Puglia and Sicily: anyone who has combined them? Thoughts?
We are regular Tauck travelers, and wondering about combining Puglia and Sicily for 2027. All thoughts from the Forum are appreciated, especially if anyone has done this combination. Thanks.
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Haven't done this combo but thought about it. Big fans of back to back tours since you get the most out of your airfare to Europe and only pay once for Tauck's guest protection (insurance) to cover both tours.
The problem is that it does not look like there are any direct flights between Catania in Sicily and Bari in Puglia, although maybe this is seasonal?
Is there a route via train? Train travel is easier than flying a short distance.
since Sicily is an island with no bridges to the mainland, I doubt it...........................
There are train ferries between Sicily and mainland Italy
I believe you can take a series of trains and ferry, but it is a hassle and takes a long time. According to rome2rio.com, the flights between Bari and Catania go through Rome. We looked at this some years ago. It makes more sense to me to pair Sicily with a different Italy trip other than Puglia. Or you can pair Puglia with a different trip.
Alternatively, like the other thread, you can try building some personal touring time in between if you are really set on doing both these trips together.
I paired Sicily with Tuscany/Umbria. Very easy air connection out of Rome to Catania.
You could probably fly from Bari to Palermo, then figure out a ground option back to Catania/Ortigia. Around 3 hours.
We are doing this in October 26. We have 5 days in between trips. I am looking at flying from Bari to Palermo and then working our way to East. Ryanair has a non-stop otherwisw It seems as though there is more to do and see in Sicily although we will probably spend an extra night in Bari.
When we did the Sicily tour, the TD remarked that we would have to return to tour the western side of Sicily, which the tour does not cover. For example, the hilltop town of Erice is a popular destination. Perhaps the Rick Steves forum or Tripadvisor would be helpful if this interests you. The tour spends a few hours in the beach town of Cefalu, on the way to Taormina, not nearly enough time. It would be a lovely spot for an overnight if you have that flexibility.