I'm an American senior lady traveling solo to Sicily for 6 days in early February. Flying into Naples then next day to Catania. My plan is to stay a night in Catania then on to Syracuse/Ortygia by bus for a day or two. I was thinking of renting a car in Syracuse to travel to Agrigento, maybe even staying the night there. I would love to explore the whole Valley of the Temples. Is that a better plan than renting a car directly from Catania airport upon arrival? I don't think I need the car for the first 2 days in Sicily. Opinions? Thank you!
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8261 posts
Since some of the major rental companies (Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Alamo, Europcar) have offices in Siracusa/Ortigia, you could get a rental car there and save a couple days rental and insurance fees.
The Valley of the Temples can be seen in a half day. We spent three hours there and saw all the temples.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you! I figured I might need a whole day in Agrigento, that's good to know about the half day. Yes, that is what I figured I could save a couple days on the car by getting it in Syracuse. I plan on making Ortygia my base since I will only be in Sicily for 6 days. Is that a good plan? I really want to eat one of those artichoke street foods I see, plus arancini!
Posted by
Portland, OR
485 posts
We did a tour from Palermo to Agrigento and back. Easy day. Not sure you need to stay the night unless you have a huge interest in the museum.
Posted by
1489 posts
We rented a car in Palermo and drove to Agrigento where we stayed the night at Colleverde Park Hotel which was a nice, clean, reasonably-priced hotel with a beautiful garden, reception area and view. The price included an excellent breakfast and free outdoor parking. We had tickets for the Valley of the Temples and were going to tour on our own, but the hotel suggested a tour which we shared with another couple. Good decision! We had a relaxed, several-hour tour with an excellent guide. We chose to stay the night so that we would not be rushed and also did not want to have a @ 4-5 hour round trip back to Palermo, especially since our return would have involved driving at night on roads unknown to us. If you stay, the Il Re di Girgenti restaurant was wonderful and had a magical view of the lit temples at night. It was @ a 10-minute walk from the hotel.