My GF and I have half a plan to go to Sicily in the fall to catch some ancient ruins, the Aeolean Islands, and for me some beach time (preferably with hammock).
Has anyone (here) ever done a similar trip? If so, any advice on things to see, how to get around, who to bribe, &c?
I spent about a week there back in 1996 and except for the airports managed to spend as little time as possible in Palermo and Catania. We stayed at a friend’s place in Sciacca close to the beach. Great seafood near the marina and and several discos to crawl. We visited the Greek temples in Agrigento which are probably the most ancient structures I’ve ever seen. Drove across the middle of the island (not much to see there) to a cool little town at the base of Etna called Taormina. If you go here make sure to check out the WWII minisub on display in one of the parks. I was sorry I didn’t get to Syracuse. Most of what I remember from that trip is the food and laying on the beach.
Why did you want to avoid Palermo, is it simply boring, or what?
My advise on transportation is to rent a car and make sure you don’t hit any goats. That’s where your bribery skills will come in handy. The cops there all carried assault rifles when we were there, even the park rangers. Make sure you visit a bank in Sicily; 4 airlocks and 3 inch thick bullet proof glass - I thought it was hilarious.
The roads were kind of crappy except for a short stretch outside of Palermo. We asked a local about the nice new pavement and he told us that the Mafia blew up two miles of road to kill a judge and they had just finished repairing it.
A school friend of my wife was getting married to an Italian who had a family estate in Sciacca (we were there for the wedding). He (the Italian) told us Palemo was squalid and not very interesting. Crime might have also been a factor. Mind you, this was more than 15 years ago when the Mafia was actively killing public officials.
I’m a geologist who does field work in Sicily, usually seven to twelve days at a time about once a year. Most of my experience is in western Sicily (Palermo and Trapani provinces), but I’ve spent a little time around Messina, Milazzo, and in the Aeolians.
Going in the Fall is a great choice. I’ll be back there for a month this coming September–it’s the best time to be there.
I personally love Palermo–I like it a hell of a lot better than Rome, and I really like Rome. Monreale is a must-see, and is easy to get to by bus. I wouldn’t drive in Palermo, though, but it’s easy enough to do outside of town. Segesta and Erice are nearby and worthwhile. Trapani has a salt museum that is… well, about as exciting as a salt museum can be.
Sicilian food is the best in Italy, and thus the best in the world.
Taormina is indeed lovely, but watch out, it’s got horrendously expensive - I once spent two weeks there and literally kept bumping into Dolce and Gabbana to give you an idea of the type of person that hangs out there these days - prices to match. If you’re out in that direction, head for Castelmola, which sits on the mountains over Taormina and go to the Turrisi Bar (very mildly unsafe for work if they are really prudish).
A trip onto Etna is worth it!
I also like Cefalù and don’t see the dislike for Palermo, which I think is chaotic and dirty, but very interesting and very beautiful in parts.
An obvious one, but if you can get to the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, do, because it’s amazing, both the temples and their situation.
Expectt chaos and disorder, very friendly people, beautiful scenery and fantastic food (drool!). Don’t forget to have a granita and brioche - on this island ice-cream and a sweet bun are considered breakfast - and arancini (fried balls of rice with stuff inside, a streetfood). Well, I could go on here, just eat everything!
Sicily isn’t riddled with brilliant beaches, although I loved Cefalu, which has more decent beach than most places and is a very picturesque town to boot, with lovely ocean-side restaurants. Agree that Taormina is a bit over-full of glitterati (bit like Capri in that respect), although it’s worth a visit for its cliff top setting and famous ampitheatre.
Put me in the ‘no great fanclub’ of Palermo. I found very traffic congested - it’s quite hard to walk around without sucking in carbon monoxide and getting run over by a scooter. I quite enjoyed some of the crumble-down architecture and crazy markets, but wouldn’t spend more than a day or two there and won’t be rushing back. It’s way way down my list of favourite Italian cities.
Never made it to Syracuse on either of my visits, which I regret.
Anyone ever been to Villapriolo? My father was born there, but I’ve never visited.
In certainly surprised to hear mixed opinions of Palermo. I’d always heard that it was scuzzy and you wanted to avoid it as much as you can. Glad to hear that it has some good qualities, too.
I was hoping to avoid renting a car when I’m there. How is public transportation in the area? I hear at least adequate things about buses and trains.
It depends what you are used to. I went without a car once and got around, but it was not all that easy. Do your research, some connections are good, others non-existent. For example, I tried to get from Trapani (the third biggest city) to Catania (the second biggest city) by train and there were two trains a day. I live in the north of Italy and for that distance/town size I’d get about two trains an hour, for comparison. In the end I took a coach, and that worked out fine, except I had to change in Palermo and it was quite complicated to a. find out where to get off to change and b. find out which coach to change to as there were all different operators for each route with separate ticket boots.
So in a nutshell, it can be done, but do plan ahead a bit and don’t expect to just jump a train or a bus without a second thought.
P.s. I’ve also never been to Syracuse, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it.
I attended a conference in Mondello, a seaside town outside Palermo. I managed to find time to bike around Palermo and Monreale. There’s some nice landscape/scenery there, and great hills for riding. I had fun trying different seafood.
But I have no desire to visit there again. The small towns seemed run-down, and the city (Palermo) was crowded with crazy traffic. The train track to Mondello was under repair (“it was supposed to be finished last month”) but buses were running. There were a lot of mosquitoes - I killed at least 10 in my hotel room the first evening and still got bit 24 times that night, before I learned to keep the window closed at all times, and acquired a pesticide vaporizer to use in the hotel room.
Most of my colleagues had been to Santorini earlier that year, and kept talking about how much better Santorini was. So if I were planning a Mediterranean vacation, I think that would be my top choice.
We drove right round the edge of Sicily in 2007, took about three weeks about it, and absolutely loved almost every moment. We spent a day in Palermo (having got there by train from where we were staying) but could easily have spent longer. Yes, it’s a little scruffy, but we felt completely safe and found it interesting and beautiful in many places. In fact we keep intending to go back. We spent three days in Syracusa and then went back a couple of years ago to a rented apartment in Ortigia. Syracusa is a wonderful, fascinating, beautiful town with great markets, restaurants, ancient and modern sites and a lot of very cool stuff within driving distance (we took a day trip to Agrigento from there the second time, drove right round the base of Etna, etc). We had no hassle of any kind from anyone, anywhere - in fact we’ve found the Sicilians one of the friendliest, most hospitable and kindest peoples anywhere in Europe.
I would live in Sicily if I came into money.
If you enjoy golf, Il Picciolo is a good course…at the foot of Mt. Etna; wonderful views.
Aside from that, drink the wine. All the wine. While in your hammock.
No, but it is on my list. Whether the desire ever becomes a reality… who knows. Scooting there would be grand, especially if with my lover.
Is this a lover you intend to bring, or one you intend to acquire while in Sicily for the duration of your voyage?
Unfortunately, neither of us are big golfers or big drinkers. I am, however, very much into hammock.
I’m thinking now of renting a place outside of Palermo. While I’m still hoping to not need a car, it seems like that may not be feasible.
I climbed to the top of Mount Etna. That was ultra-cool. I could see half of Sicily from up there. But as I stood on the caldera rim, the sulfur dioxide fumes issuing from it nearly asphyxiated me. A fresh breeze came along in time to save me. On the way down, I met a girl from Switzerland hiking to the summit alone on her bare feet! Clearly the Swiss are not afraid of mountains! In volcanic ash in which your feet sink in with every step, and then you see smoke pouring out of your footsteps. That was quite surreal. I ruined a pair of shoes that got caked with volcanic ash which hardened afterward.
I visited my relatives in my grandparents’ home town. Under the shade of an olive tree, they fed me homemade pizza and fresh figs they’d grown themselves. They also took us to the beach. I spent days just lying on the beach in Giardini-Naxos and going swimming, and also went up the hill to Taormina to catch an international film festival. It was delightful to have dinner alfresco in Giardini-Naxos and watch the stars come out over Mount Etna which dominated the scenery.
Visited Palermo on the way out, and strolling in the garden back of the hotel that evening I felt transported back in time to the age of the Saracens who had similar pleasure gardens when they were there. On the way to Palermo, I made a point of stopping in Cefalù, but didn’t get to see Aleister Crowley’s villa of Thelema. I don’t think it was open to the public. My grandmother quoted a proverb to the effect that if go to Palermo, you have to visit Monreale too, so we saw the Norman cathedral with its famous giant mosaic of Jesus that was featured at the end of the film Brother Sun, Sister Moon. I was in Sicily for just one week, and the time was mostly divided between being at the beach and visiting my great-aunt and cousins. And eating, O my God, eating very well. 
I wish I had taken the opportunity to visit Syracuse. There is an extraordinary spring which the ancient Greeks believed was the home of the nymph Arethusa, on an island in the harbor. A freshwater spring which is separated from the ocean by only a wall.
I really wish I had gotten a chance to visit Enna, which is an ancient town on a solitary hill smack dab in the middle of the island. Since Sicily is smack in the middle of the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean was believed to be the middle of the earth, Enna formed the navel (omphalos) of the whole world. Its highest point had a huge temple complex of the goddess Demeter, which was the main center of devotion to Her, and it can still be visited. Down on the plain right under there is a small lake which was believed to be the place where Hades took Persephone to the underworld. The temples of Selinunte are, I think, the largest best-preserved collection of ancient Greek temples in the world. Someday I hope to go back and catch up on what I missed the first time.
Yeah, I remember that. They strongly advised us to wear heavy walking boots, but some people tried it in sandals and, well, ouch!
Oh who knows…