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First time in Sicily, is staying in the center of the island for a week a good idea?

I'm planning a trip for next March (the week before Easter) with my husband and teen with the main purpose being to visit the town my grandparents are from in the Caltanisetta province.

We don't like to move around too much during our trips so I thought we could spend a few days in Palermo and then set up base somewhere in Caltinisetta for a few more days and do day trips to other towns. We want to spend our days walking around beautiful towns, eating lots and lots of local foods and do some short hikes and short visits to interesting cultural sites, but I can't tell if staying in the center would give us all that or if I should go to the west and then do 1 long drive to visit the village (I've already ruled our the eastern side).

I would love any insight to help me plan my trip! Specifically:
is there a beautiful city with lots of food and a good place to wander that we can stay at for 4 days?
Would the weather be a factor in march and better to be along the coast?
Any interesting holy week celebrations in the center?

Posted by
1393 posts

Have you been to Sicily before?

I can do my best to help but first, please let us know the name of the town.

Would you want to visit the Temples of Agrigento?

Most important, will you rent a car?

I would guess that the time would be just about ideal weather wise--just before Easter, but are you speaking of Semana Santa? (Palm Sunday through Easter? So at this time next year??

If you interested in seeing the religious processions those should be easier to find than to avoid.

Keep in mind that some place might be closed on Easter, the day before, etc, and that it will be a big holiday week for others coming for vacation.

Posted by
7 posts

Santa Caterina Villarmosa. It’s very very small with only a few places to stay

Posted by
2101 posts

Thanks --- now I can answer you much better!

In 2001, my family spent a couple weeks in Sicily at an agriturismo near an even smaller town north of Enna. And then last year my husband and I spent a month before and including Easter visiting Sicily again.

Yes, you will be able to drive to many wonderful sites from towns or from an agriturismo in that area. We did exactly that in 2001. The only slight negative about staying in our agriturismo is that there were only two roads from it to anywhere else, so we had to drive on the same roads over and over. And dinner pretty much had to be at the agriturismo, whereas if you stay in a town you can eat at a restaurant and walk back to your apartment or B&B or whatever. Not a big deal. You'll be able to drive to the Villa Romana, to Agrigento, and to the Baroque town of Ragusa and the chocolate town of Modica. Also to Enna, Caltanisetta, and Caltagirone, plus some towns that were on our list but that we had to skip, such as Castelbuono where they harvest sap from trees to make special sweet treats. The problem with Sicily is that it has so many great places to go!

In March and April, you will see the roadsides and the fields packed with wildflowers. And all of the Easter festivities you can want. Last year, while staying in the town of Sciacca on the southwest coast, we were surprised to find ourselves in the center of an intense Easter procession that included a race between floats carrying lifesize statues of Mary, Jesus, and St. Michael. We were staying in that town to be near a different Easter festival, in San Biagio Platani, to see the traditional Easter arches and other large displays made out of bread, seeds, and other foods and natural materials --- if you leave Sicily before Easter, you'd miss that, but there are similar small towns with their own Easter week events.

Look up driving distances, add some time to the google time estimates, and decide which locations best suit your family's interests. I, for instance, did not want to be in the packed crowds gathered for some of the major Easter processions. You will eat well no matter where you are!

Posted by
8477 posts

Pick where you stay based on what you want to visit. For example, it does no good to stay in the center of the island if everything you want to see is on the coast. You also want to minimize daily travel time to get to the places you want to visit.