Hello,
I plan to be in Sicily for about a month this summer. For the first two weeks, I would like to settle in one location; the touring part of the second two weeks is already set up. Where do you think would be a good place to rent an apartment and just sort of experience the local life? I don't want to be in Palermo or Catania. I am a woman traveling alone, so that might be a consideration. Thank you!
If your desire is to "experience the local life" then you should probably avoid all the obvious tourist destinations. My husband and I just returned from Italy, including 2 weeks in Sicily, and found the west coast to be the least congested with tourists. Marsala is a very nice town but there are other towns on the west coast that might suit you.
Where is the touring part? The two week rental should be away from locations where you are touring. Trapani, Marsala on west coast. SE Sicily, Scicli?
The interior (Enna, Piazza Armerina, Caltagirone) felt pretty untouristy to me, but I was just in that area on a couple of day-trips in 2015.
Like the other poster it would be helpful to know where you'll be touring the other two weeks. Also, will you have a car while you're hunkered down? Will you want to do any day trips from that location?
I'm partial to coastal areas so would probably look for a place along the coast. Sciacca on the SW coast is a nice sized harbor town (about 40k), big enough to have things to do and good restaurants, etc, yet small enough to feel 'homey'. No train connections but easy bus connections to Marsala or Agrigento and, if you have a car, there are many places to explore from there. It's known for it's ceramics and there are lots of studios to explore and shop. It can be a bit touristy but not overrun. I was only there for a few hours but it's the kind of place I felt comfortable in and thought "I could stay here a while".
No question. I would go to Lipari, and stay at Residence Acanto (apartment Malva 103) if possible. We were there for 4 nights on our recent trip and wished we had two weeks. It's a great little island to just settle in, with day-trip opportunities to other Aeolian islands.
