Sorrento or Palermo/Sicily

Not been to either unfortunately but stayed many times in Forte dei Marmi which is v v nice and only a short hop from Pisa

Not been to Sicily, but loved Sorrento.

I’ve been to both. They are both brilliant, what type of holiday do you want, and when are you going? Both these places will be really hot in summer.

Going to Sicily for 10 nights in June & sounds lovely & hopefully it is

Hoop-Leif said:

It will be in October so much more our type of heat i think.

We want plenty of things to do, hopefully that will keep our son happy too.

My wife wants to do Pompeii, i want to do vibrant with good street food.

We both love cities, beaches, culture, history......

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October is a perfect time, but still get a hotel with a pool if only for your kid! Sorrento is beautiful and you can get to Pompeii really easily from there, it’s a rocky coast but there are some beaches. Naples is a great city but keep your wits about you if you go there. You can also visit the island of Capri, which is worth it.

I love Sicily, and if you are prepared to travel about a bit there is months of stuff to do. Palermo is great, fantastic old palaces of the disappeared aristocracy, the street food you want and a real vibe. Stay a little outside if you want beaches, but good ones on the north coast. No trip to Sicily is complete without a visit to Taormina - a beautiful hilltop town on the east coast next to Etna with a great Greek amphitheatre. Also Agrigento, which has a valley of Greek temples as good as anything I’ve seen in Greece. But both would be long day trips from Palermo. I’d be tempted to fly to Catania and stay in Taormina - a bit touristy (like Sorrento) but stunning.

You can get good hotel deals which offer half board. Convenient with a young child, but as a foodie you’d be missing half the fun. Hotel food is usually not authentic unless it’s really expensive, and you’ll have much more fun researching and visiting local trattoria.

Enjoy whatever you decide, it’s hard to go wrong in Italy. And in October you might get a match in…

If you wind up going to Sorrento, you should go to Marina Grande, which is a lovely fishing village just along the coast. Easily walkable.

Hoop-Leif said:

Which part of Sicily Jeff? Or are you doing all of it?

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We are going to Letojanni & got a beach front hotel, love beaches & we’re not a pool couple

Spent a week in Sicily last year with wife and 13 Yr old daughter. Stayed at a wonderful B and B in Avola. Great sandy beaches, wonderful restaurants and easy public transport to UNESCO world heritage sites of Noto and Syracusa. Direct bus from airport as well.
Amazing food, especially seafood in that area. Would absolutely recommend that area of Sicily. Been to Palermo and West of there, but was 20yrs ago so wouldn't want to recommend as it may have changed, although was great at the time

Sorrento and the Almalfi coast is stunning, plus the gateway to Capri.... but hugely over touristy..... Naples has come on in leaps,and bounds in recent years, great food scene and not overly touristy at the moment, it has soul..... but huge amount of road/building work going on when there in September....some of the frescos on the public buildings are awe-inspiring....
Palermo is a classic City, lovely buildings and high end stores, but also some dirt cheap cafés selling coffee and cake to die for....
Avoid Messina.... bit of a dump....

Italy is agreat place to visit.
True, l haven't been overseas but with my wife, being of Italian descent & having many family extended members going back & fourth, may l suggest you ................................................. get away from ther crowds and try little villages. The people will be nicer, the food better and you won't feel like your on a tourist bus 24/7. From top to bottom, threr is much to explore ................. enjoy.

I have been to both and agree with a lot of what others have stated. Stan in particular gives great advice but so do all the others.

I thought Naples was a complete dive. The area around the station is particularly dodgy. Loved the Amalfi coast. Been to Taormina in Sicily recently. If travelling from the mainland, you can get the train which fits on the ferry and crosses the Messina straits on the boat. The young lad might enjoy that? I didn;t do it myself but I read it is good to see.

Go see Mount Etna while it still exists. It was threatening to erupt quite recently. Enjoy your trip.

That video from about 15 minutes gives you an idea of what the train is like if you went Naples-Palermo and shows you how the train is loaded on the ferry.

Went to a wedding at this place in Brucoli (Sicily) https://brucoli.mangias.com/en

East side of Sicily. Not cheap but I don’t think much there is and it was an excellent hotel.

Lovely place, quite remote but the local Italian place a short walk from the hotel was your classic sort of gaff full of locals from the village. A couple of bars nearby but it’s a rocky walk albeit not a long one if anyone would struggle with that. Not a long taxi to the train station (cheap, reliable trains) to get to the bigger towns on that side of the island which were also very pleasant

American Rick Steves has visited Italy a million times and offer really interesting videos in each town & city, on YouTube.
They are not the typical fast, abrasive tourist video but offer real insight about the history of each town. Fantastic viewing.
Each video might be 5 minutes to 30 minutes in each town.

Off to Scilily this morning & early flight 5.50, anybody else off or soon

jeffranger said:

Off to Scilily this morning & early flight 5.50, anybody else off or soon

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Was supposed to have flown out to Palermo for a week in Sicily this afternoon but have been struggling for some 3 weeks (ever since coming back from the south of France in fact) to shake off a nasty cold like virus and had to admit defeat and cancel the trip

Gutted because it looks like 7 days of sunshine and I'd spent ages putting together an itinerary to travel round by train

Oh well, a week of taking it easy instead.....