Cavangal

Visiting Sicily in September, decided to travel independently as I prefer having more time in places while not being rushed by Tour. Have traveled independently many times and enjoyed so much more.

Got flight direct from Dublin to Catania with return from Catania into Paris CDG.
Plan dividing my time staying in two places, Taorima and Siracusa. Looking for hotels and need to be sure I have picked good locations to be able to enjoy historical sites and take few day trips to enjoy areas along coastline. I enjoy walking and will use public transportation so need hotels that are central to bus and train stops. Have read few trip reports on message boards so hoping to see many of the areas that are recommended. including Agrigento.
Also, would I be better off using just one base if the SE areas are reachable on day trips and not too distant.

If I begin the trip from Taorima which is not far from Catania airport, will I have problem getting to Catania airport from Siracusa to catch an early flight leaving at 9am?? Is distance from Siracusa to airport further, and if so would I be better starting trip from Siracusa? Need to know the distance from Siracusa if someone is familiar with public transportation to Catania airport.

Also any help with hotels so that I can check prices. Hope to receive as much help as possible as I look forward to a lovely trip. Thank you.

francesco_marchi_148

hi
there is a bus from siracusa to catania airport that leaves at 6:30 am and arrives at 7:40 am ( not sunday and other holiday ), public transport in sicily is not very good, maybe is better to consider to start your trip from siracusa. Agrigento is 165 km from catania and it' s very difficult go here by train, it' s better to rent a car for that day or go to visit ragusa ibla (is the old part of ragusa and is beautyful ), taormina is beautyful too, september is a good period to visit sicily, have a good journey!!

kja

Sicily is very easy to visit independently and the eastern section is generally easy to visit by public transportation. There are multiple trip reports on this board about both.

Personally, I hate to assume that I will be able to reach an airport that's in a city other than the one I am in on the day of my flight, but I'm from the US, so the cost of missing a flight from anywhere in Europe would be exorbitant for me. Might not be so much of a factor for you.

With only a week, concentrating on Taormina and Siracusa makes sense. During high season, Taormina can seem swamped with tourists during the day. I liked it much better during the evening, after it emptied out a bit. For Siracusa, consider staying in Ortygia. Also, consider visiting Noto from there; it's an easy day trip. Agrigento is a bit further afield, but well worth it. Allow yourself as much time as you can there (even if it makes for a very long day), and be sure to bring a sunhat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and lots of water.

For hotels, check booking.com or tripadvisor.com For guidebooks, I thought the Rough Guide the best of the half-dozen I consulted before visiting Sicily. Enjoy!

kybourbon

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...sportation.cfm

Cavangal

Thanks. Staying 7 nights; If I stay 3 nights in Taorima would that be enough time as I am not spending time on beaches. My flight arrives from Dublin after 7pm so won't see much day of arrival? I will be walking in evenings to get photos of sunset and want to stay in an area that is far away from crowds. Want to do some sightseeing and maybe a day trip not too distant.

Would 4 nights in Siracusa give me more choices? Also thought of returning to Catania on late bus evening before to avoid a nightmare if there is delay getting back to the airport. I live if NY, taking Easyjet to Paris to spend some more days in South of France before my return. Not sure how big Catania airport is but with boarding pass in hand would 1.20mins be enough time getting to the boarding gate.

The journey from central Catania to airport is short so that might work and give me a chance to have a little time in Catania. Looking forward to suggestions.

dwdvagamundo

While independent travel to Sicily is pretty easy, I don't think you could stay in just one place to see everything. Beginning in Siracusa makes sense to me, unless you decide to stay one nite in Catania before your flight leaves.

If possible, I'd rent a car for a couple of days and stay a nite in Agrigento so that you can get to the Valley of the Temples before too many people and---most important--before the heat. My wife and I spent around two weeks in Sicily in September a couple of years ago and it was very hot on the south of the island. If you have a car, you could also visit the Roman villa at Piazza Armerini and perhaps Morgantina, both of which are pretty much on the way to and from Agrigento to Siracusa. If you decide to do this, I can give you the name of the hotel we stayed at in Agrigento.

Driving time Siracusa/Agrigento is around 2 1/2 hours. A train would take at least twice that.

This link from tripadvisor gives you some of the transportation alternatives:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop...gento_Province



Can't find the hotel we stayed at in Siracusa--it was on Ortygia and was lovely. I'd try to stay on Ortygia if possible--get a cab to take you to the hotel from the station and vice versa.

We didn't stay at Taormina--didn't even stop because it was so packed with people. We did stay several nites in Catania and it is a very interesting city.

Have a great trip. Sicily is lovely and is not at all what you expect.

Cavangal

Have to use public transportation so car is not an option on this trip.

Have been looking at hotels but want to be sure that Taorima will be good choice, if its packed with tourists thinking of staying only 2 nights, plus half day then taking bus to Syracuse. Can I cover enough doing it this way? Will be arriving on 9/4 and not sure if that is considered peak season in Sicily. Thanks for response.

kja

> If I stay 3 nights in Taorima would that be enough time as I am not spending time on beaches.

That depends on what you want to see and do! As I recall, I spent 2 nights there: I got there in the morning, visited the theater, walked around the back streets (not the main one), took a bus to Castelmola and explored it, walked down through Taormina to Isola Bella, where I walked around a bit, and then took the funicular back to Taormina, arriving in the early evening. The next day, I took a full-day tour of Mt. Etna and the Alcantara Gorge. By the time I got back to Taormina, the day-trippers had left and I could explore the main street in relative peace. I left first thing the next day.

> If possible ... stay a nite in Agrigento so that you can get to the Valley of the Temples before too many people and---most important--before the heat.

Well worth considering!

> stay on Ortygia if possible--get a cab to take you to the hotel from the station [in Siracusa] and vice versa.

I'm not sure that a taxi would be necessary -- I didn't need one. It probably depends on where, exactly, you stay in Ortygia. I was only a block or so from the bridge in the L'Approdo delle Sirene, which I thought absolutely fantastic.

http://www.apprododellesirene.com

Cavangal

Thanks for above. Will go to Taorima on arrival, stay 2 nights which will give me enough time to see Mt.Etna and have time for walking in areas, continue to Syracuse on evening bus returning to Taorima late for overnight to be closer to airport. Wasn't able to get accommodation at above B&B but will look at places in Ortygia.

Trying to do as much as possible, spending 4 nights Syracuse, taking bus to Noto, read somewhere that there is bus from Noto to Agrigento. Need to research this some more to try and fit it into plans. IF someone knows about this connection from Noto, that would helpful even if it means overnight in Agrigento. Many thanks.

Cavangal

I BOOKED HOTEL ISABELLA ON ITS WEBSITE (GOT BETTER DEAL WITH BREAKFAST THAN OFFERED BY OTHER SITES)SO WILL SPEND 2 NIGHTS IN TAORIMA AND HOPEFUL TO HAVE MY ITINERARY SET UP VERY SOON. ANY MORE SUGGESTIONS ON MY TRAVEL PLAN MUCH APPRECIATED.

kja

The Rough Guide usually has excellent information about transportation options.

Cavangal

DECIDED AFTER 2 NIGHTS IN TAORIMA WILL TRY TO GET THE SAIS BUS FROM CATANIA AND GO TO AGRIGENTO AND STAY ONE NIGHT, LEAVE IN AFTERNOON AND TRY TO GET TO SYRACUSE. MIGHT HAVE TO RETURN TO CATANIA FOR THE INTERCITY BUS WHICH TAKES 1.25hrs. IF I CAN MANAGE THIS ROUTE WITHOUT HEADACHES, WILL LEAVE SYRACUSE ON EVENING BUS AND STAY IN CATANIA FOR TAORIMA TO BE CLOSE TO AIRPORT. WAS NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD THE SAIS SCHEDULE OR RETURN SCHEDULE FROM SYRACUSE TO GET THE TIMES SO IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO GET THE SCHEDULES IN ENGLISH THAT WOULD BE A GREAT HELP.
NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE ROUGH GUIDE MENTIONED ABOVE!

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.

Cavangal

NEED TO FIND OUT THE SAIS BUS DEPARTURE TIMES FROM CATANIA TO AGRIGENTO AS UNABLE TO FIND A SCHEDULE IN ENGLISH. ALSO IF SOMEONE KNOWS IF I CAN CONTINUE FROM AGRIGENTO TO SYRACUSE WITHOUT HAVING TO RETURN TO CATANIA TO GET BUS? IF SO, THE DEPARTURE TIMES FROM AGRIGENTO AS I HAD THOUGHT OF LEAVING LATE AFTERNOON TO GIVE ME MORE TIME. CANNOT ACCESS THIS INFORMATION.
NEED SOME HELP ON THIS BEFORE I BOOK THE HOTELS WHICH I HAVE SELECTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL.

kybourbon

Please turn off your caps. It's considered shouting and is also hard to read.

Many Italian websites are in Italian and many don't have an English version. It shouldn't be hard to read the schedules even in Italian. All you need to do is enter your cities. You can always use Google translator.

http://www.saistrasporti.it/

You may have to take a bus from Agrigento to Gela and then switch to a different bus or train to Siracusa.

http://www.autolineesal.it/pdf/GelaWeb.pdf

You might find this thread helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...hern-route.cfm

Cavangal

Thanks for above info. Sorry about uppercase, thought it would be easier on eyes.

I might plan taking the Gela route, and should get to Syracuse after 5pm. I will use this route one way, as can get SAIS back to Catania evening before my return flight. Will look at the schedules and see if I might be able to get off at Nota or Ragusa to take look around, would it be possible to get on another bus continuing to Syracuse. After a lot of research I am finally getting some kind of plan set. Many thanks to all.
Your response is greatly appreciated.

kja

> see if I might be able to get off at Nota or Ragusa to take look around

I didn't visit Ragusa, but don't remember a luggage storage option in Noto. But it's been years, so things could have changed....

BTW, Noto is even more lovely near sunset than it is during midday.

Cavangal

Thanks again for all your help. Am concerned if my flight might arrive late so not booking hotels as yet. If its late I have no other choice but stay in Catania and set out very early next morning to Agrigento as its a bit more distant. In such case I might be able to leave one suitcase at hotel and return to same hotel for last night and carry lighter bag.

Have even considered looking for a 7 night escorted tour which might make it a lot easier going on tour coach but have not seen anything that fits my schedule.

You have been a great help doing so much research on transportation. Its appreciated.

Cavangal

Looked again at the bus schedules from Catania airport and saw a later service leaving after 9pm directly to Agrigento. Since I have not booked hotels yet I might consider starting from Agrigento which is more distant from other stops on my route. Later bus from Catania airport arrives Agrigento before midnight, so may stay there 2 nights. After a good rest can spend a long day enjoying the sightseeing; continue to Piazza Armerina next day and then on to Syracuse for 2 or 3 nights. Its been worrisome deciding on best evening bus route just in case my flight gets delayed but this might be better than spending night in Catania and few hours next day going onward. Any comments welcome. Thank you all.

kja

Makes sense to me!

Magster2005

Ortigia is wonderful and here is a hotel that I really loved:

http://www.aretusavacanze.com/italiano/default.htm

My only other comment is that I would not rule out a night in Catania. It would give you peace of mind for your flight, and I liked Catania more than I expected to. The fish market is great fun. We stayed at this very friendly B & B:

http://www.globetrottercatania.com/e...st/Prices.html

You can click on my name to read my Trip Report if you like.