Sicily in November
New to this. Don't even know what "Sticky" means.
Based in southern Scotland, we are thinking of driving by motorhome to Sicily. We have four weeks and prefer to use toll-free roads. Any advice/ thoughts gratefully appreciated.
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It is a VERY long way to Sicily, over 2000 miles from Carlisle and that is using toll roads where possible. Although you can get to N Italy on toll free roads avoiding them in Italy would add quite a lot of extra time to your journey. I would suggest you fly and rent a car and place to stay and enjoy the money you would save by not driving there!
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Comeyras, I wrote all that and decided not to post it - now I'm glad you are of the same mind !
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A Sticky just means a thread has been locked at the top of the listing because it is deemed to contain information that is important and makes it obvious so people don't have to search the forum.
I am sure Sicily is a lovely place to visit but restricting yourself to four weeks and also staying off toll roads means that you would be lucky to have a couple of weeks actually on Sicilly. According to average weather predictions for Sicilly at that time of year can be a bit damp with an average eleven days of rain. If you are trying to search for some winter sunshine perhaps Spain might be worth considering and it's a bit nearer. Having said that I think Sicilly is a popular over winter place for some. Good luck with what ever you decide.
David
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As stated above, you could get to Northern Italy without using toll roads but to travel through Italy to Sicily on the SS roads would be very tedious. The cost of motorway tolls in Italy are significantly less than those in France and providing your unit is less than 3.5t the cost would not be prohibitive. There will be few Italian campsites open en-route but there will be plenty of Sostas (the equivalent of French Camper Aires) and the Italians are very relaxed about motorhomes stopping almost anywhere over night and there are free waste disposal areas for motorhomes at almost all motorway services. It all depends on how long you want to drive for each day as to how long it will take you. If you want to save on tolls on the way down I'd recommend avoiding the Mont Blanc or Frejus tunnels and drive through Switzerland but you will need a vignette for that.
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my pals 'did Sicily' as their first long trip after buying a MH....however, they 'work from the home/van' and took six months to go from there back via spain and portugal..... there pics of Xmas on the beach in Sicily looked great.... however, for just four weeks....?...not sure... im about to board a ferry at cherbourg having driven for three days (pretty solid) from the Valencia region....thats 6 days driving without pausing to enjoy anything along the way and its even furher to Sicily... so, think hard, but good luck if its for you...
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I can close my eyes and visualise our Italy but not sure that Sicily in November would match the picture in my head. We love Italy, and it goes against the grain not to be saying go for it, but agree with others in that it is a little too far, too late and too ambitious.
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Thank you to everyone who has responded and given me and my wife advice. Its been really very helpful to gather all this information from those of you with experience and I think we have decided to reconsider going to Sicily and look at rescheduling for a longer period in Spring or early autumn 2018. We did once drive to the southern end of Spain in 2003. There and back in 3 weeks and recall it as a lot of travelling so what people have said about the driving is clearly true. We have only visited northern Italy for 5 days in 2004 and would love to explore further south in Italy but recognise that distances are considerable. thanks
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Jackski
I think it's probably a wise decision given the time and distance. Are you able to get away for longer than four weeks, if you can Italy is a lovely country to explore. We have only been as far as Rome but further south and Sicily sound interesting. We prefer the earlier months of the year because of the lighter evenings but I think the weather can be good in September and October. My son's sister in law and family live in Sicily and they are coming to MK for Christmas which I expect will be a bigger shock weather wise
David
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Hi Jackski, I think it’s the distance/time of year/available time that combine to get the advice you have. Everything is better in the sunshine and warm weather so spring would be a better bet especially if you can manage a longer time away and if you are considering other options make sure to come back on CT.
Have a great trip whatever you decide.
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My brother (motorhomer) has over wintered in Sicily, November to March, for the passed 4 years. He normally gets a ferry from Genoa to Sicily thus avoiding driving the length of Italy. If you are interested in any info let me know and i will get him to respond directly to you
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