2 questions...1) advice on transfer from airport in Palermo to city center
2) arriving 2 days before start of RS tour and looking for hotel/guesthouse since the tour
hotel has no availability prior to tour start. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
We were able to stay at the tour hotel (Ambasciatori) befornhe tour. We took the bus to Palermo that leaves from just outside the airport (pay driver on board). The bus drops you off at the Palermo train station.
Bus for transfer to city center
Did you contact the hotel and mention that you are on the RS tour?
I have never had a problem asking for additional nights at RS tour hotels--I assume they keep some aside.
There is a shuttle from the airport to the train station which was easy, and the tour hotel was just a few blocks away.
You can take a taxi or the bus operated by the Prestia e Comande company.
https://www.prestiaecomande.it/?idx=317
Don’t have names but the best most upscale area is more or less along the corridor from the Quattro canti (Fontana Pretoria) to the Teatro Politeama, more or less along the via Roma e via Maqueda corridors. The Khalsa area is very traditional and somewhat moorish, with very characteristic alleys. However many Americans are spooked by the many graffiti and the somewhat seedy feel. I don’t think it’s dangerous at all, but many Americans think I sent them to the South Bronx, so I prefer to steer them to the more modern portion I suggested above.
Avoid south of the station
Marcia,
I enjoyed my stay at B&B delle Vittorie while visiting Palermo this past May.
It’s very centrally located and not far from the tour hotel.
I took the Prestia e Comandè Bus from the airport to the city. If you’ll be experiencing jet lag, the B&B owner, Giuseppe, will arrange for an airport transfer.
If you take the bus, you’ll want to get off on Via Roma at the Vucciria Stop, not at the train station.
Enjoy your trip!
The bus from the airporr (mentioned above) is very good and runs every 30 minutes. Their website shows their various stops. By the way, we visited Palermo this past March and enjoyed it very much. We felt save in all central neighborhoods.
Thanks for all the helpful information!
I was Searching old posts related to hotels in Palermo couple of weeks ago, and it seems to be a frequent problem at that particular hotel. I thought it might be related to that hotel keeping a block of rooms ready for early arrivals for the RS tour, since it came up often with people wanting to stay prior to the tour. However, if that's why, the only way to bypass the "no availabilty" would be to contact them directly by email or phone. It would be nice if RS tours would look into this a bit, and if it is a chronic problem, perhaps they could make some more recommendations.
