I am considering a RS Sicily tour in September. Would like to start in Cinisi before meeting up with the tour in Palermo, as my grandfather was from there. Want to do some exploring. Would appreciate any suggestions on transport from the airport to Cinisi, hotel options in Cinisi. Do we need a car to get around the town?
Thanks! Kathy S.
You're in luck. Cinisi is very close to the airport--about 6 miles away. It would be much shorter if you could walk across the runways! I assume a taxi wouldn't be too expensive, but I'd try to find out ahead of time approximately what that should cost, taxi drivers at airports being not always honest.
If you Google Cinisi you'll get a lot of hits. Perhaps one of them will give you a good sense of whether you need a car to get around. My guess is that it will not be necessary in the town itself, because it's a fairly small place, but of course if you want to explore the surrounding areas, a car would be cheaper than multiple taxis.
To get to Palermo after your visit to Cinisi, I suspect it will be best to taxi back to the airport. Google Maps is offering a variety of options from Cinisi itself via a combination of walking (to Cinisi Terrasini) and mixed modes of transportation, but they look nightmarish with luggage.
Renting a car at the airport and later using it to drive to Palermo should be done only after careful research. I would not want to drive in Palermo. No, indeed. Selecting a sane drop-off location would be essential.
For your lodgings you can take a look on booking.com. The Map View shows several options in the town, plus many more near the coast at Cinisi Terrasini. As always, read all the English-language reviews. I'm not sure you'll find many people on this forum who've stayed in a Cinisi hotel.
Thank you!
One more question please. The Steves Sicily tour talks about SEEING Mt Etna but no mention of actually walking the slope. Can anyone clarify for me? Is it possible to do this as a separate excursion? Thank you!
I was also have the same Mt. Etna question. Do you merely drive to it with a bus tour guide giving you information? Thank you.
Wikitravel.org has useful information on going up Etna from both Catania and Taoromina using either excursions or public transportation.
There's a train that goes around Mt. Etna (don't remember whether it covers the full 360-degree circuit). That's reasonably inexpensive. To go all the way up to the crater involves paying considerably more. I didn't do that. I think any guide book to Sicily will explain the process. In decent weather there are nice views of Mt. Etna from Catania.
The RS Sicily tour will offer views of Mt. Etna, but not an actual climb. The thing to do would be to add some days onto the end of the tour. We were on this tour in April 2016, and wished we had been able to spend more than one night in Catania.
Re Mt. Etna: When I went on the Sicily tour, we did drive up and walk around the slopes of Mt Etna... didn't get too close, the volcano was smoking! This was a couple of years ago (maybe 3?). For actual up-to-date information, call the Rick Steves tour office and ask your question. My understanding is that more recent tours than mine only "viewed" it. You will enjoy the tour; Sicily is amazing!
We did this tour in November. We could see Mt. Etna, but we did not visit it. Technically speaking, the winery which we did visit may have been located on its slopes, but not like you're thinking of visiting Mt. Etna.
Unless they have changed that part of the itinerary, you may want to stay an extra day or two if Mt. Etna is on your must see list.
The historic area of Catania itself is very pretty--the area around the duomo and the university. And there's a great market. Someone on this forum mentioned taking a tour (I think from Taormina) that visited one or more hill/mountain villages in that part of Sicily. I don't remember any details, unfortunately. And I met a local who said Acireale (on the coast not far from Taormina) was nice, but I didn't have time to check it out. Clearly, there's plenty to do in that NE corner of Sicily to justify a few extra days after the tour.
Thank you all for great information! Those that took thhe RS tour- how did you like it? It looks amazing but I am wondering if there was anything you wished was different?
We took the tour in April 2016, and it was fabulous. It was the kind of tour that seemed to get better each day and it was sad to see it end. The hotels were all excellent, and quite different from each other. Of course, the food and wine were outstanding. We had an excellent tour guide (Alfio) who was a passionate native of Sicily.
Since getting to Sicily from the U.S. is somewhat of a challenge, we stayed in Rome on either end of the tour. This allowed us to avoid the grueling multi-stop flight alternatives.
Kathy, we have taken 7 RS tours and Sicily is at the top of our favorites! At the end of the tour we spent a week at Hotel Schuler in Taormina. Being there in the late spring allowed us to enjoy the beaches. The weather in September would probably allow you to do the same. The receptionist at Hotel Schuler helped arrange a driver to a private beach club. The beach club provided a great location to relax in the sun plus it had a great restaurant. Plenty to see and do in Taormina for a few days. We did a week for pure pleasure and relaxation since we did back to back RS tours....Tour of Sicily...week in Taormina ...Tour of South Italy! Enjoy and we hope you have Alfio as your guide. Safe travels, Tess
