Palermo Travel Forum

Hi, We will be visiting Palermo in early Oct. by cruise ship. We will only be in port from 7am-5pm. We are trying to decide whether to be cheap and try to see the city on our own (as well as Monreale, Mt. Pellegrino)or to hire a driver. We were quoted $139 per person to see Cattedrale Di Palermo,Quattro Canti,Piazza della Vergogna,Catacome dei Cappucccini,Capella Palatina,Palazzo dei Normanni, lunch by the Mondello Sea,old Chiostro in Monreale, Mt.Pellegrino, and Santa Rosalia Church. My questions are #1. Is this a feasible itenerary? Can all this be done easily in one day or is the tour company being overly optimistic? #2. Is it worth the $139/person to do this? Would we be better off trying to find our way around ourselves?? We want to be able to see as much as possible so I am leaning towards hiring the driver but want others advice before I book it. Thanks so very much. Diane

Taking in everything in that itinerary is a long call. It can be done but you're not gonna be getting out of the car, more than once or twice. From Palermo to Monreale alone, is 1/2 hour by car in each direction. By the time you've disembarked from the ship it's gonna be 8 or 8.30.
You will want to be back to the ship by 4.30.
This leaves 7 hours for sightseeing. Presumably you will want to stop somewhere for lunch(1 hour)and a couple of times for coffee/snacks(another 45 minutes)
Your sightseeing is now reduced to 5.25 hours.
I would personally, set my sights on Palermo and leave Monreale for another trip.
If you go down this road, there is a sightseeing tour you can take by bus in Palermo for about 13 euros per person.
But,then,if the tour company you are thinking of using says it can accomodate the entire itinerary in one day, then the price is not bad.

You may hit a snag is there is a wedding on at Monreale you will not be able to go in. It is worth seeing though, worthy of the epiphet of Sicily's most beautiful building.
That aside, the Cathedral, "Fountain of Shame", Quattro Canti, Teatro etc. are all within several minutes walk of each other. I would base the trip around 2 or 3 cabs at a lot less than $278 per couple