Genealogy Tours in Sicily

Hi there,

My family of 4 (kids aged 9 and nearly 5) are planning a trip to Sicily for 4-6 weeks in 2023 (and other parts of Italy too after the 4-6 weeks are up). We will rent a car for most of our stay.

We are planning to come in mid-June, which is the earliest we can arrive that spring.

My main question is: We aren't certain though if we should stay through to the end of July (6 weeks)?

We don't really know what its like in July, as we've been to Sicily in different periods befo

* early-mid June a few years ago (a bit north of Catania, Ortigia, Agriturismo Silitti near Caltanisetta, Marsala, Scopello); and

* a few days in early October for our honeymoon about 10 years ago (Ortigia and an agriturismo called Zottopera near Chiaramonte Gulfi).

We would ideally like to have a relaxing time with the kids in Sicily - and are hoping to avoid extreme heat (e.g. over 33 Celsius) during the middle of the day, crazy busy-ness and the worst of the Italian school holidays.

We are planning to stay in 2 or 3 spots as bases (about 10 days each): something like beachside near Noto/Ragusa, another near Palermo; and possibly an agriturismo in a central region or near a nice village (in a different region) as a third base. With possible weekend stays in Ortigia, Palermo, Cefalu and San Vito lo Capo.

Most places in Italy we'd like to visit mention September/October as ideal timing to visit, which I believe is also true for Sicily. But if we can visit Sicily at the start of our trip, we can leave September for areas like further north like Tuscany, Urbino, Ascoli Piceno.

I am travelling to Altominico family park in July with my family (10, 7 & 4) . Do you know if there is bike hire on site or near by and if so what is the cost. I am also looking to see if you can hire a car at the campsite and if so at what cost. We are not hiring a car and getting a taxi from the airport to campsite. Any tips would be great. Thanks

Hello! Our family is planning a trip to Italy in early June. We want to spend 7-10 days there. There are 5 of us, two parents and three kids ages 18-24. We are thinking of flying into Rome and taking the train from there to Florence then Cinque Terre then Venice and flying out of Venice.

1. Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary or is it too much to fit in?

2. I have seen some articles online about some of these places being overrated and crowded. Is this true? Is there somewhere better worth seeing?

Thank you for your help!!

We are staying in Montepulciano, but will be doing day trip to Montalcino. I LOVE Brunello.

I realize there are so many to choose from. We will hit Enoteca la Fortezza to taste, but I want to do one vineyard tour. However, we want an experience. I've heard Banfi is large, impersonal - that's not what we are looking for. Yes, I want a good Brunello (is there one that isn't?) but I want more of an experience. We want a beautiful cellar (the older the better), views and a family feel. If I could compare it to Napa/Sonoma in CA - we loved Kuleto (not a very good tour, but the views were unbelievable) and Pride (amazing tour and in the cellars showed us the wines at different ages), but our favorite was a little vineyard in Alexander Valley where a family ran it. As one of the brothers told us stories and even gave us some vegetables from the garden.

We won't want to just taste wine - we want to remember the place, the people, the food, the wine and tell the story for years to come. I've read on TripAdvisor that Tornesi is family run and you can have a meal - seems right up our alley. Pordere il Cocco looked interesting.

What's the one experience/tour that you would recommend ???

Hi! I'm planning on doing a long holiday in Italy from the end of September until November. I will be doing most of my transport via public transport, but biking/hiking or renting a car every now and then might be an option too.

What I'm currently thinking about:

- Enter sicily by train, hop off on the east coast. Visit Taormina, Catania, Siracusa, and possibly Ragusa as main sites. 5 days?

- Take the ferry from either Pozzallo or Augusta to Malta

- Spend about a week on Malta

- Take the ferry back, see (possibly Ragusa here) Valle dei Templi, and the north and west of sicily. About 10 days?

- Take the ferry from Palermo to Cagliari

- Spend about two weeks on Sardinia (not sure what places yet)

- take the ferry from Porto Torres to Barcelona

Is this a feasibily itinerary? The suggested staying times for these places seem to be all over the place (e.g. 5 days enough for Sicily, two weeks in Malta) so I'm wondering if I'm taking it easy enough or if I could include Amalfi for example. Is two weeks in Sicily enough if I go by public transport? I want to see the main sites and take some relaxed days off too. I don't need to spend days in every town exploring every alley.

I plan on staying in hostels and cheap hotel rooms mostly. I can also bring camping gear but I'm not entirely sure if it's worth it as I think a lot of campings will already be closed in October. I don't particularly have a set budget but I prefer to spend my cash on good food and perhaps some guides. I don't have a need for luxury hotels or driving a car everywhere.

Hi,

My wife and I are due to travel to Sicily from the UK for a 2 week trip, last week of September/first week of October. This would be our first visit and we planned to rent a car and tour some of the island staying in a few different places - Palermo, Cefalu, Aelion islands, Taormina, Syracuse.

Now that the yellow zone restrictions have been reintroduced, we were hoping for some first hand experiences as to what impact this might have for us? Ideally from locals or people who have recently visited or are currently visiting Sicily.

We would obviously follow all the local restrictions and mask rules, we are fully vaccinated ourselves, plus both recovered from previous covid infections some time ago. However we have some concerns that our plans to tour around might mean we would be wearing our masks pretty much all day every day (when not driving) and that the restrictions will result in places we would like to visit being closed or very restricted.

So we are now considering whether to book elsewhere and head to Sicily another time. Or are we worrying too much?

My friend and I are doing a driving tour around Tuscany/Ubria for about 10 days (now). We'd love to arrange a few lunches at a vineyard, farm or similar place....preferably fairly casual rather than a posh restaurant at a winery, possibly with other guests or family members. We will be based for a few days each in a village near Montecatini, Sienna, Vitterbo and Asissi.

We'd love any suggestions.

Hello everyone I have a question and have been looking thoroughly to find an answer but no luck.

I have been in Italy since the 18th of August and plan to fly to Sicily (Palermo) on September 9th from Milan. Throughout these days I been traveling through Italy only. Since Sicily is on yellow zone would I be asked a negative Covid test?

Or when I fly back to Italy which I plan on the 18th of September to Rome will they ask me for a test?

I am American & fully vaccinated with a “letter of recovery from Covid”.

Hope anyone has any insights or information, much appreciated!

Just booked our first trip to Sicily and will spend 7 nights in mid-November 2021. I realize not enough time, so looking to probably focus on the eastern part of the island and fly into Catania. Have some questions to help with planning

1)Thinking of spending around 3 nights in the Syracuse, Noto, Modica area. Which city/town is the best place to stay and explore from there? Planning to most likely do local buses to explore during the day

2) We'd like to spend 2 to 3 nights in the Mount Etna area and possibly stay in Taormina for part of it. Thinking of renting a car from Catania for this part of our trip. If not, anyone have a tour group they recommend for tours of Mount Etna.

3) We hate to miss Palermo, but realize with only a week you need to make choices. Will there be get similar food markets in Catania to those you find in Palermo.

4) We would not to spend a day sampling wines and wondering which region to target in the areas we plan to visit.

Thanks much for any comments you can provide!

We are 2 families - one : 2 adults and 2 children (18,21) and other family: 2 adults with a six year old child who shall be going overland from Sicily to Amalfi Coast in early July 2021. We were considering driving to Messina from Raguza area, take the ferry and drive to Maratea and stop overnight. The next day we shall drive to Sorrento and stay there for a few days. This was our draft itinerary so far.:

DAY 1 :

Drive to Messina - Ferry to Villa San Giovanni, Drive to Maratea and stay Maratea

DAY 2 :

Drive and stop to visit Salerno, then Vietri sul mare, Cetara and finally Sorrento and

stay at Sorrento (accommodation for next few days)

DAY 3 :

Drive and stop to visit Positano and then Praiano and see town centres. Return Sorrento

DAY 4 :

Drive and stop to visit Ravello and Amalfi and see town centres. Return Sorrento

DAY 5 :

Visit Sorrento Centre and Drive to Napoli or Salerno to catch Ferry to Palermo or Messina in the evening- overnight stay on the ferry

DAY 6 :

Arrive Palermo or Messina - depending on the ferry trip and availability. Spend a day in Sicily and end of trip.

Any suggestions please re entire itinerary. Not sure whether we should stop in Maratea or somewhere close - not to have a long way driving and whether to base ourselves at Sorrento. We are also undecided whether to catch the Ferry To Palermo or to Messina?

Please advise

raqdan