We are booked on the 10-20 April Sicily off-season tour and are considering various options for pre and post tour sightseeing. While researching this, I noticed that the RS Sicily tour itineraries differ between off-season and in-season dates, ie, the off-season tours omit Taormina but add Ragusa, and the in-season tours do the opposite. Other than that, the tours appear to be identical, so I am now considering adding a pre- or post tour visit to Taormina to our off-season tour. Taormina looks like a lovely place, so I am not sure why it is not included in the off-season tour-if anyone on the forum has any thoughts on that, I would be interested in your feedback. We are also planning to spend at least another week somewhere else in Italy, and are strongly considering either Campania (specifically, Naples, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast) or Puglia (specific cities/towns/areas are TBD at this time). Any thoughts or comments on any of these options would be most appreciated. Grazie!
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I would definitely recommend Taormina, you can visit Mount Etna easily from there, the town has great restaurants and sights, although it may be early for beach weather. You can stay near the beach or in the old town. More ruins in nearby Naxos.
Napoli/Amalfi Coadt is a great choice, try to get to Paestum (Greek temples, museum, beach) if you can.
Posted by
OP
SoCal
89 posts
Zoe, thanks for the quick reply. A visit to a winery on the slopes of Mt Etna is included in the tour, but a visit to the summit from either Catania or Taormina would be great if weather (and Etna itself!) permits. We are not interested in the beach, but the views and archaeological and historical sights are definitely on our radar screen. Campania does seem like the logical choice since it is relatively close, so I will keep Puglia in my back pocket in the event we have sufficient time to visit both areas. Paestum is already on the to-see list-thanks for the reinforcement!