Sicily in May

There is an LP 'Sicily' too....the conventional Italian guidebooks don't tend to have a lot on Sicily.

Personally,with your interests,I'd have at least 3 or 4 days in Palermo.

On the way,if you want to go direct from Messina along the north coast,you could stop at Cefalu and have a couple of days there.Or head into the Madonie montains from there...nice hking,picturesque small towns too.

Cefalu is easy by public transport,Palermo too (by train).The Madonie a little less so.though still possible...its a good place to have a car for a few days.

In addition or alternatively,you could have a couple of days in the Aeolians (boat from Milazzo).

Thanks so much Lucapal

Lucapal or others, any views on Capo d'Orlando? A friend recommended a couple nights there.

Is it possible / reasonable to do one of the Aeolians as a day trip?

So I'm thinking, perhaps
Day 1 - Ferry. Overnight in Capo d'Orlando
Day 2 - Somewhere in the Aeolians (Stay in Lipari? I hear one can take a night boat to see Stromboli?)
Day 3 - Again in the Aeolians (Salina or Panarea?)
Day 4-5 - Cefalu
Day 6 - Palermo
Day 7 - Palermo
Day 8 - Palermo. Fly from Palermo airport in the evening.

any any comments/thoughts very much welcome

Capo D'Orlando has a nice beach...nothing else particularly interesting, but if you want a beach it's s one of the best on the north coast.

If you want to see something of the Aeolians I'd recommend at least 2 nights there....staying on Lipari gives you a wide choice of accommodation etc.

There is a boat tour which includes Stromboli at night...that's pretty cool as you can see the lava flowing into the sea.I think most of those boats stop at Panarea on the way.

The other day you could stay on Lipari.Or visit Salina or Vulcano by ferry....

Fabulous thanks very much lucapal! I appreciate you taking all this time to reply. I'll pass on Capo D'Orlando then. Not our priority.

I'm becoming intrigued by the possibility of a Liberty Lines ferry from Reggio di Calabria directly to Lipari - It looks like there is one sailing per day - so we'll have to watch the time - but it could give us a little more time in the Islands

So maybe something like

Day 1 - Ferry Reggio di Calabria to Lipari (about 2pm - 4:30pm).
Day 2 - Stromboli tour at night, with possible stop overs **
Day 3- Lipari
Day 4- ferry back to Sicily, stay in Cefalu

** Does anyone have a tour company to recommend? Thanks so much

Lucapal, if you don't mind me imposing on you again, I saw that you wrote on an earlier topic:

"There is a nice private boat day tour from Lipari, if you have the budget.

Visits Salina, Panarea and Stromboli by afternoon and evening. .so you get to see the lava flowing into the sea after dark.

Then it goes back to Lipari late evening."

Sounds perfect to me. Do you have any particular recommendation for the tour operator? Is this the sort of thing one arranges when in Lipari or in advance? Thanks so much again.

--

Alternatively, I'm just seeing photographs of the Egadi / Aegadian Islands and it looks gorgeous. Perhaps we should go straight to Palermo, skip the Aeolians and Cefalu and instead do Trapani, Egadi Islands, and Palermo? If anyone has opinions on Egadi Islands vs Aeolian Islands I'd be glad for comments!

You can arrange it easily there....there are several different companies that do it.

There is an office on Marina Lunga in Lipari town where they sell the tickets.

Not sure if they all go to Salina (maybe only in summer)but they all go to Panarea and Stromboli.

Egadis are nice too....especially Marettimo.

Its further away for you,Quieter, fewer foreign tourists. ..more a place for quiet walks and swimming in the sea.

Favignana is very busy,more similar to Lipari.

No volcanoes there,and not very good for beaches, but the sea is very nice (swimming and snorkelling mostly from boats though, not from the shore).

Thanks so much Lucapal. Lots to consider!