pommybird

Ciao….well after years of postponing, fingers crossed we are off to Sicily for a week at the end of May.

We will be based in Catania, please hit me with some ‘ must do’ places to go. We have decided not to bother with a car so looking for day trips accessible by bus/train.

Thanks is advance!

ganastasia

I personally think you do need a car if you want to explore, Public transport is not the best, I would look for an Agenzia Viaggi when you are there, they generally have daytrips and excursions in teh window you can book onto.

I would say Siracusa and Ortiga is a must, That can be done easily by train/bus.

Few other suggestions:

- Noto -You may see the remnants of the Infiorata di Noto.
- Marzamemi
- A trip up Mt Etna
- Taormina (just for the day)

pommybird

Great thanks for the recommendations, we were going to hire a car but one of my Italian friends said not to bother as the driving is a bit hit and miss and hire cars normally always end up with a scratch or two and an insurance claim.

ganastasia

If your staying centrally in Catania then i would agree with your friend.

Sounds obvious, but check Trenitalia's website as its quite good for mixing trains/buses and finding the right schedules.

I'm sure you will have a great time either way± I'm heading out there myself in May for a few weeks but staying in the Ragusa area.

Buon divertimento!

modicasa

With a week, you can get by without a car.
With Catania as a base, (and assuming you've never been to Sicily before) certainly go to Siracusa (easy on bus or train) - and at least 1 full day (and if you like Greek ruins you can add another half day for the archeological park).
Taormina - (bus is easier as it arrives in town and not down at the bottom of the hill) and you can easily wander around for a day.
Catania itself merits a day - fish market, Via etnea etc
Depending on your interests you can go to Piazza Armerina and see the roman villa, go up Etna (better an organised tour than trying to do it on public transport),
There are also direct buses to Modica, Ragusa, Noto - all the baroque Unesco towns. (Not the same buses though)

For your train journeys there will be early morning services and then not alot till hte schools finish around 2, so you will have to get up early to travel, and remember that alot of tourist places close for a few hours at lunchtime.
At the end of May there will be some fairs, sagre and saints days you can go and see aswell around Catania.

philat98

There is a lot of Covid in Italy at the moment. In my small village there are 70 official cases and they are just the ones who reported it to the authorities. I would hire a car rather than use trains and buses. Hopefully by May things will be improving. Also you need a green pass to do anything.

Lorna at Vicenza

From April 1st you won't need a green pass to sit outdoors at bars and restaurants and hopefully it will be scrapped altogether on May 1st.

pommybird

Grazie!

Thank you that sounds great.

Yes covid is rife here at the moment, as you say hopefully things will have improved by end of May. Personally I am fully vacc’d and have had covid twice so have quite a few antibodies circling around!