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Feedback on SE Sicily Itinerary, with stopover in Turkey?,

Posted by on

I'm planning an ~10-11 day trip to Sicily from San Francisco in September with my husband and 85 year old Dad.

Here's what I'm considering:

Flying with Turkish Air (direct to IST, long layover in Istanbul, next day direct to Catania)
~<24 hours in Istanbul to see a few sites

Arriving early evening in Catania, renting car and driving to Ortigia
Basing ourselves in Ortigia for 7 nights, and doing day trips to:

  • The archeological park nearby in Syracuse
  • Noto, beach @Noto
  • Ragusa & Modica? and/or Scicli?
  • Villa Romana del Casale (tempted to try to go to Agrigento, but this seems like too long of a day)
  • A couple more relaxing days in Ortigia

On the way to the airport on last day, go to the Museo Storico dello Sbarco before flying home (by way of IST, but short layover)

My main Qs:
1. Have people flown on Turkish Air with the layover in Istanbul from the west coast. Makes for a long day (but direct flight), allows us to see blue mosque, basilica cistern, Hagia Sofia. Turkish Air includes the hotel. Anyone done this? how was it?
2. Is it too much to try to get to Agrigento from Ortigia?
3. What day trips from Ortigia do you recommend the most (how to prioritize?).

Posted by
1045 posts

Agrigento is definitely too far for a day trip. Honestly, imo Villa Romana would make for a very long day (though technically doable.) Any of the hill towns are good day trips, even a couple in the same day.

With 7 full days though, why not use a couple nights to visit Agrigento and Villa Romana? Changing accommodations for two nights is a fair trade to see arguably the two best sights on the island. The drives get less demanding, and give you an opportunity to see just a bit more of Sicily. I adore Ortigia, but a full week is a long time. It’s not a big place.

Posted by
6 posts

Thanks awrzesinski! I think my Dad will be glad to see those sites.

New idea, drop the Turkish airline deal (neat idea!), since it is a shorter trip, and instead doing something like:
Day 1+2: Fly SFO to Rome/Europe, Connect to Catania, rent car and drive to Ortigia, sleep in Ortigia
Day 3-7: Day trips from Ortigia (Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto, beaches) / time in Ortigia/Syracuse, sleep in Ortigia
Day 8: Drive to Agrigento, drop off luggage, visit Agrigento, sleep in Agrigento
Day 9: Drive to Catania, en route visit Villa Romana del Casale, sleep in Catania
Day 10: Day in Catania, Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia, other sites, sleep in Catania
Day 11: early am flight home (2 legs)

Days 8 + 9 will have some driving (about 3 hours each day), but seem doable.

Posted by
1045 posts

I think that’s a nice update. The bulk of the drive from Ortigia to Agrigento is on the autostrada which is actually quite good. Can’t speak for Catania, though no one seems particularly enamored of it. There may be more idyllic options nearby that are still convenient to your goals.

A night in/around Piazza Armerina/Enna/Castiglione might be a better option to look into. I dislike 1-night stays, but for this area of Sicily I think it’s the best route.

Posted by
28255 posts

That will be a long overnight flight to Catania. Can your planned driver. Out on sleeping well on the plane so the drive to Siracusa can be done safely? I certainly couldn't handle it.

I believe there's bus service from the Catania airport to Siracusa. I know there are arains, but I think they are less frequent. You could use public transportation to get to Ortygia and wait until the next day to pick up the car--or longer if you want to do your local sightseeing at the beginning of your stay in Ortygia. There's no sense in renting the car longer than you need it when you'll almost certainly have to pay to park it.

If you decide to do a day-trkp to theVilla Romana del Casale, the round-trip driving time should be at least an hour faster from Catania than from Siracusa, according to ViaMichelin.com. The VM driving times do not include any stops, navigational errors, traffic tie-ups, etc.

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