Advice for one nighters in Sicily
 

Am really happy that I will be going to Sicily, am really unhappy that I will only have 24 hours in several locations.
A little background I am very used to travleing by myself, and I am a woman well past her prime. Since I was born in Sweden, Santa Lucia is a big deal and on the 13th there is a procession in Siracusa which I hope to make.

The reson for my crazy schedule is that I was trying to avoid long bus rides of 5 hours+ so this is what I came up with. The only date that is not changable is Dec 19th If anybody has a better schedule or suggestions I am quite flexible.

A question given my limited time what are the musts in each place, it could even be a restaurant, I don't have to see every church. Any other advice you care to give I woud very much appreciate.

Dec 13 arrive Milan change planes for Catania
Airport bus to Siracusa and with luck will see the Santa Lucia procession
December 16 since it's Sunday there is only one bus and it goes to Catania
December 17 morning fishmarket then bus to Ragusa
December 18 Agrigento
December 19 Valley of the Temples and bus to Piazza Armerino
Deember 20 Villa Romana delCasale late train to Palermo
December 20,21,22 depart 23 for Torino and Christmas in Monforte d'alba
December 28 Milano depart 29 for NYC

Cool you are going to Sicily. I would skip Catania altogether and go to Ragusa from Siracusa (really Ortigia, right?) Don't miss Erice while you are in Palermo. Glad to see you're still traveling!

I agree with skipping Catania. Why buses instead of trains? There also may be no Sunday trains, but can you leave Saturday or Monday via rail for Ragusa? Erice is great. Also, if you go to one church in Sicily, the Cathedral at Monreale is worth a visit.

" December 16 since it's Sunday there is only one bus and it goes to Catania"
What do you mean with this sentence?
There are direct buses to Noto - Pachino and to Palermo and connections via Catania airport to places like Taormina, Ragusa, Licata.....
Autolinee Interbus | Segesta | Etna Trasporti | Sicilbus
There are furthermore train connections to Catania - Taormina - Messina
and to
Catania - Enna - Caltanissetta

The bus ride Ragusa to Agrigento is long and required several changes, at least when we were there. Here’s what we did without a car:

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...vember-912368/

Yes, you will most probably have to change at Gela or at Comiso airport (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

Should be nice!

While in Ortigia, and with an interest in St. Lucia, you might want to make time for the Caravaggio. I stayed in a B&B in Ortigia that I loved and that still gets great reviews:
Pagina di ingresso - B&B - L'Approdo delle Sirene - Ortigia/Syracuse
And I enjoyed a dinner at the Ristorante Porta Marina, which still gets good reviews.

I didn't make it to Ragusa, but really enjoyed Noto, which is easy to reach by bus or train from Siracusa.

In Agrigento, I enjoyed a meal at Per Bacco, which still gets good reviews.

IMO, the Cathedrale in Monreale -- just outside Palermo -- is one of the most magnificent structures in the world. And in Palermo itself, Osteria dei Vespri still gets good reviews.

Enjoy!

If you visit Erice, you should also include Segesta, the temple and theater on top of a hill.
Santa Lucia is the name of the Cathedral/ Duomo in Ortigia/ Siracusa. Go see Caravaggio’s painting of Santa Lucia adjacent to the Duomo, free entrance. I hope you make it there in time!
In Agrigento, near the temples, we enjoyed staying at Colleverde Park Hotel. We went to the city center one day and were glad we were not staying there.

Thank you all for your responses and a very special thank you to Marija. Your trip report was very helpful, especially with names of restaurants. Unfortunately Santandrea in Palermo is now closed.

I appreciated the various suggestions on itineraries, I know that Catania is probably not worth a visit, however the fishmarket is supposed to be very special. Since I am a sucker for markets, and especially fish markets it should be fun.

Hopefully a trip report will be forthcoming if my keyboard and tablet cooperate. Also Have not been on the Forum for a long time and the new format needs some getting used to. Leave on Wednesday until further notice
Ciao a tutti

Catania was the only palce we paid attention to pickpockets.

Nywoman, have a great trip! The Tripadvisor Sicily forum is another excellent resource, in particular the exceptionally knowledgeable local expert, Vagabonda.

Thanks Bon Voyage

A lot of my planning and all the bus schedules are thanks to Vagabonda. Fabulous resource.

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I hope Monreale is on your 'to see' list, Nywoman. Have a great trip and please write how it all turned out.

Those question marks were a thumbs up.