Planning trip to Sicily - public transportation

Not to say this was necessarily "the" best time, but it was when we could go and had a great time: We flew to Palermo and rented a car for 1 1/2 weeks at Christmastime 2012. Greek ruins around Sicily and the ancient Villa Romana di Casale palace at Piazza Armerina were all open. I understand that in the summer the weather can be really hot, and one day in Agrigento it was pretty warm, but most days the temperature was very comfortable, so if that's a factor, December might be ideal. Plus, as throughout Italy, towns were decorated for the Holidays, and there were presepi displays that you wouldn't see other times of the year. It does get dark earlier than at other times, though, and rain is a possibility (and was heavy one night in Taormina). There were fewer tourists at that time of year, so a bonus was fewer crowds at popular places (like Erice, Agrigento, Caltagirone, and Siracusa), and it was pretty easy getting a room, but some places are closed during winter, so some lodging options then are limited.

Although Rick Steves has group tours on Siclily, he doesn't offer a guidebook there, so we relied a lot on Lonely Planet for that portion of the trip. Their lodging suggestions always worked well for us and would give you suggestions about trains and/or buses.

I certainly didn't regret going! My VERY detailed trip report is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

I don't think the price will be so different at different times of year (except possibly for flights). I can only say we had lovely weather in May 2014, although it was too early for swimming, if you want to do that. Otherwise, it was a great time to go.

I was in Sicily this year in late April to early May (2 weeks). I have never seen such a profusion of wildflowers, but I had a car. I found the driving easy enough. The intercity roads are very good and at that time of year there was little traffic. You will certainly see a great deal more with a car. Though I had some drizzly, cloudy days, and had to drive up to Erice because the funicular was closed due to high winds, for the most part I had warm sunny days and pleasant evenings. Prices in Sicily seemed to be somewhat lower than most of Italy and that early in the year, hotel rates were probably lower than summer. If you want to swim, you must go later, that early the water is way too cold.

In researching for my trip, I came across a detailed trip report from April 2011 on tripadvisor.com from a woman who traveled entirely by public transportation with her father. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187886-i343-k4390170-Trip_Report_Sicily_Without_Wheels-Sicily.html If your husband is adamant about not renting a car, this will give you a good idea of what you can accomplish.

You can get around on public transportation in Sicily, but it can be a challenge to get off the main roads without a car.

By train, bus and ferry I've been to Palermo, Erice, Segesta, Monreale, Trapani, Cefalu, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina, Noto, Ragusa, Piazza Armerina and Villa Romana, Lipari, Stromboli, Vulcano, Milazzo and Messina.

There are several different bus companies but they are usually located together, near the train stations.

Thanks Zoe that sounds like enough to keep us busy. Would you suggest flying open jaw to make the most of our travel?

Weather in Sicily is similar to Central California. Winters are mild, but often rainy (cool also in the interior, especially at higher elevations).. Summers are very hot in the interior, but since you are in an island, even in summer you get a nice refreshing breeze near the coast, especially in the evening. Spring and Autumn are lovely. Summer is best if you intend to have a beach vacation, July and August, however, are packed with vacationers, therefore prices skyrocket.

I like to have a car, but a car is not recommended for Palermo as the traffic can be brutal. Not much use for a car in Catania, Taormina and Syracuse either. A car is useful to reach small towns and country locations, but everything is doable with public transport (trains and buses), it just takes a little longer.

Sicily is beautiful and offers a lot to the tourist. It's probably the Italian Region with the most historical sights in Italy, having been invaded by so many civilizations throughout its history (Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and in the last 150 years by the last invaders, the Italians) . You'll stay very busy for your entire 3 weeks.

You are probably going to have to change planes in Italy to get to Sicily. The main airports are Palermo on the western side and Catania on the eastern side. Palermo is a sure thing. Catania is close enough to Mt. Etna that when ash starts spewing, the airport there often has to close for hours to days. While it doesn't happen all that often, it also isn't unusual. I'd stick with in and out of Palermo.

You could fly open jaw but if you are only visiting Sicily it doesn't matter much. You could fly into Catania and out of Palermo, either way you will have to connect through Rome, Milano or som other European city.

Let me know if you want hotel/restaurant recommendations for the places you decide to visit.

On our recent 3 week trip to Sicily, one of the key questions was car rental or public transportation. Since on a vacation, time is of tremendous value, we decided to rent a car and were glad we did. This was the case even though in Taormina, Syracusa, and Agrigento we didn't use the car at all. Though we could have gotten To Piazza Armerina, Catalgirone, Selinunte, and Segesta by public transportation, having a car made things infinitely easier and allowed us to maximize time.

One thing that worked well: we did not want to drive in Palermo. So, we dropped our rental at the airport and took the bus, easily gotten outside the terminal, into Palermo. We took the bus back when it was time to leave. As I said, it worked great.

We flew into Catania and out of Palermo.

We're going to Sicily late April-early May of 2015, using just public transportation. Jo, one thing to consider is that buses have limited schedules on Sundays and public holidays, so plan your itinerary accordingly. For instance, I originally planned to travel from Ortygia to Agrigento on a Sunday and learned it would be difficult to impossible. So I had to rearrange some hotel reservations.

We are flying into Catania and out of Palermo, although the possibility of Etna spewing makes me nervous.

Chani, thanks for posting that Trip Advisor trip report. Very helpful . We will visit Taormina, Ortygia, Agrigento, Favignana and Trapani. Zoe or Chani, any restaurant suggestions would be appreciated. We already have hotels. Sounds like we should take our rain jackets. Any other tips?

Charlene (and O.P. Jo, too) - if you're visiting Trapani, consider also heading up the hill to Erice, which overlooks Trapani. We drove, but there's a lift tram that can get you there, too. Charming village with narrow, winding lanes and a castle, but also the world-renowned site of the fabulous Pasticceria Maria Gammatico - a baked-goods pilgrimmage site!

Jo [edit - this response is actually for Charlene, not Jo], my daughter and I were in Sicily in May 2013 for a week, staying at Agrigento 2 nights and Ortygia for 5 nights. I have a couple of restaurants to recommend: in Agrigento, we ate both nights at Ristorante Per Bacco, which is a few steps off the main pedestrian street, Via Atenea. We picked it the first night mainly because they were open at 6 pm and we were totally jetlagged, but it was so tasty we returned our second night. We had one meal outside and the second inside, to escape the rain - the inside is very cosy. In Ortygia, we ate twice at the winebar Barcollo, not far from the Duomo; if you order a drink, you can add a couple of euros on your tab and partake of a light buffet with a pretty decent range of salads, little pizza or sandwich bites, and other things. It was a great light dinner, and I believe there's often live music.

We also enjoyed Pizza da Mario, down near the tip of the island where Via Roma dead-ends. Daughter had spent 6 weeks in summer 2012 on Ortygia for a summer study program, and it was her favorite pizza spot. There's no indoor seating; you get your pizza and then can eat outside at a couple of tables, or take your food elsewhere. She also recommends Caffe Minerva [which also has WiFi and bathrooms] and Caffe Teatro for midmorning coffee/pastry breaks.

Have a great trip!

Even though you are not going to Sicily, Jo, you might consider leaving this post on the website so that it would be searchable. There is some very useful information posted here.

@ Charlene, Thank you for pointing out the obvious!

I hadn't thought of that ... lesson learned... I will delete my post.
Jo, enjoy your trip!

@ Charlene: I've already made this suggestion to the OP, so I don't feel bad about posting it! In Trapani, we stayed at Ai Lumi B&B and ate at their Ai Lumi Tavernetta, which was great.

In addition to there being fewer buses on Sundays, we learned the hard way that Easter Monday is also a holiday. We were in a small town and couldn't get out!

You can certainly travel by train in Sicily, but you will be missing some of the most interesting things to be seen. It is not difficult to drive there, and having a car adds so much to your experience. I don't know how you could see Selinunte or Segesta without a car, to say nothing of the many small towns to be found all over the island. A trip around Mt. Etna is always a must for us as it is such a beautiful trip. If you depend on public transportation, I think that the only way that you could visit some of the most interesting sights would be on a tour, which can add up to quite an expense, to say nothing of tying up your time for an entire day.

Jo and others, I was in Sicily early this past May, a diverse and marvelous place and a wonderful time of year to visit. You have lots of good guidance here. Certainly there are plenty of interesting cities, towns and sites that can be visited using public transportation, as well as many where a car would be either necessary or much easier, but with the various advantages and disadvantages of a rental car. I will just add that I flew from the U.S. to Sicily on United/Lufthansa, easily connecting in Munich for a non-stop 2-hour flight to Palermo on Air Dolomiti, which is a Lufthansa regional line, I believe. Also, one of my favorite places in Sicily was the ancient small stone hill town of Erice, on the northwest corner of the island. If possible I would highly suggest spending a couple of nights there, as with many places, the evenings and early mornings, misty in Erice, are the most magical and memorable times. I can suggest a great place to stay. I also especially enjoyed Taormina, touristy but lovely, and really liked the very nearby hill town of Castelmola, which you can get to by car or bus in maybe 20 minutes or so. You can actually see Castelmola from Taormina, up on the hill. So many neat places, and dishes, and people, in Sicily!

Hi Jo, I traveled solo to Sicily for my first time, a short 5 day visit this past week of Thanksgiving. Flew Aer Lingus JFK-DUB-FCO v.v. with one night layovers in Rome, to decompress & re-visit Rome a second time. Flights to Sicily FCO-CTA v.v on Alitalia. Took bus to Siracusa staying two nights at enchanting Ortygia. Loved Siracusa. Train to Catania where I stayed for three nights. Afternoon trip to Taormina, day trips to Piazza Armerina to see exquisite mosaics of Villa Romana del Casale (reduced price 10 euro VRDC only, 14 including museums), and Ragusa to see lovely Ibla. Rode buses which were regularly available, usually prompt, affordable fares. Tickets must be purchased before getting on. One exception was bus to Taormina. Bus was about to leave the platform & driver agreed to take cash. Everywhere I was welcomed by gracious and friendly Sicilians. Next time I want to visit western Sicily. November is rainy season in Sicily but last week weather was fine with sunny breaks except for rain in Ragusa & clouds hiding Mt Etna. You have plenty to see and do in 2-3 weeks. Sicilian roads between towns/cities look excellent and a car would be ideal if you want flexibility and do not mind getting lost sometimes. Happy travels!

I think you can do the tour of Sicily just fine with public transportation, but you will spend a lot of time waiting for the bus or train and then where to go from the station. If you can see your way to rent a car for a short amount of time, I would recommend it. We just got back from 21/2 wks in Sicily inNov. and I can't begin to tell you how friendly and helpful the people were. If you know a handful of words of Italian, it helps immensely. Things I will always remember:

1. Villa Athena in Agrigento...looking out of our hotel window day and night and seeing the Temple of Concord.
2. White knuckle drive up to Erice...views are spectacular. Found out later there was a safer, easier route!
3. Eating breakfast and looking out on Mt. Etna
4. Driving through the countryside from Caltergerone to Agrigento
5. Mosaics
6. Horrible traffic in Palermo

You will love your trip to Sicily..be positive..be friendly!

From Sorrento I took the regional train to Naples. From there I took a train to Cefalu. The entire trip took about 10 hours, and was a very interesting day. The most interesting part was arriving at the ferry to cross the straits of Messina. They loaded the train in two parts. Once on the ferry, passengers can get off the train and walk up to the upper deck. The crossing takes half an hour or so, then the train is unloaded on the other end before continuing on. The ferry part, loading and unloading the train, ate up 2-3 hours. To save time, fly to Palermo, then take a train to Cefalu and the rest of the island.