I stayed at Villa Athena last year at Patrick's suggestion and the view at night was incredible. I enjoyed the mosaics at Piazza Armerina regardless of their presentation. I thought Castelmola was charming, but allow 2 hours maximum for that trip. I enjoyed walking through the ruins at Naxos, my trip to Etna, and taking the cable car down to the beach. I enjoyed just walking the streets of Taormina in the evening. Thanks for the report. I thought Sicily was spectacular!

RAR,
We are honeymooning in Italy this summer. My fiance's grandfather is from Mazara del Valla. Can you give me more info, as we plan to go visit this town. Unfortunately we only have 3 days for Sicily..is there a nice under 110E hotel anywhere near Mazara?
Thanks for all your postings,
Feathers

Mazara is really small. I think there may only be one or two hotel options there. Of interest is the kasbah, the quarter of the city that used to be the north African cultural center. Now it's a district comprised of Africans and all sorts of other immigrants ... really quite interesting. Other than that there is not much, although there are many many churches, the main one being quite beautiful. The beaches in Mazara are decent too. Hope this helps :)

Savoca is a neat place to visit, up a long lovely winding road about 1/2 hour north of Taormiona. Went there with family members who are "Godfather" nuts. Several scenes were filmed there and the Bar Vitelli still operates,("tell him I mean nodisrespect. I want to meet his daughter" and the little church where the wedding took place is there as well. Had a nice lunch in town. 1/2 a day visit should do it.

Peggyann: did you see the Capuchin Catacombs in Savoca, and how do they compare with those in Palermo?

Sorry, the family did not have the energy to do the Cappuchin catachombs, (sometimes it's hard to travel with some members of the family!!), nor did we visit Palermo. But, did see the ones in Siracusa. Great.

A bump for all those planning spring trips to Sicily. Spring is the best time to be in Sicily!

Hey, RAR, I was just there in the last few weeks and it was sunny and 70! I think Sicily is great just about any time, no? :)

True but I would prefer spring since you know the countryside will be totally green and covered in wildflowers :)

Another bump for spring :)

I couldn't agree more with your report and living here I really seem to enjoy everywhere we have gone, but for those who cannot spend ages on the island that was some insight! YEY!

I could hardly disagree more. I love the Villa Romana, the Valley of the Temples & the Greek theatre at Sircacusa & have visited them all twice. The covering over the Villa Romana is there to protect it from the elements & I was too busy looking at the amazing mosaics to notice it much. I didn't feel I needed a guide. I've been in June & September & didn't find it too hot. The Valley of the Temples contains the remains of 7 temples, not 2, & once away from the road I've found I'd left most of the other visitors behind. I think all of the archaeological park at Siracusa, including the Greek theatre, is amazing. It would be mad to visit Siracusa without visiting the archaelogical park, although I agree that Ortygia is really good too. I haven't been to Trapani; but having spent a week in Palermo & still wanting to go back to see more, I find it hard to imagine Trapani has more to offer.

traveller212 : IMO the best restaurant in Taormina in Maffei's, by a long way. Il Duomo is quite good. We also had a nice seafood lunch at one of the little restaurants above the beach - something like Giuliano's I think.

There are only 2 full standing temples. The rest are all collapsed.

I too LOVED the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. I think it made all the difference in the world that we had an outstanding personal tour guide to give us a lot of the background to the temples, the museum and the "burial grounds", which we could never have known about on our own.

And to see the temples lit up at night...HEAVEN!

RAR: Two temples standing in Agrigento. That is still two more than are standing in Delphi or Corinth (none) and the same number as in Athens (Theseum and Parthenon, neither of which can be entered).

Thanks for topping this thread once more. Somehow, in all my Sicily research on this board, I haven't read it. My first trip to Sicily this May includes time around Trapani and Favignana (among other places), and your post makes me anxious to explore these areas.

Enjoyed your post. I'm going to Sicily for 17 days in April and will be spending most of my time in the hill towns in the Madonie region -- Petralia Soprana, etc. I'm just going to lay low and try to blend into a town or two. Can't wait.

You're welcome!

As far as the temples thing. I was simply comparing Agrigento to Selinunte. No one is going to argue that Agrigento is not worth visiting, or is not impressive. I'm simply saying that it's overhyped, considering just down the road is a place (Selinunte) with as much archelogical worth and wow-factor, yet it is nearly empty of visitors.

So, while I enjoyed Agrigento, I really enjoyed Selinunte (and Segesta for that matter).

Presocia: If you'll be spending much time in the Trapani area, Mozia would be very much worth visiting.

I hope someone has an answer to my question. My family (7 adults, 3 of which are Sr. citizens)will be touring Sicily..We are staying in Erice at the Villa San Giovanni, a restored convent at the top of a mountain. Has anyone stayed there or even heard positive/negative comments about it? My concern is that if we are using it as a jumping post for visits to Segesta and Trapani, will we have great difficulty navigating our van up the mountain if we return after dark?