Sicily Itinerary

Jeff, we have been to Sicily twice, and I don't think that you can see all of the island from just one base, even if you are a driving fool. We explored the north side on one trip, and the south on another. Pick up a few guide books and do some reading. We rely on the Lonely Planet. For our Northern expedition we picked two bases, one outside of Trani, in a neat agritourisimo, and the other south of Palermo in a fantastic Rick Steve's recc. Agri in the Madronie mtns,(Il Vecchio Frantoio, sp?) right off the A 19 Autostrada (that can whip you between the North and South ). On our next trip we spent 3 days in the Aeolians at Diana Browns, a $50 E nite fantastic B&B that is covered in Trip Advisor. Then we stayed 2 nites in RS recc. hotel in Taormina (Hotel Continental), and spent 4 nites in a wonderful Agri (Il Limoneto) outside of Syracuse that is in TA also.

Driving is a piece of cake, and the freeways are wonderful. We rented from Auto Europe, and got great rates and a good car.

Thanks for the help. I am with you on not trying to see all of Sicily in one visit. How were the Aeolians? An out of the way place like that would be nice. Do you recommend I try to extend my visit? I'm considering making my way to the Western side and heading to Sardinia next. How much time should I devote to Sicily in your opinion? I travel every other year and really want to get a taste of Sicily for the first time but I have other places to see as well.

I liked Cefalu, in the middle of the north coast of Sicily. It's a small, picturesque, city with a perfect sandy beach right in town. I think you could make several day-trips by train from there.

From my trip planning for Sicily I think you'll need to stay in at least of couple of places. We will be in Sicily for 8 days this fall, and are staying in 4 places: Taormina, Lipari, Cefalu and Scopello.

Jeff, we loved the Aeolians! We made Lipari town our base, took a day trip to the island of Volcano, rented a Vespa and toured the whole island, stopping to sunbathe at some of the beaches (there is NO traffic on these little islands), ate at some of the low cost restaurants every nite, and made sure that we saw the wonderful museum in Lipari. The ferry trip was fun too. We missed the overnight ferry from Naples. It would have put us off Stromboli at daylight, and is supposed to be awesome! We did not use a car in the Aeolians, but picked one up afer our trip there. 3 nites seemed to be perfect there.

I would reccomend that you spend AT LEAST 5 nites in Sicily for your 1st trip, with a stay of 3 nites in one place, and 2 nites at another. Sicily is especially nice in the spring; we were swimming in the water at the end of April! May would be better. In June it gets really hot; even if you are at the beach. Make sure that you get a place with air cond. if you go in June thru August

Sicily is as big as Vermont to give you an idea. I do not think 4 days are enough. I would pick two towns to make day trips: one on the western side and the other one on the eastern side. It is hard to suggest where to stay, it depends on personal preferences. If you do not want to miss anything, I would pick Palermo on the west and Taormina or Catania on the east (they might be crowded) and I would stay a minimum of 6 days, longer if you want to visit the minor islands. These cities have a good selection of hotels. For more advice about accommodation, visit http://www.sicilyguide.com/accommodation/hotels_favorites.htm