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Free time in Cefalu on the Sicily land tour?
Can anyone tell me how much if any free time there is in Cefalu on this trip? The brochure description is sparse for that day. Wondering if there would be time for lunch, being that it is such a beautiful seaside location.
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Wan - my husband and I took this tour in September 2022. I enjoyed our stop in lovely Cefalu. We arrived around 9:45 a.m. and had a guided walking tour for approximately one hour. Those of us who accompanied the guide into the Church then had about 45 minutes of free time, the rest of the group had around an hour. We walked back to the bus as a group, and left at Noon. We and some others picked up takeaway sandwiches or pizza and ate lunch on the bus. I know that quite a few people went shopping. Others did eat or snack at cafes, but there wasn’t time for a leisurely, early lunch.
Thank you Lotusgirl, I also just read again your review from your trip and noted your restaurant suggestions. Too bad there is not more time in Cefalu. Thanks again for your prompt response.
Did this tour last May. Was great. U could leave the walking tour and go out on your own for a few hours.
wildcat, we are also going in May. Did you do the Mt. Etna excursion? I understand it can get pretty cold and windy up there. I was really hoping to avoid bringing a heavier jacket, or even too many layers. Any suggestions? (and yes, we're thinking of doing our own thing in Cefalu.)
Here is a part from my diary when we visited CEFALU last year. I think that was where we had lunch at a good restaurant. I’ll look for my photos to see if I took a picture of the name of the restaurant we went to. It was very nice if I’m thinking of the right place.
MONREALE AND CEFALU SICILY APRIL 18th 2023
We had a 45 minute bus ride in the morning to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, MONREALE Cathedral, considered one of the most beautiful examples of Norman architecture in Sicily. It houses over 68,000 square feet of tiny golden mosaics virtually covering the entire interior.
We drove onwards through stunning scenery of hills and cliffs and valleys, olive and citrus trees, cacti and palm trees and spring flowers. With the sea on one side too.
We were on the bus for about another 90 minutes.
We ate lunch in a lovely modern decorated restaurant, octopus salad, then fish in lemon sauce followed by a pannacotta desert.
We went to the very picturesque seaside town of CEFALU, a church and a beautiful Cloister, narrow streets and rocky shores. There was a medieval Lavertorium or place where they washed clothing with stone floor basins and water coming out of small lion head spigots. We walked the narrow streets and bought two hand made bowls which we will use for pasta. We met the potter who made them.
On returning to Palermo for our last night there, we ate at another local restaurant with great food to eat.
This was where we had lunch L
Thanks British, always love restaurant recommendations but did I miss something? You referred to one in Cefalu, then another in Palermo, and I don't see the name of the restaurant in your photos. Thanks!
The CEFALU restaurant was the sign above. We ate In restaurants for lunch and dinner, never in the hotels.
Wan - On the Sicily tour, we opted for the Mount Etna Tour and were disappointed, especially given the extra cost involved. You do not go up very far. The bus leaves you part way up near a small extinct crater and a crummy gift shop. You have the option of walking around the small crater or walking further up the hill, but not to the top. You do not go up via a cable car. I had envisioned walking on the lava covered crater I had seen in a Rick Steves episode. The option also included an uninteresting stop at a winery. Basically a taste of wine and a mediocre meal.
We were scheduled for a trip to Mount Etna on another Tauck tour stop in Taormina. On that trip which was included as part of the tour, we were to go up on the cable car. Unfortunately the weather was bad so we did not go up.
Thanks bucketlist. That is very good to know.
Wan, our experience on a tour of Sicily last April was very different, however, it might have been the same crater, but we enjoyed it. I loved studying Geology at high school and never imagined myself being able to walk on the slopes of the most active volcano in Italy. We walked around and into the crater and just loved the colors of the rocks. Of course when you picked big pieces of rock up, they were light as a feather. One of the younger members of the tour asked me to video her picking up a very large rock and ‘weight lifting’ it with a commentary of ‘look coach, I’m staying in shape’. Such fun. I’ll locate some photos to show you.
Here is my diary entry
APRIL 22nd 2023
On our way to Mount Etna, we stopped at an olive oil tasting and honey tasting. Then we drove higher and higher around winding roads and through constant lava fields to a height of 6000 feet and walked around the Silvestri crater. It was awesome and will be one of the highlights of my trip memories.
We had a wine tasting and lunch at Gambino Winery on the slopes of the mountain. We tasted five wines, four cheeses, some meats, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted egg plant, olives, breads, oils
And of course, I always get ny photo taken with the best looking guys.
The visit to the honey and oil tasting, which was our bathroom break was a lifesaver, my hands were dry and I bought the most amazing honey hand cream which cured my hands in 24 hours. We bought honey such as pistachio flavor. The wine was good, several of us shipped some home.
Thanks British. Looks like you had a really good time! I think my husband and I would enjoy that, but also wish the cable car were included in the excursion. I've heard about the amazing honey in the area.
For anyone else interested--and I will double post this on the other recent Taormina thread--I got confirmation from Tauck today that the Etna activity is included in the tour for 2024. There are 4-passenger Range Rover SUV's that pick us up from the hotel to Rifugio Sapienza, at around 6,000 feet. This is the level where the car park is located plus retail services and the entrance to the gondola. Access to the Silvestri craters is at this level. The gondola goes up another 2,000 or so feet and is not included in the tour due to lack of time. My understanding is that from there you can take a shuttle bus then a short hike to as close to the top as you can get, which is around 9,000 feet, but that extra piece from Rifugio Sapienza requires around 3 hours. Weather can be quite changeable up there but I read there are jackets available for rent.
I apologize for not making this a separate thread.