Sicily for the first time

Stephanie, Sicily is really wonderful. Palermo is by far the largest city, and it is a bustling, intense sort of place. I'd encourage you to see other parts of Sicily as well (read a guidebook or two and you'll have a long list of places you want to see). Since you are not an experienced traveler, I'd recommend visiting Palermo at the end of your stay in Sicily, when you'll feel more at home there. (I'd say the same about Naples.) There are many, many spectacular churches to see in Palermo, and the markets... Sicilian food is wonderful, including the gelato and granita.

You mentioned June. Do some research on the weather. It can be brutally hot in Sicily. If it must be June, shoot for as early in the month as possible.

I've been to Capri but haven't seen the blue grotto. I understand that it is weather-dependent, so there's a risk that when the time comes, you cannot actually enter the grotto. I would definitely not make a side-trip from Sicily just to see the blue grotto, but there are many other lovely and interesting things to see in that area--the Amalfi Drive, Pompeii, and so on.

I think it's probably a good,idea to work with a travel agent for this trip. I'm sorry that I can't provide a recommendation, but I do all my own travel planning.

The good news is you have a year to plan this trip, so you have plenty of time to work everything out. However, you mention that "I may have up to 4 or 5 family members" that will be coming with you. So, organizing a trip for a potential group of 6 makes things a lot different. Even if you are going to work with a travel agent - even the best ones are not mind readers, the more specific you can be, the better their recommendations. Are you the one that is planning/organizing everything for the group ?

You also mention that you have never flown before, and likely have little experience. Does anyone else in your "group" have more experience ? My general advice is talk to everyone that is potentially going and get their input. Maybe there is someone also going that has more experience. Even if not, becasue that is a lot or responsibility for you to plan everything so you have to involve them in some way as you plan and finalize everything.

Of course budget is another consideration, as well as how much time to devote to this trip. You need some guidelines from everyone as there "tastes" and budgets and even time to travel can be different. Perhaps some might want to also go to Sorrento, or Rome or other parts of Italy.

You also mention your relatives that you are going to visit. Why not involve them in the planning. You are fortunate that you have someone local that knows the area, hotels, etc.

Again, you have lots of time to work this out, so lucky you are starting when you are.

I seldom advise travel agents but it seems like the perfect circumstance for one. Try to find one that has actually been to Sicily so they have first-hand knowledge. Where do you live, by the way? While we are an interconnected world, sometimes a local is good for advice.

Make a list of where you want to go and why for the agent. That means reading a good guidebook or two first. Know why you want to go to Palermo, but also what else Sicily has to offer. Know also how long you have to travel. A trip of one week is a far different plan than one of 2 or 3 weeks.

Finally, the Blur Grotto is not something to focus on. In this recent thread Roslyn had a wise perspective.

First, welcome to the Forum!

Second, you're overwhelmed because planning a trip is a lot of work, even for those of us with experience. So, break it down into manageable chunks.

The reason you won't find a tour package with your destinations is that they are not typical ones. It's like someone saying, "I want to visit Dallas (to see family in Plano) and then the Gateway Arch in St. Louis - how come I can't find tour packages that include these?" There's nothing wrong with what you want to see, but if these really are your goals, you'll have to do it on your own. Don't worry - we're all here to help!

If these are indeed the places you want to see, and you don't have time to see other places in Italy on this trip, you would fly into Palermo airport to see Palermo and Vicari, and Naples airport for Capri. As said above, you really don't want to base a whole segment of your trip on the Blue Grotto, since it's not always visit-able. However, there are lots of great things to see in the area, including more of Capri, Sorrento, the Amalfi coast, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Naples.

As said above, Naples and Palermo aren't the easiest places to start with Italy. If you have time, it would be better to ease in with Venice, Florence, and/or Rome first, then work your way south to Naples/Capri and finally Palermo. This also has the advantage of putting Palermo last; by then, having been in Italy longer, you'll get more out of your family visit.

You have time on your side. Since your planned trip is a year away, you can start learning more about travel and about Italy. Do that before you make more specific plans. Get Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door, to learn the "nuts and bolts" of travel and travel planning, and Rick Steves Italy to learn more about popular destinations in the country. You can get these from the library or buy cheap used copies; for your current purposes, don't worry if you don't have the newest edition.

Also, watch videos. Rick's are here; be sure to click on "Travel Skills" as well as "Italy": https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show

How long can you spare for this trip? That will influence everything else. If you have little time, you may want to just stay on Sicily. It takes time to get there, and it's a very large and diverse island. I was there for 11 nights and only hit some highlights. Your trip will be MUCH simpler if you just do Sicily, unless you have a few weeks.

While on Sicily, you may want to rent cars (two if you are a group of six) rather than hiring a driver. If you're communicating on Facebook with relatives, I assume at least some of them speak English; they should be able to meet you in Palermo and help with other logistics.

Where do you and your family members live? That will determine the best airplane routes. Unless you live in New York and can go on certain days, there are no nonstop flights from North America to Naples or Palermo, so you'll have to connect at least once (likely twice).

Again, welcome to the wonderful world of Italian travel. I've been seven times, and would go back tomorrow if I could!

Did I miss it, or have you not said how long your trip will be? Sicily, alone, is easily worth a couple of weeks. If you fly into Palermo, I advise spending at least 4 nights there, maybe 5, because your first day will be a time to recover from jet-lag. Monreale is an absolute must-see as a day trip from Palermo. The suggestion to end in Palermo is a good one for you to consider.

Getting to a mainland destination is much more cumbersome than you might think. You would likely need the better part of a day just to get to Sorrento, a gateway for Capri. To make such a trek worth the time, cost, and effort, you should plan a few days there, so as to see some of the other, and imo more worthwhile sights; e.g., Sorrento itself, Amalfi, Ravello, and Pompeii.
You've come to a good place for help, and you're wise to give yourself a lot of time for arranging such a major undertaking. Over the years there have been mentions here of agencies in Sicily that people have used and were happy with. I suspect they'll be popping up in responses here. I would not make ny commitments to a travel agency before getting a feel for what's out there.

Rosalyn and Laurel alluded to something important that's worth emphasizing. Many first-timers think a travel agent is the easy way to go. They go into their local travel agency and let the person there plan their trip.

Unfortunately, many travel agents know nothing first hand about the places you want to go; they only know how to book package tours, cruises, big hotels, and the like. Over the years, we've seen posts here by people who were given terrible "help" by travel agents - put in hotels miles from where they wanted to be, given ridiculous itineraries, sold very expensive train tickets they could have booked themselves for a fraction of the price, etc.

There are travel agents who will know about Sicily and other parts of Italy, but you will have to do some research to find them - and expect to pay them for their time helping you. Don't use a travel agent who doesn't personally know the places you want to go; if that's the option, you'll do better doing it yourself with our help.

Here is a web site that I used for my trip to Sicily. It has hundreds of links and info all about Sicily, transportation, lodging, restaurants etcBest of Sicily

My family and I live in New Orleans, my Italian family I have been corresponding with on facebook has been using an online translator to communicate they don't speak english. I assumed a travel agent would be best because I have never planned anything so big like this and I know nothing about it.
I want all transfers included in my trip. None of my family coming has ever flown in an airplane either.
I will be the one organizing everything and I feel so overwhelmed.
Can anyone provide websites they have used to book their own Italy trips that include transfers?
I just didn't want Palermo to be the only place we visit while in Italy, I wanted to throw something else in lol.
We would stay in Italy for no longer than 7 or 8 days.

Stephanie

BestofItaly is a great website for some research.

With only 6-7 nights, I suggest you stay in Sicily. There are some beautiful places near Palermo, such as Monreale, Cefalu, Erice, and a little further, Agrigento.

Get a guidebook on Sicily, as has been suggested, so you can make some sense of what Sicily has to offer, and also look a the website suggested.

As for flying, make sure you understand what you can and cannot take into the cabin, how far in advance to b at the airport, etc. Get passports now if you don't have them yet.

Now that you've clarified how long your trip will be, it's even more important for you to realize that you shouldn't consider anything more than Sicily. First of all, you lose a day going over - - flight time + 6 hour time difference (N.O. is on Eastern Time, is it not; 7 if Central?). Since none of you has ever flown before, you are doubtlessly unfamiliar with jet lag. Most people take some time to adjust to the time difference, feeling sluggish the first day or two, at the very least. Your departure day is also pretty much useless for anything but getting to the airport and going.

I couldn't find Vicari on my map, but I asssume from you mentioning Palermo that it's in that vicinity. Besides Monreale, there are a number of good places you can visit, like Cefalu, Erice, and Agrigento. Either do a search on this site for the Sicilian travel agents people have liked, or wait 'til other posters chime in on that question.

Just one further thought - - if you limit yourself to Sicily, you might find a package tour, which will provide transfers, lodgings, and sight-seeing, maybe even airfare. However, I think most of them will be for longer than the time you're considering; and they will cost more than doing it yourself. It's certainly worth checking out. Are you familiar with travel sites such as Tripadvisor?

I think I will take everyone's advise and stay in Sicily to explore. Save other places in Italy for another trip.
I've looked at trip advisor it's a bit complicating...

Hi Stephanie, this will be a very exciting trip for you and your family, including those in Vicari, I'm sure. Sicily is a wonderful place -- the sites, the diverse scenery, the friendly people, the great food and wine, everything! I've looked up Vicari, and find it is an ancient small town, only about 22 miles from Palermo, a ways off a main road. It has a population of around 3,000, very different from New Orleans. So close, it should be an easy day trip from Palermo. Depending on the number in your group, it should not be hard to arrange a guide/driver with a car or van to take you. You might even find your Vicari relatives could come and pick you up! With only a week or so in Sicily, you will probably want to limit how many places you will try to visit. It can take a while to move from one town and hotel to another, especially if there are several people in your group. You can only move as fast as the slowest one! By the way, would anyone in your family group either be a child, or someone with limited mobility due to age or a disability? Those factors can be important. I am sitting here with my Sicily travel books, and the one I suggest you buy or get from the library first is the DK Eyewitness Travel "Sicily" book, which was my first too. It has a lot of excellent photos, is arranged by regions of Sicily, and has a lot of good maps. The map of NW Sicily on pages 86 and 87 shows both Palermo and Vicari. Some of the many other nearby locations are Monreale just outside Palermo (just a city bus ride) with a wonderful church with world-famous mosaics; Cefalu about an hour east on the Coast, an ancient town with beaches and good hiking; and Segesta, about 60-90 minutes west, with an incredible ancient Greek temple and theater, with no other buildings nearby, just green space, absolutely beautiful and unique. Palermo itself is a big and hectic city, also with many excellent sites; some people love it, some people don't. I've also done a search of flights from New Orleans to Palermo, and there seems to be one combination that allows just one connection at JFK airport in NY, all the others involve at least two connections, which would involve more time traveling, likely more exhaustion too. But this far in advance, it is often difficult to find exact schedules and fares. You have months to plan this with your family members, so just take it one step at a time. Happy planning Stephanie, you'll find a lot of support here at this forum, where there are many fine people with personal travel experience in Sicily.

This site, Italian Connection, was recommended to me long ago. I have never used them, but their Private Family Tour might be a good thing to explore. Can't hurt to contact them. At least get some info and costs.