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Here a complete holidays guide for Sicily 
In this simple guide there is a collection of the frequent questions done by tourists before organizing their Sicily holidays. You will find a series of questions and answers at 360°.
We have intention to visit Sicily in July or August, could you advise us about what are the less crowded places? In the summer period, the Sicily is crowded in the top attractions ( Aeolian islands, Taormina, Catania, beaches, etc…), therefore if you do not want to find confusion you can choose to travel at the beginnig of June or in September. If you want to visit it in the July-August period the best places to stay are the north zones of the Mt. Etna (Linguaglossa-Randazzo) for Etna excursions and the etnean towns for cultural sightseeing. Top Which are the prices for the receptive structures in the various periods of the year? Generally accommodations in Sicily apply two rates: High season (July, August) where prices are more elevate, start from 70€ a day for a b&b; Low season (the rest of the year) where prices are much lower and start from 25-30€ a day. There are operators that apply different rates in base on a particular weekend or festivity (Passover, 1 May, Christmas, etc…). Some tourist operators do not practice this distinction and apply only 1 price for all the season. Top We are alone and don't want to pay a lot for an excursion, can we join a group? Based on the guides availabilities, it is possible to become a member of a group. Top Where can i find Sicilian recipes? The Mediterranean diet menu is famous for its health properties. Usually this term is used while speaking about fat problems and its solution. The Mediterranean diet is famous for the presence of two different characteristics: - It’s safe for your body health because meals are full of good components like vitamins, minerals etc…
- It’s very good and you can eat lot of different quantity of plates without take a kg.
You can combine this two different thing...it’s healthy and very good! Sicilian recipes are the summary of the best Mediterranean recipes. This type of cuisine is based on simplicity and the substance of the aliments. Usually based on the “poor” of farmers culture developping a simple way to cook meals full of favors that have been contaminated by different type of cultures like Romans, Greek, Arabs and Normans. Top Where can i find pictures and videos of mount Etna Sicily? Usually the best picture of Etna and Sicily are difficult to find because they are for sale. In this gallery you’ll find all photos, videos and webcams of Sicily and Etna. You can take all pictures or download a free e-book with 50 of the best Etna images. Top Where can i buy the Sicilian ceramic trinacria wall plate? You can find this typical ceramics souvenir in all the little shops you’ll visit during your vacation (i.e. In Catania or Taormina) . You can also look for other ceramics goods like the wall plate, cups etc… Don’t forget to consider the lava rock artistic good. Top What do i need to climb the Etna?The Etna is a great Mountain. All you have to know is that wheather in Catania is different from that one on the Etna. So consider to be provident while choosing your equipment when climb on the summit. Here a list of thing you need:- Backpack From At least 50 Liters
- Video or digital Camera
- Impermeable dress
- Trekking boots
- Jacket To Heavy and Light Wind
- Wool Cap
- Knife Multipurpose and Battery Lamp
- Bottle of water
- Lighter
Where can i find Sicily tourist information on events? When is the best time to visit Etna? The Etna has the particular characteristic to be appreciable to all the year. You can practice different touristic activities. In winter months (November to February) you can practice winter sport, but the best period to enjoy the Etna mountain is from March to October. Top How many day I need to visit all the Etna? It depends on what you plan to do. There are Etna walking tour and guided tour on the summit tha can take 3 days or 5 hours. If you choose a complete Etna tour it can take to 3 days. Top How are the postal services? If you have to send a post card or a letter you can use the Poste-Italiane services. If you have to send something of value I suggest you to use the courier services like UPS or Fed-Ex to be sure it arrive quickly and safe. Top What are the cultural differences between Sicilians?There are not important differences. The essentials are in the restaurants time and services and the hours of closure of shops (during to 13:00 to 16:00 o’clock). In the restaurants you have to consider that prices are inclusive of a mark-up (coperto) generally between 0,50 – 1 € for the table services. Here you’ll note that life goes more slowly that other norther countries. Top Where can I find Foreign offices in Sicily? There are a few vice consulates in Palermo and Catania who can help you in case of emergency. To find them you can do a quick search on Google to look for foreign office in Sicily. Top Compared to the others big cities of Italy, Catania is very quite. This doesn't mean that is safety at 100%. Statistically are consumed little crimes. The best thing you can do to stay in light zone during the night and visit the location during the most populated hours. Nights are safe if you pass them in the principal streets of Catania. Out of Catania (in the Etnean villages) there’s no risk. Top Are there internet access point? There are a lot of internet access points. Usually you can find an internet access in your accommodation. You can also use an umts cellular or wap cellular. The territory of Catania and its nearby are well covered by these services. Here the Internet Access Point... Taormina: - Internet Café, Corso Umberto 214
- Las Vegas Internet Planet, Salita Alex Humboldt 7 (off Corso Umberto)
- Net Point, Via Iallia Bassia 32
Catania: - Web Café (and restaurant), Via Caronda 166
Phone Calls: To find places where phone you can try in larger cities in the internet access points (see above) and also in hotels. For international calls you can use phone cards of foreign carriers. Here are access numbers in Italy for carriers of some countries: - AT&T 800-172-444
- BT Albacom 800-172-442
- Japan Telecom 800-172-244
- Sprint (MCI) 800-172-405, 800-172-406
- Telecom NZ 800-172-641
To set up your cell phone with an Italian service, Italy has 4 carriers: Vodafone, TIM, H3g and Wind. Each has stores or authorized agents/vendors in all the Sicily Territory. To phone with these you can buy prepaid phone cards that start at 10 euros. Top Which map of Sicily and Italy is best? Usually we use the map of Sicily provided by google maps. Here you can find maps with all the touristic locations and accommodations with the possibility to download the road map and road book. You can obtain 3d views and calculate the direction to all of your tour. Top How are the Sicilian travel and tourism books? It’s easy to find different type of guide book about Sicily tourism. The problem is to consider the period when they have been updated. In fact the risk is to get an obsolete copy and take bad news. What I suggest you is to get your copy by using the available information about Sicily on this web site. Top When shops are closed? Many businesses close for two or three weeks in August, when most Italians go on holiday. It may seem bizarre, but about 70% of the population takes their vacation at the same time, and hardly any work gets done in Italy during that period. Here a list of the days when most shops are closed:- January 1st-New Year's Day
- January 6th- Epiphany
- February 5th- St. Agatha's Day
- Monday following Easter- Pasquetta
- April 25th- Liberation Day
- May 1st- Labor Day
- June 2nd- Republic Day
- August 15th- Ferragosto
- November 1st. -All Saints' Day
- December 8th- Immaculate Conception
- December 25th- Christmas
- December 26th- St. Stephen's Day
When all stores are opened? Usually in Sicily all type of stores are opened all the week, with a breaks during the afternoon, from 9:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 21:00 o’clock. During the afternoon it is usually probable to find some bar or restaurants open. Some shops are closed during the last two weeks of August. - Archaeological sites are opened from 9-12 AM and 4-7 PM Monday through Friday, and 9-12 AM Saturday; summer hours may be longer.
- Museums are opened from 9-1 Tuesday through Saturday, and some weekday afternoons. Some are closed Mondays.
- Churches are open in the morning from 8 till 12, and some are open after 4 PM. * Most shops are closed Monday morning and all day Sunday but open 9-1 and again 4-7:30 on other days, including Saturdays.
How do I transport my purchases? In base of what you have purchased you can insert all thing in your baggages. If you purchased fragile objects like ceramics, wine bottles, typical products etc…I suggest you to use a roller bag to travel with you. Top How can I telephone outside Italy?
To call abroad from Italy there are a lot of systems like a prepaid telephone card. From an Italian phone, you can phone with a prepaid domestic telephone card, purchased in a tobacco shop (Tabbacchino), newsagent (Giornalaio) or bar. You can also use the umts and gsm or internet voip for you calls. This methods are available, the only limitation is in the upper areas of the Etna because there are not umts and internet adsl systems. For the other communications system it’s not a problem. So take a note that not all the gsm function on the Etna summit. Top Is it easy to communicate with the Italians? I suggest you to learn simple Italian word, but it’s not essential because Sicilian people are too adaptive and it’s easy to find people speak well in English. Top What's the weather like in Sicily The Sicilian weather is generally stable. You don’t need particular dress or other similar. You have to consider that during the winter the temperature is more hot on respect the other European country. Rain is concentrated during November-December only for few days. One thing to consider is the Etna temperature: During a visit in the summer months it is easy to climb the Etna and find very low temperatures cause the fast changement of the atmosphere conditions. So before a climb be sure to look for the weather conditions and have the right equipment. During an excursions is a good idea to wear comfortable shoes. Top How can I compare the prices between Sicily accommodations and those one in the other Italian regions? The accommodations and services in our network apply their prices according to the official Catania Tourist board prices. The prices you see in the website are the same that the operators apply in their business...no commissions added! We have special contracts with our network that guarantee us a price reduction only for the portals users. Generally the Prices applied in Sicily are the same of the other Italian regions. Price can depend on the season (low price during winter, high price during summer) and on the location. Taormina and Catania are usually more expensive. For other services like meals and transportations, prices are generally low. Top How can I understand the menu items? If you like Sicilian recipes you have to download the Sicilian recipes in this section with the translations in English. Usually the menu in the restaurants or bars are very easy to understand and it’s not too difficult to find translated menu. Top What can you tell me about the taxi service in town? Taxi Services are available in the Catania and Palermo airports, in the railway stations or Stesicoro square in Catania (in front of the Mc Donalds). Top How to move during my holiday in Sicily? During your holiday in Sicily you can go around the island and discover all its attractions by Train, Bus or Car. Generally the coast areas are better served by trains (Siracuse, Catania, Palermo and Messina), by bus or by car. To arrive into the middle areas of Sicily it's better to take the bus or car. Travel inside the cities is easy with the public services that connects the urban and extra urban areas. To find tickets you have to look for into the coffee shops, bars, tobacco or restaurants. Usually the cost of a one way travel is 3€. Top How can I arrive in Catania by car? Catania is connected by road with all major Sicilian cities. Principally with Palermo, Siracuse and Messina. There are two principal freeways: The A18 that connects Catania with Messina and the A19 that connects Catania with Palermo. To aArrive in Catania from the south of Italy you have to take the freeway A1 that connects Rome with Naples and then the A3 that connects Naples to Villa San Giovanni. You have to take the Ferry to Messina and then take the A18 to Catania. Top How do I get in Catania by train or ship?
Catania is connected by the railways to Messina and Palermo. The trains that come from Naples and Rome go directly to Catania. The train arrived in Reggio Calabria go into the ferry boat and cross the strait of Messina. After landing in Messina, it continues the course to Catania. It can take an hour or more to transfer the train into the ferry boat and then cross the Strait. If you like to arrive by ship, Catania has routes with Naples, Ravenna and Malta. Top How do I get to Catania from the airport? Once arrived in the Catania Fontanarossa Airport, you can choose different type of means to go in the center of Catania: by bus, by car rent or by taxi. - Catania is 15 minutes by car from the city airport. Depending on you baggage volume, you can choose the taxi, the city bus of the Amt (the municipal agency for metropolitan transfers) or rent a car in the near rentals.
- There are service bus that link the airport to the central train station. There are Bus services every 15 minutes.
- There are also other bus transfers that link the Catania airport to Taormina, the Etna Mount and other Sicilian cities. You can find more information once you go out from the airport.
You have to look for the bus terminal in front of the airport exit. Transfer prices go from 0,80€ for bus to less than 30€ for taxi. Before choosing a car rental consider that most available automobiles have manual, rather than automatic, transmissions. Top Where can I find flights to Catania? To find Flights for Catania you can choose or the web site of the Fontanarossa airport or the web site of the Different airline companies. To be quickly I suggest you to use Volagratis, a web comparator for low cost flights in Europe. The airport is in the southern part of the city. The are lot of services available in the airport like taxi, bus and car rentals. Here you can book bus to Taormina or take a tour in Catania city center. The internal services of the airport like, baggage, bar, toilets, booking services are generally good. The only thing to consider is the time expecting your baggage in the baggage lift. The airport is well connected with the major European airports and all the other Italian airports every day. Top What are the driving license requirements in Italy?To drive in Italy, you should obtain an international permit from automobile clubs, if your license is not from an European union nation. You can drive if you are 18 years old. Traffic is limited in certain period of the day: In the morning between 8-9 o’clock and in the evening between 18-20 o’clock. Top What are the visa requirements to travel in Sicily? The visa requirements depend on where a tourist come from. For people coming from European Community there are not requirement to stay for three months. People coming from Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, U.S.A., can stay in Italy for 90 days with pass-port without a visa. Usually it’s not difficult to obtain these documents. Top
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Travel tips for Sicily 
