Hello,

I am planning a late May honeymoon to be spent (roughly) half in Tuscany and half in Sicily (I've heard the beaches are beautiful) and wondered if anyone had any suggestions for an itinerary. I already have received many great suggestions for the Tuscany portion but I do not have much information about Sicily and I am looking for suggestions on how to split time. My fiance Sarah and I prefer less touristy places and especially love exploring churches and castles and hiking beautiful landscapes. My budget is $4,000-5,000 but I could go higher if necessary. Would like to spend between 10-14 days, depending mostly on cost.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

You will not have any problems finding Churches and Castles, but as well as these there are many ruins including the superb Greek temples at Agrigento, Segeste and Selinunte, and the theatre at Taormina. There are also the excellent Roman mosaics near Piazza Armerina.

If you search on Sicily. You will find many helpful threads. I have pasted links to a few.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34699704

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34416277

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34620334

If interested, I have sort of blog of our 14 day October trip to Sicily in 2005 at :
www.microbes.plus.com/sicily2005.htm

Thanks for the links willit, they were very helpful.

hockeyrocks,
Here is one that has Sicily and Tuscany.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34811101

I found the Lonely Planet Sicily guide to be very helpful- this was summer of 2005 that I was there for a week in August. By May, can you check weather/hydrofoil schedules being underway again for the Aeolian Islands? They were gorgeous, romantic, and not touristy (at least with Americans). We based in Lipari (check out the inexpensive but fabulous Hotel Neri with the best included breakfasts of the whole trip)and went to Vulcano one day- hiked to the top in the sulfur and paddled in the mud. The farther out you go the more Greek Island-ish it felt and looked. By Stromboli it was whitewashed homes against the black pumice. I won't go on, oh- except to mention the almost- deserted pumice beach on Lipari. You could also rent motor scooters and explore the island for a day-oops- going on again! We also stayed in Taormina for three days as a base for Mt. Etna. By May will the snow be gone from the top? The lower part would still be hike-able? The beaches in Taormina in my opinion were not as nice as those islands- all but one patch near the nature preserve offshore were owned by the beach hotels and are private. One day of beach would be plenty. The beach is far below the town, so you have to decide whether to stay on the beach (in which case you might consider neighboring Giardina Naxos (sp?)or up in the town. A funicular you pay for connects them, so you can't really go back and forth on a whim. If possible you can check if something will be performed in the ancient theater while you are there- that was spectacular. We did not go south to Siracusa, which is supposed to be gorgeous and sounds like you both would love. Maybe stay there for a night or two? When I saw the train from Pisa/Genoa would be 10-14 hours I thought it must be a mistake, but the train gets put on a ferry across. We flew Genoa to Catania, then Catania-Rome-back to US. You might check Florence to Catania or Palermo (if you are touring the Western side). I got 100$ per "leg" inter-Europe tickets but can't remember from where- an Internet search. Catania was depressing-we stayed just overnight to get the early plane the next morning. I hope this helps, a little, for the Eastern side of the island, anyway. I would think a week, because of the day at each end that is lost to travel? Best wishes!