I’m planning a trip to Sicily with a tail end in Calabria in late April - early May. Our general circuit is:
Catania
Taormina
Milazzo/Lipari/Aeolian Islands (family heritage) - 2 nights
Cefalu
Palermo
Trapani
Agrigento
Syracuse
Then onward to the ferry to Calabria.
Would you skip any of these? Which are worth 2 nights? Help, please?
I traveled to Sicily last May. We stayed in Ortigia and Taormina. The majority of our trip was in Puglia. Ortigia w our first stop and we stayed 5 nights. The first night we arrived late after flight from west coast. One day we hired a driver and went to Noto, Modica and Ragusa. Another day we rented a small boat and explored the coast line. That was a great day. We packed a lunch and the woman we rented from told us what coves to visit.
We stayed in Taormina three nights. One day was a day trip to Mt Etna.
On our recent Mediterranean cruise, we took an excursion to Milazzo
It’s not very touristy according to our guide.
All of Sicily is pretty scenic. Have a great time!
We have not been to Milazzo/Lipari/Aeolian Islands or Cefalu, have visited the rest on a guided tour. One day is fine for Agrigento but IMO the rest sounds a bit rushed. I’m assuming you’ll have a car but by the time you have breakfast and check out, drive to the next stop and check in (plus find parking if your hotel doesn’t have it) it’s likely around 11am. Lunchtime is right around the corner so you’ll end up with a bunch of half-day visits. And be sure to check the opening times of museums and churches you want to visit. Southern Italy follows a tradition called the riposo where these places (as well as shops) close from roughly 1pm to 4pm before reopening for a few more hours.
Have you been to Europe before? If you have and this is a pace you’re comfortable with then it’s fine, but otherwise my suggestion would be to either lengthen the trip or spend two days in fewer places.
It looks like you are staying in the main places. As to how long to spend in each place, it depends on what you want to see. We stayed in Trapani for 2 nights, although one was the night we arrived and in Catania for 2 nights, going to Taormina for the day. We also visited Cefalu on the way from Catania to Palermo. It really depends on whether you prefer to drive a bit more and stay in one place, or to change hotels. And how long you want to spend in each place. We did not do a lot of shopping and kept a pretty active pace. As Mikemac says, it takes time to pack up and move. I don’t recall a lot of the touristy places closing in the mid-afternoon (we were there last spring). We did a private group tour, finished in Palermo and then spent a couple of days there on our own.
And @mom2and
I appreciate all of these thoughts. I’m trying to see which towns are best for two nights. We want to loop as much of the island as possible before going on to Calabria. (I’m also thinking of skipping the Trapani side of the island and going straight from Palermo to Agrigento). We currently have two extra days with no plans so I am trying to figure out what should be prioritized.
I am pretty comfortable in Europe, but a little more stability is better for my GI system.
I’m traveling with someone who did Iceland in a weekend, where I’m planning 10 days. (How’s that for a travel comparison?)