Our experience at Mario's place was great from start to finish. He and his mother actually picked our family up at the train station to save us from taking taxis at night, which was such a kind gesture. They even provided things like bottled water, juice, milk, croissants, etc. for our first breakfast so that we didn't have to try to run out to the store when we were still tired from traveling.

The apartment itself is very spacious and clean, and was perfect for our family of 6 (two adults, four young children). We felt that we had plenty of room. The washing machine and laundry lines were especially nice to have, and the kitchen was well stocked and a pleasure to cook in. There is a large and incredible open air market every morning until around 2pm, less than a 10 minute walk away. Produce, cheese, olives, nuts, meat, fish, everything! There wasn't much for other grocery stores in the area (only very small ones) but between those, the market, and the Farmacias, we found everything we needed.

The location is also very good, with easy walking access to the old city. It's right by the marina, which is a beautiful place to walk to. Mario also took us out on our last night to enjoy a fantastic aperitif dinner at a place we never would have found ourselves, near the old town square.

If you really want to get around, renting a car is probably best as there aren't a whole lot of options for public transportation. There isn't much available for parking, so you just have to do as everyone else does and do your best to find a spot available on the street and walk back a couple blocks to the apartment, which isn't really a big deal. We rented one for 2 out of our 6 days there, and that was perfect for us. We got out and went to a beautiful beach, saw Noto, went to Mt. Etna, and visited Taormina for the evening, and otherwise just had a wonderful time right in Siracusa.

We would highly recommend staying here, and would gladly come back again ourselves!