travel
where to fly
Catania Airport (CTA)
There are two international airports on the beautiful island of Sicily, Palermo and Catania.
Catania Fontanarossa is the closest to the venue, situated around 35 mins drive away from the venue and 45 mins away from Syracuse, where we recommend to stay throughout the weekend.
Fly into Catania Airport (CTA) for the quickest route to Syracuse (45min drive)
You can also fly to Palermo Airport (PMO) to Syracuse is around a 3-3.5 hour drive through the mountainous central highlands of the island (although mainly highway so not as scenic as it sounds).
where to stay
Syracuse
Syracuse, or Siracusa (just not the one in New York!), is the location for the Friday drinks and also where we recommend people stay throughout the weekend's festivities.
Note: Some of you will have received a key in your invite and that means you only need to find accommodation for Friday night.
We will be putting on buses to and from the ceremony and pool party from Syracuse.
Syracuse is a nice easy 45 min drive from Catania Airport and about 50 mins from Catania centre.
There is also a bus service that takes 55 mins and a train service from that takes around 1h 30mins, both from Catania to Syracuse.
Accommodation
Syracuse is a small city on the southeast coast of Sicily. The island of Ortigia is the centre of Syracuse and the location of our Friday drinks gathering.
It is a a walkable island, around 1km by 500m. It is a great place to stay if you choose and everything is walkable on the island. Staying outside of the island is no issue as well though as the town is pretty easy to walk and taxis are easy to find.
One thing to know about Ortigia is that you can only park in designated, paid car parks on the outskirts of the island, so if you are staying on the island it is good to park your car Airbnb is a great option so take a look there!
There are many great hotels and places to stay, here are some we recommend!
Hotels:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maniace Boutique Hotel Ortigia
UNA HOTELS One Siracusa
Livingston Hotel
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Grand Hotel Ortigia
Apartments:
Autentica Ortigia Apartments
Venue Accommodation
For those with accommodation at the venue, you have it on Saturday and Sunday nights. Check in on Saturday is at 14:00 and we will be arranging transport from Syracuse
Car Rental
Car rental is readily available from Syracuse airport and a great way to get around and explore the island. When you arrive at the airport most car rental places are outside (turn right as you exit baggage collection) and about 200 meters walk outside as you exit the South side of the airport terminal building.
We have rented with Sicily by Car, Centauro and Avis on the island and have had fantastic experiences with them all. I would particularly recommend the first two as they are both local and cheaper, while also being the best reviewed on Rentalcars.com.
The area where we are getting married is steeped in ancient historic sites, fascinating history, wonderful nature and beautiful coastline, so if you have the time it is a lovely area to explore.
Here is a good guide to driving and parking around Siciliy.
Train & Bus
There are both trains and busses several times per day from Catania to Syracuse.
For both, we recommend using https://www.omio.co.uk/
If you prefer direct, for trains, go for https://italiatren.com/
the venue
The venue is beautiful estate of Commenda di San Calogero, Augusta.
There is ample parking at the venue for anyone staying at the venue and anyone who prefers to drive…
We will also be putting on buses to and from the venue from Syracuse. Pickup location TBC around 15:00 and return schedule TBC, but there will be a few options.