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Sicily or Umbria/Tuscany/Liguria

JJH

10+ Posts
Hi,
I've been to Italy four times (visited Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Piemonte and Lombardia). My most recent trip was May of this year (stayed in Rapallo, Torino and Stresa). My interests are food/wine, nature, architecture and historical sites. I prefer walking/hiking and taking in the atmosphere and then sitting down for a meal/gelato/pastry\glass of wine and watch the world go by. I usually prefer staying in small/medium size towns. I also like using a small number of bases with day trip options using public transportation. The shortest time I've stayed in one base was five nights.

I have a bunch of leave left that I have to use this year. I'm thinking of spending four weeks (the month of October) in Italy.

I travel solo. My comfort zone is planning trips 3 - 6 months in advance. I just started my research for this trip a couple days ago so I'm already a bit out of my comfort zone for an October trip. I would add that I had been planning on moving away from public transportation to a car rental for my next couple of Italy trips but my budget is a bit allergic to the present Covid premium prices for car rentals.

A couple days into my research and it seems like Sicily doesn't fit my travel style of a few bases (was hoping for 3 or 4) and taking day trips using public transportation. It looks like I would need to stay in quite a few spots to properly explore the island:

Lipari: 5 nights
Palermo: 5 nights
Trapani: 5 nights
Agrigento: 3 nights
Modica/Ragusa: 3 nights
Siracusa: 6 nights
Taormina: 4 nights

This itinerary doesn't feel very relaxing. Plus I don't relish trying to book seven different places to stay. And the thought of navigating the vagaries of public transport in Sicily doesn't leave me with warm feelings.

My alternative plan would be to hit some old favorites:

Spoleto: 10 nights
Lucca: 6 nights
Rapallo: 15 nights

Even though I was just in Rapallo in May, I loved it! I stayed for 12 nights, did a bunch of hiking - I could have easily stayed longer. I haven't been to Umbria/Tuscany since the late aughts so it's been awhile - but I would very much like to return.

Any thoughts on these two options given my travel style? Are my Sicily concerns legit? Going to Sicily (even with multiples bases) could ultimately be very rewarding. But returning to Umbria/Tuscany/Liguria would also be fantastic.

If I didn't go to Sicily this time, I would probably try to go in the next couple of years and explore with a rental car (after prices have settled back down).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts
 
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We have a home near Lucca and spend the first couple of days in July in Rapallo each year for the Montallegro festival -- can't argue with any of these. Assume you did the walk from Rapallo to Portofino during your stay and/or the extension to San Frutuosso?

Not everyone's cup of tea, but always thoroughly enjoyed the Comics Festival in Lucca at the end of October. You should be around for festivals -- olives, mushrooms, chestnuts, truffles, etc. We went to a great cooking class near Rapallo one year -- U Giancu.

I might be more tempted to base in Lucca and reduce the days in Rapallo? Lucca will give you access to the coast, the Serchio Valley, the Garfagnana, Florence, Pisa, etc. by both rail and car. We were shocked at the effects of the drought in Tuscany this year -- the river bed at the Devil's Bridge in Borgo a Mozzano has vegetation growing up and only one small flow of water under one of the bridge's portals.

As always, there are no bad decisions when making plans for Italy ;-)
 
Firstly, what a brilliant overview of how you travel, what you look for and where you've been before. It's a massive help in offering tailored advice.

- October can still be warm, but you'll start to feel the shift during the month. Thus one factor might be Sicily to cling onto the warmth of the sun, or Umbria/Toscana/Liguria to embrace autumn and the wonderful foods that are available.

- We've stayed in Lipari, and it's a very good base to explore the other islands. Plenty of good restaurants, food shops etc. on the island. Prices can be a little more expensive than 'mainland' Sicily for stuff they have to ship in, but it's not a massive amount extra. I loved the simple mud baths on nearby Vulcano, though the aroma is the island is definitely sulphurous. The evening / night boat trip to Stromboli was excellent and should be ideal for a solo traveller, as it gives a good chance to chat with others. The natural 'fireworks' are reliably frequent. Panarea might be a good island for a walking focused day. Definitely a 'public transport' leg, as everyone uses the regular ferries.

- Palermo/Lipari timing. We flew into Catania and had a booked car to take us to Milazzo the following day for the ferry. I'm sure there will be good public transport options instead. However as the ferries also go from Palermo, you could
a) replicate what we did, flying into Catania (with optional overnighter depending on flight arrival), then transfer to Milazzo for Lipari ferry, leave via the other ferry route to Palermo.
b) Arrive in Palermo, staying there for the 5 nights, then ferry to Lipari, leaving Lipari on the Milazzo ferry
c) If the timing of flight works best that way AND you want the relaxed island pace to get over jet-lag, then you could arrive in Palermo and get the ferry to Lipari straight away.

- Sicily as a location? I've not experienced the public transport, but have heard that it could be better / more reliable, and yes if wanting to see the highlights of Sicily, it is indeed going to involve quite a bit of moving around.

__________________________

- Old favourites. Never a bad thing, though for us we've settled into a pattern of often including just 1 old favourite, ideally as a first location, with the rest new to us.
- Lucca is nice, though perhaps 6 days feels a little long, but that depends on how many day trips you do.

__________________________

Other ideas (southern Piemonte/Liguria)
- There is some wonderful walking in the Langhe wine region, home to Barolo and Barbaresco. This is because the inheritance rules led to a splintering of the vineyards, so no one winery tends to own any of the vineyards... meaning they must maintain access for all. Walking through the vineyards is a real joy and the colours in October are vibrantly autumnal. Loads of good bases and a wonderful little ~€10 map of the paths in the local tourist office. Public transport is virtually non-existent, but once there, walking is what you'll be doing anyway. The tourist office Langheroero.it is really good, with loads of ideas, events, listings. In terms of accommodation, I'd suggest the apartments at Boasso in Serralunga d'Alba, as they are reasonably priced and there is also a communal breakfast, which can be a nice way to get in a chat with others. I don't know if wine tasting appeals, but I'll recommend Franco Boasso's wines themselves as he's a quietly traditional producer, with wines fairly priced and his Barbera absolutely hits our tastes for that grape. Another two local to him to recommend: Schiavenza in Serralunga itself whose relatively young couple are really hard working in the winery and their own restaurant (the latter very good value). The other is a quirky one: Sergio Guidice. One of the few 'drop-in' tasting rooms in the region, and the only one I'd recommend. I get the impression Sergio likes people and is happy to sit in his front room and chat with them as they pop in. I liked his wines, not as much as Schiavenza's, but I loved his affable nature and he was happy to chat in Italian without a concern that my linguistic skills still remain worse than I'd like. Other villages in easy walking distance include Castiglione Faletto, Barolo, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba

- Likewise there is some great walking east of the Langhe, in Castino / Cortemila and we even joined up with a local walking group for a truffle walk / scenic walk that was a real joy. Definitely worth trying to find local walking groups as Italians (outside of the touristy areas) remain very welcoming to outsiders and their hospitality can be a major highlight.

- Cinque Terre is also an obvious walking destination, but for me the coastal paths are a little too obvious these days, typically rather over-populated with walkers (thank you Rick Steves <waves fist in mock anger>). That said, for someone who likes walking, head to the inland walks and the tourists mostly disappear. The walks are good, with the slopes steep enough to discourage casual strollers.

_____________

Other ideas
- Puglia could be an alternative to Sicily, with good public transport via trains and buses, flying into Bari or Brindisi. Have a look at Trani, Martina Franca, Locorotondo, Ostuni, Lecce, Alberobello and if they appeal, it should be easy to add on stuff like Castel del Monte, Matera etc. My only doubt would be the extent of walking routes, where walking in the countryside is the whole point of the journey.

- I've left out the mountainous areas to the north of Italy which of course have stunning walking - but for me October wouldn't be ideal (May/June perhaps perfect for longer days and a little warm sun doesn't go amiss)
 
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Thanks Alpinista. I visited Lucca in April 2007. I was there for six nights and loved it. It was the first place I stayed on my first trip to Italy. So it has a little more significance for me. I certainly would be interested in returning. And your recommendation to spend more time there makes sense.

Thanks Ian. Your response was splendid and has given me many ideas (especially your detailed information about the villages/vineyards in the Langhe). And to your comment, yes I very much enjoy visiting wineries. There is a poster with the same screen name as you on one of the wine boards I frequent. Perhaps you are the same person...

You've both given me a lot to think about. Back to my research.
 
Hi JJH
I'm active on Wine Berserkers (US) and Auswine (Australia), plus used to be active on WLDG (US) and Wine Pages (UK), so I expect that person is me :D

I'm guessing you discovered Enoteca Vanni in Lucca? A very interesting cellar to explore at the back of the shop, but some friends who stayed there said they are also open in the evenings as a wine bar.
 
Your concerns re: public transport in Sicily are probably well founded. We didn't get there for several years because we just couldn't figure out the logistics, even with a rental car. And we've not been shy about planning these kind of trips & have had little problem finding our way driving thru Northern Italy or much of France. When we finally convinced ourselves to go, we did the unthinkable (for us) and joined 6 others in a small group "tour" of 3 weeks, overseen by a trusted agent who booked everything for us, including drivers to get us to/from every site & advance ticketing. It went incredibly well and, in fact, now that we've been, I really don't think that the island lends itself to self guided touring, either by public transportation or car rental. Hiring drivers and having things professionally booked seems to be the way to go, but this does not fit your style (& usually not ours). I'm sure that others here would disagree & maybe give you some helpful ways to manage. That being said, Sicily was wonderful & you should make sure you get there. It is an incredible combination of cultures, with architecture, food, language and customs from much of the world represented and sometimes integrated in unexpected ways. Very different from any other part of Italy (or Europe, for that matter) that we've been. It is a definite destination place, worthy of prioritization. If you do decide to go, please post here and I'd be more than happy to list the out of the way towns & heritage sites to visit, as well as some of the places to avoid.

On a completely different note, returning to Umbria sounds like a great idea. If you haven't already, visiting the Bea &/or Caprai wineries is highly recommended. Another highlight during the weeks we spent in the area, was going to an olive oil frantoia and doing olive oil tastings around Todi.

Just my 2 cents worth.
 
Alpinista,
Realized I didn't respond to your question about some of the walking routes I took during my recent stay. Yes, I did walk to Portofino a couple times....fantastic scenery. I also took the train to Camogli and hiked to the San Fruttuoso Abbey (went for a swim) and then on to Portofino. And I did a few hikes in the Cinque Terre. I really had a good time in Liguria and especially enjoyed staying in Rapallo (away from the tourist hordes in the CT).

Ian,
Wine Beserkers, WLDG and Wine Disorder are the three wine forums I frequent (mostly as a reader). Not sure if I visited Enoteca Vanni on my 2007 trip (but I just put it on my list).

Steve,
I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts on how Sicily isn't as straightforward a destination as one might think. Your comments about not being able to figure out the logistics hit home for me. If I decide to go to another area, it will be mostly about wanting to have more time to properly plan my Sicily adventure (and not that I'm not up for the challenge).
 
While I'm not going to be able to go to Sicily anytime soon, when I do get it scheduled I hope to take this tour. Shannon who runs this tour was a member of "gone but not forgotten" Slowtrav. Friends who have travelled to Sicily with her had nothing but great things to say about their experience. Just something else thrown out there for you to consider.
 
Thanks Suzanne. Appreciate the link. I was also a member of SlowTravel and used it to plan many of my European trips.
 
Sicily is a great destination for visiting towns cities villages and for the food and drink. We've visited 6 or 7 times, each for about 3 weeks, in the last twenty years. I don't agree you need to use an organized tour, it's no more complicated to organise your own holiday in Sicily than anywhere else in Italy. Two of our trips just used public transport. It's possible and reasonably easy if you want to visit the main destinations. More complicated to get to out of the way places, but that is true anywhere. We sometimes had to be patient, but never got stuck without reaching our destination. People are also very friendly and happy to help so with some careful planning and a little patience it can work for a slow holiday.
On the other hand, we love hiking ourselves but Sicily is not the place for solo hiking in my opinion. We noticed a stray dog problem as soon as you get off the beaten track.
 
Enoteca Vanni something of an Aladdin's cave out back, with plenty of older vintages and they seem to have a lot listed online these days.

WLDG in general has a lovely friendly / relaxed / supportive vibe about it, similar to this site I guess. I stopped posting solely because politics became rife in the 'friends and fun' forum, making it much less friendly / fun. Good to hear they are still going and there are some lovely people there.
 
Thank you Tina. Your thoughts are much appreciated. I'm generally tracking towards Sicily being a self-planned destination for me. Just have to make a decision as to whether the timing (October) is right for me or whether I postpone until I have more time to plan (and possibly can fit a rental car in my budget).

Thanks Ian
 
On the other hand, we love hiking ourselves but Sicily is not the place for solo hiking in my opinion. We noticed a stray dog problem as soon as you get off the beaten track.

Thanks for this. As an aside, while walking through the vineyards in the Douro Valley (Portugal) last fall, I came across a dog (not a stray) either with the vineyard workers or from the vineyard itself. This dog was ornery and almost didn't let me continue on the path. I could see how stray dogs would be particularly troublesome.
 
Hi Ian,
About whether to go to Sicily in October or not:
Good time of the year to visit, not too hot, not too many people.
Also, will you have a whole month to dedicate also on a future trip?
On the other hand, planning is an enjoyable part of any trip, will you have time to plan adequately? Then again October is low season so you could even leave some options open and decide when you're there....but that means 'wasting' travel time on looking for accommodation etc.....

Here's what we did on our two trips to Sicily using public transport.
West Coast Sicily 2016
Trapani - Palermo
Flew into Trapani easy bus to port, ferry to Favignana 6 nights. Fantastic! Car would be a hindrance. More info here:

Returned to Trapani for 9 nights (we are slow!). Mazaro del Vallo (v.v.vgd) and Marsala by train. Lots of relaxing in Trapani. Hired a car from a local firm for 2/3 days to visit San Vito lo Capo (sea and beach fantastic), Castellammare del Golfo (nice) and Scopello (pay to park to pay to enter to look at the famous minute crowded bay) and Erice (we had already visited the Monte Cofano area - a very good walk/hike on a previous trip, and Riserva dello Zingaro - overrated would not return) and the Mozzia and Salt pans area to the south on another, are also easier by car. Erice (fantastic) can also be reached by bus or cable car directly from Trapani.


Then moved to Palermo, not my favourite place for the same reason I don't like Naples and Barcelona, large chaotic cities despite beautiful highlights. Better not to have a car in Palermo. Apart from the city itself you can go to Monreale by bus, Mondello (fantastic sea and beach) by bus, Cefalù (very very good especially the cathedral) by train. Airport bus Palermo to the airport.
To read about the complete trip put West Coast Sicily into the search section of the blog.
 
East Coast Sicily 2017.
Flew into Catania but without stopping there because we'd visited on a previous trip.
Coach to Milazzo, for the first week nice town great fish but didn't like the stony beach. Good walk along to the end of the promontory. Here you can get the ferry to the islands. We didn't on that trip. From there we visited Messina, worth a day by bus, Capo d'Orlando (not worth it) by train, Laghetti di Tindari Marinella by bus/train.


From there train to Pozzallo, chosen because I live in the mountains and like to stay by the sea. Pozzallo is nothing special but the beach is fantastic for walking kilometres safely (firm sand and no dogs) and we visited Modica, Scicli and Ragusa as well as Sampieri (hiked there, bus back) by bus. https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/05/east-coast-sicily-pozzallo-trip-report.html?m=1

From there train to Siracusa. We stayed in Ortigia (difficult if you have a car!), one of my most favourite places. Noto by train, Fontane bianche for the beach and Plemmirio park for hiking both by bus. Finally, direct bus back to Catania airport.
Read the blog for details and tips about transport.
If you put East Coast Sicily into the search you get all the days.
 
In conclusion to the question do you need a car in Sicily?
No.
1. Not in Palermo, not in Trapani, not in Siracusa, not on the islands.
2. Driving out in the countryside is enjoyable, little traffic, good roads, fine panoramas but every time you have to go in/out/ through a town it's stressful. Apart from the chaotic traffic in Palermo or Catania which are totally to avoid, a lot of towns have a checkerboard layout which means every few metres you are at a 'crossroads' edging your way forward and wondering if a car or scooter is going to come hurtling down to your left or right.

Yes
1. Some lovely places are difficult to reach by public transport: Riserva di Vendicari, San Vito lo Capo and Monte Cofano, scala dei Turchi
2. Others are really long (Trapani Palermo) but would be easy by car

Solution? Good planning, a lot of public transport, because especially if you're alone it's a lot more relaxing to sit back and look at the landscape on a train or a bus than to drive and navigate at the same time, and then a few days of car rental when you really need it, for a little independence and to reach other places. Or, considering what you are saving on self organizing your trip compared with taking a tour, an occasional taxi.
Hope this helps. Best regards
 

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