Day 4: Catania to Ortigia
On day 4 of the ultimate itinerary for one week in Sicily without a car, it’s time to head to your second base of the trip. Ortigia is a really beautiful small town, south of Catania, and is a perfect place to stay for the rest of your week in Sicily.
Bus from Catania to Syracuse
Buses leave from Catania to Siracusa/Syracuse fairly regularly throughout the day, about every hour. And the bus journey takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. It’s a comfortable bus, more like a coach, and doesn’t have any stops so feels efficient.
Syracuse is the main town, and Ortigia is the small pretty island the is connected to the mainland by bridges. Even though the bus gets into Syracuse, I’d definitely recommend staying in Ortigia. It’s smaller and prettier, and right on the sea.
Ortigia
I often try not to do too much on travel days when I’ve got my suitcase with me. So I’d recommend taking the afternoon to just walk around Ortigia slowly and enjoy the pretty streets.
The views across the water from the coast are also beautiful.
After you’ve checked in to your hotel, head out for an evening walk. Ortigia is a beautiful place to watch the sunset. In October, the sun was setting about 6.30pm.
After watching the sunset, I headed into a nearby bar for an aperitif. I loved this part of Italian culture, to just sit with a drink and a few snacks before dinner.
There are plenty of great restaurants in Ortigia for dinner. I had swordfish, a Sicilian classic, with olives and capers. It was amazing. The fresh seafood here is definitely worth trying.
Ortigia feels really safe even late into the evening, so you can go for a relaxing after dinner walk before heading back.
Would like to know where you landed? Any suggestions for B& B – or small hostel/hotels?
I flew into Catania. It worked well to stay in Catania for a few days – it’s a great base for doing day trips around the region. There are lots of accommodation choices in Catania, I’d recommend staying in the centre near the market and cathedral. And my second base was Syracuse, staying on the small island of Ortigia. It was easy to get from Syracuse/Ortigia back to Catania for the flight home. Hope that helps, and hope you have an amazing trip!