The Roman Villa is pretty good

scrb11, thanks to phillyboy, I found the Relais Antica Badia in Ragusa. It seems to check all the boxes for us and not too far from the train station. I can't tell how hard or easy it will be to reach - hope not too hard! There are usually pros and cons with a car. I love the freedom a car provides, but avoiding the ZTL, finding parking, etc. just tipped the scales to avoiding all that despite having a little less freedom. Looks like the trains are pretty plentiful and I imagine we might be taking taxis or other form of private transport from time to time.

Your comment about not trying to see it in one trip really hit home. We tend to be "crash and burn" tourists for better or worse, but we're getting older, don't move quite as fast and there's always the push and pull whether to visit somewhere new or go back to places we love. It's a good problem to have, but also the reality of traveling as we age. I do think we're going to love Sicily!

Glad to hear it Ellen.

But some people may prefer to spend time in Ragusa Ibla, the lower, older part of town.

If you find yourself walking down and climbing back up, you may look at staying in Ibla the next time.

There are pros and cons of both. I stayed near the stairs down to Ibla and at night you get a lovely view of the lit up Ragusa Ibla.

Hi Ellen:

I have a trip report on Puglia without a car, if you click on my name you will find it. It is not easy, but can be done, with a lot of patience and planning.

I have a trip planned for Sicily (cancelled twice!) and can share the itinerary if you want. I know the itinerary was `doable` by public transportation when first planned in the pre-COVID days.

Regards Ger

I'm just seeing your Puglia post because of this one. Since it seems no longer active, I'll post my info here. I've taken the Italo train from Naples to Salerno where I switched to the Italo bus to Matera. You can't take the Italo bus without having bought an Italo train ticket, but due to covid these buses are currently suspended. It appears Italo has started a Rome/Bari train with a stop in Caserta. I had been staying in Caserta to see the Royal Palace so that would have been simpler. If you are in Naples, you can take the local train to Caserta and switch to Italo's Bari train (3 runs per day under 3 hours) or catch Trenitalia's Frecce train in Caserta (about 5 per day). I stayed in Matera four nights and then took the local train line to Bari which was FSE at the time (there were 3 different train stations/lines/companies in Bari within a block). There were tour companies running tours to Alberobello and other sites from Matera, but they didn't always run if not enough people booked.

https://www.italotreno.it/en/destinations-timetable

We combined Puglia with Sicily and flew directly from Bari to Palermo in less than an hour on Volotea Airlines.
We enjoyed both areas of Italy.
In Sicily our favorite place was Ortigia Island where we spent a week and could have stayed longer. It is too special a place to do as a day trip.
Our least favorite place was Taormina.
We did a counter clockwise loop around the island starting in Palermo, cutting through the center from Piazza Armerina to Noto.
We rented a car which we turned in upon arrival on Ortigia. We used Sicily Life to transfer us to Taormina from Ortigia. We loved Puglia and Sicily!

If you're still considering relying on public transportation, you need to keep an eye on the latest restrictions. According to the Italian National Tourist Agency, public transport can currently operate at only 50% capacity. I don't know if that includes ferries, but I know the ferries to Capri are currently running at reduced capacity. Things could change (in either direction) on Aug. 1st, but I think this is a year that public transport might not work well for extensive touring/sightseeing.

Covid-19 updates: information for tourists - Info

Hi All, a lot has transpired in the months since I first posted! We've made some decisions about Italy and unfortunately, Sicily is going to be saved for another visit. I always make fully refundable reservations, so we recouped all our deposits, etc. I was so excited to explore Sicily, but my husband had spinal surgery not too long ago, and it would be just too much for him. So a separate trip it will be!

As of now, the Puglia portion is a definite (assuming Covid doesn't interfere) and we've added a few days in Siena at the Hotel Santa Caterina, one of our favorite cities and hotels. So I'm going to post an update on my Puglia thread, Puglia Without a Car - Please Help! if you'd like to jump over there.

Again, thank you to all of you who gave us advice about Sicily; it will be put to good use!

Ciao,
Ellen