So we’re off to Sicily for a fortnight in August next year, anyone been before? Know any good places to go or interesting things to do? Mrs Pondo in particular would like to know of any good places to stay on Mt Etna – thanks in advance. 🙂

Syracuse is a beautiful city with a few old Greek bits and a Caravaggio.

South of Syracuse is laghetti d’avola which the most amazing wild swimming spot. Half hour walk in and out from car park. Take a picnic and laze on hot rocks and swim in limpid blue pools.

Nearer to Etna is the Alcantara gorge, similar to the above but easier to get to.

Taormina is nice but mega busy.

Giardini Naxos is like an English seaside town with classy bits and cheaper bits. Nice beach and take your pick where you eat.

Oh and get to a bakery away from tourists for arancine

Agrigento.

As above and taormina

As above Taormina and Giardini Naxos are nice – the former was rammed when we were there this August.

If I ever go again i’d like to go to Scala dei Turchi and maybe one of the big salt mines.

We stayed here.

Taormina is a must and tell your family that you have a once in a life time opportunity to cycle down a volcano.

Syracuse is a beautiful city with a few old Greek bits and a Caravaggio.

I’m there now, well on Ortigia the island bit. Currently pissing it down but great lightning storms out at sea.
Nice place, the food is great.

Stromboli. Hike up before dark, hike down after. Don’t bother with the boats to view, crowded and too far away.

Villa Romana at Piazza Armerina is astonishing.

Thank you friends – helpful as always. 😀

Edit – that villa looks amazing! 🙂

Ooo – how have people found getting about? Does public transport work, or will we need a car?

We hired a car, after Palermo. The driving was interesting… rules are somewhat optional, but everyone tries to miss each other and no-one seems to get angry.

Marking this as I am off down there for a few weeks over new year to escape the invite from the in-laws….

Can anyone say anything towards riding on the island?

It’s a few years since I was there and went pretty much everywhere by train. Excellent. Plan in advance, buy tickets in advance and very cheap. Bus from the top car park to the summit of Etna was a bit pricey as I recall, but you get to wander round the top of an active volcano.
I found the people to be great as well.
Oh and if you want to creep your companions out – take them to the catacombes des capuchins in Palermo – a bit out of the way but you’re unlikley to see anything like it again

We stayed in trecastani for a week in a lovely villa on the foothills of Etna. Great place

In one week we managed:
Syracuse – just beautiful.
Etna summit – drive up and hike from the cable car.
Taormina – pretty, over-rated tourist trap. Expensive!
Agragento – amazing temples and excellent museum. Long drive. Take a montelbano book with you!!!, it’s set there.
Catania – not a bad place and some good museums

Be sure to go to the Etna museum. Italian national monuments and museums are always very good.

just a heads up on Catania airport. it’s a shambles!
sleazyjet had 2 flights going out within 20min of each other and 2 inefficient jobsworths manning the desk.
security was glacial.
despite being there nearly 2 hours early it was only the delayed flight that enabled us to catch the flight.
the staff couldn’t give a toss.

by all accounts its often a nightmare

Try driving through central Palermo. You won’t forget it. (Seriously, if you do visit Palermo watch yourself if even a bit off the tourist track.) Etna’s worth a visit for hiking/mtb. Travelled around a couple of years ago. Funny place.

I’ve driven around Sardinia and it was quite pleasant as the roads were very quiet, from the comments above I’m assuming its not the same on Sicly?

Much more mental in Sicily. I’ve driven in both.

We’ve been to Sicily three times in the last 5 years. Love it. So much history. Don’t try and do too much in one visit, it’s a surprisingly big place.

You’ll need a car to make the most of it. Hire the smallest car you can get with the largest insurance policy. Driving is chaotic in towns, OK in the countryside. I can’t stress how chaotic it is in towns. Take blood pressure medication 🙂 If you need to buy a parking ticket you can often get them in a nearby newsagent/tobacconist.

It’ll be very hot in August.

Syracuse – essential. Ortygia (just walk around all day, don’t miss Cathedral and Caravagio), Archaeology Park (not so much the museum), Catacombs.

Taormina – too chichi, worth seeing though. Castelmola up the hill from it is interesting.

Baroque towns of the South East – extraordianry.

Villa Romana at Piazza Armerina – oh yes.

Agrigento – haven’t been (yet)

Monreale cathedral – stunning

Cefalu – nice

Aolian islands – well worth at least a day trip

Etna – drive up to car park and stroll around or go higher up the ski lifts. Rattly railway that goes round the foot is a real experience.

Catania gets poor write up. Never been.

Hilltowns like Enna, Gangi, Erice are really interesting.

We should go to Palermo but have always been a bit nervous – wouldn’t want to drive.

Had a long weekend visit in May this year.

Flew into Catania, then up the coast to Taormina. Stayed in Castelmola. Taormina – worth a quick visit, but packed to the hilt with coach loads of tourists, pretty in places, but could be any shopping street anywhere in the world. The amphitheatre is worth a visit.

Castelmola up the hill is a much more pleasant experience, and amazing hills for running in.

Etna – When we went in May it was very impressive, 25 deg down at the coast, and by the time we walked off the mountain there was thick snow. The tourist route up using the gondola and then 4×4 is expensive, but IMO worth it. You don’t get to the top, but you do get experience a crater where the earth is warm and smoking. We walked back down, through the volcanic ash and lava fields.

I cant say any of the hotels on the south side of the mountain were that nice. I believe the northern side is nicer. We just drove from Castelmola which took about 50mins.

Syracuse/Ortygia – we stayed in a lovely B&B right at the end of Ortygia. Stunning town/city (for grown ups/romantic break. The streets are incredibly narrow, and difficult to find your way round. We only stayed one night, and wish we had stayed longer. In the day time like anywhere its busy/touristy, but at night its stunning.

I quite enjoyed driving over there, you just get on with it. We had a Focus sized car (even though we asked for small) and there were a number of occasions where it required multiple turns and reverses etc to get around the narrow streets 🙂

We will definitely be going back again for a longer break to explore more parts of the island.

Great thread! I’m thinking of driving from Naples to Sicily next July. Maybe spend a couple of days in Calabria somewhere and then into Sicily with the plan being to get there on the Saturday in time for the Festa di Santa Rosalia (which is apparently the last of the Baroque European festivals – whatever that means). Plan then is to get the overnight ferry from Palermo back to Naples. Anyone got any experience of doing that?

We stayed in Taormina for a few days last year, well – halfway between there & Castelmola really (Jim Kerr out of Simple Minds owned the place – great views) nice but was hoaching with loud American tourists, the film festival was on so it was pretty busy – didn’t think it was too extortionate & there were plenty of nice little bars & restaurants tucked away to avoid the crowds.

As a surprise the missus booked me a tour round the rather picturesque Godfather film locations in an immaculate old Fiat 500 with absolutely no f**king brakes whatesover, which was “interesting” – if you’re a fan of the films that’s a good way to spend half a day, some of the little villages up the hills are lovely.

Didn’t think driving was too mental – we quite fancy going back & driving round the island staying at a few different “out of the way” places.