hymer1942 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Evening all, thinking about a change from Spain next winter, so would like all information on Sicily in Jan,Feb etc, to ferry from Genoa or to drive all info very welcome. Thanks in advance Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duetto owner Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 been there recently by ship, had a tour of the island by a local. very scenic but never saw anywhere to park up and camp with a camper van, the only town st mary's is very very small. If going I would leave the MH behind and go b&b. explorer by google earth for further insight. sorry mis read for scilly. been to messina there did not rate it at all, perhaps the other half of it is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manwiththepsychoGPS Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 We were in Sicily from the tend of November until 18th December 2013. We drove as far south as Naples and took the ferry from Naples to Palermo, return journey Palermo to Genoa. I would like to have driven all the way and crossed to Messina but time was against us. We drove anti clockwise and spent the first few nights at San Vito lo Capo. We camped in a lay-by just to the east of the town opposite a closed camp site and right by the beach. Great swimming. You can't miss it there are always a few vans camping there. We used a mixture of sites and camping in quiet spots. The pick of the sites was Camping Luminoso in Punta Braccetto. Discounts to be had off season. I understand that they swam throughout January in 2013 there, I had my last swim on 16th December. The fruit and veg in Sicily are splendid, but food is not especially cheap given the state of the economy in Italy and Particularly Sicliy. If you are a fan it's 20 minutes walk to Inspector Montalbano's House in Punta Secca which was also filmed in the towns of Ragusa, Modica and Scicli among others with lots of locations along the coast. The towns are beautiful, full of amazing medieval architecture and the best meal we had was in Syracuse Watching Etna erupt was spectacular and the views as we drove across Sicily back to Palermo were amazing. Sicily was in equal measures beguiling and frustrating. The destructive effects of the twin malignancies of the Mafia and the Church pervade everything yet the country and the people are worth seeing. Sicilians are very friendly, welcoming and hospitable, but they live in a broken society which doesn't reflect the charming character they express on a personal level. I wouldn't have missed it for the world and I'd love to go back and cross the straits of Messina. I always found safe places to stay, however, I would keep clear of most of the cities when 'wild' camping. I hope this helps. If there are any details of my trip you want to know about send me a message and I'll get some facts from my diary. Best wishes. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Excellent post Colin!...come back soon :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie gibblebucket Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 We were fortunate enough to be able to go up Mount Etna, it had just reopened 2 weeks after an eruption in 2006. What a fab experience that was. We witnessed all four seasons in one day. Bright sunshine at the bottom, then fog followed by rain and snow at the top. Incredible to see the nuns house part way, up and the way the lava inexplicably avoided it. It was a day I will never forget and well worth doing if you get the chance. We sailed on a catamaran from Malta, it was really, really rough, and the longest "daytrip" I think I've ever had! Do try the chocolate if you get to Sicily, it doesn't contain any milk, so nothing like ours, and comes in interesting flavours like chilli!! Was so taken with the volcano experience, the next time we went on holiday, we went up Vesuvius and walked around the crater. We also drove over a really high bridge in Sicily with fantastic views, I'm sorry I can't remember what it was called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 My pals are currently there, or on the point of leaving after going across to Bilbao, down through spain to Barcelona via mountains, crossed on ferry to Civitivaccia, then down the west coast via rome, florence, pisa to scicily. Mel has to return by plane to england next week to organise an exhibition (sculptress) while Dave brings the van up to French alps to meet Mel after a couple of hard weeks selling pieces! So she will then be back for a couple of months skiing.....tough, life, eh! Here is their blog with lovely photos at www.davemeehan.com see 'travelling through life' section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 The law of Sod......Daves website seems to be down, or access is not available for some other reason, so apologies to anyone interested in the Sicily blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delfin Driver Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Hi. Just logged into forum and read this thread. I am actually sitting looking at Etna from our balcony in Taormina. We have spent a fabulous week here touring with a hired VW Polo and have loved it all but have also been extremely grateful we are not driving our motorhome. The roads are narrow, twisty and the driving is hairy. Parking for a small car is practically non existent in anywhere you might like to stop and we have seen very few vans, or anywhere for them to stay overnight. And this is definitely out of season. We haven't seen an open campsite yet. We do take our van all over Europe and I lived - and drove- in Naples for 3 years so we are not easily put off. It is a fabulous place with a superb climate and we will be back but not in our van. Anyway, back to the sunshine! Susan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks all for your replies. Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.