dgunbug

As my husband and I get ready to embark on our travels to Israel and Greece next week, we are beginning to think about the next journey in early October to Sicily. While we have made no itinerary thus far, I am beginning to read the wonderful threads on fodors and am trying to decide how long to spend in Sicily. We will have approximately one month and wondered if it would be best to devote the entire time to Sicily or take a week to see either the puglia area or to visit Malta. I understand that some say one month is not enough for Sicily, but we are not interested in beach time. We enjoy ancient ruins, history, cultural experiences, interactions with the local people, beautiful scenery and great food. We intend to rent a car to have greater flexibility.

So, my questions right now are
1. Given one month, would you devote the entire time to Sicily?
2. Would you take a week to visit either Puglia or Malta, and if so, which would you visit, given the choice?

Also, at this time of year, are hotel reservations essential or can we make them as we go?

Thank you all in advance.

kja

Hi, dgunbug --

Noting that it depends, of course, on your interests, I wish I’d given Sicily 3 weeks – and you may know that I’m not a beach person, either. I had just over 2 weeks, which was not enough to include everything I wanted in my itinerary (for example, I skipped Erice and Trapani) and it didn’t leave me enough time for everything I wanted to do in all the places I did visit. Sigh. (I learned a lot about trip planning on that trip!) And as you know, I travel HARD, so if you want a more relaxed pace, spending all 4 weeks in Sicily might not be a bad idea. You also know that my interests are quite diverse, so maybe it wouldn't take you as much time as I would have liked. Argh! It really depends on things we can't quantify for one another.

I paired that trip with a very brief visit to Puglia – just 4 nights, if I recall correctly, plus a night in Matera. Again, that was not nearly the time that would make sense for that region, and I skipped a big chunk of Puglia (I visited Trani, Alberobello, Lecce, and Pulignano a Mare). But FWIW, I’m not particularly dissatisfied with my time in Puglia – I loved what I saw, but wasn’t enamored of the region. BUT, of course, I can't speak to what I didn’t see….

If it matters, I visited Sicily and Puglia in May, and I had a car for only 3 days in Sicily – I used public transportation for everything else.

I haven’t been to Malta yet.

I’m sure you’ll have a great experience no matter what, and hope these remarks prove useful.

dgunbug

Thanks kja- your comments are always appreciated and your past trip reports have been most helpful. So many choices...all good!

Dayle

Hi dgunbug,

my trip was just over three weeks and I really really could have used another week just for Sicily. I went mid April to mid May so I wasnt there for beaches either. I dont think I travel quite as quickly and kja, but i am fairly ambitious in sightseeing. If you would like to read my TR, just click on my name.

loved Sicily and the Sicilian people!

kja

Oh yes, do read Dayle's excellent trip report!
Solo in Sicily - April 2013