Planning 11 days in Sicily beginning in Ortygia ( private transfer from CTA. No car in Ortygia but will rent on to go the Valley of the Temples. We want to minimize moving hotels. Can we arrange luggage storage in Piazza Armenina? Or should we double back after checking in somewhere in Agrigento area? Any lodging recommendations near Agrigento? Are Southern and Southwestern Sicily enough? Is Palermo a must see? We like ancient ruins and food.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Palermo and surrounding areas are not a must see however still enjoyable. I was amazed how much I enjoyed Sicily after almost a lifetime of European travel.
It will not be museums but palaces, churches and piazzas mainly.
My favorite meal everywhere was eggplant caponata.
Posted by
OP
Hawaii
3 posts
Thank you for your reply. We have been to Italy maybe 20 times but this will be first explore Sicily. I am thinking to prioritize smaller cities.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3159 posts
When on the the Best of Sicily tour, we stayed at Baglio della Luna, Via Serafino Amabile Guastella 1 C Agrigento. a very nice hotel in the countryside. I’m confused. If you are renting a car, why do you need luggage storage in Piazza Armerina? It’s a rather small town and I doubt that that you’d find that service there. If you are going there to visit the Villa Romana which is outside the city. If you are afraid of luggage being stolen, there is a large busy parking lot at the Villa and on my first visit to Sicily, I just made sure that my luggage as not visible in the car and the car didn’t scream tourist!
Posted by
OP
Hawaii
3 posts
Unfortunately carrying essential medical equipment. Rental cars are targets for thieves here on Oahu I thought Sicily might have similar situation.
Posted by
11136 posts
We only left our luggage in the car one time in Sicily due to all the warnings and it was at Villa Romana as there was a parking attendant in the lot . There were also several tour buses parked with their drivers standing outside.
Lodging: Agrigento- We enjoyed our stay at the Colleverde Park Hotel with views of the lighted temples at night. The rooms were nice but the best part was the service provided by their staff. Their dining was excellent too.
If you do go to Palermo or Trapani ,make sure you take a day trip to Segesta, temple and theater.
We traveled Agrigento to Piazza Armerina( stop, not overnight), overnight in Noto, to Ortigia where we spent a week.
Go to TripAdvisor’s Sicily Forum and read posts by the very helpful local, Vagabonda.
Posted by
875 posts
If possible, fly into Catania and out of Palermo. I actually found there were more options than the other way around and not any more expensive.
I find when people refer to Piazza Armenina, they really mean Villa Romana. You can swing Villa Romana on the way to Agrigento, but it’s a long day and you’d be visiting the site during the busiest part of the day. A night in the area makes sense, and would allow you to go late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. I would recommend staying outside Piazza Armerina itself, in an agrituismo. The town is ok, just not necessarily a place that warrants exploring. A night near Agrigento makes sense as well. It’s a fair amount of driving between the two places, and each site is an investment of time and energy. Slowing the pace here is ideal, but obviously eats up time on a shorter trip. I regretted not doing this.
Palermo is definitely a must see. It’s super underrated. Palermo is elegant, but lived-in. I found it surprisingly clean, lively and cosmopolitan. There’s tons to see. Two full days/three nights is a good target. One of these days should entail a day trip to Monreale (public transit.) Don’t keep your car in Palermo.
You can leave luggage in the car. However, like anywhere else in the world you need to be careful about it. Don’t leave luggage in sight, don’t open your trunk and rummage through everything and show it off, and take your most valuable items (passports, bank cards, phones, etc.) with you.