Vacation in Sicily
 

We have five days in Sicily in June and would like to explore the eastern side of the island. Is it possible to do that well when staying in just one hotel in Taormina?
We will have been traveling for 10 days prior in Puglia and would like to spend a few days in one spot. HELP??

I know you will not like this response but I would say that you ought to spend at least one night in the Siracusa area. You COULD see the area with a base in Taormina but I do not think it would be your best option and it will involve lots of time in the car. Perhaps I should ask first: Will you have a car?

Better to split the stay between Taormina and the Siracusa vicinity. Hopefully someone here who is more familiar with Sicily (for example, Eloise or Bob Navigator) will have more detailed answers. What are your major interests/sightseeing goals?

We spent two nights in Siracusa and three in Taormina in 2005; better would have been 3/4 in Siracusa or nearby and 1 or 2 in Taormina.

Would love to hear about your plans for Puglia as well.

Thanks so much! I have changed our plans to spend three nights in each town. We will have a car. We will be in Rome for three days and then biking in Puglia for seven days prior to heading to Sicily where we would like to really relax as much as my ADD husband can!

When we went to Sicily two summers ago we didn't have a car. Taormina was our base to see Mt. Etna, which would be a great day trip since you two sound like active travelers! We missed Siracusa, sacrificing it for the Aeolian Islands. I would think by June hydrofoils should be operating all the time again? The most incredible experience was going to the island of Vulcano, where you can hike to the top and be overwhelmed by the sulfur fumes and then go roll in the radioactive mud. That should make him happy! We stayed in Lipari. It was gorgeous and relaxing and much more laid back than the mainland. The beaches in Taormina were okay...almost entirely private but a very pretty area by the nature reserve the name of which I can't remember. You take a funicular either up or down to the beach from the town, and it's not something you would want to do more than once in a day- so if you want beach you should choose a place at sea level!

Good idea to split the stay. Traffic is bad between Catania and Siracusa, so you don't want to go through that often.

From a base in Siracusa, you can do a daytrip to explore the Baroque towns of Noto, Modica and Ragusa. Highly recommended.