10 days in sicily - need your experience

YeGods

Hi all, we're intending on travelling to sicily for 10 days in september.
we're flying into Catania and have already booked 3 nights in Taormina when we arrive but I'm wondering if we should spend another few days in Taormina and then another 5 nights in Catania. We don't fancy staying in too many different locations so we could take day trips from both places without having to rent a car ( travel by train & busses)
Basically we're looking for your experience in these cities and trips you've taken from there, and what you'd recommend. Is a day trip to Palermo worth the time? did you go to mount Etna etc etc. Any information at all would be useful. Many thanks - Yegods

havetoquit

I have been to beautiful many faceted Sicily and would highly recommend that you use lovely Taormina as opposed to Catania as your base. If you do not intend driving around yourself, there are many very interesting trips of cultural and particularly of historical interest with excellent guides which travel with the group on the coach. These trips are organised from the tourist offices and will arrange that you travel with an English speaking group and guide. You may like to alternate your days, with time on the beach in Taormina, or by your hotel pool in between trips away. The restaurants and cafes around Taormina are excellent and there is usually lots of music and a great atmosphere about the place. There is also at the top of the town a beautiful square with a view point where people tend to congregate to watch the sun go down. I loved the place and found the people to be incredibly friendly and helpful. It is also worth taking a trip up to the mountain villages above Taormina to see the real Sicily away from the tourist areas. You can eat cheaply here and even maybe as we did get involved in a festival and see how they celebrate centuries old traditions, eating out in the evening sun, dance and song. All in all, the trip to Sicily was delightful from start to finish. To bring back; perhaps some hand painted ceramics and some good Limoncello! I highly recommend that you take a few good books on Sicily from the library which will give you a far better insight into the island, it's people and it's history than I can ever hope to do here. Have a great time and the weather is usually perfect in September.

havetoquit

Forgot to say that yes, we did go to Palermo and of course to Mt Etna. Both were amazing in very different ways, but they are a must for any visitor to the island. There are so many cultural influences to be seen in Sicily, particularly Palermo.
Have fun.

YeGods

Thanks for that reply havetoquit. That just affirms what we were thinking so it's good to see that we were on the right track. Really looking forward to the trip and even more so now. It's true what they say - experience is the one thing you get After you need it. Thanks again.

havetoquit

Great and glad to be of help. There is a vernicular railway( Don't know if it still exists) to the beach below for those staying in hotels or pensione at the top of Taormina, but there are also hotels near the beach, so you know ahead. A good travel book will help you to choose a good hotel or pensione and taking time to research these will go a long way towards making your holiday memorable. Bad ones exist in every holiday destination and travel agents are not the best when looking for accommodation unfortunately. I find the feedback on Tripadviser also very helpful. Our plane had to hover overhead for a while owing to congestion at Catania and the pilot decided to give us an amazing treat to compensate; he went directly over Etna and lowed the plane as far as possible so that we had an incredible view of the volcano! Unforgetable. The quality of crops and fruit that grow in volcanic soil at the foot of the volcano is amazing.

jt_dublin

Hi YeGods,

I spent some time travelling around Sicily a few years ago. My least favourite place was Catania city, so I would not recommend 5 days there. To me it's a big sprawling city. If I was to choose 2 destinations easily accessible from Catania airport, it would be Taormina & Siracusa. Definitely go to Mt. Etna. There will be tours from Taormina It is a wonderful drive & experience. Try to go on a clear day otherwise you will be in the clouds. Also the ancient Greek theatre in Taormina is amazing.

I loved Siracusa. It is a nice size with plenty to see & do. Wikipedia has a good list of the attractions here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_Sicily

I hope this helps.

tatli_lokma

+1 for Taormina and Siracusa

havetoquit

Cefalu, Palermo, Siracusa, Taormina Monreal and Etna are definitely worth a visit and to leave without spending a day in a pretty mountain village above Taormina would be to miss out on the real Sicily away from the tourist attractions.

Tiriel

Cefalu was my favourite, then Siracusa and then Taormina. Taormina is beautiful but more tourists. Also went out to Favignana from Trapani and loved it - no point staying in Catamia, you could be anywhere. Would choose Palermo over it, offers lovely day trips but in itself is vibrant and exciting. Air conditioned busses I found as best mode if public transport, trains slower and no air conditioning.

You will fall in love with Sicily, I'm jealous!

jt_dublin

OP, Cefalu is a lovely place, but it is a small town and a beach. I would not recommend it as a base for the other 5 days of your holidays. For beaches, you will already have had those just below Taormina and next door in Giardini Naxos, so another beach resort might not be what you are looking for. At best it merits a day trip from Taormina and even at that, it is quite a distance.

Siracusa offers much more as a base, to explore the sites within the town and the surrounding area as well.

Just my take on it!