Please sign in to post.

Stay a night in Catania or bus to Palermo?

Hi - I am joining the B of S in June and flying into Catania from Amsterdam. The flight arrives at 3.35pm on a Saturday. Am I better off staying the night in Catania and then taking a morning bus to Palermo where the tour begins? Or should I take the late evening bus and head to Palermo immediately? I am traveling solo and not quite sure which is a better option. Would it get dark when I arrive in Palermo say around 8.30pm? I would be very grateful for any advice. Thank you.

Posted by
28450 posts

If you decide to stay in Catania, there's a 7:37 AM train to Palermo on Sunday mornings, arriving at 10:34 AM. Unfortunately, that may well be too early to check into your hotel.

Posted by
8293 posts

I am pretty sure, and you can check, that there are buses to Palermo stationed right at the airport. I remember that there were buses to almost everywhere parked just outside the exit door at the airport. If you are worried about it being dark when you arrive in Palermo, take a taxi to the hotel and advise the hotel of your late arrival.

Posted by
2548 posts

If the Rome2Rio website is accurate there is frequent service from the Catania Airport to Palermo via SAIS Autolinee, with a duration of two hours thirty minutes.

Posted by
7054 posts

Sunday bus service in Sicily is pretty poor, so I would check the schedules to see if taking a Sunday bus is even a viable option. I agree, it's really easy to take a bus straight from the airport. I don't think you need to worry too much about being alone in Palermo, even when it gets dark, there is plenty of foot traffic. You can check what time it gets dark on timeanddate.com for any date and any city in the world.

Posted by
3303 posts

Definitely take the bus upon your arrival. It’s a 2 1/2 hour trip directly from the airport to the train station in Palermo. If you’re staying at the Ambasciatori Hotel, it’s about a 5-10 minute walk from the station. Here’s a PDF of the bus schedule. It shows departures at 16,10, 17,10 and 18,40. If your plane from AMS arrives on time and you have a carry-on only, there’s a chance of making the earlier bus.

You’ll be walking in sunlight with any of those 3 buses. If the tour hotel is the Ambasciatori, make sure to make a reservation for Saturday night ASAP as it tends to sell out quickly. I took the Sicily trip in November and it is one of the best of the 14 Rick Steves Tours I’ve been on. Buon viaggio!

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks everyone for your kind advice and Philip’s pdf link. The start of the tour is indeed at Ambasciatori Hotel. From your experience and information it is clear I shall head to Palermo immediately. Looking forward to an amazing Sicilian adventure.