PJTravels

I'm planning a September, 2022 trip to Sicily. My husband and I prefer stays of 3-5 days, although my itinerary has shorter stays this time around. We want to check the boxes of most of Sicily's main attractions, build in time for some hiking (or walks), and of course, eat fabulous meals. We have a flexible amount of time, but I would like to keep it under 3 weeks.

We prefer small inns / agriturismos, and this itinerary is built around having a car in order to do that. By September car rentals and availability of gas may be highly questionable, so I have made sure to read the trip reports of those who traveled Sicily using public transportation. If we have a car it is important that we do not have it when we are in Siracusa/Ortygia. I plan to drop it in Catania.

My main questions about the following itinerary:
1. Would we be better off taking a day trip to Mt. Etna from Catania, or staying a few days on either the western or northern flank?
2. Opinions on length of stay for the stops I've noted in the areas of Ragusa and Piazza Armerina.
3. Does it make more sense to switch the order of Piazza Armerina and Ragusa?
4. Suggestions for base stays if we end up without a car.

3 nights -Palermo
2 nights - Cefalu (train or bus)
Pick up car Palermo airport
4 nights - Scopello or an agriturismo in western Sicily (Monreale, Erice, Segesta, Zingaro Reserve)
1 night - Agrigento (Selinunte on the way)
2/3 nights - Piazza Armerina area (Villa Romana del Casale, general touring around)
2/3 nights - Ragusa area
2 nights - Mt. Etna area (Eliminate and tour from Catania?)
Drop car in Catania, bus to Siracusa/Ortygia
3 nights - Siracusa/Ortygia
Back to Catania - (stay 2 nights if we decide to tour Mt. Etna from here) - fly to Rome

geetika

We’ll be in Sicily mid-April and plan to travel by bus/train. We have five nights in Palermo, with a day trip to Monreale. One night in Agrigento, four in Ortygia and three in Catania, with day trips to Noto, Ragusa and Etna. We fly out of Catania to Naples and Amalfi.

This will be our third trip to Sicily, so some of these are repeat visits, we have used public transport even in the past. But never made it to Piazza Armerina precisely for this reason!

We’re staying at Airbnbs everywhere, except Agrigento, so I can’t help you with inns or lodgings. Does Sicily have a network of agritourismos like on the mainland? Don’t believe I’ve heard of this, but then I haven’t looked for it either.

There are several Sicily experts who’ll chip in with good advice, Vagabonda on the TripAdvisor forum is also an excellent source of information. Enjoy the planning and have a great vacation!

bilboburgler

https://www.agriturismo.it/it/agriturismi/sicilia tells you all you need on agriturismi in sicily

Given where you are going, why do you need a car? Though Villa Romana del Casale would seem tricky you could just use a bus.

If you seriously thought "By September car rentals and availability of gas may be highly questionable" then how do you expect to catch a plane home, let alone use a bus?

PJTravels

Thank you for your response. It's always good to learn that public transportation is doable - especially as fuel prices rise.

PJTravels

Thank you for the link to agriturismos in Sicily.

PJTravels

Thank you for your response. I originally planned the trip to use public transportation alone. Once it was decided to look into agriturismos for some of our stays, a car became a better option.

Have a great trip - it's coming up soon!

PJTravels

Thank you for the link to agriturismos.

mbrevitas

As the others have said, there's no reason why a car should not be feasible in September. As for dropping it in Catania, why? I think it makes more sense to drive from Ragusa to Siracusa (and park the car outside the centre if you don't want it) and then onto Catania and Etna, rather than going back and forth (north from Ragusa to Catania, south to Siracus, back north to catania).

Both options are very feasible. Which is better really depends on your interests and preferences. Would you rather stay in a city, with more restaurants, bars, sights etc. and less checking in and out of hotels, and endure more heat (though September shouldn't be terrible) and more driving on city streets, or stay in cooler, quieter, more picturesque surroundings, with more checking in and out? Do you just want to go up Etna (perhaps on a guided excursion to the summit craters by cable car, off-road van and on foot) and back down, or do you want to linger and do hikes to lower craters and lava flow caves, quad bike tours, visits to villages on the foothills etc.?

This may have come up in your research, but the western and (strictly) northern flanks are pretty wild; there is Bronte at the base of the volcano, which is worth going to (even if you only care about the famous pistachios), and the scenery is nice, but there is no access to the upper slopes except on long uphill hikes. You can overnight in unmanned huts and shelters, if you want to do some serious hiking. The southern and northeastern slopes are the ones with paved roads going up the volcano and where guided excursions of various kinds start. There, you can stay in staffed mountain huts with easy paved road access and hot food and showers. Going to sleep with a view of the reflection of the moon on the sea off the eastern coast as seen from up on the flank of Etna, and waking up to the sunrise, is pretty nice... A couple of the huts are more like lodges in the middle of the forest on the eastern flank, and they're also nice. Further down, the eastern and northeastern sides are also interesting, with Zafferana Etnea, the Aci's on the coast, and Castiglione (a picturesque village) and the Alcantara gorge.

2 nights should be plenty for Piazza Armerina itself, the Villa del Casale, and the Morgantina archeological area. 3 nights should be fine for the classic top 3 of the Hyblean plateu (Ragusa, Modica and Scicli); you might want to stay longer if you also want to visit Vittoria, Comiso, Palazzolo Acreide... Oh, don't forget to stop in Vendicari and Cavagrande del cassibile on your way to Siracusa, if you like scenic coast and nature.

It definitely doesn't make sense if you drive from Agrigento to Siracusa and then onto Catania, as I recommend. If you do drive to Catania first and then head back to Siracusa, you can also switch the order of Piazza Armerina and stay there after Ragusa and before driving to Catania; it doesn't make much of a difference then.

Again, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you are without a car you'll basically be limited to the vicinity of railway stations, as buses outside of big cities aren't really a thing in Sicily, with few exceptions such as connections to the major airports, direct buses between Palermo and Trapani (which are connected only circuitously by the railway), and buses from Catania to Rifugio Sapienza on Etna, I think.

This sounds good, except for the aforementioned suggestion I have to stay in Siracusa on your way from Ragusa to Catania.

If you do end up driving to Catania and Etna last (instead of dropping the car and heading back south to Siracusa), and you also end up going to the northern edge of Etna, you might want to close the loop: make the scenic drive to the north coast across the wooded Nebrodi mountains, and then hop on the motorway to Palermo, stopping in Cefalù on the way rather than visiting as a day trip from Palermo earlier. If it's a closed loop, you can pick the starting point, checking where flights are cheaper and/or more convenient between the Palermo and Catania (perhaps even Trapani and Comiso) airports.

panecott

Just a few random comments.
I have been to Sicily 5 times and used only public transportation on my first 4 trips. Public transportation will get you to all the major destinations in Sicily and is very convenient. A car, on the other hand, will allow you to explore more remote destinations. I rented one the last time I was there in 2017 and enjoyed touring western Sicily.
I stayed in an agriturismo - Baglio Vecchio - between Partanna and Castelvetrano in the southwest. It was set among olive groves and was remote but lovely, had a wonderful restaurant and a beautiful pool, and pretty, comfortable rooms. Service was wonderful. (The kitchen staff cooked rabbit especially for me and I feasted on it for two nights). From Baglio Vecchio I drove one day to the salt pans of Marsala and Trapani (very enjoyable). I also drove to Sciacca on another day and explored the town and countryside; also visited Segesta and Selinunte from there - all easy drives. As you can see from the link bilboburger provided, there are many argiturismi to choose from all over Sicily.

You can get to Piazza Armerina with a bus tour so you needn't rely on a car for that. I did it twice. FWIW, and I know I'm in the minority on this, but I was underwhelmed by Piazza Armerina. I even went twice, several years apart, to see if I maybe missed something the first time, but it was the same to me. But, as I said, most people love it.

If you want to spend a couple of days near Etna and since you are going in September you might look into the annual pistachio festival in Bronte (my grandparents' home town). It would be a fun time to visit. From Bronte you can also visit Lord Nelson's castle and of course, go up to Etna. O you can take a day trip to Etna from Catania by bus and there is also an old railroad that circumnavigates the mountain and leaves from Catania, the Circumetna railway. I'm not sure, however, if you can tour Etna on the same day you do the railway./

I agree it makes more sense to go to Siracusa from Ragusa and then up to Catania and Etna. Depending on what you decide to do about spending time in Catania vs. Etna, you might consider turning in your car in Siracusa and then taking the train or bus to Catania from there. You can't park your car in Ortygia and really won't need it there and a car in Catania can be a problem. (I try to avoid driving in big cities in most places, especially Sicily). If you want the car for Etna, consider going directly there from Siracusa and then dropping the car in Catania. There is easy bus service from the city to the airport.

mbrevitas

Yeah, I agree with this assessment.

I'd strongly recommend visiting the Villa romana del casale and Morgantina when in Piazza Armerina, and also staying in an agriturismo in the surrounding countriside, as I did when I went there. You pretty much need a car for that.

Good points. The sagra del pistacchio di bronte is on 27-29 September and 4-6 October this year. Nelson's castle has been closed for renovation for half a decade and I don't think it'll be open by the end of summer, sadly. The circumetnea is interesting, but it takes the whole day and, unless you're a big fan of narrow-gauge railways, a car is a better way to tour the base of the volcano.

I concur. I am glad someone else agrees with my opinion regarding driving to Siracusa before continuing to Catania/Etna. I didn't find driving in Catania to be that bad, at all, but then again I learnt to drive in Rome and I'm familiar with the traffic in Palermo, so I'm not easily spooked.

PJTravels

Thank you all for your thorough and helpful information. I am beginning the process of booking accommodations now, and tinkering with a few stops based on your input. It's great to know about the festival in Bronte as that is right around the time we may be there. After reading more than one TR about getting in and out of Syracuse with a car I got skittish. Thanks for the encouragement that it is a manageable option.