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Sicily, my first trip. A few questions for Sicily fans

Thanks to All for contributions! I land on September 23 in the evening at Catania airport (from Bari where I start my 5 week strip)
Here’s my burning questions. 1. Ortigia/Siracusa is my first destination. Is it true there is a bus from the Catania airport to Siracusa? 2. If yes to bus from airport, Please recommend hotel near Catania airport for my first night, just a rest stop. 3. Do I need a jacket or just a rain/windbreaker layer over a couple of shirts for October in Sicily? 4. I fly on Volotea airline from Bari to Catania, Please share your experiences with Volotea. Yep, I travel extremely light in Ryan Air approved luggage.. Much Appreciation to all :-)

Posted by
3150 posts

Yes, there is bus to Catania and the trip takes 1:20. If you’re arriving on the Voltea flight that arrives at 6 PM, I would suggest going to Siracusa instead of taking the time to check in and out of a hotel for one night. Never can be sure about the weather so a waterproof wind breaker would be a great idea.

Posted by
3551 posts

I cannot answer your questions in general but a windbreaker jacket is a good idea. And have a wonderful time it is a wonderful place to visit with a lot of antiquities and history. It should be on everyone’s itinerary at some pt. Especially off summer season.

Posted by
15560 posts

For me the best indicator of what weather to expect is to look at the historical daily weather. A good site for that is timeanddate.com

Posted by
2455 posts

Since you specifically asked, yes I flew on Volotea once in 2014, Palermo to Naples, a one hour flight. All was very smooth, no issues. I paid to check a bag when I booked my flight as I knew the carry-on from my international flight would not work as a carry-on for Volotea. Paying the baggage fee when booking the flight was very reasonable, 15 euros as I remember. Would have been considerably more if arranged later on.

Posted by
6783 posts

Volotea is pretty good, it is a nicer experience than Ryanair. And by all means try to reach Syracuse the first evening, it's not far enough to warrant sleeping in Catania.

Posted by
26833 posts

I have no experience with Sicily in July [sorry; meant to say 'September'], but if you plan to ascend Etna, I don't know that a couple of shirts and a windbreaker will keep you warm.

Posted by
856 posts

The bus to Siracusa from Catania is super easy, the kiosk and station are right outside the terminal. I would not bother arranging a night in Catania unless you’re arriving at super odd hours.

A light jacket would be advisable. You’re on the ocean, so it may get chilly at night.

Posted by
17 posts

Your wonderful help eases my butterflies for my first solo trip to a new “frontier”. Yes, Phillip my Volotea flight lands at Catania at 6:00 pm. I have not found a good universal Sicily bus site or app. Do any of you have one you would recommend? I had originally thought I would have trouble getting reliable bus service to Siracusa/Ortigia on the evening of my flight. I downloaded the Bus Center app which combines a few Sicily bus lines, however this app only shows buses to a few locations from the airport and Siracusa is not one of them. I do not plan to rent a car and navigate on my own, so I am hoping to Find good apps for buses and trains. My husband and I planned this trip together last fall but he had a stroke at 62. Now I feel like all of you are coming with me. Grazie, Grazie Grazie

Posted by
7049 posts

I have not found a good universal Sicily bus site or app. Do any of
you have one you would recommend?

I am not sure if you will find a universal app. This is Sicily, and pretty much all of southern Italy is just not as developed tourist-wise in many ways, including their websites. Just look at the below site for Interbus (and use Google translate if needed), and keep in mind that schedules may not be up if you're looking too early.

Aeroporto Catania to Siracusa
http://www.interbus.it

Posted by
17 posts

Well okay then folks, From the “http://www.interbus.it/“ site I found there is a bus from Catania airport to Siracusa at 6:40 pm and 8:40 pm. If I end up on the last bus I would not arrive In Siracusa until about 10:30 pm. Is that an acceptable check in time practice in Siracusa? Is there a hotel near the Siracusa bus arrival station anyone could recommend? My Ortigia accommodations don’t start until the next day because I had originally figured on an airport hotel in Catania. I would must rather make my way to Siracusa that evening.

Also if I book in advance on “http://www.interbus.it/“ will it allow me to save digital ticket to a PDF or do I need a paper ticket. I hear often that Sicily is a bit behind the times. Grazie

Posted by
6385 posts

There are a couple hotels very near the airport; Catania International airport, NH Parco Degli Argoneso, and Romano Palace Luxury are a few that show up on Google maps. When making your plans, allow for time in case your flight arrives late. If your flight arrives at 6:00, 45 minutes isn’t much time to get off the plane, get your luggage, and get to the bus stop, but that’s your call. We arrived in Catania last Sept 23 and only needed jackets occasionally in the evening.

Posted by
11053 posts

We were in Sicily last year starting Oct.11. I just went through my photos and only see two times where I wore a rain jacket and another time a very light weight cardigan sweater.
We were in Puglia before Sicily and flew Volotea from Bari to Palermo, on time, easy check in, nice staff. The plane reminded me of an older Southwest aircraft. Bari is a very nice new airport too. I would fly Volotea again.

Posted by
7049 posts

Also if I book in advance on “http://www.interbus.it/“ will it allow
me to save digital ticket to a PDF or do I need a paper ticket.

Do you have any incentive to book in advance? I just bought the ticket at the bus kiosk, but maybe you can get some savings by booking ahead to make it worthwhile. I'm not sure anyone could/would scan a ticket on your phone, unless something changed since I was there. Best bet is just to have a paper printout just in case.

I stayed about a 10 min walk from the bus station at the Albergo Alfeo (https://www.alfeo.it). Great hotel, very straightforward directions, should be no problem getting in late since they have a front desk (you should always e-mail the hotel and let them know your arrival time). If you would like something closer, go on www.booking.com and use their map feature to locate hotels much closer to the station.

Posted by
11294 posts

"If I end up on the last bus I would not arrive In Siracusa until about 10:30 pm. Is that an acceptable check in time practice in Siracusa?"

It's the same as anywhere else - you need to check in advance with your accommodation. Some will not allow check in this late, some will not have any problem with it, and some can only do it with advance notice.

Posted by
88 posts

I was in Sicily late September 2015. Flew into Catania airport, caught the above described public bus to Syracuse. Bought tickets right there at the airport. Weather was so hot, and with the heat experienced over the summer there I feel it may still be warmer. I never needed a jacket during the stay, mostly wore tank tops or short sleeves, but always carried a light cardigan when needed for entry inside churches, etc. We used airbnb so can't suggest hotels, sorry.

Posted by
1 posts

I was in Sicily last year at beginning of October - tour around the island. Weather was changeable. Definitely keep rain gear handy, check the local forecast each day. There was extreme rain/flooding in Catania one day but shortly thereafter was clear and very warm (80s). Definitely bring lighter clothes & a layer to add in the evening if necessary. Its chillier up on Etna, but you probably won't need thermal underwear :-)
Enjoy, it's beautiful!

Posted by
856 posts

There IS a universal transportation app called Rome2rio. I used it throughout Sicily and it worked perfectly! It really helped make sense of competing schedules and gave accurate times to plan around. By the way, the bus is the major mode of transport in Sicily. Outside of transport between major cities, train service is spotty. For instance, the train to Noto was pretty beat down with the station outside the town, while the bus dropped you right in the town center.

Posted by
3112 posts

Why not just add an additional night to your Ortigia reservation? The distance between the bus station and the island isn't far. It would be a short taxi ride to Ortigia, and prior postings about arrival in Siracusa have also mentioned a shuttle bus. If your Ortigia lodgings are fully booked that night, then perhaps stay a short walk away on the island rather than near the bus station.

Posted by
26833 posts

My experience with Rome2Rio has been very different. I've found it often howlingly inaccurate about travel times, frequencies and fares. It is generally on target as to what type of public transportation is available, and if you keep drilling down, you usually eventually find a link to the company operating the trains or buses. By going to the company website you can usually find accurate schedules. Bus fares can sometimes be a bit tricky to find online, but they are usually comparatively reasonable.

Posted by
17 posts

Hello all. I was not excited about spending the night in Catania after such a short flight from Bari Puglia. Since my Ortigia lodging was unavailable for the extra night, I booked one night Very Close to Siracusa bus station that takes late check in.
I’ve heard mixed things about Rome2Rio....what a fantastic piece of software engineering if it works reliably. R 2 R says a bus from Siracusa to Ragusa take 3 hours and 10 minutes. Sounds too long for such a short distance....but it is Sicily and such things I consider part of the local culture and thus charm. It seems that easily available bus information will be my biggest hurdle in Sicily. It’s all a bit mixed up in my head since I can’t possibly know which of the many bus lines operate where. Do any of y’all know if the new Rick Steves Sicily book breaks down bus service areas and provides a list of bus websites and apps?

Posted by
26833 posts

I don't remember how long my bus to Ragusa took, but I doubt that I would have chosen a 3-hour bus ride when the train takes only about 2-1/4 hours.

I haven't seen the new Sicily book, but it would not occur to me to travel to Sicily without it--or the pertinent chapters of the book. The RS guides are exceptionally good on logistical details. That said, I consider bus schedules obtained anywhere other than at the bus station to be hypothetical. And you must pay careful attention to the footnotes on any printed schedule. Also pay attention to the calendar. Holidays will throw a monkey-wrench into things. And as the schedules will show, there are few buses moving on Sundays.