Hotel Teocrito
Hotel Class: 
4.5 Stars - 35 Opinions
Viale Teocrito 71, Syracuse, Italy
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Forum Posts
travel to Sicily
by jeff1946
Hello all,
My wife and I would like to visit Sicily the first week in February. I have heard that Siracusa is a nice city and would serve as a base for our 7-8 day stay. I'd love advice on the best way to do this...ie tour, self, airport to fly into, how to get to Siracusa and so forth. Any general advice will be most appreciated.
Thank you, Jeff
Re: travel to Sicily
by Sjalen
Yes, Siracusa is a great city with the romantic Ortygia island in its centre full of bars and restaurants (see page).
I'm not sure about the weather there in February but it is of course better than northern Europe amd NY :))) and there is plenty of culture and good food even if you can't swim then.
As for flying from the US, I don't know what the cheapest option would be (maybe Palermo) but the main airport closest to Siracusa is Catania. From Catania centre, you can then easily catch a train for the short trip to Siracusa (just don't be terrified when seeing the huge Augusta refineries, none of that can be smelt or seen in Siracusa) if you don't want to drive.
From Siracusa, you can easily visit World Heritage city Noto. It is further to Agrigento and its Temple Valley but then again, you might drive. Similarly for the northern coast with Etna but that is at least served by quicker trains and is a shorter trip in general. February sees the annual almond festival in Agrigento by the way. Not sure which week though.
Re: Re: travel to Sicily
by jeff1946
Hi, yhanks for your help. Maybe I should have posed my query differently. Let me restart.
My wife and I have never been to Sicily and hear that it is a great destination. The concept that I have, given that we only have a week to be there is something like this:
We want to spend the time in a really neat city (? Siracusa) and use that as a base to visit nearby sights. I really don't want to rent a car so we would need to go by train, bus or taxi. Would like reccs on small, typically Sicilian hotels or B&B in town.
I f we could fly to Cataonia, how far by train to Siracusa. Thanks again! Jeff
Re: travel to Sicily
by Sjalen
Siracusa is about an hour south of Catania by train. Trains from Siracusa to mainland Italy go via Giardini-Taormina station which is another 50 minutes from Catania if memory serves me right. This works for a daytrip since you also go along the base of Etna for the 50 minutes towards Catania so there is a great sight! Taormina is up on a hill from the station but there are local buses. Very touristy (but less so in February) but with great views of Etna (in clear weather) and the sea from the old Greek amphitheatre.
From Siracusa, you also have train to World Heritage city Noto like I said before. There is a VT page with little info but loads of pictures of Noto. It's also possible to visit Ragusa from Siracusa, as well as the famous roman villa at Piazza Armerina.
Re: travel to Sicily
by mousireid
I hope you haven't already left! Catania is the best airport for that area, Siracusa has many trains and buses or you can rent a car. OF SPECIAL NOTE during the first week in Sicily both Catania and Acireale have their festivals on WELL WORTH IT! Catania has St. Agata and Acireale is celebrating Carnevale (Mardi Gras) Not to be missed! Here is a GREAT link on travel in Italy/Sicily http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34555416&start=0&dirtyBit=1
Check it out!
Travel Tips for Siracusa
Archaeology and romance
by Sjalen
The single most important activity? Please don't make me choose in Siracusa! OK, it would have to be charming Ortygia which is a delight to just stroll around. Meet someone for instance here at the Fontana Aretusa with its papyrus in the middle (picture). This is actually a freshwater spring, mentioned already by Pindar and Virgil and amazingly close to the sea. Arethusa turned into a spring (see the fountain under "musts") but still never managed to escape Alpheus and was contaminated instead.
When your feet are tired, find a quayside bar for a pick-me-up limoncello before your evening meal :-) I must say I enjoyed the archaeology park a lot too though and our daytrip combination of the two was perfect and without stress, even if the ideal would be to stay the night for the atmosphere - I'll certainly do that next time. The thieving magpie - see the restaurant tip.
All around the island
by TheWanderingCamel
A late afternoon trip around Ortygia and out to the nearby sea caves by boat is a great way to spend an hour or so. You'll find several operators offering essentially the same tour - we chose one from near the Porta Marina that took us along the inner harbour, past the Venetian-inspired palazzo that was once the home of Sicilian poet, Antonio Cardile and under the Ponte Nuovo and the very low arches of the bridge near the old Post Office (currently being converted into a very swish hotel). Leaving the brightly painted fishing boats and yachts at their moorings behind us, we sailed out into the Ionian Sea, following the coast north until we reached the sea caves in the cliffs below Tyche, the northern quarter of the mainland city.
As the skipper manouevred the boat into the cave he pointed out the bright orange coral growing on the rocks along the water line. The light in the cave was extraordinary and the colours were magical - the intense turquoise blues and crystal clear water of the sea contrasting with purples and greens in the rock walls and the orange coral. After sailing in to a couple more caves and around the rock formations we headed across an open stretch of water back towards Ortygia .
There was an ever-changing vista of the city as we sailed along the eastern shore of Ortygia, around the southern tip where the Castello Maniace has stood guard since the 13th century and along the western shore back to where we started. With the sun in the west behind our backs, the light was lovely, touching the walls and rooftops with gold.
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Hotel Teocrito
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
- Teocrito Hotel Syracuse
Address: Viale Teocrito 71, Syracuse, Italy
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