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Italy/Sicily Final? Plan

Posted by (Langley, Wa, Usa) on

As is my wont, the plan has changed again.

We have the luxury of spending a good chunk of time in Italy this winter. We have travellled to Italy several times before but never to Sicily.

We are in an apartment in Testaccio for 2 weeks (January 12-28) with a plan to take Italian classes at the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci in the mornings before heading to Sicily. Then:

Ortigia- apartment for 2 weeks

Ragusa - 5 days

Agrigento - 2-3 nights

Piazza Amerina - 1-2 nights

Trapani - 5-7 nights

Palermo - 7 nights

We are basing in cities due to the winter vagaries of weather and closings.

Our last 2 weeks will be in Venice before training to Rome for our flight home. We last visited Venice 20 years ago and have always wanted to go back for an off season stay. We are hoping for that in mid March.

We are sloooow travelllers and don't usually pop out of bed in tourism mode and don't like moving from place to place much. Coupled with early sunset, we thought it best to base for long a week or longer. We will be renting a car at some point. Have thought of renting in Catania and using the monthly rate at the Talete Parking in Ortigia. The car will be dropped off in Palermo.

If anyone would take the time to critique this plan, I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to put an end to the tweaking.....

Thank you.

Posted by
3112 posts

I was in Sicily second half of February this year and visited all of the cities where you plan to stay. All were somewhat quiet in February with the exception of busy Palermo, but sights and many restaurants were open and the weather was quite pleasant. Piazza Armerina is between Ragusa and Agrigento, so I'd suggest revising the order to go from Ragusa to Piazza Armerina to Agrigento.

Posted by
11613 posts

A very good plan with a couple of tweaks, as suggested above.

A car would be helpful for the area between Agrigento and Piazza Armerina, especially if you plan to visit the Villa Romana del Casale and Morgantina. Perhaps give Piazza Armerina a third night?

You could also visit Selinunte on the Southern coast.

Posted by
72 posts

Thank you Zoe. Have been following your posts of your last trip.

I still have some indecision about the Trapani part of the trip. Wondering if Scopello would be a better choice since we are heavy on city stays.

Also considering decreasing our Ortigia time a bit to stay in Taormina a couple of days in order to visit Mt. Etna. We know January is low season and many tourist facilities will be closed but don't mind a dearth of excitement for a few days. We could also stay in Catania for the same purpose as that is our landing from Rome.

Not as set in stone as I thought.....

Posted by
11613 posts

Thanks, Cindy. Set in stone only applies to reservations made, at least most of them, in my travel. You are still planning, so fluidity is good.

I liked Catania very much on my last visit, but a night or two would be sufficient for me if I didn't have as much time as I do (usually 3-5 weeks for Sicilia).

Posted by
78 posts

Highly recommemd finding time to read Midnight in Sicily before you go. The author interweaves alluring descriptions of places, people, and food, with a deep look at the origins of the modern mafia.

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