Sicily recommendations!

[Mumofyellows]

DH and I have decided we fancy a week in Sicily in September. Unsure whether to go air bnb and self cater or splash out on all inclusive yet!
I would love ideas of where abouts to go, places to stay with a nice beach, fairly peaceful but with decent restaurants, cafes and if we self cater then shops/bakeries/markets etc to source our food. How easy is it to get around using public transport?

Travel tips for the area would gratefully received!!

We stayed in Agrigento which was pretty run down (though there was amazing pizza 🍕) but our favourite trip was to the Valley of the Temples which were some amazing Greek temples from when that bit of Italy was part of Greece.

We managed on buses to get both there from Agrigento and also to the med, and got the train down from Palermo to Agrigento successfully. I think I used the TrenItalia app. We bought eTickets but I think if you buy physical tickets you have to validate the ticket at the station before you get on the train.

Definitely visit Syracuse at some point Ortigia absolutely stunning especially if you interested in Ancient history. They filmed most of the latest Indiana Jones film there.

Cefalu.

Avoid Cefalu high season there was literally nowhere to sit on the tiny beach it was absolutely mental. Might be better in September. Taormina stunning too. We found Palermo fun quite down and dirty. 2 nights there is definitely enough.

We split our stay between Taormina and Ortigia - both gorgeous - and did a couple of day trips, one to Etna and one to Agrigento. There are lots of day trips on offer in Taormina.

From memory the beaches in Taormina were ‘paid’ though. Not massively expensive but would add up if you went a lot.

We travelled by train which was brilliant would recommend. Avoids stress of driving.

If you scroll down to previous threads, there’s a recent one with lots of similar info.

AI would be ludicrous in my view. So many lovely places to eat. All the places mentioned above are perfect and I’d do 2 centre. I would also go and see the mosaics in the Villa Romana del Castale in Piazza Armerina - utterly fantastic. There are Aldo numerous Baroque Hill towns and I can certainly recommend Ragusa and Noto. If I was going back to Sicily, I’d go for 2 weeks. It’s stunning.

Agree AI in Sicily would be a travesty! So many lovely restaurants very reasonably priced too

hii, September is such a nice time for Sicily. We went as a couple and for what you describe I’d probably pick Ortigia or Cefalù over all inclusive, just because Sicily is one of those places where popping into bakeries, little markets and seafood spots becomes half the trip. Ortigia feels a bit more romantic and restaurant-heavy, Cefalù has the easier beach town setup. Public transport is doable on the east coast and between bigger towns, but for smaller beach places it gets a bit annoying. I’d only choose San Vito Lo Capo if you’re renting a car. Also yes to self catering, the food shopping there is sooo good.
When we were comparing areas, I found Ferry hopper useful for the general island overview, the official Visit Sicily site surprisingly good for ideas, and Rough Guides helpful for narrowing down towns

We are considering these two towns as our bases too- did you use public transport? Thinking of trying to forgo a rental car for this trip and taking trains/bus + organized day trip to Etna. Seems doable but would love to hear others’ experiences.

We got the train from Taormina to Syracuse. Very easy and pleasant - way preferable to driving!

We stayed near Cefalu, outside the town. (Town is busy so we wanted quiet to sleep!). Loads of excellent restaurants and cafes, nice (steep) walks, old churches and galleries. This hotel a few miles out of town has a small private beach, a huge roof terrace, and shady gardens around the pool.
https://www.baiadelcapitano.it/

We stayed in BM Suites in Cefalu which is right in the centre, and was perfect for us. The hosts were lovely and will collect you from the station, or if you have a car then from the car park outside the centre. One slight oddity is going round the corner into the cathedral square for breakfast, but it worked well. I thought the beach was ok, but as per pp, I imagine it can get very, very crowded.

AI in Sicily (or anywhere in Italy really) would be a terrible waste. It's cheap and easy to get around on public transport. Take a look at Trapani. It has a good beach, is an historic fishing village, plenty of food shops and restaurants and a train station.

Hi. @Isabella777.

We chose not to rent a car and it was fine. We got the bus from Catania airport to Taormina, the train from Taormina to Siracusa and then another bus from Siracusa back to the airport. Taormina railway station is gorgeous! I think the bus timetables are on a website called Etna Trasporti or similar.

Taormina is gorgeous and a bit touristy. There are loads of day trips available from there.

I pre booked an Etna Trip with Etna People and to Villa Romana and Valley of the Temples with Sicily Day By Day. Both were great.