Sicily: Must See and Must Avoid

kizzyr

Myself and my boyfriend are planning to go to Sicily for two weeks or so this September and I can't wait. We have both been to many parts of Italy (several times for me) and love it and have chosen Sicily as our destination this year. Having leafed through the Lonely Planet guide to Italy I have to admit to being a little stumped. The island seems to have more to see and do than either of us anticipated and so I'm turning to you lovely (or not so lovely:p ) people who may have been there before for your tips and suggestions on what must be seen and what should be avoided at all costs, experiences good and bad you may have had while there and places you would recommend to stay. Neither of us are fans of travel agents and usually like to plan and organise our trips without them, we're not restricted to a tight budget and would like to travel around the island somewhat. I am also wondering is it possible to fly direct to Palermo or do you have to go to mainland Italy and make your way from there?
Thanks in advance
Kizzyr:)

kizzyr

Its all quiet and lonely here in Sicily, so no one has been then :eek:

oldschool

I went to Sicily for a week at the end of June 2 years ago, stayed in a little seaside town called Letojanni (nice beach, but tiny, and not much to see). The good thing about it was that it was close to Taormina, a gorgeous clifftop town that's absolutely stuffed full with Greek, Roman and everything-in-between-treasures.

http://www.gate2taormina.com/index.asp

The view from the amphitheatre through its ruined columns towards the bay is amazing. A 15 min bus ride even higher up the hillside is Castelmola, again with breathtaking views (there's a link to this in the website above).

In the height of summer it's bleedin' hot and full of coach tours, but early in the day or at night it's better crowd-wise. Unfortunately I didn't see much of the rest of the island (apart from an enforced one-man-and-his-dog style excursion to the Aeolian islands in an overcrowded boat, which I won't go into now...)

Seriously, though, Taormina's a definite 'must-see'

kizzyr

oldschool wrote:

I went to Sicily for a week at the end of June 2 years ago, stayed in a little seaside town called Letojanni (nice beach, but tiny, and not much to see). The good thing about it was that it was close to Taormina, a gorgeous clifftop town that's absolutely stuffed full with Greek, Roman and everything-in-between-treasures.

http://www.gate2taormina.com/index.asp

The view from the amphitheatre through its ruined columns towards the bay is amazing. A 15 min bus ride even higher up the hillside is Castelmola, again with breathtaking views (there's a link to this in the website above).

In the height of summer it's bleedin' hot and full of coach tours, but early in the day or at night it's better crowd-wise. Unfortunately I didn't see much of the rest of the island (apart from an enforced one-man-and-his-dog style excursion to the Aeolian islands in an overcrowded boat, which I won't go into now...)

Seriously, though, Taormina's a definite 'must-see'

Thanks for getting back to me, I'll look into that for sure. I can't wait for September:)