I drove a rental car through Sicily and, yes, driving there is an experience not easy forgotten. The main rule seems to be: when you saw me, i may enter the road. Pretending not to see did work in most cases. On the positive side: Italian drivers do watch the traffic closely. And they do look good. I didn't mind driving in the cities: the traffic is so slow that nothing worse than a bump can happen to you: be insured. Also, the highways are easy - except for the exits (from 140 to 40 in 2.1 seconds...) and entrances. The exit to Palermo from Syracusa, for instance, is only mentioned about 100 meters in advance. There is a more important exit for a industrial area first. I checked the important entrances and exits using Google Maps and the pictures there.
Partly closed: mosaics villa romana del casale
by dutchboycalledjan
The website says: Il percorso di visita e' subordinato ai lavori di restauro in corso.When we visited in May, only a small part was open to the public. We were told that the first months of this year the whole villa was closed. They're building new walk ways and a new roof. Good, but even better: check it out before you drive a long way for nothing more than a few Bikini girls playing volleyball.
Careless smokers cause fire along the motorway
by bianchis
The Motorways are excellent but our guide pointed out that the oleander which line the roads have been burnt because of careless smokers who throw their cigarettes out of their cars causing fires along the way and destroying these beautiful flowers.PALERMO - MAZARA DEL VALLO - TRAPANI (free of charge)PALERMO - MESSINA (Toll)MESSINA - CATANIA (Toll)PALERMO - CATANIA (free)
Do not throw toilet paper into the toilets
by bianchis
Do not under any circumstance throw toilet paper into the toilets because the pipes are narrow and immediately causes blockage which in turn causes overflow and this can be messy and for everyone most of all the owner a cause of anger.Next to the toilet is a container where you can dispose of your toilet paper after use. Although this seems to be ugg.... please adhere to the rules. The next person will thank you for it.
Waiting & waiting & waiting for the Bus/Train
by pedroswift
During our two weeks in Sicilia, we used public transport (bus , train & boat) and private bus/ private boats. On no occasion was any of the said transport "on time". Even the guided tour buses were late.Learn to go with the flow! (or lack of it) Something usually turns up........... eventually.Don't plan tight schedules with interconnecting services! To plan a trip based on a "connection" down the track is fraught with frustration. eg a trip from Taormina/Naxos Railway Station to Messina dept time 9:50am. "Train cancelled today!! You will take the 10:40". Our trip from Messina to connect with a ferry further delayed and so on. One has to adapt & shrug the shoulders. Getting on and off the high speed ferries doing the Sicilia, Iolian Isles, Italy mainland service is another "eye-opener". Total chaos is the rule as passengers trying to get on the boats invariably do not wait for the...
Crazy drivers all over!!!
by Miguelzgz
I am sorry to writte this, and I hope not to offend any local who can read this, but driving in Sicily is madness. They seem not to fear death, not to know the basic rules...not just to avoid fines, just to be alive.My wife took some pictures while I was driving. I swear that you can take more than 6 pictures every hour driving with DANGEROUS situations.Just look at the line in the road, just look that we were in a curve...but it was not a excepcional situation there.
Beware the summer festival
by TheWanderingCamel
If you like your ancient ruins uncluttered by modern-day commercial interests (or necessities, depending on which way you look at it - these festivals do bring in lots of money and provide employment) then I would suggest you avoid visiting the major Greek theatres of Sicily (and lots of other places too) in Summer. The necessary seating,staging and infrastructure doesn't do much for the aesthetics of the places - and now there are concerns being raised as to the threat these performances pose to the theatres themselves.I also think it's a bit rich charging the full admittance fee to find yourself gazing at a sea of grey wooden planks with very limited access to the place (Siracusa) or, even worse, ranks of cream plastic chairs, a cinema screen, scaffolding and piles of electrical equipment (Taormina))
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Hot, hot, hot!
by TheWanderingCamel
Sicily's summer heat can be fierce and the effect is increased as the sun bounces off the baked earth and piles of stone at the major Greek and Roman sites, some of which are spread over large areas and up and down hills. Shade is in short supply when you're walking around the temples and city ruins. A hat, water and sunscreen are essentials.
Open? Closed!!
by TheWanderingCamel
"Open daily" the guidebook said,when we werre working out when to visit the Villa Romana de Casale , only to find everything closed when we got there. The authorities had decided only two weeks previously that it would be closed on Mondays henceforth - and this was Monday. Although we'd driven quite a way to get there we did have time to come back another day, the couple from Germany we met outside the entrance did not and were very disappointed. It worked the other way for us in Marsala - the museum we expected to be closed in the afternoon is now opening all day, every day.You win some, you lose some. We were driving ourselves so had the flexibility to move on and do something else. If you're relying on public transport, check before you set out, especially if you're heading off somewhere out of the way - things change and guidebooks are not infallible sources of information.
Missing Cruise Ship Departures
by ERNESTOCHE
On that one day trip to Messina we toured by bus Mount Etna and it was well worth while. But the traffic jams getting back to the ship were bad. The usual rule for cruise ships is that if you book a trip on board, then the ship will wait for you if you are delayed past departure time. But if you free lance the shore excursion and miss the departure time then be prepared to fly to the next stop of the cruise ship at your own expense. For more info contct me at www.whitedeath.com
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