Solo trip to Sicily in December
 

I plan to spend 9 nights in Sicily, arriving on Saturday December 13 and departing on Monday, December 22. I'd like some guidance on an itinerary. I'm thinking Palermo and Syracuse but would like insights and also any additional overnight stops or daytrips. I haven't purchased my airfare so I can fly open jaw if necessary (into Palermo and returning from Catania for example).

A little about myself: I've visited Sicily once before (in 2000) but very briefly for just 3 nights. It was a tour and we just visited Palermo as a daytrip along with Monreale. Then we spent 1 night in Agrigento and 2 nights in Taormina visiting Mt Etna as another day trip. This was way too fast paced for my style these days (after I discovered the joys of independent travel). I prefer to not be too rushed in my travels and get to know each city I visit having time to just randomly stroll and explore without worrying about having so much I need to see in a short time. I travel twice a year to Spain spending 5 weeks in total and travel about half the time solo. My Sicily trip will be a solo trip and I'll be relying on public transportation. I love good food and wine. A visit to an Italian winery would be wonderful (but I don't know how difficult given public transportation). I also love history and culture - I'm hoping there may be some local festivities as this will be the week before Christmas. When I travel to Spain I particularly enjoy local festivals where you can get a glimpse into the culture you normally can't see in guidebooks. I'm generally not a fan of huge cities unless they have a nice compact city center. I can spend a couple of days in a small city where many people just visit as a daytrip. I like warm weather so a trip to the colder regions may not be as appealing to me. I know it's December so the islands and coastal resorts may also not be very happening.

I'd appreciate any help. When it comes to Spain I am well informed but I'm at a bit of a loss on where to start for Sicily. Thank you in advance for your responses.

You could easily spend your time in Palermo and Syracuse. Consider Cefalu (an easy day trip by train from Palermo), Segesta, Erice, Villa Roma del Casale as other places to see, the last provided you can get there by public transportation If not, you may be able to get a tour of Segesta from Palermo-the setting of Segesta is nearly perfect.

other Greek temples: Agrigento, Taormina, Selinunte
baroque towns: Noto, Modica, Ragusa
I suppose you know that there may be heavy rainfall in December.
Most interesting places can be reached by train and/or bus.

I don't know if you've seen this thread and some of the links might need updating (often the same company/bus, but newer website links are needed), but most of it still applies.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...sportation.cfm

Palermo is not really a "big city" and it has a fair amount of Christmas activty. But if you really prefer smaller towns than Sicily has a lot of options.

Sicily often has very nice dry weather in December. It is other months that get the rainfall. I wouldn't hestitate to go to Sicily in December. Last year I went to Sicily for the first week in January and it rained one night only. Otherwise it was dry and pleasantly balmy. I was once in Sicily in April for a week and it stormed and snowed! Anything can happen with the weather nowadays but December is not a bad time to go.

If you don't know how to begin to plan a trip to Sicily and you have not posted your questions on the Tripadvisor forum for Sicily then you really should. It is THE go-to forum for planning a Sicily trip that gets you exactly what you are looking for. There are some fabulous Sicily mavens there and residents who answer questions. I strongly recommend you utilize that forum.

Thank you for all of your replies. I did post also on TA and am gathering all of the responses! It's sometimes hard to define a "big" city. For example I love Sevilla and it is quite large but it has a compact central area all with different neighborhoods. So if Palermo has this feel I could easily spend half of my trip using it as a base and doing a couple of daytrips. I don't want to feel too rushed on this trip as I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be my only trip to Sicily!

You might enjoy Modica or Scicclli which is even smaller. I had a car when I was there but really didn't need it. They are both great walking towns.

I agree you should see Sicilia in Dec.
But, for the record, Dec is the 3rd most rain of any month and it actually has the most days of some precipitation.

Go and have fun ! Here are some images---albeit in May.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

I think your idea of splitting your time between Palermo and Siracusa makes sense. Palermo's historic core is not as compact as some, but it is still small enough that I never had the sense of being in a big city -- except that it has some of the advantages of a big city (e.g., a beautiful opera house).

For Siracusa, definitely stay in Ortygia, which is definitely a small walkable old (ancient!) town.

I can't imagine that you would have any difficulty finding good food or wine in Sicily!

Enjoy!