things to do in Sicily
 

My wife has had the dream of going to Sicily for years.. So since we got incredible deals into MXP - I am going to take her to Sicily for a week or so..

Anyone have any experience with Sicily? - Trying to decide on Catania Side or Palermo Side - Places to stay, Things to do...

Anyways looking for whatever advice anyone has :)

Just came back from a week there. We stayed in Taormina, Siracusa (side trip to Noto) and Palermo. Did not get to the southwest of the island.

What do you like to do? Assuming it's a winter/spring visit given MXP (AA?) deal.

Why not do what we did -- rent a car and drive from Palermo to Taormina?

What do you like to do (museums, food, beach, ski etc)?

There is a lot here so you I'd like to know what you enjoy.
YOu can do both east and west in week without TOO much rush.

Ciao

The Michelin Green Guide is an excellent resource on what to see on Sicily. You'll find it online here.

we were there for easter week 2013. not many people around. hotels and restaurants empty. rented a car. spent 3 days in catania. 3 days in syracyusa. 2 days in Agrigento, and 4 days in palermo. we had a gps, which we thought necessary. we had drivers from the hotels pick us up and drop us off at airports. get the car when you leave catania, and drop it off when you arrive in palermo.

the food is fabulous. the people wonderful.

sweet thanks for the advice.. where'd you guys stay in palermo / catania? March is a bit cold correct? We are looking forward to the food and people mostly.. any cool sights are a bonus

There is a decent Hilton in Palermo.

+1 - I just posted some notes on it in the Hilton forum. Wife and I spent 4 days there earlier this month - found it to be an excellent base in Palermo.

It is at the end of the shopping part of via della Liberta as it transitions into a nice neighborhood. It is a nice area, convenient to shopping and not far from some of the older parts of town and some good restaurants. Can recommend Lo Scudiero for a classic, very good meal, Trattoria Alba for their Arancini and fantastic cannoli (they will deliver arancini by taxi). Piccolo Napoli is quite good as well (look at Anthony Bourdain's Sicily show for some info on it). We had a great conversation with two businessmen at the next table when we were there for lunch.

If you get to Siracusa, DEFINITELY GO TO Red Moon for the freshest seafood (look at the thread on Taormina / Etna as FlyingHoustonian and I discussed it there). As he lives there, I'd listen carefully to any of his recommendations.

Finally, as FlyingHoustonian and others have said, what do you like? Giving suggestions without a target puts us in the position of telling you what we like. And that can come across as a bit of a lecture. So, "help us help you" by sharing your likes/dislikes.

Catania, Sicily
 

We were in Catania, Sicily, for a cruise stop. It was a very brief visit and we planned to go up to Mt Etna. However, she erupted the night before, and the guide said that we wouldn't be able to make it up to the top.

So unfortunately we had to skip Mt Etna. We did visit Taormina and stopped at several viewpoints to take pictures.

More pictures and details in my blog post, if you're interested.

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogsp...-taormina.html

Does the hilton in Palermo do breakfast for Gold/Diamonds ? We are petty excited for the food and shopping. Not hugely into museums nice to see cultural events..for me mostly food though :)

i dislike hiltons and hyatt and other such chains. i think they all remind me of chicago or detroit. they all look alike, and are supported by large conventions::

in catania, we stayed at il principe. a lovely hotel. centrally located. 105 euro per night for a suite.

in palermo, palazzo conte federico. this is a palace. centrally located. they rent guest appartments. was 130 euro/night. we had a 4-5 room appartment. cook own breakfast(food provided) this is probably the most fantastic place we have ever stayed, and we have been to probably 20 high end starwood properties.

what have you folks done to transfer between Palermo and Cataina ? One way rental ? Bus? Train?

One way car rental. Driving in Palermo is NOT fun, but once you're out of the city, it's a beautiful drive along the coast with many interesting towns in which to stop.

we did one hertz way rental from catania airport to the dropoff in palermo. would not recommend driving in either city. the drive over the southern coast was a deight. must have a gps.

We had no trouble doing it without a GPS. Also, though Palermo was a nightmare, Catania wasn't bad at all. I agree, though, that the southern coast is terrific.

There are some great papermaps (yes paper!) of Sicily you can buy and you can survive without a GPS. If you are driving in towns looking for certain specific locations GPS can be helpful. If you just need major areas or roads the papermaps and signs will be fine. Like much of Europe you need to know the town you are going to and the ones just before and just after as not every road junction lists everytown so you need a basic knowledge of the area you want to go if it is small. Bigger cities will not be a problem they are always labled.

Catania to Palermo without a car normally means bus and they are fairly cheap. The train means you have to go to Messina first so unless you want to view the "scenery" take the bus if you do not rent.
(There is no standard commercial flight between CTA and PMO)

If you do rent and are in it just for speed take the main highway but if you want to explore the south coast is nice, though the drive will take you a long time relative to what many from North America and some parts of Europe think of when considering distance and time.

This time of year is pretty slow. Your best bets during winter are the big cities, Taormina, Nicolosi and the archeological sites (Agrigento and Siracusa). I previously lived outside Catania, but found Palermo to be a little nicer city; though Catania has improved much the past few years.

Last summer when I was there we stayed a couple days at the Sheraton in Aci Castello right outside Catania which was nice during the summer time and dirt cheap points wise (3k a night). Aci Castello has some good restaurants in the area.

we have been all over the island and it is a fantastic location

assuming that you go in spring I don't think that beach days are in the cards. that being said, I would spend a few days in Palermo - it really is a fascinating city.

rent a car - it is the only way to get around, I would second the GPS idea. you can buy a chip here in the US to fit into yours if you have a unit

stop here for a selection of ceramics at good prices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Stefano_di_Camastra

head south to this. it is a must visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Romana_del_Casale

here for spectacular greek ruins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrigento
eat here with a fantastic view of the temples. very good food
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...to_Sicily.html

beautiful town rebuilt after the earthquake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto

hillside town
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragusa,_Sicily

siracuse is a great town with good food and sights

Catania is nice (somewhat gritty) but I wouldnt spend much time there when there is so much to see and do elsewhere. Palermo is a better choice for a big city. I would fly out of Catania though

the west coast of sicily is nice but more beachy

no charge for drop off fee with most rentals(we had hertz) . so one can pick up in catania and drop off in palermo (or vice versa).

I've been to Taormina and it was wonderful. Very friendly people.

If you or your wife are fond of mysteries, you might want to get in the mood for Siciliy by reading some of the Inspector Montalbano books by Andrea Camilleri. These books have made me want to go back. Gives you a good flavor of Siciliy, as does Anthony Bordain's visit there for the show Parts Unknown. You can find these on YouTube. Not the No Reservations show.

Taormina is very nice.

We took the Godfather tour there and it was wonderful.

Really wish to go to Syracuse and Palermo.

We loved Taormina.
From my trip report last year.

Great suggestions so far. Would agree that the southern coast is a beautiful drive and if you do it you could spend a day or two in Trapani on the west coast, a beautiful seaside town. A half-day side trip from there would be to take the funicular at the edge of Trapani up to the mountaintop town of Erice. Have to admit I was a bit scared in the cable car since you're going straight up - 750 meters in 10 minutes - but it was worth it for the views and walking around town.

On the way to Palermo - or as a side trip from Palermo - you could visit the temples at Segesta. Another side trip from Palermo would be to visit Cefalu, further east on the coast from Palermo, a beautiful little beach town on the end of a point.

Looks amazing thanks!!!!

We were in Sicily two Januarys ago. Our first day on the island involved catching a late mid-morning ferry over to Medina which allowed us to make it to Taormina for lunch. Had plenty of time to see everything we wanted to and enjoy dinner, but could have stayed another day in that area. Taormina was breathtaking.

Stayed at the Sheraton Catania. Worked well for us. Next day did a day trip to Siracusa, which was also a day well spent. It was off season so many places (including museums) were closed, but still found plenty to do.

We had a 3rd day based in Catania and had ideas on another day trip - possibly to Piazza Armerina or Ragusa, but it was raining and my son and wife were sick, so we stayed close to the hotel. Did drive around Catania a bit.

From Catania we drove to Palermo with a stop in Cefalu. The town was empty, but it was another stormy day and the ocean had huge waves - allowing us the most amazing lunch right on the rocks with water crashing against the restaurant. Cefalu is definitely worth a visit if time allows.

From there drove into Palermo and stayed at the Hilton. Great location and stay. Enjoyed a couple days exploring Palermo.

In addition to what others have said to do in or from Palermo, will add that we spent a Sunday out in Castellammare del Golfo and enjoyed it. It was really cool with the picturesque beach yet snow capped mountains in the distance. There was a weekend market along the beach walk and we enjoyed a great late lunch at one of the seafood places as our last meal in Sicily/Italy.