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-   -   sicily one week (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/sicily-one-week-773703/)

mooky Mar 18th, 2009 04:10 AM

sicily one week
 
Hi ,
We are considering one week trip in sicily after doing a 7 day walking trip on corsica. Is 7 days enough on sicily. We like smaller towns and are OK about driving. We are in our 50,s and enjoy some walking , eating and drinking coffee. What are the must see places and things to do.
thanks for any input

thursdaysd Mar 18th, 2009 05:33 AM

The more time you can spend on Sicily the better, as there is a great deal to see. If you put "Sicily" in the search box at top right you'll pull up two current threads discussing how to spend your time on the island, plus a number of older threads.

bobthenavigator Mar 18th, 2009 05:36 AM

We took 15 days and still did not see it all. Here is my report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

kja Mar 18th, 2009 10:24 AM

Hi, mooky -

I spent about 2 very busy weeks and did not think it was enough.

Enjoy!

panecott Mar 18th, 2009 12:08 PM

I've been there 4 times, for a total of about 2 months, and still haven't seen it all.
But a week is a start. :-)

abbydog Mar 20th, 2009 03:30 AM

Alas, some of us don't have two weeks to spend. I'll be in Sicily for nine days, and as I started to plan the trip I almost despaired because of course I wanted to see it all. I found it helpful to break it up into "chunks" and then make the tough decisions about what to leave out. In my view (untested because I haven't been there yet), those chunks, roughly, are: Palermo (gritty but full of interest), west coast (lovely villages), northern coast (beautiful drive and Cefalu), northeast (Taormina - gorgeous but touristy), Piazza Armerina (a little out of the way but fantastic mosaics), southeast (Siracusa and wonderful small towns), Mt. Etna (amazing volcano but it takes a day), and southwest (Agrigento valley of the temples). Plus the islands, which right of the bat I decided were out of the question for a one-week visit.

I decided to skip the west, the volcano, and the little southwest towns. My husband and I are flying into Palermo to stay for three nights, then picking up a car to visit Monreale and toodle across the north coast (stopping in Cefalu) to reach Taormina for a night (after the tourists have gone home?) We'll be there for a second day/night and then spend two nights in Siracusa. From there we'll have a day trip to see Piazza Armerina, then drive down to Agrigento to see the temples and spend a night. The next day we'll drive up north, stopping to see the temple in Segento (spelling?) before reaching a somewhat trashy little beach motel within striking distance of the Palermo airport, where we need to drop off the car and fly out the next day.

Phew! Arduous, I know, but this plan met all my priorities for hitting great sights and wonderful views, eating and drinking all the way.

Good luck!

abbydog Mar 20th, 2009 03:43 AM

Oops. I tried to preview my reply and posted it instead. At the end of my tome, I meant to say I'm skipping the southEAST towns, not the southwest (although in fact I'm not going past Agrigento). Good luck!

kja Mar 20th, 2009 08:47 AM

Hi, abbydog -

Sounds like you'll see some of Sicily's best in this whirlwind trip!

> two nights in Siracusa. From there we'll have a day trip to see Piazza Armerina, then drive down to Agrigento

It might make more sense to stop in Piazza Armerina on the way to Agrigento.

> temple in Segento (spelling?)

Segesta

Enjoy!

abbydog Mar 21st, 2009 03:39 AM

Thanks! That's what I meant -- I think it will be tough to see the villa near Piazza Armerina in the morning and the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento in the afternoon, but it was the only solution I could come up with. I'm hoping if I need more temple time we can revisit in the morning...

mirunaadler Mar 27th, 2009 02:01 AM

& day are not much but depends on what you want to see. In order to be able to see as much as possibile but to also enjoy your stay you should consider a strategic place from where you'll be able to reach in no time different destinations. A good start point could be on-sicily.com where you find lots of info about the west side of Sicily and what you could do and see there.
Otherwise you could book a coulpe of b&b on the east coast and see Noto, Siracusa, Modica, Catania and the beaches close to them. A great place to see close to Noto is Cava Grande di Cassibile.


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