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Sicily Itinerary

Posted by on

Hi. I've just discovered this Forum. Wonderful.
We are 2 Canadian couples spending almost 2 weeks in Sicily. We are flying into Palermo on October 18th and departing from Catania on October 31st. We are looking for a blend of easy/moderate hikes, charming walks, history and architecture. Plus, of course, good food and local wine. We are renting a car the day we depart Palermo and dropping it off at the Catania airport before our flight home.

Itinerary-wise, we'd prefer to spend a few more nights in one spot and do day trips than to do 1 or 2 night stays anywhere. Here is the itinerary we have so far: 3 nights in Palermo (incl. the 1st night we arrive from the airport in the afternoon). Palermo could be changed to 2 nights -- given that we enjoy being out of larger cities; 3 nights in Scopello from which to visit Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani/Erice and Segesta. (We have made the tough decision to visit Segesta vs Agrigento. We are not really ancient history buffs but definitely want to visit one ancient Greek site). One of our group does not like long car rides so this way we have one 4 1/2 - 5 hour drive from Scopello to Ragusa.

We have 7 more nights to plan in Sicily (8 if we reduce our stay in Palermo), during which we want to be in the southern and eastern region. We want to visit Ragusa/Modica/Noto/Ortigia/Taoramina. We are thinking possibly, 2 nights in Ragusa, 3 nights in Ortigia and 2 nights in Taoramina (where we would spend a day visiting Etna and the evenings enjoying the first afternoon and 2 evenings enjoying Taoramina). If we made it 8 days, where should we spend the time? I would love your thoughts on this itinerary.
Thank you so much for any input!
Sue

Posted by
1053 posts

Sounds like you have a solid idea of what you want to do already, for a two week trip it seems absolutely bursting with activity. You seem clear on your priorities, and I don’t see any fundamental issues with how you’ve arranged your itinerary or anything.

Random thoughts: Keep Palermo at 3 nights. Palermo is essential Sicily: beautiful, cosmopolitan, full of surprises. Not “crazy” like Naples or Rome imo. Do you plan to visit Monreal? I wouldn’t skip it myself, and would recommend doing it as a day trip from Palermo via public transport vs driving. It requires some careful planning.

Similarly, passing by Villa Romana de Casale feels almost criminal. Maybe your extra day is an overnight in Piazza Armerina or nearby. This would certainly break up the drive. I mean, I get avoiding long drives, but right now you’re taking two long drives of 2+ hours and making it into 5 hours. That’ll wear anybody out. I certainly empathize with the philosophy of avoiding those 1-night stays, but they make some sense here.

Posted by
28363 posts

I agree about Paletmo. It has a lot of worthwhile sights. I consider Monreale the No. 1 sight in Sicily. The Norman Palace also has some gorgeous mosaics. Palermo has two atmospheric food markets, what I assume is the island's best archaeological museum and lots of interesting oratorios (chapels). It's also an excellent base for a day trip (by train) to Cefalu,

I will admit that traffic in Palermo is horrendous (not a lot of traffic signals as of 2015), and pedestrians must take a great deal of care when crossing the street.

I loved Ortygia and the baroque villages on your list, but I think you might possibly have one night more than you need in that area (2+3).

I only passed through Piazza Armerina on my way to the Villa Romana, but the town looked nice, and I always like to spend some time in the interior of islands rather than seeing only the coast.

Posted by
6 posts

I agree that Agrigento is not to be missed but if you decide not to drive then swap Selinute for Segesta. I disagree that Monreale is the top site in Sicily - not even close. It is very special but (for me) it does not compare to Erice.

My suggestion is for you to spend 3 nights in or around Catania on the back end of your trip and do short drive day trips to Toarmina, Etna and Ortigia. We stayed at a Sheraton 4 Points in Castello.

3 nights in Scopello? I think this is too much and would add at least a night in Cefalu.

Posted by
7246 posts

We spent two nights in Monreale and three in Erice. Both were nice. The church in Monreale is superb, but no other must see sights. We stayed there to avoid driving in Palermo. Erice has some spectacular views but pretty much closes down shortly after the day trippers leave. Even the restaurants closed by 10pm. It is nice to walk around and the one church has a nice interior. Even though inexpensive, skip the castle.

We also enjoyed Noto, Ortigia, and Taormina (when the ships weren’t in port).

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