Catania or Siracusa for 3 days

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jess227
jess227

Hello,
We are trying to set our final itinerary in Sicily and I wanted to ask for some advice. We arrive at 10 on August 24 and have a transfer on August 27 to Milazzo from Catania Airport at 10am.
First option is to go staight to Siracusa for 2 and 1/2 days, then catch 8 am bus to Catania airport on 27. Second option is to stay in Catania and make a day trip to Siracusa and a day trip to Taormina. I am not sure if Catania is a nice destination in its own right- I think Taormina must be worth visiting, which is why I am thinking to stay in Catania, though in August not sure it is worth battling the crowds. There is only one AM bus from Siracusa to Catania airport, and I am a little anxious about making the connection, but it is due at 9:15 so think it should be plenty of time.

Thanks in advance for your opinion. Jessica

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richiavo
richiavo

Personally I would stay in Catania, it is a nice city with lots of good places to go in the evening, of the 3 it is likely to be the quietest in August, both Siracusa and Taormina will be packed full of tourists. So staying in Catania you can do a day trip to Siracusa and one to Taormina, plus Etna of course. You can take the train to Siracusa, which is a nice journey.

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jess227
jess227

Thanks Richiavo!
This is really helpful in our planning. I think we will spend the first night in Siracusa then the other two days in Catania. We have one night there before we depart Sicily, so I hope that is a good split.

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ked999
ked999

i agree with rich. i liked the realness of Catania, and plenty of places to wander. for me a day trip was enough to Taormina and Siracusa - they are very touristy. I wouldn't have just 1 night elsewhere - the whole pack up and transfer thing burns time.

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georgia
georgia

Siracusa is touristy because it, and Ortigia in particular are much more beautiful. Go there and eat at da Mario's above the fountain of Arethusa.

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joe_miller
joe_miller

I did not stay in Catania. The bus ride through showed an interesting city, but not one to stay in overnight. I have stayed in Siracuse and love it very much. It has the romance of decay. We stayed in Hotel Gutkowski in a room water side and listened to the surf all night (once the auto traffic ended). Siracuse also has an intact Greek temple enclosed now as a church. While there I was enchanted, but did not even visit the Greek ruins outside of town.

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