then bus to Marinella di Selinunte, Monday thru Saturday only). In some respects, I think that Selinunte is more worthwhile than Erice, although Erice does have very nice views over the Egadi Islands and Trapani itself.<BR><BR>4. Trapani is not the best town for overnights. It is dusty and has a forlorn air to it, and there is a lot of port traffic to and from the Egadi Islands, Pantelleria and Tunisia, giving it the typical &quot;Port Town&quot; look and feel. But it's easier for day trips to Erice and Selinunte than is Palermo. I would also recommend seeing the &quot;Misteri&quot; wood statues in the Chiesa del Purgatorio in the old town.<BR><BR>5. The buses from Siracusa back to Taormina (and requiring a connection in Catania) don't leave past around 7:00 p.m. (although there are through night trains). Siracusa is significant enough to warrant an overnight, especially if you plan to visit the Archeological Museum and the Palazzo Bellomo. Plus, Ortygia Island can be fun at night.<BR><BR>6. You could really skip the Cathedral of Cefalu if you see the one in Monreale, plus the Cappella Palatina in the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo.<BR><BR>7. From Lipari to Taormina, you could hydrofoil direct to Messina to avoid having to change buses there. However, there are many more hydrofoils to Milazzo.

RAR

GAC do you think we could spend 6 nights in Palermo and not get tired of it at night? Or are you aware of any towns between Trapani and Palermo that are both nice and on public transportation routes? I want to do 3-4 day trips (Agrigento, Segesta, and Erice are my high priorities, but Celafu' did look quite beautiful in the picture I saw). <BR><BR>A &quot;dusty port town&quot; doesn't sound like something the gals I'm going with would be into, nor I hehe .. so Trapani would have to be out.<BR><BR>Also, good idea just taking the boat straight to Messina, thanks. Siricusa I think I will end up staying an extra night for, since everyone seems to enjoy it. Knowing now that it has some night life helps considerably.

GAC

I spent ten nights in Palermo and ran out of time, with all the day trips I was doing using public transportation. I'm not aware of any points in-between Palermo and Trapani that are both attractive and convenient to public transport. Even Castellamare del Golfo is probably not worth an overnight. Scopello is beautiful, but out-of-the way. One town which I liked (but which is east of Palermo) is Santa Flavia/Porticello, near the Roman ruins of Solunto. It is connected to Palermo by frequent trains and buses. I don't think the gals will be much enamored of Trapani (unless they want to witness true Sicilian life in a typical, poor small city). Palermo has much better night life, particularly at Mondello Beach during the summer. There are also the evening puppet shows downtown.

RAR

Alright thanks for the great tips! I'll be there for Easter break, so I figure the town should be lively enough with all the students off like me

GAC

During Easter week, there is a procession of the Misteri down the narrow old streets of Trapani, near the Port. It would be well worth being in town during the procession (the local tourist board in Trapani could give you exact dates and times).

AP6380

GAC- Just out of curiosity since you are the main one out of about 3-4 people who ever answer questions on Sicily- how many times have you been there and for how long each time? Do you speak Italian?

Deloris

Kids, the Sicilians do not speak classic Italian. They have a dialect all their own heavily peppered with Arabic. Very curious, but then they are very friendly and will work with you to understand. I loved Sicily and you will get more Greek and Roman history per square mile there than you will in either Greece or other parts of Italy. <BR>Trust me, try it and it and it's a small enough island to see well in under a week.

cmt

Deloris: Except for very old unschooled people, Sicilians DO speak standard Italian. Teaching of standard Italian is mandatory throughout Italy. Sicilians also know Sicilian, and many (perhaps most) Sicilians, including highly educated people who speak perfect refined Italian, choose to keep Sicilian alive by speaking it among family and friends and other Sicilian acquaintances. However, Sicilians speak standard Italian and that is what they will speak to non-Sicilians like tourists who know some Italian. Sicilian is a Romance dialect (or language according to some scholars). It is not a variant of Italian. Instead, it developed form of vulgate Latin that existed in Sicily, just as modern Italian evolved from the form of vulgate Latin that was spoken in Florence at the time when Dante was writing. While the basic vocabulary is Latin-based, the Sicilian dialect does include many words of Greek and Arabic origin, and local variations of Sicilian reflect the linguistic background of the people who lived in the area, and in the western part of the island, Arabic influence was particularly strong. However, in general, the dialect is not dominated by words of Arabic origin. Many Sicilian words or Latin origin happen to be closer to the words in French and Spanish than to the Italian words. All four of these languages evolved approximately concurrently from various regional forms of the Latin vulgate, and in addition, modern French and Spanish languages had an influence on Sicilian dialect in more recent centuries.

RAR

Grandma, last I checked Sicily is part of Italy, and everyone in Italy uses (guess what language) Italian in schools. And you can see the island in under a week? Riiiiight. Please come back and post more garbage, because helpful posters like gac and cmt just make you look like a fool.

cmt

RAR: Last year I was thinking of going to Sicily during the week before Easter, because I'm intersted in folk culture and really wanted to see some of the traditional Holy Week processions and other rituals that combine both Christian religious and ancient pagan elements. I gave up on the idea, because I didn't want to rent a car alone, it would have been difficult to do this by public transportation, and I was leery of hiring a local private driver for many reasons (especially cost). But I did do a little superficial research re where some of the most interesting pre-Easter traditions might be, and in addition to Trapani, I found that Enna and Piana degli Albanesi would have something to see on either the Thursday or the Friday before Easter. There's a book that you might want to read if you especially want to see the Easter week (i.e. before Easter) activities. It's not exactly a &quot;good&quot; book, and in fact the author's personality comes through as really irritating, but she is interested in things that I find interesting and she traveled by herself in Sicily to see traditional celebrations and rituals that carry on ancient traditions. The name of the book is No Pictures in My Grave; author is Susan Caperna Lloyd. <BR><BR>If you're set on staying in/near Trapani, you might want to consider a visit to Mozia, a small island that was center of Phoenician culture. I was there for the first time in November and found it very surprising and enlightening. You can also go to see the salt flats in Trapani (not saying you should make a special trip just to see this, but if you're in Trapani anyway, you should see this). I'm not sure whether this has already been mentioned, but you should defintely try to see Selinunte, which is not far from Trapani (but even if you are not staying nearby, it is worth a special trip). (Re where to stay in the Trapani/Erice area: not sure, but maybe there's camping in Va d'Erice, a beach area just below Erice?) <BR><BR>P.S. I love Sicily. Have been there 4 times, but over a 40-year period, so some of my knowledge of places I haven't seen for 31 years is very old and some is current, based on a trip just a few months ago. When it comes to solid, detailed, current travel info, I think you should go by GAC's advice if any of it conflicts with my suggestions.

RAR

Excellent. I'll be on the eastern side of the isle during the end of the week, so Enna might work. Thanks

cmt

I'm only mentioning Enna because I heard it has an intersting ritual on the Thursday or Friday before Easter. I'm not exactly recommending that you go there. I have NOT heard that it is a particualrly good place to visit. I've never been there. I saw it in the distance, and thought it looked interesting way up high on a plateau surrounded by a stark dry almost bare landscape. It may be very poor city not too accustomed to visitors. However, the Easter week acitivites there do sound interesting.

RAR

I have read good things about the place. I would like to see an interior town.. Alia was my first choice.

angeleno

Four days in Palermo is about what I spent there, and I would have loved another few days just to cover the whole of the city.<BR> <BR>It's about a two-hour train ride to Agrigento - so that's a long day trip. The Valley of the Temples is especially gorgeous at dusk. There are cheap B&amp;Bs in Agrigento, and with a group of people you could certainly negotiate a good rate. There is also a campground on the beach. <BR> <BR> <BR>Don't miss a daytrip to Monreale from Palermo- the cathedral there is absolutely gorgeous.<BR>

cmt

What did you decide, RAR?

RAR

Still pondering, my trip isnt for another couple weeks