Sicily - anyone been?

[sparkling]

I'm thinking of going there next year about May time and wondered if any Urbanites had been previously?

Whats the nicest part?

Whats to avoid?

Any good tips?

Thank you:)

[damnhippie]

May is a nice time to visit. Palermo is ace although you have to explore a bit...

avoid Messina. i kind of like the place as have been there a lot but it's not great if you're just looking to see the sights etc.

Taormina is also worth a visit. i only really know the north coast, there's some good beaches & little towns along there. catania & mt etna are meant to be good but i've never been. food is good & cheap. no one speaks english really...

hope that help a bit.

[sparkling]

Thank you :)

Was already thinking of going in May or at the latest early June as it sounds lovely at these times.

Apart from Taormina which sounds great was thinking of Cefalu which is apparently an old medieval town that alot of the locals visit.

The other idea was to use Palermo as a base and then travel around but was unsure which bits of Palermo are more tourist friendly. I don't really want to book a hotel and find myself in the equivalent of a 'hotel' in Kingscross if you see what I mean?:eek: ;)

[Dubversion]

I've been, but not for 20 years so any advice or suggestions are probably totally out of date.

but it's a lovely and curious place.

[craigxcraig]

My girlfriend and I went last year and had a wicked time! We hired a car and took in the sites -visiting taourmina and the village where they shot the wedding scene from the Godfather and also the cafe scene where they offend the cafe owner!

We also spent time on one of the islands off the coast of Sicily - cannot remember the name but will dig it out when I get home. We also spent a couple of days in Palermo and had no issues whatsoever - in fact we're thinking of heading back for a longish weekend.

Don't bother with Hotels - well not in the larger towns. The Sicilians do a lot of Bed and Breakfast, some of the places we stayed in were fantastic and very similar price to the hotels. One in particular - we arrived in Palermo by train and we were walking to our Hotel when a woman stopped us and asked whether we wanted to see/stay at her place. The woman was from Holland and was an artist who had been in sicily for the last 20 years. Her place was on the 8th floor of a tenament block in the old town - great art on the walls and a showere on the roof! Was a fantastic place to stay at the end of our break.

All in all - we had a great holiday, with a good mix of city / town / villages, tiny islands with gorgeous seas, excellent food and lots to see and do!

[sparkling]

My girlfriend and I went last year and had a wicked time! We hired a car and took in the sites -visiting taourmina and the village where they shot the wedding scene from the Godfather and also the cafe scene where they offend the cafe owner!

We also spent time on one of the islands off the coast of Sicily - cannot remember the name but will dig it out when I get home. We also spent a couple of days in Palermo and had no issues whatsoever - in fact we're thinking of heading back for a longish weekend.

Don't bother with Hotels - well not in the larger towns. The Sicilians do a lot of Bed and Breakfast, some of the places we stayed in were fantastic and very similar price to the hotels. One in particular - we arrived in Palermo by train and we were walking to our Hotel when a woman stopped us and asked whether we wanted to see/stay at her place. The woman was from Holland and was an artist who had been in sicily for the last 20 years. Her place was on the 8th floor of a tenament block in the old town - great art on the walls and a showere on the roof! Was a fantastic place to stay at the end of our break.

All in all - we had a great holiday, with a good mix of city / town / villages, tiny islands with gorgeous seas, excellent food and lots to see and do!

Sounds brilliant. Don't suppose you have contact numbers for recommendations?

Also how long were you there for? We're thinking of a week but it sounds like there is lots to do and see.

[craigxcraig]

...all in, we were there for two weeks and crammed lots in - with a big chill out on one of the islands for about 5 days with final couple spent in Palermo. Will check with GF re contacts etc but to be honest you will see places advertised on flyers etc stuck to lamp posts and such like.

The artist's had a Tunisian boyfriend, he owned a bar in the middle of palermo called 'The garage' (a converted mechanics garage!!) Was very chilled out and he cooked some great food for us. His nickname was 'the Tunis' - bit of a long shot but you could try and find this bar should we not have any contact details.

To be honest re the accom, you'll find it really easy to find stuff - plonk up in a bar etc etc. One tip re Taormina - stay in the small town at the bottom of the cliff and take a cab up. Taormina is breathtakingly stunning but v v v v expensive!

Will have a look in our rough guide as I think we scribbled things we liked, will get bakc to you.

[sparkling]

...all in, we were there for two weeks and crammed lots in - with a big chill out on one of the islands for about 5 days with final couple spent in Palermo. Will check with GF re contacts etc but to be honest you will see places advertised on flyers etc stuck to lamp posts and such like.

The artist's had a Tunisian boyfriend, he owned a bar in the middle of palermo called 'The garage' (a converted mechanics garage!!) Was very chilled out and he cooked some great food for us. His nickname was 'the Tunis' - bit of a long shot but you could try and find this bar should we not have any contact details.

To be honest re the accom, you'll find it really easy to find stuff - plonk up in a bar etc etc. One tip re Taormina - stay in the small town at the bottom of the cliff and take a cab up. Taormina is breathtakingly stunning but v v v v expensive!

Will have a look in our rough guide as I think we scribbled things we liked, will get bakc to you.


Hey thanks :) :) :)

[43mhz]

I liked it so much I moved there!

I live in Siracusa but have seen a fair amount of the Island..
Cefalu is one of my favourite places.. beautiful old town with a fantastic long strip of sandy beach next to it.. as is Castellammare del Golfo to the west of Palermo.. nearby is also Segesta, Agrigento.. great for sightseeing the old Greek temples.. good wine country over on the west side.. as someone mentioned, the small islands of Sicily are worth a visit.. Pantelleria was featured on Jamie Oliver's tour of Italy program recently.. Enna is a town on top of a mountain and a great place to visit as a stop off if travelling from one side of the island to another..

If you hire a car I'd advise taking out extra insurance.. and always look both ways crossing the road.. even if its a one-way street!

If you want to see as much of the island as possible, consider flying into Palermo with RyanAir and flying out from Catania with AirMalta.. or the other way round.

May /June is my favourite time of year.. its nice and warm.. not too hot... without the humidity.. and also without the mosquitos

:)

[sparkling]

I've checked out the Ryanair flights and for two of us in May and June we can fly there and back for around hundred pounds!! Which is nice.:)

You've also confirmed what I had read about Cefalu so am seriously thinking of booking something there.

I'm thinking land in Palermo, have a day or two to look around and then off to Cefalu for a nice relaxing time. As for cars no thanks I've seen the way Italians drive in Rome so intend to use public transport which should make it more fun.

How lovely for you to be living there all the time.:)

[missfran]

We've been to Cefalu twice in the last years and absolutely love it. Sicily really is a beautiful place. And the public transport is suprisingly good - you can get the train to palermo from cefalu in an hour (although turn up early - the trains after about 9.30 tend to be cancelled often).

Taormina is nice although very tousity, but do make sure you see the greek amphitheatre, the view is incredible.

In Cefalu we stay in the Santa Lucia Hotel (AKA Sabie D'oro Hotel) - it's about a 15 minute walk from the town centre but it's a nice walk and there are regular reliable buses if you can't be bothered. You can stay half-board and your meal can be either lunch or dinner (or just eat elsewhere, it's not expensive). There's a nice bar and a cafe on the front where the local stop for their coffee and ice-cream-in-a-bun. It's not 5 star but good value for the money.

There's a lovely restaurant right next to the hotel too.

Piazza Armerina is a site not to miss - the best mosaics I've ever seen.

Things to eat - Everything! Arancini. Pizzette for breakfast. Fresh, fresh seafood.

Pick lemons from the lemon trees, drink the vino locale.

Honestly, Sicily is one of the most beautiful (and lesser known) holiday places. Have fun!

[sparkling]

Each reply I get convinces me more. Thanks Miss Fran :)

[santa klaus]

I was in Sicily a few years ago - one week in the end of February, which is already in the middle of spring there. It was fantastic.

It seems that everyone over the age of 65 speaks German :) (they all worked on Bavarian construction sites or in Pizzerias, then moved back when they retired), so I had plenty opportunities to speak with actual "locals" which never happened when I was in northern Italy, where they are already sick of tourists.

I have found the locals incredibly friendly and helpful. Food is ace and very cheap. There was never a problem to find a hotel room (well, it was February), once I even stayed in a former palazzo with marble staircases, 5-metre-high ceilings and frescos everywhere - for about 10 Euros!!!

[rutabowa]

when i went to Sicily I got trapped in the middle of the countryside in the hottest part of the afternoon, with no water and a litre of wine, then i got a lift on the back of a tractor with these farm dudes but we couldn't understand each other and they ended up dropping me off in a field that turned out to be 20 kilometers away from the nearest village, so i had to start walking and got really dehydrated so i had to steal a watermelon from a field and break it on a road sign to drink from it, but eventually got a lift from some guys whose back seat was covered in bibles and they toook me to a bus station.

[kazza23]

My partner and I went a couple of years ago in October, and it was fab. We stayed in Palermo, rented an apartment near the docks. It was quite cheap, and very near to everything- in fact right on top of a wonderful food market featured in Jamie Oliver's tour of Italy. The beach is lovely, and only a short bus ride from the city centre, and the bars in the pedestrianised area are brilliant for people watching. The only problem was that we were woken up every morning by people beeping their horns in the street - constantly. They don't speak much english either, so take a phrase book if you don't speak Italian.

[souljacker]

Bump for this thread because me and the wife want to go to Sicily in April. Sounds to me like Taormina is fucking pricey. One thing I read was that it was the monte carlo of Sicily. Great, 5€ for a coke!

Sounds like Cefalu is good though. Are there good bars and restaurants?

Anyone been in April and know what the weather is like?

[43mhz]

Anyone been in April and know what the weather is like?

On the coast its been peaking around 20 degrees for the most part in January and February.. a very strange winter indeed.. in theory it should only get warmer..

[Logales]

How easy is it to get on and off the island from mainland Italy?

I'm visiting relatives who live halfway between Rome and Naples, and I was thinking about wandering down and checking out Sicily. Is it easy enough to just roll up and jump on a ferry? (No car) I'm more concerned about the return trip from Palermo to Naples. Would I have to pre-book?

[Diamond]

*bump*

Thinking about heading out to Sicily for a week in early September with some mates. The tips on this thread are really helpful and I was wondering whether anyone had been to the island in the past year or so and whether September is a good time of year to go. Also

Is it worth exploring the interior if you only have one week, in terms of splitting time between exploring/walking and beach/coast life?

What is Sicily like in September...good time to visit...empty of tourists...weather etc?

Any help is much appreciated.:)

[Diamond]

*bump no.2*

[danny la rouge]

Whats to avoid?
Avoid extolling the merits of local beauties to cafe bar owners, or you'll end up marrying his daughter, who'll then be killed in a car bomb meant for you.

[rutabowa]

Is it worth exploring the interior if you only have one week, in terms of splitting time between exploring/walking and beach/coast life?

I would try seeing the interior, it is the most beautiful bit i saw. a car would help. also, if you go to Corleone everyone will know you are there to find gangsters and it is a bit awkward.