Greetings Travelers,
My last three blog entries have been about our recent trip to Sicily, are you thinking about your own Sicilian adventure? Here are a few things to consider in making your decision:
I've traveled extensively throughout Italy and I find the public transportation, especially the trains easy to use and they are generally on time. Busses as well. When I've rented a car in Italy, I found driving to be fairly easy. And most people I have interacted with in Italy, speak some English, so asking questions was not too much of an issue. You can almost always get a menu in English or there is a server in the restaurant that can help translate. In general, Italy seems much more prepared for tourism and welcomes it.
Traveling is Sicily is unlike traveling in mainland Italy in many ways. I enjoyed Sicily very much, but felt that in comparison to the mainland, it is a few steps behind in being ready for heavier tourism. I think you need to have the spirit of adventure to travel throughout Sicily the way we did. Even though we had a GPS system, we often were misdirected down small roads that took us no where. You won't find a lot of people who speak english, menu's in english or signage. Life moves a bit slower in Sicily.
You won't hear a lot of English speaking tourists in Sicily, at least not until you get to Taormina. Most of the other travelers we interacted with were from Italy or Germany.
Having a good amount of time to travel and not be in a hurry to get from one place to another is important. Feeling comfortable driving down narrow roads, sometimes dirt roads and being able to drive a manual transmission are all key if you want to take a driving tour the way we did.
In terms of the people, all the Sicilian's we interacted with were wonderful & kind. Even with the language barrier, they always tried to help. (I'll never forget the kind ambulance driver that helped us find our way to the motorway after our GPS led us down a dead end in Taormina!) Sicilians consider themselves Sicilian first & Italian second and are so very proud of their heritage.
A Sicilian Adventure is definitely worth it! Such a cultural experience and as you can see from the pictures posted on previous blog entries, it is so very beautiful... and the food... well, you can diet when you get home!
Here are a few notes on itinerary, places to stay that we liked, 'must do' sites and at the end, some food porn.
I booked all our hotels on Booking.com, which worked out well for us, we had no issues.
Cefalu: Lirma B&B, Via Prestisimone 20. Highly recommend. You can't go wrong staying here
Erice: Hotel Elimo. I would skip Erice and stay in Trampani or closer to San Vito Lo Capo
Agrigento: B&B Port Atenea, Via Atenea 2. Highly recommend, spacious rooms, good breakfast
Ragusa Ibla: Hotel Dell'Orologio. Lovely hotel, just remember you can't drive up, you have to walk
Siracusa: La Via della Giudecca: located on Ortigia - stay here, very charming!
Taormina: Hotel Victoria. Our least favorite hotel. However it is right in the center of town & reasonably priced.
We started our journey in Cefalu, flying in to Palermo & ended in Taormina, flying out of Catania. If I had to do it all over again, I would have reversed our itinerary so we would end in Cefalu. Here would be my recommended itinerary based on everything we saw and learned along the way:
Fly in to Catania from Rome, rent a car, drive to Taormina. Look for the signs that take you to 'Parking Garage Lumbi'. Park& take the free shuttle in to town. You pay for parking as you depart. It is about 15 Euro per day.
To do in Taormina: spend 2-3 hours visiting the third century Greek Amphitheater, an afternoon of exploring the town, shopping, etc. Plan on a full day to take the cable car down to the beach, grab a boat ride over to the caves and Isolo Bella.
Drive to Siracusa: Stay on the Island of Ortigia, connected to Siracussa by bridge. It is such a charming town. You can spend a full day exploring the town, don't miss the open market down by the bridge, walk along the waterfront and take a boat ride around the island.
Drive to Ragusa Ilba: Leave enough time to stop at Noto on the way or Modica (or stop at Noto on the way and do a day trip to Modica one day. Give your self a full day to spend exploring the town. Take the small tram (looks like a train) around town to get the lay of the land.
Drive to Agrigento: You can spend at least 4 hours in the Valley of Temples depending on how much you enjoy Greek ruins.
Drive to Trampani: take a day trip using the cable cars to Erice. A day trip to San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingo National Park. A day trip to the Egadi Islands via the Hydrafoil - 30-40 minutes to get across to the islands - either Favignana or Levanzo or both if you have the time!
Drive to Cefalu & relax! enjoy the beach, the town, the excellent food!
After total relaxation in Cefalu - you return the car to the Palermo Airport and head back to Rome.
Arrivederci Sicily!
Until next time, Safe travels!
Susan
My last three blog entries have been about our recent trip to Sicily, are you thinking about your own Sicilian adventure? Here are a few things to consider in making your decision:
I've traveled extensively throughout Italy and I find the public transportation, especially the trains easy to use and they are generally on time. Busses as well. When I've rented a car in Italy, I found driving to be fairly easy. And most people I have interacted with in Italy, speak some English, so asking questions was not too much of an issue. You can almost always get a menu in English or there is a server in the restaurant that can help translate. In general, Italy seems much more prepared for tourism and welcomes it.
Traveling is Sicily is unlike traveling in mainland Italy in many ways. I enjoyed Sicily very much, but felt that in comparison to the mainland, it is a few steps behind in being ready for heavier tourism. I think you need to have the spirit of adventure to travel throughout Sicily the way we did. Even though we had a GPS system, we often were misdirected down small roads that took us no where. You won't find a lot of people who speak english, menu's in english or signage. Life moves a bit slower in Sicily.
You won't hear a lot of English speaking tourists in Sicily, at least not until you get to Taormina. Most of the other travelers we interacted with were from Italy or Germany.
Having a good amount of time to travel and not be in a hurry to get from one place to another is important. Feeling comfortable driving down narrow roads, sometimes dirt roads and being able to drive a manual transmission are all key if you want to take a driving tour the way we did.
In terms of the people, all the Sicilian's we interacted with were wonderful & kind. Even with the language barrier, they always tried to help. (I'll never forget the kind ambulance driver that helped us find our way to the motorway after our GPS led us down a dead end in Taormina!) Sicilians consider themselves Sicilian first & Italian second and are so very proud of their heritage.
A Sicilian Adventure is definitely worth it! Such a cultural experience and as you can see from the pictures posted on previous blog entries, it is so very beautiful... and the food... well, you can diet when you get home!
Here are a few notes on itinerary, places to stay that we liked, 'must do' sites and at the end, some food porn.
I booked all our hotels on Booking.com, which worked out well for us, we had no issues.
Cefalu: Lirma B&B, Via Prestisimone 20. Highly recommend. You can't go wrong staying here
Erice: Hotel Elimo. I would skip Erice and stay in Trampani or closer to San Vito Lo Capo
Agrigento: B&B Port Atenea, Via Atenea 2. Highly recommend, spacious rooms, good breakfast
Ragusa Ibla: Hotel Dell'Orologio. Lovely hotel, just remember you can't drive up, you have to walk
Siracusa: La Via della Giudecca: located on Ortigia - stay here, very charming!
Taormina: Hotel Victoria. Our least favorite hotel. However it is right in the center of town & reasonably priced.
We started our journey in Cefalu, flying in to Palermo & ended in Taormina, flying out of Catania. If I had to do it all over again, I would have reversed our itinerary so we would end in Cefalu. Here would be my recommended itinerary based on everything we saw and learned along the way:
Fly in to Catania from Rome, rent a car, drive to Taormina. Look for the signs that take you to 'Parking Garage Lumbi'. Park& take the free shuttle in to town. You pay for parking as you depart. It is about 15 Euro per day.
To do in Taormina: spend 2-3 hours visiting the third century Greek Amphitheater, an afternoon of exploring the town, shopping, etc. Plan on a full day to take the cable car down to the beach, grab a boat ride over to the caves and Isolo Bella.
Drive to Siracusa: Stay on the Island of Ortigia, connected to Siracussa by bridge. It is such a charming town. You can spend a full day exploring the town, don't miss the open market down by the bridge, walk along the waterfront and take a boat ride around the island.
Drive to Ragusa Ilba: Leave enough time to stop at Noto on the way or Modica (or stop at Noto on the way and do a day trip to Modica one day. Give your self a full day to spend exploring the town. Take the small tram (looks like a train) around town to get the lay of the land.
Drive to Agrigento: You can spend at least 4 hours in the Valley of Temples depending on how much you enjoy Greek ruins.
Drive to Trampani: take a day trip using the cable cars to Erice. A day trip to San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingo National Park. A day trip to the Egadi Islands via the Hydrafoil - 30-40 minutes to get across to the islands - either Favignana or Levanzo or both if you have the time!
Drive to Cefalu & relax! enjoy the beach, the town, the excellent food!
After total relaxation in Cefalu - you return the car to the Palermo Airport and head back to Rome.
Arrivederci Sicily!
Until next time, Safe travels!
Susan
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