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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: racasey on April 24, 2018, 10:11:52 AM
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Later this year my sweet wife and I will spend some time on the east coast of Sicily.
We have been to northern Italy a number of times, never Sicily, and never rented a scooter in Italy.
I'm looking for a recommendation for a scooter rental firm in Siracusa or Ortigia.
Might one of our many travelers have a first hand recommendation and a few guide lines?
Ciao,
Dick Casey
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ooh ooh ooh, can I come? :grin:
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The further south you go in Italy, the crazier the scooter traffic is!
Ok, I admit I'd chicken out. But I do hope you'll enjoy it!
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There seem to be a few options available in the town you are looking at:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Siracusa+Sicily+scooter+rental&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=37074731,15286016,1097&tbm=lcl&ved=0ahUKEwi9wbfml9TaAhXH0FMKHaGtCs8QtgMIKw&tbs=lrf:!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:1&rldoc=1#rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:!1m3!1d1252105.642515193 4!2d15.28692754999997 3!3d37.07369829999999!3m2!1i1116!2i590!4f13.1
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If you are going to Etna, you might try renting out of Catania...it's a nice little 30 minute ride upslope to refugio Salvatore Citelli and an awesome trailhead to the peak. I think the place was actually called Etna Rent... it was simple enough and in central Catania.
one of my favorite memories was while walking the serpentine market streets in Palermo we were nearly run over by an 80+ year old guy on a vespa with an oxygen tank strapped to it....mask up on his forehead smoking a cigarette....only in Sicily...beautiful ciaos!!
Have fun!!!
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My scooter experience in Catania was having two guys mounted on one open the rear door of our car and steal the bags from the back seat... while stopped momentarily at a stop light. We'd have been better off on a scooter ourselves, at least we could have chased after them if they'd stolen our stuff!....
The trip up Mt Etna immediately after was fun and homeowners insurance covered the loss. So in the end all was OK, but watch out in Catania :wink:
Don't ask why the car was unlocked, it wasn't my car and I wasn't driving!
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I love Sicily. Syracuse is one of those towns where I could see myself living. Sicilian food is the best in the world. The wine, red and white, is great. The history of the island is amazing. The Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spanish have all ruled it and left their mark. To stand in a cathedral and learn that the pillars supporting one wall are the remains of a 4th century BC Greek temple is mind boggling. And the Roman villa with mosaics of women in bikinis shows that fashions operate on repeat.
Make sure you go to Noto. You’ll be stunned by the baroque palazzos. Go to the valley of the temples.
(https://thumb.ibb.co/fpukzH/FFC706_AB_724_A_4_C40_A776_76_FDC4684371.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fpukzH)
(https://thumb.ibb.co/g7qfYc/AEFB94_FE_89_F8_43_FC_BEF9_ED5_EC5_E4_E4_BD.jpg) (https://ibb.co/g7qfYc)
(https://thumb.ibb.co/hBxutc/34220866_AB3_D_4_A25_939_D_A4_D8229_C95_C8.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hBxutc)
Read The Leopard and the Montelbano crime novels before you go. If you go to Taormina, get there early enough to beat the cruise ships, or late enough for them to have gone.
Enjoy yourself, on and off your scooter.
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My scooter experience in Catania was having two guys mounted on one open the rear door of our car and steal the bags from the back seat...
Common practice in Italy, from what I have been told. Huge petty theft problem over there, targeting tourists.
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Not to divert terribly from the topic at hand but… I’ve been to Italy 16 times and never had a problem… Just like being in any big city while traveling you should aware of your surroundings.
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Sicily is not really Italy :grin: :evil:
(I've been to Italy more times than I can count and my advice for an American would be that European cities mostly have issues with property crime, Italian cities are about average for Europe, and Sicilian cities are much worse than average)
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A friend, a North European in his sixties, has visited Napoli a few times, and noted that young men would approach him in the street to ask what time it was.