GeorgeYoung

Currently distracting myself from work by planning a holiday to Sicily in the spring, specifically mid-May. Don't want to go any later due to my aversion to really warm temperatures.

Plan is fly Verona-Catania and spend a couple of days there, probably visit Siracusa and also stay on Etna. Anything else in that area we should ensure we don't miss? I'm not too keen on hiring a car down there (driving as far south as the Veneto is hard enough work!). I know this will probably limit our options somewhat but that's the trade-off.

Any tips gratefully received, even restuarants/places to stay. Thanks in advance!

Margaret M

Agregento?

GeorgeYoung

Yes, wondered about that but thought it might be a fair trek from the east coast?

Margaret M

Yes, it is a long way, particularly if you don't want to hire a car. Not sure what the rail link would be like.

philat98

I went to Catania in November. We had a bad experience with Hertz. We hired a Hertz car through Ryanair and paid in full but Hertz cancelled the rental because of a fault with the driving licence and we had to pay twice and for a much more expensive car.
Catania has a lot of character but the roads are terrible with endless potholes and diversions. Polite drivers though. I got the impression that public transport wasn't particularly good.

lindanoto

Fly into Catania and concentrate on the south east corner for this trip.
Siracusa and Ragusa provinces have good infastructure, you can see many different things without being trapped in your car all day. Agrigento and the temples can even be seen on a day tour out of Siracusa , but I would use another visit and then concentrate on the west coast. There is enough in Siracusa alone to keep you very busy. Trapani area is a nice base when on the other side of the island. Save that side for another visit. I would suggest a couple of days in the old part of Siracusa ( Ortigia) over staying in Catania .
We have many guests who fly in , take the very affordable, punctual, and comfortable direct bus from the airport into Siracusa. Most hotels or holiday lets, Airbnbs are offering complimentary pick up at the bus stop. This way they don't rent a car for their stay in Ortigia. It is a parking nightmare, the Constantly changing ZTL is a pain , and you won't need the car anyway. 3 days in Ortigia and then right from there you can rent a car to drive and see the many fantastic Baroque towns. Noto is half day visit , I don't think it is the best place to rent overnight unless you take a villa out of the city . I much prefer Avola , Palazzolo Acreide , Ispica, Modica, Ragusa Ibla, and all the very charming towns in between. Comiso has a handy airport but not sure if there are flights from where you are. Either airport is not really bad to rent a car from if you don't intend to drive into the City of Catania or Palermo. Visiting Etna covers a lot of area. Do you mean go up with a tour to the craters? Taormina is very pretty and worth a stroll around but a bit of a tourist rip off . I am a bit biased ed of course , but going on experience feedback from guests more than my own opinions. I prefer the offbeaten track

modicasa

Im with Lindanoto on this. Catania is a good base for going to Agrigento, or up Etna etc, but the city itself you can see in a day. Siracusa takes at least 2 full days, and Taormina a couple of hours. Obviously it depends on whether you like 'old stuff'.
To be honest Agrigento is more easily seen from Palermo is you're on public transport. From Catania its 45mins up to Taormina on the train (1 hour on the bus) and an hour to Siracusa bus/train. Your choices should be based on what you fancy doing - ruins, museums, live volcanoes, wandering round and letting it soak in, and so on.

GeorgeYoung

Cheers for the comprehensive replies.

I think Agrigento will have to wait. Siracusa is definitely on our list and we may spend a bit more time there based on what you have said.

I would like to spend a couple of nights on Etna, preferably treking either rifugio-to-rifugio or perhaps going on a tour to the craters.

I see the Giro is coming to Sicilly when I'm planning on being there, so that will be something else to see. Taormina is somewhere I'd forgotten about, so will check that out too.

Does anyone have details of the direct bus from Catania to Siracusa? Ta.

lindanoto

http://www.interbus.it/

If you are coming directly from the airport take the Catania airport to Siracusa direct bus right from the airport. 6.50 each and reliable .

GeorgeYoung

Brilliant, very helpful, thanks for that.

lindanoto

Just to add- if you are moving on from Ortigia or choosing to use as a base the rental car companies are all within walking distance or a you can ride the electric bus service to them ( though we have found the service to still be a bit hit or miss schedule -wise )
We find the best deals are with Avis, Budget ( both under same roof) or Europcar.