Sicily early April

[whiteroseredrose]

Hi

I'm looking at going to Sicily early in April. Three nights each in Siracusa and Taormina. We also want to do a day trip Etna, up to the top.

It was hot in Rome a couple of years ago at this time of year so I'm looking at a hotel with a pool.

Has anyone been to Sicily at that time of year? Is it hot enough for a pool?

Thank you

I’ve just done a quick google and it suggests an average temp of 18 degrees for Taormina in April - I guess early April that will be a bit cooler than later in the month. That’s t-shirt & jacket weather really - my DD swam in a pool last year in Portugal when it was 17 degrees and she was desperate for a swim but unless you’re really hardy unfortunately it’s probably not swimming weather. Having a drink by a pool though in the spring sunshine though yes! (PS - Taormina and Syracuse are beautiful!)

Thanks SJane. 18C is about 64F so probably a bit cool. It's a really nice apartment though!

Also I would ask the hotel as even if it's warm, a lot of places don't open their pools until a set date (often Easter).

We were in Palermo the first week in April a couple of years ago. We were in short sleeves, the locals were in puffa jackets and leather jackets. We did go to the beach one day and it was busy but no-one was in the water and no-one had their jackets off except one small boy (of ours).

I was in Western Sicily in mid April this year, 13th to 20th.
Weather was ideal for cycling, sunny but not hot. Lycra was the dress code.
1 day at the coast was cold and windy. Sea looked far too rough for swimming.
No rain for the week.
Palermo, just a hot and dusty city. Luckily I found the Arty quarter. An excellent gallery / cafe.

Many years ago know but we went to Sicily a few times at Easter, we always swam in the pool.

Beware it could be very cool at the top of Etna at that time of year. There could even be snow. We went up in summer and we still needed woolly hats and warm coats

Just as a quick PS - Ortigia (island attached to the mainland) is the prettiest part of Syracuse and the buildings on there are old! I’m not sure (and I’ve not looked) you’d find many hotels on Ortigia with a pool. On the mainland yes but less pretty so depends on what your key requirements are! We had a really lovely apartment 2 minutes from the Cathedral on Ortigia with a balcony overlooking the side streets. Didn’t cost a fortune either!

Grand hotel villa politi in syracuse has a pool which opens in April. It's on the mainland but is on a shuttle bus which goes to ortigia every 20 minutes.
I've not been yet but going in a couple of weeks and can update you after I come back.

We went in late September, so at the other end of the season, and it was HOT inland, but when it was cloudy it wasn't that warm. I reckon you'd need light long sleeves.

For a relatively short stay, do you need a pool? There's so much to see/do, you may well not have time. As someone said upthread, I'd definitely stay on the island (Ortiga) rather than the newer part of town, but I doubt you'd find a pool.

Also - are you wedded to Taormina? It's a lovely town to visit, but by far the most touristy place we saw on our trip there - it's full of coach trippers, cruise passengers and package holidayers. There are many many nicer places to base yourself and still visit Taormina and all the other lovely places around there. We stayed here www.borgopetra.it/inglese/borgo.html - it was a really lovely place with a pool and the most amazing breakfasts, but in a non-touristy town (still plenty of great cafes and restaurants). They organised a great hike/off road trip up Etna (including going underneath the volcano into one of the lava caves - I forget the proper name for them). It was nippy high up on the mountain (on a day when it was hot in town), so you'd definitely need warm clothes for that. Well worth doing though - it was fascinating.

Thank you to everyone for the responses.

I'm looking at apartments and the couple in Syracuse are actually on Ortygia island and are without pool. The one I like in Taormina is the one with a pool which I envisioned a quick swim in at the end of the day. Just wondered if I was kidding myself! Certainly in Rome a couple of Easters ago it was warm enough (for us) but surprisingly Sicily seems to be cooler.

I've chosen Taormina because it seems to have more day trips going from there. We won't be hiring a car so will be dependent on public transport and tours. I'm hoping it won't be too packed early in the season.

I think you might have got lucky in Rome OP. I’ve been in April years ago with my eldest DD and we had some rain and going on the pictures were in jumpers and occasional coats. That’s Spring for you though and equally you could get lucky in Sicily.

If you're flying easyjet to catania airport next year then flights are being released on 19th September.

Hi Starisnotanumber - I know!! Getting all my plans ready 😁

I'm booking for next year as well so will get up early to hopefully get good deal before I go to work.