FANTASTIC SICILY
Just back from an amazing week in Sicily. We flew into Catania airport and out of Palermo one week later. Sicily is a very special place and surpassed all my expectations...

What is most impressive about Sicily is how authentic it is, with the exception of Taormina, each town we visited truely had its own identity and character. The Sicilian people are extremely kind, friendly and helpful. I really hope mass tourism does not change life on this very special island.

Our itinerary was carefully researched and planned, we spent one night in Siracusa, 2 in Taormina and we spent our last 3 nights in Palermo. I will write a short review on the accomodation on the individual pages on the TA site for the respective hotels.

Firstly, a word on driving in Sicily - practically every review we read in advance of our holiday spoke about the 'madness' on the roads and how difficult driving was in Sicily. Our experience was different, sure it was a little stressful in the main towns and around Palermo but overall if you plan to travel in the afternoon, it is fine. The motorways are great with stunning views along the coast. We would suggest not driving in Palermo ( you don't need to), we dropped our car back to the airport at Palermo before we visited the city and paid 5 euro to get the bus back to the centre of Palermo.

It is well worth having a few Italian phrases as it is much appreciated by the locals and is particularly useful in restaurants in the smaller towns!

A few words on the towns we visited - firstly Siracusa. The old town in Siracusa is breath-taking. Lots of interesting cobbled streets to wander around, the gleaming 'duomo' in the centre of the old town and my personal highlight, the seafront lined with massive yachts! In retrospect, 2 nights would have been great there instead of 1.

Next, Taormina - although set in an undeniably naturally beautiful setting, we were both a little disappointed at how crowded and 'touristy' the town was. Lots of nice little shops and plenty of restaurants to choose from though. We spent a really enjoyable day at the beach there. The Greek Temple is definitely worth a visit.

Palermo is a most interesting city - certainly earns the description I had come across in my research - 'raw' !!! There is so much to see in Palermo - if you are interested in art & history, you will not want to miss Palermo. Highlights definitely the street market at Il Capo, the Opera House, the Cathederal and the spooky Catacombs with the remains of 8000 locals!


Overall, the standard of accomodation was good but I was disspointed with the 'minimun stay' policy of many of the hotels. Like most travellers, we only had a week and wanted to see as much of the island as possible which meant a night here and there.

Re. the food, my expectations were high, granted, but I did expect to see more fresh fruit and vegetables. The seafood was excellent. It would be nice if the hotels and guesthouses provided freshly squeezed fruit juices in the mornings.

I can't wait to go back to Sicily and see Agrigento and visit the islands. It is a wonderful place and lucky you if you are planning a holiday there!!