First time in Sicily

Check here:
http://www.bestofsicily.com/

How long will you be in Sicily?

When I started planning my upcoming trip to Sicily, someone here sent me to her trip report on tripadvisor. I found it useful, and you may find it even more so. She and her father did the whole trip using public transportation (I'm planning to rent a car for a good part of mine).

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187886-i343-k4390170-Trip_Report_Sicily_Without_Wheels-Sicily.html

I've been to Sicily twice and spent weeks there and still haven't seen all of it. I used public transportation and basically was able to see Palermo, then Cefalu, (several days in each place) and based myself in Taormina for the entire East Coast.

The Regonale Train was very inexpensive, around EU20 for a ticket from Palermo to Cefalu, and EU20 for Cefalu
to Taormina via Messina. Contrary to what I had been led to believe, the trains were on time, and clean.

I rented an apartment in Taormina and splurged on a driver/guide for trips to Mt. Etna, Syracuse The incredible
Gambino Winery, etc. The apartment saved so much money that I could afford these guided tours with a private driver in a well maintained, air conditioned car and a witty, charming, English Speaking local, who really knew his history and provided valuable insights.

Quite by accident, I found this company: Legendofsicily.com while doing an internet search. Claudio Puglisi brokers
apartments and BnB's, and was wonderful and honest to deal with. He and his website were a wonderful 'accident'
When we arrived in Catania via an inexpensive airline from Rome, he picked us up at that airport and brought us to
Taormina. (There is only a bus service from Catania to Taormina, no train, but a taxi can also be taken.)

In Palermo, I stayed at Centrale Palace Hotel. I got a great deal on Booking.com This hotel really IS an old
Palace, and it's close to all the "sites" in Palermo. There are less expensive places to stay, but being within
walking distance to sites, rather than taxis can more than make up the difference in price. The hotel itself
has a most amazing rooftop restaurant with great food and incredible views, and the breakfast room was old
world elegance at its best. My Very Frugal Husband loved it. I think I paid @EU120, breakfast included.

In Cefalu we stayed at a breathtakingly beautiful hotel Hotel le Calette. We did this restful stop when we began
in Catania, a week in Taormina with touring and lots of walking, then two days in our restful ocean-front in
Cefalu, and ended up in Palermo. The two day Cefalu was our 'down-time' stop.

I put both of those hotels on a "watchlist" via booking.com, and jumped on them when the prices were down..

You're going to love Sicily. Claudio Puglsi (legendofsicily.com) took us around Taormina on our off days and shared his favorite restaurants with us, as well as telling us the history of the town. The Greek Theatre in Taormina is absolutely beautiful, as is Taormina. There's a funicular that takes you from Taormina down to the seaside where you can get a beach lounge and enjoy a
nice lunch right at the sea.

If you rent a car, you will certainly not want to drive in Palermo, so do your touring there on foot, then pick up the car and
start your driving. Sicily is beautiful, and the people are warm and welcoming, and the food is incredible!

We will be there approximately 3 weeks. We are thinking of doing 5 nights in Palermo, 5 in Siracusa and 5 in Taormina. We are thinking by doing so, we should be able to see most of the major towns/sites. Donna, thank you for your suggestions. I am going to look up the hotel in Palermo you suggested and also the driver. Can you tell me how much the driver charged? We are looking for a driver but, we are finding them to be very expensive.

Thank you Chani. I will certainly check that out on Tripadvisor.

The driver was @ 250eu a day, but it included admission to the Gambino Vineyard with lunch, the guide, and the trip to Etna. You need to check with the website to see the current prices Depending on economics and price of gas may be down or up. I have a friend who is hiring a driver on Amalfi Coast, and she is paying more. I keep checking these rates myself on this site and others just to make sure I'm being charged a fair amount.

I can't tell you exactly the price one day of touring would cost, as I got a three day
package, two very long days, one going all the way to Syracuse, another with three stops including Mt. Etna, the oldest coffee shop in Italy and a full tour of a vineyard (Gambino Vini). The price of the tour included the admission to the vineyard along with a extensive wine tasting and a beautiful and plentiful anti pasti.
I was just thinking that since you had Syracuse on your schedule already that you'd only need the Etna/Vineyard tour.

So OK Donna, you hooked me. Where in Sicily is the oldest coffee shop in Italy? And how was the coffee? I thought before I would reply I should do some independent research, and I first found mentions of coffee shops in Florence, Venice and Rome, some from the early 1700s. Then I found this web site -- http://www.localistorici.it -- which lists some coffee places as far back as the 1200s. 1300s and early 1400s, mostly in the north -- Bolzano, Bergamo, etc. Although some of these are not just coffee shops, but also inns or taverns. The site is also translated into English, quite interesting. They do list a few entries from Sicily, mostly Palermo it seems, one from Monreale I think, but they are much more recent than those oldies. So Donna, please provide the real scoop, so to speak.

Five days in each city/town is perfect. You have certainly chosen my favorite places. Be sure to visit the markets in Palermo as they are unbelievably fascinating. I am not too sure that trains go from Catania to Taormina, but I certainly have taken them in the past. Have a fantastic trip.

Thank you, Donna. And yes, I agree with Larry, where is the oldest coffee shop in Sicily located? Thank you, Chloe. It's good to hear from others that I'm on the right track so to speak. One more question, if we don't get to Cefalu, would that be a terrible loss? The way we are planning the trip, Cefalu seems like the only well known town we might not get to see.

You can get to Cefalu from Palermo as a long daytrip. In addition to the cathedral and historic center, it has a very nice beach.

I'll look through my pictures!!! We were driven there, it was somewhere between Taormina and Mt. Etna! The cappucino was outstanding. The interesting thing was what the driver/guide ate! It was a hot day in September, and they ate the ice cream on a brioche! My friends and I ate a pastry, but tried the fruity ice cream at their insistence. I even tried a bite on the bread, but It's definitely an acquired taste! This experience of eating with the locals and getting to know them is what I loved about those two trips!

The funny comentary in the car, such as "if you go to Messina, you don't need a pill for sleeping, you just need to talk to someone from Messina. You will fall asleep because they are so boring. I once dated a woman from Messina and she would call me and it would take a half hour for her to give me one sentence."

Commentary regarding other drivers, "There you see an example of another brilliant Sicilian." Then a hand gesture :-)

Politics: "I won't be a happy man until I need a Passport to go to Rome! We are Sicilians!"

Religion: One of my friends was Methodist. That day we had toured the Shrine of the Weeping Virgin in Syracuse, where it is believed many miracles have happened. Driver to me: So, this Methodist woman, I do not understand! Does she believe in Jesus?"
Me (Catholic) responds, "Yes" He: "why is she Methodist not Catholic?" Me: "There are 35 thousand or so branches of
Christians churches who believe in Jesus, and are not Catholic." He: "So, they are a confused people?!"

On Tourists: "When they are not looking, I take pictures of them eating a pizza with cappucino! I think they must be
very sick after this." Why do they wear sandals and socks?! This is something I do not understand!

No offense intended! These are just a few of the comments out of many that made me laugh!

I'll look through the pics for the coffee shop!!

I laughed out loud at that last commentary, Donna.

There is a train from Catania to Taormina-Naxos, journey is a little more than half an hour. You can take a funivia, bus or cab up to Taormina.

Zoe, where is the train station in Catania? The bus is at the airport. I don't remember the train being at the airport, but could be mistaken.