mikmilone

Hello Fodorites. We are hopefully heading to Sicily in May and flying from NY to Catania. We will be in Ortigia for five nights, Ragusa for two, Catania for one and then back to Rome for one night before our flight back to NY. We prefer to not pick up a rental at the airport on arrival and just to get a car to take us to the hotel and then rent a car in Ortigia (if we can) a day or so later. Wondering what your thoughts are on our need for a car at all given our itinerary. From Ortigia to Ragusa is it easy enough by train do you think? We do love to explore off the beaten track locations so I think a car is likely in the cards but look forward to any feedback. Thanks as always.

bilboburgler

Sicily has a train system but frankly the Pullman (long distance coach system) is cleaner, cheaper and nicer. You can buy tickets on line.

eg https://www.checkmybus.co.uk/siracusa/ragusa click through to the company

I like using the Italian railway system but in Sicily maybe not, but up to you

From memory Ortigia has a time limited ZTL so ask your hotel to put your car on their system or you will be fined

HappyTrvlr

There is a large public parking lot on the north end of Ortigia Island.
There are car rental agencies in Siracusa near the bridge to Ortigia and on Ortigia almost immediately after you cross the bridge. I would have a car until you head north to Taormina. We used SicilyLife for our driver service, Ortigia to Taormina, Taormina to Catania airport and were very pleased with service. They are based in Taormina but cover much of Sicily.

annhig

We picked up a car at Catania airport, drove it to Ortigia for our first stop [4 nights], handed the keys to the hotel porter and didn't see it again for 4 days. And at least one poster had a terrible experience with the large car park you've already been referred to so that may not be a great idea either. So I would suggest not picking up a car until you leave Ortigia - you will not run out of things to do.

mikmilone

Thank you all. Very helpful for sure. We will consider our options.

Redlandsneen

Currently, our plan is to drive from Palermo Airport to Cefalu, down to Agrigento and then over to the Ragusa/Modica/Noto area. We then want to head to Siracusa with the car. From there, our last stop would be either Taormina or Giardini Naxos. Would you recommend getting rid of the car at Siracusa (near the bridge to Ortigia based on another post) and taking public transport to Taormina? Or, is it also feasible to stay outside of Ortigia (Siracusa proper) where there might be parking, and travel on foot or by taxi to Ortigia? TIA

annhig

I'm sure that there are hotels in Siracusa with car parks, for example I found this one with free private parking on the outskirts of Siracusa. https://hotel-parco-delle-fontane.albergatore.top I'm sure that booking.com or one of the similar hotel sites would help you find others. As for travelling around, we caught a bus from Ortigia to the Archeological site in Siracusa, or I suspect that taxis are reasonably cheap. I think that it is possible to get from Siracusa to Taormina /Giardini by public transport but I think that keeping the car would be a lot easier. Others here may have different ideas of course.

Personally having been Taormina a few years ago and stayed in Castelmola, I would skip it altogether and from Ragusa instead head for Scicli or even the far south eastern tip where the house of Montalbano has been turned into a BnB. https://www.lacasadimontalbano.com/en/ Then head to Ortigia and finish your trip.