Sergio our host & his kind friendly & accomodating family were charming. The went to great lengths too juggle our changed & delayed travels. This was sincerely enjoyable & appreciated.
A great comfortable disabled friendly apartment in a great location for exploring Catania & surrounding areas. The city is a busy hardworking 24 hour frenetic Sicilian metropolis........easier to adapt too, if you siesta & use quality earplugs!!!!! Air con was a blessing. Washer, well stocked basics in the apartment, WiFi, comfortably able to cook & eat at apartment.
Great local shops, breakfast, gellato, Sicilian eve meals to be had. A well used by locals, Plaza to chill / read / play cards in, ...... people watch, have impromptu chats, make friends. Sicilian people - young old in service to you or on metro ..... were always polite, friendly, welcoming, eager to befriend. Do brush up on basic Italian, they will try very hard to converse & love speaking English but it's not commonly spoken so basics will help you. It's very appreciated & a pleasure to try.
Great local transport - Metro, Circumetnea for MT Etna, city buses, Ali Bus for to & from airport. Airport taxi 45 Euros, small tip, most direct route, helped with bags to address, non negotiable meter fare but was necessary & money well spent due to travel delays , between 2. Ali Bus is 4 Euros on Via Etna, nr Villa Bellini, rough on the spine due to cobbled city but regular between 05.00 & midnight, 25 min intervals. We travelled to Siracusa / Ortiga, Etna & the coast / sea. metro took us swimming at Lungomare beach a few times in the Ionian sea, fantastic at Gallatea. It's volcanic boulders & black sand is a challenge but if able bodied, it's a wash with locals dawn to dusk. Take swim socks or light gripping sandals for boulder hopping & prepare for a graze or bruise but we'll worth it!!! There are cold showers & 1 change booth but you can easily discreetly change like the locals if you want.
Public toilets are exceptional almost everywhere. Trains stns, Botanical Gardens & Cafes usually have them but are for customers.
Lots of free things to do & see in the city & a Sat Eve in the centre was a thing to behold....1000's of locals shopping, socialising, promenading, happy, eating....bringing roads to pedestrianised miles. The Airport Ali Bus still runs & gets through all of this .... so don't fret!! Loved the markets, flea / fish & food. Via Garibaldi has some great eating & lovely atmosphere.
Would highly recommend this a your city holiday base. An immersive & magical experience