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Day Trips from Palermo Sicily and Amalfi Coast

Posted by (Seattle) on

Hello. We will be going to Palermo, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast very soon and have a few questions on day trips. We did Naples and Pompeii on a previous trip. We will not have a car. We have a general idea of what we may do but would appreciate some assistance. I think there are some nice, short hikes from some of the areas.

Night 1 - Rome airport
Nights 2-5 Palermo - 4 1/2 days
Night 6 - Ferry to Naples and then Sorrento
Nights 7-10 Sorrento - 3 1/2 - 4 days depending on when we leave for Amalfi
Nights 11-13 Amalfi - 2 1/2 - 3 days depending on travel times
Night 14 Rome airport

We arrive in Palermo around noon on a Friday and will have four and a half days to explore. We will take an overnight ferry to Naples on Tuesday, the fifth night. We plan of going to Monreale and Cefalu one day. We want to see at least one Greek temple and archaeological site. We originally wanted to do tours (or take public transportation) to the Valley of the Temples one day and Segesta and Erice on another day. Our friends will now be in Palermo on the Monday with a car and they want us to join them going to Trapani, Selinunte and maybe Segesta. We could also go to Paestum while staying in Amalfi. Would Valley of the Temples or Paestum be easier to get to by bus or train? Is one better than the other? If all the places are similar, which would be the best to see and the easiest to get to? There is only on tour available to the Valley of the Temples on our available dates. I looked up private tours to the Valley of the Temples and they were very expensive.

While in Sorrento, we will spend one day at Capri and one at Positano.

Would it be better to take the ferry with our luggage to Amalfi or take a bus? Sometime it would be nice to see the coast from the road.

While in Amalfi, we want to go to Ravello and maybe Paestum if we didn't see enough Greek temples in Sicily.

On the last day we will take a train from Salerno to Rome. We could explore some before we take the train or some by the Rome airport. I'm not sure the best way to spend this day.

Thank you for your assistance.

Posted by
4384 posts

I have not been to Sicily, but the temples at Paestum are intact and impressive. It is easy to get there, but it is a pretty long day from Amalfi, so I would play it by ear. I assume you are going before the Travelmar ferry stops running, so you could take an early ferry (or bus, or private driver--ask hotel) to Salerno, then the train to Paestum. The site is a short walk from the train station.

I thin it is easier to visit Positano from Amalfi, so you may want to look at your time allotment for Sorrento/Amalfi. Some would say pick one base, but I never mind a different place for the evening for different restaurants and general feel. It'll really come down to the day trips.

On your last day, you could explore Ostia Antica, which is adjacent to Fiumicino, if you want ease and to walk around outdoors, but it's easy to hop in the train into Rome as well.

Posted by
2126 posts

You only have 5 nights in Palermo and a long list of sights to see in Sicily: Cefalu, Monreale, Erice and Trapani, plus two Greek temple sites — Segesta and possibly Selinunte — plus Palermo itself.

The Valley of the Temples is impressive but I’d save it for a future trip. You have a week in Sorrento/Amalfi Coast. You could easily set aside a day for Paestum if you’re still wanting to see more temples. It’s smaller than Selinunte or Valley of the Temples but very well preserved.

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