Hi, My husband and I will be visiting Sicily in Dec./Jan. and had planned to spend 6 nights with Scopello as a touring base for that area and Palermo, 1 night in Agrigento, 6 nights just outside Syracuse as a touring base for that area and our last night/day in Taormina. A friend that I shared the plan with thought we would need 1 more night in Taormina. We do not care to visit Etna and our main desire is to see the Greek Theatre and to walk around the old town. Will a day/night do? We are not high-end shoppers and chic resort folks. Any thoughts will be appreciated. Velda
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
We spent a long day in Taormina (including a visit to Castelmola which I recommend ) and we found that to be enough. Taormina is nice but centro is not all that big.
Posted by
Portland
3648 posts
If you can work the date into your itinerary, I recommend New Year's Eve in Palermo. The entire city, it seemed, was having a party in the main square, when we were there. Music groups, folk dancers, sword swallowers . . it was a blast. At the stroke of midnight people whipped out their prosecco or whatever (BYO) and drank and sang. Maybe other towns have similar, but Palermo was really fun. Also, during that period, until Jan. 6, I believe, many churches have wonderful creche displays. Just pop in to see.
Posted by
Atlanta
3276 posts
We did a day trip to Taormina and thought that was enough time - the view of Mt. Etna from the Greek Theatre is spectacular! We really liked Scopello but I'm wondering if it's a bit isolated for 6 nights - maybe spend 2 nights in Palermo rather than traveling back and forth and 3 or 4 in Scopello? Just a thought!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
I love Scopello, but it might be a little dead in winter. Stay some nights in Palermo first (before you rent a car), the go to Scopello for 3 nights only. Use Scopello to visit Segesta, Selinunte, Erice, the wineries of Western Sicily etc.
It's hard to visit Palermo from Scopello because you would need to drive to Palermo probably and the traffic in Palermo is horrible. Split your stay in Syracuse also. Add a couple of nights to the Taormina area. Do 2 there. Taormina is a quick one day visit, but with two nights there you have time to enjoy it for a full day without wasting the time in check in, unpacking etc. So when you get there you check in and unpack. Next day visit and relax. Next morning move on to the next destination. Try to fly out of Sicily with a later flight (not too early in the morning), otherwise you need to spend time closer to the airport. CTA is on the opposite side of the Catania metro area. If you choose PMO, then choose a flight in the evening or late afternoon, so you have time to drive to the airport from Taormina.
Posted by
roswell, ga, usa
1501 posts
Now for further confusion, I'd spend New Year's Eve in Taormina! I have friends who live there, and their New Years is incredible! It's smaller than Palermo, but also much safer for a festival like this!