explore it yourself:
The journey and accommodations:
We arrived by plane from Valletta, Malta on the night of July 12th and stayed until the morning of July 15th. We arrived into Vincenzo Bellini Catania Airport and departed out of Cannizzaro Train Station. The route to Sorrento was very chaotic and required many train connections listed below: *move this chunk to the sorrento one*
For this location, our intention was to stay at an upscale hotel that we could relax at for a couple days after trekking around for the first month and a half of this trip. With that in mind, the itinerary below spends less time in the city of Catania and more time lounging poolside. We changed the AI prompt criteria for accommodation recommendations to include hotels in the middle price range with a pool and it recommended Grand Hotel Baia Verde which is where we ended up staying.
The hotel was absolutely perfect for what we were looking for. At ~150 EUR per night, the hotel had an amazing pool deck with plenty of lounge space, situated atop a volcanic rock cliffside overlooking the sea. We really could not have asked for much more as it was the perfect setup to spend days on-site with a full bar at the pool and a fantastic Italian restaurant on site as well.
One thing to note about this location however, as it is located in Cannizzaro (about 15 minute drive north of Catania), getting here by public transit is somewhat of a challenge at times. We took the ALIBUS from the airport to the Catania Central Train Station at which point we were trying to catch either the 935 or the 434 bus, both of which weren’t scheduled to make a stop near us for over an hour. Ultimately, we decided to take a taxi for 20 EUR to get to our accommodation but be prepared for wait times if you intend on staying in this area and are traveling from downtown Catania.
Note: * our additions to ai itinerary and exclusions are crossed out, also see our summary at the bottom.
Day 1: Catania
Note: Our hotel had a free breakfast so we opted for that and hung out at the pool and went into Catania in the late afternoon/evening.
Breakfast & La Pescheria
- Sicilian Breakfast at
Prestipino Café- OR
Savì- Granita (almond or pistachio) & brioche, or espresso & cannolo
- La Pescheria (Fish Market) – It’s loud, chaotic, authentic, and very Sicilian; swordfish, sea urchins, shouting vendors. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s worth seeing.
- Be sure to visit here earlier in the day to see the activity as the market is open from 7am – 2pm most days (be sure to confirm this before visiting)!
Piazza del Duomo & Piazza Teatro Massimo
- Explore the heart of the city
- Catania Cathedral
- The Elephant Fountain (Fontana dell’Elefante)
- Lava-stone baroque architecture (Catania was rebuilt after a volcanic eruption)
- Note: The Catania Cathedral and Elephant Fountain are located next to each other in Piazza Del Duomo so it is very efficient to see them together! The church was beautiful and upon entering we were told the building was closed for the day to visitors so we were unable to purchase a ticket to enter beyond the first few steps. Tickets are sold for 10 EUR per person.
Dinner and a Late-Night STroll
San Giovanni Li Cuti— It’s a black lava-rock beach with locals swimming and sunset views. Very relaxed, non-touristy vibe.- We skipped this because it was 2 miles from the city center so it didn’t make sense. If our hotel didn’t have access to water we probably would have gone at some point to cool off.
- Dinner at
Osteria Antica Marina– seafood near the fish market- OR Pasta Up – pasta just steps from Piazza Del Duomo
- We ended up eating here and had some incredible pasta at very reasonable prices! The staff was lovely and we would definitely recommend this spot!
- OR
Me Cumpari Turiddu– traditional Sicilian
- Wander through lit-up piazzas
- During our walk to the bus stop we walked through several piazzas as the sun set on Catania. The energy in the city was nice with many street performers singing along with packed bars and restaurants.
Day 2: Mount Etna
Note: Our hotel had a free breakfast and pool so we did that in the morning before leaving for the excursion
Mount etna excursion
- Admittedly, this wasn’t well planned on our end, but it ended up working out great. We had been wavering on whether or not to visit the mountain because of logistics and price, given the mountain was a ~1 hour drive from our hotel and the cost of tours were beginning at 70 EUR per person. Ultimately, we decided we wanted to see it especially because it was currently erupting and when in Sicily, it felt wrong not to visit.
- Initially, we asked AI the methods that can be used to experience it on a budget. It recommended the AST public bus which departs from Catania Central Station at 8:15am. What it failed to note was that this is the only departure for the day, returning to Catania at 4:30pm. After learning of this and realizing we would not have time to make it to the bus, we began looking on Viator for tour options.
- Viator has a great range of pricing and excursion types which is really nice for finding a tour that best suits you. We were looking options with same day availability so we were quite limited.
- We ended up selecting the tour titled ‘Etna at sunset in 4×4 or Minivan‘ which was priced at $81.67 per person. The initial meeting point for this excursion is at the base of the mountain so we booked the added option of pickup and drop off in Catania for an extra $12 per person bringing the total to $93.36 per person. Hopefully you are lucky enough to end up with Seby as your tour guide like we had, he was so friendly and such a great guide on the mountain!
- This tour began with a tasting of locally produced olive oils, jams, and hazelnut spreads.
- After about 15 minutes we began the tour up the mountain. The majority of the tour was done within the jeep with the tour guide driving us up the mountain and pointing out spots along the way while giving historical context and significance to each point.
- There were 4 stops (Silvestri Craters, Valle del Bove, Grotta dei Tre Livelli, and Serra La Nave) along the route where we got out of the jeep and were able to do a bit of walking and taking photos. At one point we were provide helmets with headlamps and entered down about 7 meters into a lava tube formed during the eruption that took place in 1792! The other stops didn’t involve too much walking although one of the craters was fairly steep uphill and while walking atop loose volcanic ash, it was somewhat difficult at points so be sure to bring decent shoes!
- Towards the end of the tour there was a stop along the mountain where we could hop out and purchase food and drinks at a store shortly before stopping to view the sunset.
- After arriving at the sunset viewing spot to conclude the tour, our guide took out a bottle of locally made Moscato and Biscuits for us to enjoy while we sat. It was the perfect ending to a day on the mountain!
- Lastly, our driver was gracious enough to drop us off back at our hotel instead of the usual drop off point back in Catania. Given it was almost 10pm at this point, this was such a huge relief as public transit back to our hotel ran very sparingly at night so we would likely have been stuck downtown for a while!
helpful tips
- Wear comfortable closed-toe shoes, as the volcanic rock is uneven. (A lot of excursions offer hiking boot rentals for about 5 EUR.)
- Bring a light jacket, even during the summer, temperatures at higher elevations can be much cooler than at sea level.
- Check the weather before you go, as cable car and summit excursions can be suspended due to wind or volcanic activity.
- If you’re planning to visit the summit during peak season, reserve your tickets or guided tour in advance.
Below are photos from our hotel:
final thoughts:
Overall Rating: Our experience was 10/10. We wouldn’t rank the city of Catania itself that high, probably 5/10.
Would we go again? We would want to see other cities/villages along the sea. Wouldn’t need to do Catania again.
Favorite moment:
Bailey’s favorite: The Mount Etna excursion exceeded my expectations. It was so cool to see an active volcano. The terrain was like nothing I have seen before and I learned a lot.
Parker’s favorite: Lounging around our poolside and looking out over the cliff was so relaxing. We definitely needed this time to recharge after so much running around.
Any surprises? The city is extremely old and has a rough and tumbled feel. We preferred to hang out on the seaside of our hotel.
Anything we missed? We would have enjoyed a day trip to Taormina, but didn’t have enough days.
Food spots AI recommended, but we didn’t have a chance to go: Prestipino Café, Savì, Osteria Antica Marina, and Me Cumpari Turiddu
Average step count per day: 13,130 steps
How did ai do?
Nailed it: In the end, we were glad AI recommended taking a day-trip up to Mt. Etna despite the fact that we were set on skipping the mountain prior to our visit here. The views atop the mountain were absolutely incredible and although it was a trek to reach the top, it was well worth the journey!
Needs work: We wish AI would have mentioned the fact that the fish market closes in the early afternoon. We arrived as most vendors were closing down their stands for the day so the energy was lower in the area of the fish market when we were expecting a lively environment. Also, we felt like more information on the public bus that goes to Mt. Etna would have been helpful. It simply suggested the bus while we assumed there were multiple trips per day when in reality the bus leaves just once from Catania so if you miss it in the morning like we did, you’re out of luck!