Flying into and out of Catania--arriving early evening in March....any suggestions for lodging for the first night and which direction to start our trip--go north first or south and on around to the west???? Will the weather be noticiably different if we go north first? We plan to have about 8 days in Sicily. Not sure yet if we will rent a car or use bus/train from point to point. Most responses seem to prefer rental. All suggestions welcome as this is our first trip to Sicily. Is parking a problem outside major cities i.e.,Palermo and Catania)? Does anyone know current price of petrol in Sicily and Italy?
Posted by
OH, OH, USA
1158 posts
Well, Sicily IT IS in Italy.
You might want to join tripadvisor.com and ask some locals about gas prices.
Posted by
Johns Island, SC
172 posts
In Sicily a car really is a must with the time you have scheduled. Take a look at my blog and see the trip-at-a-glance spreedsheet I have posted for southern Italy. It has links and detailed info.
http://gadtravel.blogspot.com/
Posted by
Italy
247 posts
A car is not a must if you stay in cities. A car is convenient for getting from place to place and it’s great in the countryside. First decide where you want to go and that will determine if you need a car.
Posted by
Italy
247 posts
You won’t notice any difference in weather going north or south. You would notice cooler temperatures in higher elevations and away from the coast.
You could spend your first night in Taormina or Siracusa. You would probably enjoy Taormina first. Eight days really isn’t enough time to circle all of Sicily.
If you decide to stay in cities, use public transportation. You would only need a car if you deviate from the cities.
Posted by
OP
Irvine, California
66 posts
Thanks for your input, G. One of my concerns about using public transportation is that we are traveling in March (low season) and from what I've read, schedules are much less frequent then. My thought was to leave the car at the hotel/B&B and use buses for the local sightseeing as much as possible. If 8 days is not enough to circle island, what would you recommend as the major places to see/visit on this first trip in that amount of time?
Posted by
Italy
247 posts
Schedules are less frequent, but you would still be able to travel by public transport if you wanted to.
With only eight nights, only go as far west as Palermo. Stay in Taormina for two nights with an excursion to Mount Etna. Spend two nights in Cefalu with a day trip to Palermo and Monreale. Parking will be easier in Cefalu than in Palermo. Leave Cefalu for Agrigento, see the Valley of the temples and spend the night in Agrigento. The next day, see Piazza Armerina, Caltagirone and spend the night in Ragusa. The next day, drive to Modica and Noto and spend the next two nights in Siracusa.
Posted by
OP
Irvine, California
66 posts
Giovanna:
We have decided to rent a car, picking it up at the airport. Think it will give a lot more flexibility and save time. Your 8-day itinerary is about the same as I have been thinking except that we may do it in reverse...need to check how far Siracusa is from the car ferry. Taormina is closer so thought it might work better to make that our last 2 nights. We intend to stay in Cefalu and visit Palermo/Monreal via local train and/or bus. Am hoping to find lodging with car parking available there. Will have to save the west coast for another trip. Will have 4 days for the Puglia area--all suggestions welcome--then to Padre Pio's for 1 night and on to Rome for 3 nights/2 full days. Thanks!
Posted by
Italy
247 posts
You could easily reverse the itinerary and Taormina would be closer to the ferry than Siracusa. Take the train from Cefalu to Palermo and the bus from Palermo to Monreale. Villa Gaia (Cefalu) has parking. Lecce, Alberolbello’s trulli, Ostuni, and Castel del Monte are all worth seeing in Puglia. The sassi in Matera are also worth a visit on your trip north.
Posted by
OP
Irvine, California
66 posts
THANK YOU, GIOVANNA!! Sounds like a good plan....am going to work on the Puglia itinerary this weekend and will be in touch. Ciao!
Posted by
Italy
247 posts
Sites are far apart in Puglia. If you have time, in addition to Alberobello's trulli, Lecce (you'll appreciate the Baroque architecture),the "white" town of Ostuni, and Frederick II’s octagonal Castel del Monte, Trani and Monopoli are nice towns and the Gargano coast is gorgeous with cliffs, caves and beaches. The are trulli hotels, a treat.
Matera is in Basilicata. Sleep in a sassi and give this town some time.
Posted by
Lakeland, Florida, USA
93 posts
If you're going to Piazza Armerina, consider going to Morgantina as well, which is only a short distance away.
As far as parking, it depends on where you're at and what town you're in. At sites like the Valley of the Temples, Piazza Armerina, and Morgantina there is good parking (but you may have to pay a small fee). Some of the older towns and of course the big cities can be difficult.
I don't know how much driving experience you have, especially overseas- but in some areas it gets a bit narrow- you have to pull in the mirrors and hope that you don't grind paint from the sides. If you've got some European driving experience, renting a car should be fine. If not (and you aren't comfortable), I might recommend a bus or taking the trains (which we used once and enjoyed). As far as rentals at the airport- they are an easy walk away. I don't know about buses or other forms of transportation- although the bus, train, and ferry stations are some distance away from the airport in Catania (I imagine there is transportation to and from).
Oh... and in the north, another good archaeological site (with museum and beautiful church) is Tindiri (Tindiris).