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Solo Sicily Trip

Posted by on

I was just invited to join my family in Sicily in July. We will be staying at a villa near Acireale. Now I plan to be at the villa from Saturday(my arrival) through Tuesday. At this point, I would like to travel Sicily by myself.

I'm a 27 year old man. I speak only English. I like to hike. I like a little bit of history. I would love to see old churches/amphitheaters/etc but only if it is very convenient- as I'd prefer a beautiful hike, or sitting in a cafe, or swimming in the ocean and reading on the beach. I have the option of meeting back up with family in Taormina on the following Saturday. Taormina looks like a great place, and I think I would like to stay there, with family or without. In general, I'm willing to miss some of the sights to also miss some of the crowds.

I'm in need of advice on where my bases should be. I'm curious as to how you all think I should get around. I'm willing to leave out of any airport. I'm not so thrilled on renting a car, as some of these cities seem to have very narrow roads. If renting a car will make everything much more convenient, then I'm up for it. Vespa? Bus? Train? I'm pretty easy- I can do the hostel thing. I can camp if that's fun/easy/cheap/safe.

Here is my breakdown:

1.) Friday-Night_Fly out of Los Angeles
2.) Saturday- Arrive in Catania and make my way to Villa in Acireale
3.) Sunday- Villa
4.) Monday- Villa
5.) Tuesday-Leave Villa for Unknown Location?
6.) Wednesday-?
7.) Thursday-?
8.) Friday-?
9.) Saturday-Maybe Taormina
10.) Sunday-Maybe Taormina
11.) Monday- Be in whatever city I plan on flying out of
12.) Tuesday- Fly back to Los Angeles

I have a good amount of time, a limited budget, and I'm traveling alone so I'm very flexible.

Thanks for your time/help!
-Jordan

Posted by
1540 posts

Here is a link with tons of info about different places in Sicily.
Best of Sicily

I know you are going to Taormina (loved it there - stayed 3 nights)
But my very favorite small beach town is Cefalu.
You can take the bus to and from Taormina to Cefalu.

In this link you can enter anything you would like to do Hiking, boating,.....
We hiked in the Zingaro Preserve on north/west coastal area - fun beach too.

Posted by
7054 posts

I'm not sure I would stay in Taormina if doing it (i.e. paying for lodging) on your own. It is super pricy (and extraordinarily touristy) compared with other towns. If you end up there, you can hike to the hill town above - Castlemola - or go down to the beach below the town (there's a gondola that can take you down). Giardino Naxos close by may also do the trick, and you'll also have nice beach access there. As for hiking, maybe consider going to Mt. Etna or doing a walking tour/hike on one of the volcanic Aolian Islands.

Posted by
11294 posts

I loved Taormina, and as long as you can afford lodging there, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. But there are lots of other great places in Sicily, and Sicily outside of Taormina is definitely less expensive for lodging, so cast a wide net in your research.

Train routes in Sicily are limited, but buses fill in the gaps. A car is handy too, particularly if you want to cover a lot of ground fast, but you can certainly visit without one.

Have you already bought your flights? You say you're flying into Catania; if you fly out of Palermo, you can spend time in Palermo itself, or other places on the way.

If you are flying out of Catania, the logical place to spend time besides Taormina is Siracusa, with excursions to places like Noto, Ragusa, and Modica.

For some ideas, including some great accommodations in these places, my VERY detailed report of my trip to Sicily in April-May 2014 is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

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