Sicily and Northern Italy, Spring 2026

[Marie W]

My sister and I will be traveling to Italy from mid-April to mid-May 2026. We have seen many of the popular places in Sicily and some of Italy, here is a rough itinerary of what we are thinking for this trip.

Fly into Catania or Palermo. Stay 2-3 nights in Riposto, our dad’s hometown. On to Marsala for ?? nights, and then Castellammare del Golfo for ?? nights. After that we will fly to Northern Italy to Bolzano and drive to Casteltotto/Kasteruth for ?? nights. Next stop Cortina d’Ampezzo for ?? nights. An add on option is to then go on to France. I have not figured that part out yet.

Any guidance or help would be appreciated regarding accommodations, how much time to allocate to locations, etc.

Thanks, Marie W.

 

[Pauline]

Moving this to the Italy forum.

 

[daphnik]

Hi Marie, new here too. When I was in Marsala, I used the ferries to visit the Egadi Islands -mainly Favignana, which is about a 30-minute ride. I used the ferry schedule from ferryhopper which was pretty straightforward, so I stuck to places I could reach by boat. I didn’t try to go from Riposto or Castellammare. Taking the ferry from Marsala gave me a nice, simple way to get some island time without having to change my base or deal with complicated travel. So I can only answer for this ; ) I hope that helps

 

[milgreen2]

we stayed in Castellammare for a couple of nights a few years ago and loved it, but we had a car and did some hiking in the Zingaro reserve, and visited Segesta. we also LOVED Trapani, it was a surprisingly fun and interesting small city. finally, we spent a morning visiting Mozia, with a guide and thoroughly enjoyed it. we didn't go into the salt museum, but seeing the flats and the windmills as we waited for the Mozia ferry was lovely (note: we have a thing for salt flats :~)). we also visited Segesta and Erice with her, and highly recommend. here's a link to her official guide page: Azzurra Cusenza

 

[Jabez]

Love the Dolomites, Hotel Mayr in Castelrotto is highly recommended.

 

[Marie W]

Hi Marie, new here too. When I was in Marsala, I used the ferries to visit the Egadi Islands -mainly Favignana, which is about a 30-minute ride. I used the ferry schedule from ferryhopper which was pretty straightforward, so I stuck to places I could reach by boat. I didn’t try to go from Riposto or Castellammare. Taking the ferry from Marsala gave me a nice, simple way to get some island time without having to change my base or deal with complicated travel. So I can only answer for this ; ) I hope that helps

Thank you. Did you have a particular accommodation that you liked?

 

[Marie W]

we stayed in Castellammare for a couple of nights a few years ago and loved it, but we had a car and did some hiking in the Zingaro reserve, and visited Segesta. we also LOVED Trapani, it was a surprisingly fun and interesting small city. finally, we spent a morning visiting Mozia, with a guide and thoroughly enjoyed it. we didn't go into the salt museum, but seeing the flats and the windmills as we waited for the Mozia ferry was lovely (note: we have a thing for salt flats :~)). we also visited Segesta and Erice with her, and highly recommend. here's a link to her official guide page: Azzurra Cusenza

Thank you. Did you have a particular accommodation that you liked?

 

[daphnik]

Thank you. Did you have a particular accommodation that you liked?

We got a b&b in the historic center, I can't remember now which one it was. But I think in general for marsala the best place to stay is the center, we were very satisfied with the location

 

[milgreen2]

in Castellammare del Golfo, we stayed at Hotel Marina di Petrolo. it was pretty nice, with safe parking, a lovely pool, and convenient location.

 

[Marie W]

Hi Marie, new here too. When I was in Marsala, I used the ferries to visit the Egadi Islands -mainly Favignana, which is about a 30-minute ride. I used the ferry schedule from ferryhopper which was pretty straightforward, so I stuck to places I could reach by boat. I didn’t try to go from Riposto or Castellammare. Taking the ferry from Marsala gave me a nice, simple way to get some island time without having to change my base or deal with complicated travel. So I can only answer for this ; ) I hope that helps

How many nights would you suggest in this area. We are not in a rush. Thanks.

 

[Marie W]

Thank you. Did you have a particular accommodation that you liked

we stayed in Castellammare for a couple of nights a few years ago and loved it, but we had a car and did some hiking in the Zingaro reserve, and visited Segesta. we also LOVED Trapani, it was a surprisingly fun and interesting small city. finally, we spent a morning visiting Mozia, with a guide and thoroughly enjoyed it. we didn't go into the salt museum, but seeing the flats and the windmills as we waited for the Mozia ferry was lovely (note: we have a thing for salt flats :~)). we also visited Segesta and Erice with her, and highly recommend. here's a link to her official guide page: Azzurra Cusenza

 

[Marie W]

Thank you. Did you have a particular accommodation that you liked

we stayed in Castellammare for a couple of nights a few years ago and loved it, but we had a car and did some hiking in the Zingaro reserve, and visited Segesta. we also LOVED Trapani, it was a surprisingly fun and interesting small city. finally, we spent a morning visiting Mozia, with a guide and thoroughly enjoyed it. we didn't go into the salt museum, but seeing the flats and the windmills as we waited for the Mozia ferry was lovely (note: we have a thing for salt flats :~)). we also visited Segesta and Erice with her, and highly recommend. here's a link to her official guide page: Azzurra Cusenza

How many nights would you suggest in this area. We are not in a rush. Thanks.

 

[Marie W]

Love the Dolomites, Hotel Mayr in Castelrotto is highly recommended.

How many nights would you suggest in this area. We are not in a rush. Thanks.

 

[California Go Girl]

I suggest you give yourself enough time in Marsala to visit Trapani and Erice and possibly one of the islands. You could allow anywhere from a few hours to a half or full day for each. I stayed in Trapani twice during the week before Easter, and saw the procession in Marsala (and the museums) on Thursday and the procession in Trapani on Good Friday. It was too windy for the cable car up to Erice, and bus service was disrupted for some reason, but a taxi from Trapani was reasonable. (One time we drove up.) The islands were pretty quiet that early in the spring, but we were able to see the cave paintings at the Grotta del Genovese on Levanzo, which I would recommend if you have any interest in that kind of thing. And I agree that the the salt flat museum is interesting, but it only takes a few minutes.

 

[Tina]

Trapani makes a good base, because there's a lot to do and see in the area, especially with a car, but even without:

Trapani October 2016 Trip report

A blog about travel, vacations and holidays in Italy and Spain with advice, tips and trip reports

slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com

 

[Georgia & Zig]

My sister and I will be traveling to Italy from mid-April to mid-May 2026. We have seen many of the popular places in Sicily and some of Italy, here is a rough itinerary of what we are thinking for this trip.

Fly into Catania or Palermo. Stay 2-3 nights in Riposto, our dad’s hometown. On to Marsala for ?? nights, and then Castellammare del Golfo for ?? nights. After that we will fly to Northern Italy to Bolzano and drive to Casteltotto/Kasteruth for ?? nights. Next stop Cortina d’Ampezzo for ?? nights. An add on option is to then go on to France. I have not figured that part out yet.

Any guidance or help would be appreciated regarding accommodations, how much time to allocate to locations, etc.

Thanks, Marie W.

See our Sicily trip report:

Georgia and Zig in Sicily 2019​

We flew to Palermo, but I recommend flying to Catania. It’s easy to rent a car, stay at an agriturismo, ( We stayed at Fiume de Freddo and loved it!) and take day trips to Mt Etna and Taormina and/or Syracuse. We did spend a few days in Syracuse at a Pilgrims retreat house. There’s a lot to see in both towns.

 

[Marie W]

Hi all,
I am now in the process of looking at rental cars and I would like some advice. We will need one in Sicily from May 12-21st and in the Dolomites from 22-28th. So far I have looked at Expedia and Europcar for the Sicily portion only. There is quite a difference in price.

Expedia: I am unsure as to the extent of the insurance coverage ($18/day) for Hertz (midsize car, automatic) plus there will likely be an additional daily charge for another driver which is not explained. The total comes to $683.79 with the extra insurance.

Europcar: (Peugeot 208, manual) going with their "top" plan (see photo attached), is $938.94. I don't know how comprehensive their insurance is and also if they charge for an extra driver. I find this all very daunting.

Additionally, there is a notation about drivers over the age of 70 but no information on what that means regarding additional cost.

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Marie

 

[Marie W]

oops, here is the photo.

 

[GailS]

Check with Auto Europe. They are a U.S. based broker with a very good reputation. You can call them if you have questions. With them, you also have a U.S. based company if you have any problems with the rental. Auto Europe offers zero deductible full coverage options for peace of mind. I have, through them, rented from Avis, Europcar and Hertz in Italy.

 

[Alpinista]

Check your credit card to see what auto rental coverage comes with that. No need to pay for duplicate coverage.