Hello -
Overwhelmed with a last-minute trip to plan to Sicily. We have 14 days and it's our first time in Sicily. I wish we had more time.
Favorite restaurants and places to stay in (or near these towns):
*Palermo (near old town)
*Marsala
*Agrigento
*Catania
**Cefalu
I have family roots in Villafrati and Limina -- if anyone can share information on those towns, I would love to hear!
Mille Grazia
Are you flying into and out of Palermo, or into Palermo and out of Catania?
I assume you are renting a car after Palermo?
Would you be willing to see Cefalu by train from Palermo? Would you be willing to skip Marsala?
Do you want to stay in Villafrati and Limina?
I would not worry about locating restaurants in Sicily right now --- you will find them easily and eat extremely well wherever you go. That should help with the overwhelmed feeling.
I don't know what your interests are, but if this trip were mine, I would fly into Palermo and spend 4 or 5 nights, visit Cefalu as a day trip from Palermo, take a train out to the airport and rent a car, drive to Villafrati and then stay in Agrigento. Then I would drive to Piazza Armerina and stay one night so that I could visit the Villa Romana mosaics first thing in the morning (I can recommend a great B&B there!). Then I would drive to Limina (long drive). If you want to spend a few days in Catania, I would be inclined to return the rental car first --- my husband was not fazed by driving in Catania, but most normal human beings would be. Fly out of Catania.
If you are wanting a town around Mount Etna so that you can visit the volcano, but want to skip Catania, we really enjoyed staying in Randazzo (1.5 hour drive to Limina, so you could visit Limina as a day trip from there).
We enjoyed and can recommend:
Palermo -
Restaurants - La Galleria; Procopio Pizzeria
Accommodation - Santuzza Maison de Charme (looks as though now named Ambrosia Timeless Hosting)
Agrigento -
Restaurant - Ristorante Ragu Reali
Accommodation - B&B Terrazze di Montelusa
Cannot recommend Cefalu — neither the city, which we found super crowded, touristy and unfriendly, nor our accommodation or restaurant. The one place in Sicily we would not return.
Catania is a wonderful restaurant city; on my most recent trip, I had a wonderful dinner at:
LE TRE BOCCHE
The restaurants along Via Gisira, where the fish market takes place during the day, are good and well-suited to tourists; I like VUCCIATA KITCHEN MARKET.
I can recommend a hotel but would you give an idea of the price you are willing to pay?
If your plans allow for visits to restaurants outside the places you mentioned, I can offer some wonderful ideas for great eating.
One city you do not mention is Trapani, which I think ranks among the best eating cities on the island.
