Loving this. Never been to Sicily, and doubt I’ll get there, so armchair travel is best I can do, so thanks!

Everyone is in search of that cheap car rental this year. It does not exist. Global economics have created supply and demand disparities, and rentals are double and triple what they were before Covid. We were told if our plane was an hour or two late, it would require a new reservation; and we could lose our car and/or pay double since rates, just in the last couple of months, have gone up that much again.

We used Auto Europe, which is an honorable broker, they are based in the US (great if something comes out that needs fixing after we get home), and they often provide full insurance for much less than the price at the rental desk. And, I recommend full insurance in Sicily since you will likely encounter any number of obstacles that will, at the least, possibly scratch up your car. Miraculously, the only one flagged (so it could be pointed out to next driver) on our return was a scratched outside mirror. We did two separate one-day rentals on two of the Aeolian islands. Although current prices for car rentals from the airport now seem to start in the $100-150 per day range, we found $40-50/day rentals on the islands.

To try to avoid these high prices, we initially leased a brand new vehicle, similar to the one we had last fall in Umbria. They are available for periods of 21 days or more. Pricier than last year, but still hundreds less than a rental. The only problem, you have to pick up and drop off in Rome. We had planned to make the drive, but decided that the Ryan Air flight to Catania, and a brief small drop in rental car price, would make our lives easier and allow more time in Sicily.

On Facebook, and many other forums, there are lengthy discussions of the pros and cons of renting a car vs. public transportation in Sicily. The rail system, while good in places, is simply not the same as mainland Italy. Our first trip to Sicily14 years ago was rail-based, and it allowed us to go comfortably from Palermo to Cefalu to Taormina to Siracusa/Ortigia. We had a private driver take us to see a small town in the mountains where my grandfather was born and to the airport at the conclusion. That worked. Our second trip was to Trapani where we visited Erice, Marsala, two Greek temple sites and some smaller hill towns. We could not have done that without a car. It is a big, and mostly rural island. So, yes trains work for some major places, but hardly touch the many places we wanted to see. We are told buses are more frequent and reliable, and we passed many bus stops, but that mode of travel rarely interests us.

Be aware that driving in some urban/suburban areas can be a bit challenging since, due to parking shortages throughout Sicily, cars often park in lanes you might expect to drive in, shortening the width meant for two cars. There are few traffic lights and stop signs on the island, often replaced instead by rotaries that frankly we personally prefer. In some areas, notably around Palermo, they just have normal intersections, without stops signs or lights, and it is every driver for himself, maybe even having 4 or 5 roads of traffic merging into one lane. In rural areas, there are many roads simply not meant for two-way traffic but still used that way, so extreme care is needed. We encountered regular visibility issues, sometimes with trees and weeds growing into winding rural roads or in built up areas where it is near impossible to see if a vehicle might be approaching at an intersection. I cannot imagine trying to drive solo (although Sicilians, who are great defensive drivers, obviously do it all day long). Thankfully, my wife was the navigator and the necessary second set of eyes.

I see what you mean about needing a car in Sicily, in retrospect we’d have done better for one. We mainly used the bus and found it reliable and comfortable, two train journeys, though the train service doesn’t have a very good record. Our route was Palermo-Agrigento-Ortygia/Siracusa and Catania, from where we flew out to Naples. Agrigento to Siracusa was via Catania, with two bus changes, but it went off like clockwork. Buses too to Monreale and Noto.

Surprisingly, car rental was reasonable in Greece, both on arrival at Athens and later on Santorini. And they also had automatic vehicles for us, as promised!

In mainland Italy, it seems trains are always there when you need them. In Sicily, did you find yourself being limited by by bus schedules, especially if you wanted to visit more than one place in a day? Some days, we like to see 2-3 places in a day.

Thanks for info on Greece rentals. We hadn't looked and have just assumed it will be more bad news. We just checked rentals for September when we will be in Greece, and yes, they seem a bit cheaper than Italy.

I chose not to drive in Sicily - in fact, I haven't driven on a trip since 2004. I opted to use a tour for part of my time on Sicily (Rick Steves), train and bus in the east and buses in the west. That worked out well, the tour got me to the Villa Casales and to Zingaro National Park, among other places, which would have been a pain by public transport. Where I used trains and buses they worked OK, although the train was very slow.

Yes, trains on mainland Italy are excellent, as in most of Europe. We did only two day trips in Sicily, Monreale and Noto. The bus from Palermo to Monreale was right on schedule, though extremely crowded. On the return the bus started from Monreale, so we were fine and got seats.

We waited almost 1.5 hrs for the bus from Siracusa to Noto, I think the first one was cancelled and we had to wait for the next one, which was apparently running late. It was a Saturday, so maybe there were fewer buses running. Not quite tourist season yet in April. Luckily the long distance buses went per schedule, without any hitches.

We paid €60/ day for an SUV in Athens, €50 on Santorini for a smaller vehicle, but that’s Santorini for you. We’d asked for automatic and got them, two of them actually on Santorini.

Hope you enjoy it! As I did much of it while traveling, it’s big on photos and lighter on words. Hope you enjoy! And how lucky your son is!

We figured Sicily might be one of the last places to get good mapping from the GPS services we were most familiar with: google and Apple. We had several other suggestions on Facebook, some with apps you have to buy. We prefer Apple, because of its familiarity for us and partly because it easily meshes with our contact page (where we put in addresses of places we are going to stay, etc.). To our surprise, GPS, most times, was almost magical, even mentioning stop signs hidden behind trees. A couple of times, we had to switch to Google in some city centers to get a second opinion. We also had google's offline maps, but didn't need them.

The only downside is that a software engineer in California (actually today, they might be living and working from Timbuktu) may assume that if there is a road, it must be built to standards he or she is used to in the US. So, the GPS system likes shortcuts. In Sicily, this too often brought us on unsafe one lane roads, with potholes, bushes growing into roads, and terrible visibility. This, despite the fact that you can meet oncoming traffic. Or, even in a city center to a road best designed for a golf cart or scooter. Once, we had a harrowing 7 km drive over what we would best describe as a winding, narrow dirt logging road, full of holes and washouts, to get over a mountain. We soon learned, especially in rural, mountain areas to sometimes follow road signs and not GPS. As we did last September in Umbria, we opted for a $10/day plan from AT&T for the same unlimited cell and internet service we have at home. They do limit the cost to $100 per billing period. A great $200 investment for us when we travel for five weeks.

Cell service was generally great and reliable, even in the most remote areas of the island. Every now and then, we encountered useless 3G service, but quickly shifted back to sufficient LTE service after a very short distance.

It was in Sicily that I learned to consult a paper map along with google maps. We had some of the worse roads, more goat trails, following google maps in Sicily. It was an adventure!

Although we repeated some places we have been to before (Palermo, Cefalu, Taormina, Ortigia), we also previously visited the following places and did not include them on this trip. However, any visitor should consider these among the top spots to visit. Photos are from visits in 2008 and 2010.


Siracusa

For some people, going to Siracusa means going to the bridge-connected island of Ortigia. Once considered the greatest of “Greek cities”, Siracusa boasts a huge Greek theatre from the fifth century BC.


Monreale

The cathedral at Monreale is probably the top church destination in all of Sicily with stunning mosaics. The hilltop complex, overlooking Palermo and the sea, is considered an architectural gem.


Erice


Erice May 2022


Erice is simply a well-preserved medieval town with breathtaking views of the northern coast. We went up by cable car from Trapani. We also took a distant shot of the hilltop village in May of this year, while visiting the coastline to the east.


Trapani


Trapani is a major source for sea salt consumed in the world. But it a lively seaside port city. There are the beautiful Egadi islands nearby, which we have not yet visited.


Marsala

Our memories of Marsala were largely walking the fortified city which had a lively shopping scene. We have never been fond of Marsala wine, so we missed the popular wine tours there.


Segesta


Segesta haș a near perfect Greek temple and a spectacular Greek theatre.




Selinunte


Our visit to Selinunte years ago was just after most tourists left, the sun was setting on the seafront location, sheep were grazing with their shepherd, and we were literally the only other ones there. There are many more ruins there than Segesta.

JFK Airport


We arrived at the Catania airport just before noon. It would be the first of maybe two dozen days of cloudless bright blue skies we would have in our month in Sicily. We had travelled RDU to JFK to Rome on Delta, and then connected for a cheap Ryan Air flight to Sicily. There has been a lot of discussion on this forum over the years about the effects of jet lag. Even though we don’t sleep much on the plane, for us, adrenaline and excitement for new adventures kick in. Rather than sitting, we also walked about six (6) miles at the various airports with our new roller bags (we have always carried duffel-style bags in the past) to help ready us for all the walking and climbing ahead in the coming weeks. While walking around at JFK, we saw the best vending machines ever called “Farmer’s Fridge”, with gourmet salads layered in plastic mason style jars. We wanted to try them, but we had brought pasta salad from home.

Our one worry about losing a rental car for being a few minutes late in Catania with our flight, or even paying double as we had been warned, was short-lived as the Hertz desk had no lines and the lady there could not have been more welcoming. And, she was right next to the first inviting bakery offerings of beautiful Sicilian pastries and cannolis. Had to remind ourselves we were still at the airport.


Acireale

Time to get re-oriented with an unfamiliar car, manual transmission, and those Italian roads and signs. Our first base was Acireale, a coastal village a little north of Catania. We first sought out one of the many Lidl stores in the Catania surroundings to pick up some things, and, in the process, had some initial encounters with traffic, weird roads, GPS confusion, and missed turns.


The one strange thing we noticed, nearly every car looked like it had been in a mud race, absolutely covered in a thick layer of dirt. We thought it must be Etna-related, but were told that a recent bout of wind had covered a large part of Sicily (people in Rome said they got some too) with Sahara sand. We used to get some of that in a Caribbean house we once owned, but by the time it reached there, it was just nuisance fine particles. This stuff looked a lot worse.


On the way, we started to see the first of many produce stands, reminding us of that Sicily is the California of Italy when it comes to fruit and vegetable production.


By the time, we got to Acireale and started the hunt for our apartment and parking, I was a little stressed. We found a pay lot a few blocks from our apartment that was in an old Palazzo. Our landlady, who could speak about as much English as we could speak Italian (next to none), quickly gave us a tour of her magnificent and beautifully decorated Palazzo. The ceiling frescoes looked new. Our apartment was in the back, away from the narrow busy road in front of the building, overlooking the sea, and there was a shared rooftop terrace (although we were alone there for our sunset glasses of wine) looking out onto the cathedrals and Mt. Etna.

Our host was upset that we were paying for parking. She walked us back to our car and took us through town until she found us one of those prized and rare white-lined free parking spots and carried our luggage to the apartment from there. The first of many wonderful Sicilians we encountered.




We thought about a nap, but this was the only time we had set aside for seeing Acireale in the daylight hours.The city is famous for its annual spring Carnival celebrations. Although we hit it at the right time, events were on the week-ends before and after our visit, so we missed out.









The busy main square and several remarkable churches were the main sights here, and they were open. In the evening, there were plenty of nice restaurants to choose from as well. The municipal building looked like an old Palazzo that it once was. First day, first pizza. But no sausage for us. We had already started seeing cavallo (horse) butcher shops, popular in Catania and nearby areas, and weren’t ready for equine sausage.

>>The one strange thing we noticed, nearly every car looked like it had been in a mud race, absolutely covered in a thick layer of dirt. We thought it must be Etna-related, but were told that a recent bout of wind had covered a large part of Sicily (people in Rome said they got some too) with Sahara sand.<<

We also noticed this,starting Palermo. Some vehicles were so caked with the dust, only the windscreens were clean. We wondered why they didn’t wash it off, surely that wouldn’t be hard!

Acireale

We were up early as our body clocks were still messed up and caught the gorgeous sunrise over the water. And, fortunately, red in the morning wasn’t a harbinger for bad weather.

We have never been to Catania, except passing through via rail, and had seen many, many online admonitions about driving there. “Worse than Palermo”. "Don’t do it”. “Scooter bandits target tourist cars”.

We were only a couple of rail stops from the city, but the railroad station was a long walk from Acireale’s old city. When we drove by the day before, parking also looked impossible at the station. We asked our host, via our translation app, and she didn’t understand why we wouldn’t simply drive. At our request, she called a taxi driver friend, who was busy that day. Our host insisted we drive and visit two other wonderful coastal towns along the way, and we eventually reluctantly agreed.


Acireale

Before we got out of Acireale, as I looped through the narrow and heavily-trafficked streets of the busy city, I went the wrong way on a tiny, curved one-way street (more like an alley) and, when confronted with a fast moving oncoming (fortunately friendly) motorcyclist, I moved too close to a stone building and scratched the car’s outside mirror. Happily, this would be the last mishap of this type on the trip, and we had full insurance. There would be many challenges ahead, but once I relaxed and started driving like Italians (not as fast, but aggressive and not meek), all was much less stressful.

Driving in Catania wasn’t a joy but no worse than many other places we would drive on the trip and frankly no worse than smaller Acireale, where buses go down narrow streets, parts of which have cars parked on one side. We found a huge, fairly empty, pay lot (free during siesta hours) very close to the center.


Catania

And soon we were in the center of a vibrant, noisy and colorful city.






Via Etnea was not far from our parking spot. It is a long pedestrian street, running many blocks, the main shopping area downtown. In the middle of this commercial area were some of the ruins of what had been one of the largest amphitheaters in all of the Roman world. The ruins of this amphitheater date back to 300 BC, although expanded later. It could seat 15,000 spectators, maybe one-third of the one in Rome but significant nonetheless. After the 1693 earthquake, it was mostly covered by overlapping buildings constructed in the immediate area. It was unique in that it was constructed mostly of lava rock.









Buying and selling is what this city is about. It is one big marketplace. From street vendors to fancy shops to markets seemingly down every side street. Even, the railroads were promoting their newest trains.






The busiest places were the three general markets. One of the most famous fish markets in the world is generally open mornings, so we bee-lined right to it. It is not set up or tourists, but it brings them in, despite the ground being covered in slippery puddles of water, ample pieces of fish, even blood. The seafood smells were overwhelming. It was hectic, with the fish sellers loudly competing for attention. One area sounded more like an auction. They have been doing this here since about 1800. The fish market was an indoor and outdoor space, largely confined to one large area. Produce sellers were scattered all over the central city. Block after black was devoted to general merchandise






The Duomo Square is the largest gathering place in Catania. It is named after a basilica that had to be rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake that destroyed pretty much everything in the area. In the basilica, there are remains of a beloved 19th century cardinal, who has been linked to miracles involving the protection of Sicilians from the wrath of Mt. Etna.







A volcanic threat has haunted this city throughout its history, so it’s no wonder the people have looked to any type of relief. No one agrees on which myth makes elephants one of the symbols of Catania, but most believe that they are a good luck charm.






Although cannolo (singular) was first made in the mountains of Sicily, Catania is often considered its home. We make a pretty decent cannolo at home, using a simple recipe from my Dad whose father was born in the Sicilian mountains. One place that is often mentioned in the same breath as cannoli and Catania is the Nonna Vincenza pastry shop. Not old, but supposedly based on techniques and recipes from one of those mountain villages. It wasn’t easy to find, since its graffiti-marked exterior is unremarkable. Inside, however, it looked more like an elegant French pastry shop with chandelier. Our first disappointment was they don’t fill the cannolis to order, and that, for us, violates the cardinal rule that filling sitting in shells makes the shells soggy. We ordered one regular and one chocolate (partly out of curiosity and partly because we like chocolate). We were not allowed to eat inside as a Covid precaution. So, we found an unattractive stoop on a local street for our taste test. We were quite disappointed. We found this, and later a lot of Sicilian cannoli, to be firm, off-white, ultra sweet and heavy, and perhaps leaning toward a texture like frosting in a can (exaggerated). The chocolate was more like a rich chocolate mousse rather than a cannolo. But we preferred it.





















As we walked the streets of Catania, we also saw some of the grittier side of things. After the markets ended for the day, they left a lot of junk, even some new merchandise apparently for the taking. But Catania also offered us some of our first sights of spring in Sicily, an introduction to red orange juice that we would see all over, and baroque churches that are popular in this part of Sicily.

There was so much more to see here, but it was a beautiful day, and we didn’t want to spend it inside. That meant saving some places for the next time, such as Castello Ursino, which had been on our list. A large cruise ship was in port, and that, coupled with end of year school groups, made the center quite busy .

If we ever get back to Sicily, I will make sure to include Catania! Wonderful photos! It looks like a slightly less intense Palermo.

The best cannoli we had were at our guesthouse in Agrigento. Not too sweet, either.

My TR says that I had a good cannolo at Café Minerva in Ortigia, but that was back in 2008.... I seem to remember a good one in Trapani, as well.

Catania Fish Market

I forgot to include this guy who was making sure all the fish buyers had plenty of lemons, and we loved seeing his suspenders full of parsley.

Thanks to our host, we discovered two great coastal fishing villages that are often off the radar for travelers in eastern Sicily. That’s a good thing for locals who favor week-ends in both.


Aci Castello


Aci Castello îs named for its long surviving Norman castle, built in 1076 on the site of a series of fortifications dating well BC. It was originally built out to sea. It is a dark castle, constructed from lava rock and perched on even more lave stone. In 1169, there was an earthquake, tsunami and volcanic eruption that destroyed the town nearby, but it also created such a flow of lava that it connected the castle property to the coast.




























Today, there is a popular large promenade and square overlooking the sea with restaurants, all adjacent to the castle. One old building has a fading and presumably politically incorrect quote from Mussolini. Families were out and about. The promenade was a great spot for lunch.


























Nearby, there is an old stone bridge with road above and little cut-outs below. When we arrived, we noticed some empty chairs in one of the alcoves; later we saw it as a social spot (card game?) for local men.


Aci Trezza is a colorful fishing village right next to Aci Castello. The three large rocks pointing up out of the water are known as Faraglioni of Cyclops. In Greek Mythology, they were tossed at an escaping Ulysses by a giant on the island of Cyclops. Nice place for a quick stop.



Aci Trezza

Five million people live in nearly 400 cities and towns in Sicily. On our way for a week based in Modica, we decided to take a look at one of the inland non-tourist towns.




Paterno has 50,000 residents and another Norman castle, this one a tall rectangular box. I often jump at the first parking space I see when I come into an unfamiliar town. I would rather walk a bit more than end up in a ZTL zone or other corner that is difficult to get out of. So, instead of parking next to the castle, as we learned later that we could have, we had a steep hike up a long set of stairs. The castle was open, without a fee, and it was in great shape, with sweeping views over the countryside on one side and the city below and Mt. Etna on the other side.




















There were several squares in this vibrant town, one with a big produce display and at least one employee who gave us a big wave when we aimed our camera phone in its direction.





The main area in the old city was quite busy on this morning, with a couple of beautiful churches and the most impressive street lights we saw on the trip. We picked one of several bakeries for our first morning pastry of the trip. Beautiful place.

Wonderful, whitehall! Great to see new places. How ironic that Etna looms, but sands from the Sahara actually intrude.

geetika When we arrived 90% of vehicles were covered I dirt, car washes were packed, but we noticed much cleaner cars as the month progressed. The last sand storms must have happened just before we arrived.

progol We thought Catania worth visiting and would go back to see some of the stuff we missed, and we love watching the market activity. Biggest daly market town we have ever been to.

thursdaysd I will report on the search for the holy grail of cannoli and the unexpected place we had our best one in later posts..

TDudette Etna does more than loom. It was spewing lots of smoke, often high plumes of black smoke and night-time fireworks of lava and lava flows were visible much of the time. CNN even mentioned it one of the days we were there. For the sand to reach Palermo, Rome or even the Caribbean where we used to get it, it must fly quite high.

bon_voyage and yestravel thanks for following

Adelaidean Good to hear from you again. Not much cooking at home on this trip.