Hotels in Palermo, Italy and Sicily Travel Guide

Lonely Planet and the DK Eyewitness Top 10 Sicily are used the most quidebooks. For drinving lok at Green Michelin Guide.

Websites myself and others here have used are www.bestofsicily.com, tripadvisor.com, and www.legendsofsicily.com.

I'll be there in October, too, and these sites and guidebooks were very useful.

There are so many hotels in Palmero. Look for a central location with air conditioning and cleanliness reviews. You will not need a rental car for Palmero so save costs and traffic headaches by starting your rentals after your Palmero stay.

We stayed at Ambascatori Hotel in Palermo during the Rick Steves Sicily tour.

http://www.ambasciatorihotelpalermo.com/web/index.php?lang=en

The Ambasciatori Hotel was booked when I made our reservations. We are staying at Centrale Palace Hotel. Great location for my DH's walking abilities.

About a year ago I stayed at the Hotel Tonic. http://www.hoteltonic.it/ Central location and safe. Could walk easily around the city and to many restaurants. I even took the bus from the airport into town. I used the Lonely Planet book for Sicily and I thought it was useful. I would visit Monreale. One of my favorite churches as a day trip from Palermo.

Diane is right and you won't need a car in Palermo. Get it as you leave. I would also think that you won't need air conditioning in October; at least in our experience, at that time of year, we have never needed air conditioning. Yes, Monreale is a must see as are the outdoor markets in the center of Palermo. I believe they are open every day. Look up on the internet which one you might find the most interesting.

6 adults - definitely 2 cars. Streets in the towns can be narrow with sharp corners - challenging enough without driving a van.

Before I rented a car, I took the train to Cefalu for an overnight. Easy train ride from Palermo and no need for a car there. I left my luggage at my Palermo hotel and took an overnight bag on the train. Rent the car in the city, not the airport. It's a long way to the airport and will be more expensive there. It was easy enough to take a taxi to the rental office, and then drive out of the city and onto the highway. It's not that hard to drive in Palermo, it's just very slow. Be patient and watch out for pedestrians. You'll know what I mean after you've been there for a day or two.

I spent 2 weeks in Sicily and loved it all. I used the DK Eyewitness Sicily and the internet for planning. The DK book gives enough of an overview of the towns and sights that I was able to choose what most interested me. Besides this forum, there were a couple of very helpful people on the Trip Advisor Sicily forum.

Another vote for the Hotel Ambasciatori. It's within walking distance of the train station (where the airport shuttle drops you off,) the staff is helpful, the breakfasts are good, the rooms are fine, there's even an elevator, and the rooftop terrace/bar/restaurant is magnificent. And it's not at all expensive. One caveat: the elevator does not go all the way up to the top floor, so access to the terrace and breakfast area could be a problem if anyone has serious mobility issues.