seeking travel tips for SOLO senior heading to Sicily for 1st visit

Hi,
I would aim for Spring rather than summer in Sicily: summer (esp. Jul-Aug) is very hot.
Else, in 3-4 weeks you could do a leisurely loop of the entire island. A few years ago, in 2 weeks I looped as follows: Catania/Taormina - Siracusa (highlight for me) - Modica (which I preferred to Ragusa) - Agrigento - Palermo. Had a car, but public transport would have been feasible.

Thanks for the quick reply BALSO. I will read more about MODICA. Any suggestions for budget lodging on this travel loop? ($40 or less per single)

We stayed in a wonderful centrally located Airbnb in Palermo, “Via Roma very central loft”. It runs about $50 a night but is large, has a washer and also an elevator. It was a peaceful refuge in a busy city. You should look for Priscilla’s posts on Sicily. She went solo to Sicily and traveled mainly by bus.

Thanks Becky!

Hi Cjleisch,

Sicily is an amazing island, and one can certainly travel to many of its main cities and towns via public transportation.

I wrote several trip reports if you’re interested. Here’s the beginning: My trip to Sicily- In Zoe’s memory...

When planning my solo trip, I relied on my late friend Zoe’s trip reports,
on this amazing forum, the Lonely Planet Guidebook, and several online sources.

Rick Steves has a new Sicily book that was released this spring and I’m sure it’s a good source of information too.

I’d be happy to answer any specific questions that may come up during your planning.

By the way, “Spring is the best time to visit Sicily!”

Enjoy planning your trip!

Priscilla

Ragusa has an upper and lower town and it's quite steep to go between them, if that matters. The overlook to the lower town is gorgeous, but be prepared for many small steps. Both Ragusa and Modica have similar architecture (baroque style) so they look similar. They are close together so it makes sense to do the other as a day trip. There are many UNESCO churches in Ragusa I would have not known about had I not stopped in the visitors center and gotten a proper map (the one I had off the internet was too small and required a lot of sleuthing, as Italian websites are not user-friendly or often translated into English).

Get Rick's new guidebook to Sicily!

I spent 17 or 18 days in Sicily in 2015, traveling solely by public transportation. I was a healthy 63-year-old at the time. My only problem was the heat in June; it was positively draining. You will be on buses quite a lot, generally waiting at outdoor, possibly uncovered, bus stops. Go earlier in the year than I did! It will make a huge difference in how active you can be and your enjoyment of the island.

Even if you go considerably earlier than I did, you may well need air conditioning. I would not book a place without a/c unless I had looked at five years' worth of actual, day-by-day temperatures on timeanddate.com and found there was no cause for concern. Most lodgings in Sicily do have a/c, but I don't know whether hostels do.

The cluster of Baroque towns in the southeast includes Ragusa, Noto, Modica and Scicli. I thought there was more to see in Ragusa and would recommend staying there if transportation schedules are suitable. I made multiple day-trips from Siracusa (loved the historic district of Ortygia), but staying in one of the towns is what I'll do next time.

In general, I think you'll be able to manage within or close to your lodging budget. I can't be sure because my trip was 4 years ago. There are a lot of small lodging options in Sicily. You can probably find some on booking.com. I know nothing about the locations or costs of hostels.

You'll probably need to avoid overnighting in Taormina, which is very expensive. It's also too touristy for me to want to stay there. I stayed in Catania, a good-sized city with Sicily's largest airport, a nice historic district, a big food market and a WWII museum that I unfortunately missed. I took the train to Taormina for a few hours one day. Frequent buses run from the Guardini-Naxos RR station up the hill to town. Or I believe there are buses from Catania.

You might also check out the closer coastal town of Acireale. It was recommended to me by a local, but I didn't have time to visit. Online photos look promising and it would be very convenient for visiting Taormins.

Other places I enjoyed included Trapani and Erice in the west. I am not much interested in Greek ruins, so I did not go to Segesta, Selinunte or Agrigento.

I also recommend the interior, seldom visited, towns of Enna and Caltagirone. Piazza Armerina, from which one can reach the Villa Romana del Casale by infrequent bus or taxi, also looked attractive. I always try to visit some inland villages on islands. Few foreign tourists venture away from the coast, and the Sicilian interior feels like a different world.

I found a lot of interesting places to visit in Palermo. It is hectic and not at all relaxing but a fascinating city. I'd recommend not making it your first stop. Be sure you get out to Monreale to see the incredible mosaics in the Cathedral. Bus service is available.

I thought the Egadi Islands near Trapani were a bit underwhelming for someone not just looking for an uncrowded sandy beach. I believe there's more of interest on the Aeolians.

Not driving limits you a little (not recommend doing solo,) but there’s plenty to see and enjoy besides. Plan on several days in Ortigia, I found it immensely enjoyable with lots to do (and not do!) Noto makes a pretty easy day trip from Ortigia and is a lovely hill town. Both have lots of Baroque architecture. You could certainly make your way through the other towns like Ragusa, but it’s not the simplest thing via public transport. I feel like it would cost an excess of time to do comfortably.

It’s pretty straightforward getting from Siracusa or Catania to Palermo. Palermo has quickly become one of my favorite European cities. Tons to see there. Palermo consistently defied my expectations. It’s quite clean, lively, cosmopolitan and felt very safe.

I would highly recommend stopping a couple days in Agrigento to see the Valley of the Temples. You could even see them in the evening (I wished I could have gone both during the day and at night.)

There’s some tremendous value in Sicily Airbnb. I payed my mainland equivalent price and got to stay in some top-notch places with ocean views.

Look into open-jaw tickets going Catania-Palermo. I found it cost me no extra, and actually saved money by flipping the airports around. Also, train service (except between major destinations, airports) is not the best. The bus system, however, is terrific and gets you everywhere, often right into the city center. I used the “Rome2rio” app to make sense of it all.

Those are my random thoughts, not sure how many days you actually have at your disposal.

WOW I was amazed by the quick responses to my request for help planning solo travel to SICILY.
awrzesinski= I will check out airbnb which I have used on other trips
agnes= thanks for reminding me about getting maps and info at the T I
becky= the link to Priscillas trip reports was ideal
**PRISCILLA = I read every word of your detailed trip reports for specific info on solo travel using public transport but more importantly I read" "between the lines" and sensed not only your love of travel and people but your deep respect for ZOE.
I feel I am off to a great start in the planning process and can rely on forum members and tried and true guide books by Rick Steves and LP. I have a feeling this will be the first visit to stunning Sicily...but hopefully not the last.
Best regards to all of you and safe travels!

I don’t know how much time you have, but I am a senior traveling in Sicily alone right now, for the third month-long trip that I’ve taken here since 2014. I enjoyed Scopello, but it’s difficult to get there by train or bus. Segesta & Erice (to visit not to stay in), Trapani, Marsala, Selinunte, Scala dei Turchi (a staggeringly beautiful beach), Agrigento, Villa Romana del Casale (probably only to visit), Ragusa Ibla, Noto, Ortigia (the part of Siracusa of greatest interest) , Catania, Rifugio Sapienza sull’Etna, Taormina, Messina, Isole Eolici (Lipari, and also Salina), Cefalù, one of the Petralias (Sottana, Soprana), Palermo, Mondello. Sicilian buses, trains, and water transport (ferry/traghetto, hydrofoil/aliscafa) merit study. You are perhaps the sort of traveler who would enjoy the Circumetnea railway, a rickety old affair of non-universal but perhaps also non-absent charm, perhaps breaking the encirclement of the volcano for a few nights at Randazzo. That list should occupy you for a while. Reading will reward: my wife energetically opposed Sicily until she learned more.

What a list " autnagrag" extensive with some new ideas included that's for sure. When you go solo do you use airbnb? hostels? booking.com Any budget lodging you would recommend? Was it easy to get bus/ train schedules in English? Can I safely wait until arrival to reserve transport and rooms if I come pre season April/ May?
I appreciate any info you can share. Carol ( retired USA teacher)

I do not have a time limit. After Sicily I will be heading to other areas in Eastern/Central Europe. I plan to be traveling for 8 weeks or so.

You'll benefit from having at least 3 weeks in Sicily--and I say that as someone who didn't spend time going to the isolated Greek ruins, though I enjoyed the easy-to-reach archaeological park in Siracusa. I also settled for one day in the Egadi Islands rather than a longer visit to the Aeolians--a much-regretted decision.

I don't think any of your transportation needs to be pre-booked except airfare in and out, or the Freccia portion of any train trip you plan to take to/from farther north in Italy.

I'd expect on-the-road reservations for lodgings to be OK, too, as long as you don't hit some sort of special local celebration and are not the sort of traveler for whom staying in special places is important. I typically use booking.com for convenience. Sometimes I then take the time to visit the website of the lodging place to see if I can save money there. Over the last few years I've been booking just a bit earlier. It used to be the night before arrival. Now it is more likely to be 2 to 4 days ahead. But my more recent trips have been in areas generally more costly than Sicily.

I do find that late bookings sometimes force a trade-off between low price and convenient location. I have occasionally ended up paying something like $70+ when I was sure I'd have been able to find a $50 room if I had booked earlier. But flexibility is important to me on my first visit to an area. I do not like having to leave before I've seen all that I want to.