Travel to Sicily this fall

[Rickpb2020]

Ciao, we've been to Italy several times but now we want to visit Sicily. Likely flying into Palermo in late October for a two week stay. Would like to avoid renting a car. We like traveling by train. Would like to pick three places that we could stay at for three days each (we're flexible) and move from town to town by train. Eventually being back in Palermo to fly home. Any thoughts or suggestions on an itinerary; and specific things to see? We're more oriented to culture, history, landscapes, and food.

 

[California Go Girl]

I will let others suggest an itinerary, but I want to recommend that you be open to taking a bus or hiring a driver for private transport to another town. Because of the sort of odd history of rail development in Sicily, the trains don't provide as convenient a connection between towns as they do in much of the rest of Italy. The bus system is quite robust however.

 

[TomandKathy]

Would you consider flying in to Palermo and leaving from Catania? or the other way (ie in to Catania and out of Palermo? We have done these routes both ways and it works very well rather than coming back to the place you started. I agree with California Go Girl that trains are difficult and you may limit what you can do without a car. It's such an exciting island to visit, with so much to see. Roads are good, drivers are a bit crazy but similar to Italy all over, and you can see so much more at your pace.

 

[Mom83]

We will be in Sicily from April 15-25, 2027.
We are flying nonstop from JFK into Catania (hoping Mt Etna behaves), renting a car and driving to Agrigento for 3 nights, then onto just northwest of Noto for 3 nights, then on to Mascali (between Catania and Taormina) for our final 4 nights before flying to Rome from Catania for our final 4 nights.
Do give some thought to renting a car. We have always rented a car during our frequent visits to Tuscany…my husband drives and I research routes and parking and navigate. It works wonderfully for us as it gives us so much flexibility, so I have hopes that it will work well for us in Sicily, too.

 

[GAC]

Mom83

Unless you are planning to stop en-route from CTA to Agrigento**, you may want to consider taking the HOURLY bus from the airport to Agrigento, and renting a car there, thereby avoiding the long drive from CTA. I would not wish to drive myself in a foreign country after a long transatlantic flight. I would prefer to wait until I had a full night's sleep abroad before doing so.

The bus service is excellent (I have taken it) and the bus stop is a mere 150-200 meters outside of the main passenger terminal building. There are reclining seats, seatbelts and electrical outlets at each seat pair to recharge your phone or tablet. The bus is air conditioned and modern and there is a toilet on board. The bus is double-decker with much better views of the Sicilian hinterland than from a car window. The bus trip takes 2 hours, 40 minutes and costs a mere 13.10 Euros. You can now purchase tickets online from the bus operator website, or wait until you arrive at CTA where there is a ticket office at the bus stop.

BE CAREFUL about buying tickets in advance online, because they are valid exclusively for the specific bus run noted on the ticket and not on an earlier or later bus. Hence, should you MISS your reserved bus owing to a late-arriving flight, you will FORFEIT the ticket UNLESS you MODIFY the reservation no later than 30 minutes PRIOR to the SCHEDULED departure time of the originally booked bus. You can modify the ticket online but may not have sufficient time to do so after flight arrival. Since buses run HOURLY, you don't risk much at all by waiting to buy the ticket at the ticket office.

www.saistrasporti.it

Booking Sais Trasporti S.p.a.

Prenota il tuo viaggio sui nostri Bus

prod.saistrasporti.com

**such as at the Roman Villa of Casale near Piazza Armerina. If you plan to drive straight to Agrigento from CTA, I see no reason to rent a car out of CTA when the bus service is so good, cheap and reliable (unless you can get a better rate out of CTA or want to avoid any drop fees when returning the car).

 

[GAC]

Ciao, we've been to Italy several times but now we want to visit Sicily. Likely flying into Palermo in late October for a two week stay. Would like to avoid renting a car. We like traveling by train. Would like to pick three places that we could stay at for three days each (we're flexible) and move from town to town by train. Eventually being back in Palermo to fly home. Any thoughts or suggestions on an itinerary; and specific things to see? We're more oriented to culture, history, landscapes, and food.

Palermo: 3 or 4 nights
Agrigento: 2 nights
Siracusa: 3 or 4 nights.

I would also consider overnighting in Ragusa and Taormina.

Travel exclusively by bus, which is cheaper and more efficient in Sicily than the trains. Agrigento to Siracusa requires an easy bus connection at the Catania airport.

www.cuffaro.info (Palermo to Agrigento)

www.saistrasporti.it (Agrigento to Catania Airport)

www.interbus.it (Catania Airport to Siracusa)

also http://www.aziendasicilianatrasporti.it:8080/ from Catania Airport to Siracusa

 

[Shyguy]

Palermo > Cefalu > Taormina > Siracusa would be a good car-free route, with trains connecting the main stops. Cefalu is great for its Norman history and old town, Taormina for the Greek theatre and Etna views, and Siracusa for Ortigia, history and food.

 

[rugbyexpat]

We will be in Sicily from April 15-25, 2027.
We are flying nonstop from JFK into Catania (hoping Mt Etna behaves), renting a car and driving to Agrigento for 3 nights, then onto just northwest of Noto for 3 nights, then on to Mascali (between Catania and Taormina) for our final 4 nights before flying to Rome from Catania for our final 4 nights.
Do give some thought to renting a car. We have always rented a car during our frequent visits to Tuscany…my husband drives and I research routes and parking and navigate. It works wonderfully for us as it gives us so much flexibility, so I have hopes that it will work well for us in Sicily, too.

I agree with you about the flexibility of renting a car, my wife and I traveled a lot to Europe and we always had great fun as a team. We did a plan before leaving and then she did some navigating etc regarding stops and places enroute. If I missed a particular road she would always say keep going, you know we will come to another great small village for lunch. haha
Not so much fun now as my navigator has gone, although I still travel a lot and rent cars and wait to hear her say keep going we will find another place for lunch.

 

[Iacobuslex]

Ciao, we've been to Italy several times but now we want to visit Sicily. Likely flying into Palermo in late October for a two week stay. Would like to avoid renting a car. We like traveling by train. Would like to pick three places that we could stay at for three days each (we're flexible) and move from town to town by train. Eventually being back in Palermo to fly home. Any thoughts or suggestions on an itinerary; and specific things to see? We're more oriented to culture, history, landscapes, and food.

We spent the better part of two weeks in Sicily several years ago and will probably go back for 10 days +/- next spring. Last time we rented a car, but this time we’re going to do trains/buses (people say this will be difficult but we’re going to try) and will limit ourselves to the western side of the island. Palermo is beautiful and you should spend at least three days there. We didn’t have time to see Cefalu but I’ve read it is beautiful and deserving of several days. Trains are apparently pretty good along the coast, but it would be difficult (possible with a long bus ride?) to do the many lovely places in the southern coast (Agrigento, Siracusa, Rigusta, Taormina).

 

[Mom83]

Awww, rugbyexpat…I am so sorry that your navigator wife is gone.
My husband and I are both getting older, so we treasure these road trips together that we have taken all over Italy, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the continental US.
I am now going to steal your wife’s assurance of another great small village down the road whenever we miss a turn…such a wonderful outlook on road travel.
Bravo to you for continuing to travel!

 

[GAC]

We spent the better part of two weeks in Sicily several years ago and will probably go back for 10 days +/- next spring. Last time we rented a car, but this time we’re going to do trains/buses (people say this will be difficult but we’re going to try) and will limit ourselves to the western side of the island. Palermo is beautiful and you should spend at least three days there. We didn’t have time to see Cefalu but I’ve read it is beautiful and deserving of several days. Trains are apparently pretty good along the coast, but it would be difficult (possible with a long bus ride?) to do the many lovely places in the southern coast (Agrigento, Siracusa, Rigusta, Taormina).

Bus service in Sicily is excellent to adequate to visit ALL of the major cities and towns. There is very good bus service between Trapani/Marsala and Agrigento, Agrigento and Catania, Catania and Ragusa, Catania and Siracusa, Ragusa/Modica/Noto and Siracusa (also trains), Catania and Taormina. Many Americans feels frustrated because they have difficulty locating the online bus schedules of the principal bus operators. If you post your desired itinerary, I will gladly indicate the websites of the various bus companies which connect those cities which you plan to visit. You'll find that the bus schedules should work either very well or adequately.

 

[Georgia & Zig]

Ciao, we've been to Italy several times but now we want to visit Sicily. Likely flying into Palermo in late October for a two week stay. Would like to avoid renting a car. We like traveling by train. Would like to pick three places that we could stay at for three days each (we're flexible) and move from town to town by train. Eventually being back in Palermo to fly home. Any thoughts or suggestions on an itinerary; and specific things to see? We're more oriented to culture, history, landscapes, and food.

Im not sure about the trains. I didn’t see any. We rented a car at the Palermo airport and drove to a small town outside Palermo for a few days, then we drove south to Agrigento for a few days, then drove to Siricusa/Syracuse for a few days after which we stayed at an agriturismo outside Catania, stayed a few days, returned the car to the Catania airport and flew back to Naples from there.

 

[Georgia & Zig]

Ciao, we've been to Italy several times but now we want to visit Sicily. Likely flying into Palermo in late October for a two week stay. Would like to avoid renting a car. We like traveling by train. Would like to pick three places that we could stay at for three days each (we're flexible) and move from town to town by train. Eventually being back in Palermo to fly home. Any thoughts or suggestions on an itinerary; and specific things to see? We're more oriented to culture, history, landscapes, and food.

See our trip report Georgia and Zig in Sicily 2019.

 

[Rickpb2020]

Bus service in Sicily is excellent to adequate to visit ALL of the major cities and towns. There is very good bus service between Trapani/Marsala and Agrigento, Agrigento and Catania, Catania and Ragusa, Catania and Siracusa, Ragusa/Modica/Noto and Siracusa (also trains), Catania and Taormina. Many Americans feels frustrated because they have difficulty locating the online bus schedules of the principal bus operators. If you post your desired itinerary, I will gladly indicate the websites of the various bus companies which connect those cities which you plan to visit. You'll find that the bus schedules should work either very well or adequately.

Thanks, we're still deciding on an itinerary. So many possibilities.

 

[sharonov]

We did an OAT tour to Sicily a couple of years ago, in late September. I remember one town that I really loved: Ragusa. I also remember that our tour did not spend any nights in Taormina, which surprised me because everyone at home talked about it. Our tour guide said that one day was enough--I ended up agreeing after our one day there. Like Capri, it exists mostly for visitors and doesn't seem like a real town as much as a Sicilian Disneyland. OK, that's a huge exaggeration, but I much preferred some of the more "working" towns like Ragusa, or Castelbuono, where they use donkeys to empty the trash bins because the streets are too narrow for cars! I also loved that most towns have groups of old men sitting on chairs in the square, chatting and gossiping. I almost left my husband there; sadly, he doesn't speak Italian.