Traveling to Sicily

Given its historical significance, location and rugged beauty, Sicily should be on the radar of virtually every traveler.

Last year my wife and I had the opportunity to visit, so I thought I would offer some tips on where to go, when to visit, and how to get around.

Sicily is one of the twenty regions of Italy and it is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Sicily is located just west of the toe of Italy’s boot, across the Strait of Messina from the mainland.

While it is the most populated island in the Mediterranean, with about 4.8 million inhabitants, it is far from the most densely populated.

Sicily is quite mountainous, and the tops of most mountains are exposed rock, giving the landscape a rough and hard look.

Because Sicily is located on the northern edge of the African Plate, the main island and a few of the surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes.

The most famous of these is Mt. Etna, located at the east side of the island to the north of the city of Catania.  Mt. Etna is the most active volcano in Europe, and it stands nearly 11,000 feet high.

Sicily is bordered to the north by the Tyrrhenian Sea, the south and west by the greater Mediterranean and the east by the Ionian Sea.

When to visit Sicily

Cefalu Beach

When to visit Sicily is dependent upon your primary activity.

Most people from North America are visiting the island to enjoy its history and culture, while many European visitors are interested in visiting one or more of the many beautiful beaches.

The climate in Sicily is mild in the Winter and hot and dry in the Summer.

At its coolest in February, according to Weatherspark, the average high is 58 degrees and the average low is 50 degrees.  This makes the climate in Sicily far milder than in most places in mainland Italy.

During the peak heat of the Summer, which occurs in early August, the average high is 85 and the average low is 75.

In 2023, Sicily experienced higher than average temperatures in the summer, reaching over 115 degrees.  Because the climate is quite dry in the summer, this led to a number of devastating wildfires.

Sicily is known as a popular beach destination in the summer months.  At one of the most popular beach towns, Cefalu on the north coast, the high water temperature can exceed 80 degrees.

The water temperature in many years is still warm enough for swimming into the middle of October and even later.

As a result, mid-September to mid-October can be the most pleasant time to head to the beaches in Sicily, as they will be somewhat less crowded, particularly on weekdays.

In general, Spring and Fall are the most pleasant times to visit Sicily if your focus is primarily on visiting the many historical sites.

Things to know when visiting Sicily

Here are some tidbits that you should know before traveling to Sicily.

Obviously, the language is Italian and the currency you will be using is the Euro.

English is spoken in some of the tourist areas, but it is not nearly as prevalent compared to places like Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice.  Therefore, take the time to learn some Italian before you go.

In our experience, Italians appreciate the effort, and this was definitely the case in Sicily.    Rosetta Stone is a popular app for learning Italian.

For stays under 90 days, you do not need a Visa, but you will need your passport.

Europe has different electrical outlets than what we have here in the US, so you will need an adapter.

How to get to Sicily

Getting on the plane in Palermo

Sicily is served by two major airports effectively on opposite sides of the island.  One is close to Palermo, and the other near Catania on the east coast.

Therefore, you’ll want to plan your flight itinerary around your stay on the island.  The airport in Catania is the busier of the two.

We visited Sicily in 2023 and flew in and out of the airport near Palermo.

The experience when flying home tested our patience significantly, as there was plenty of standing in line, waiting.  That was really the only drawback to the trip, except for some uncooperative weather.

If you plan on touring as much of the island as possible during your stay, you will probably want to rent a car, as the train system is not nearly as convenient as on the mainland.

However, driving through the cities and small towns themselves is extremely tricky.  Parking is one major issue, and there are no-car zones in many of the small towns.  If you aren’t paying attention and you end up in a no-car zone, you will be fined.

Therefore, if you do intend to rent a car, you will want to be sure your accommodations have parking on site, or nearby.

You’ll need an international driver permit along with your driver’s license.  If you do not have an international driver’s permit, head on over to your nearest AAA office.

For finding the best deals on rental cars, check out Discover Cars.

Back to the trains.

When you are traveling between major towns with your luggage, the intercity trains are the best option.  These trains offer reserved seating and are less crowded.  However, they run less often than the regional trains.

The train system focuses primarily upon the north coast from Palermo to Messina in the east, and then from Messina to Syracuse at the southeast of the island.

There is very limited train service through the central and western parts of the island.

Taormina Train Station

When traveling on the regional trains, expect an experience similar to getting on a New York subway at rush hour.  They are crowded, and there is a mad dash for seats.

Thus, it can be quite an experience getting on these trains with luggage.

On our trip, we visited Palermo, Cefalu and Taormina.  We started in Palermo, then went to Taormina. That was about a four hour trip, which was quickened by the use of intercity trains the entire trip.

On our from Taormina to Cefalu, we only had a ride on an intercity train from Taormina to Messina and the trip took about four hours again, even though it was shorter than the trip from Palermo to Taormina.

The train station in Taormina is not very convenient to the town and getting a ride into town after getting off the train proved to be somewhat difficult.  Therefore, I recommend reserving a ride ahead of time.

In Cefalu, our hotel was located just a few hundred yards from the train station, so we simply walked.  However, if you are staying in the historic district, you will need a ride.

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Where to go in Sicily

Teatro Massimo in Palermo

Unless you are staying for a month, it will be difficult to see all that Sicily has to offer.

Palermo is the capital and largest city in Sicily, with a population of about 680,000 within the city limits, and about 1.3 million in the Palermo metro area.  Located on the northwest coast of the island, it was founded over 2,700 years ago.

Palermo is noted for its many beautiful churches, markets, cuisine and waterfront.  Try to spend three days in Palermo.

Catania is the second largest city on the island and is located on the east coast.  It has a population of just over 300,000.

Located at the base of Mt. Etna (southeast) Catania is more of the industrial and logistical hub of Sicily.  However, it also has plenty of historical sites worth exploring, and it can be a great central location for exploring the east side of the island.

Because of its history, Sicily is home to seven Unesco Heritage sites, including the Valley of the Temples, Aeolian islands, Villa Romana del Casale, and Mount Etna.

There are also numerous archaeological sites scattered throughout the island, including Phoenician, Greek and Roman sites.  The most famous of these is the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, one of the best examples of Classic Greek architecture.

Greek Theater Taormina

Among the most popular secondary towns for tourists are Taormina, Syracuse, Noto and Ragusa in the east, Cefalu along the north coast, and Agrigento along the southwest coast.

Popular beach towns include Palermo (Mondello Beach), Cefalu, Castellamare del Golfo, Capo D’Orlando and San Vito Lo Capo, which is located on the peninsula that juts into the Mediterranean at the northwest corner of Sicily.

Similar to the Italian mainland, you can also find any number of small towns throughout the island worth a day trip.  Erice, Scopello, Modica, Castelmola, Castiglione di Sicilia come to mind, and you can even visit Corleone to the south of Palermo.

If you are a wine enthusiast, you will definitely want to check out the wineries near Mt. Etna on the east coast and Marsala on the west coast.

This is just a brief summary of some of the places you’ll want to try and visit in Sicily.

As you can see, it’s virtually impossible to fit all these places in on one trip!  We recommend a minimum of ten days to visit some of the main attractions, given the time it can take to get around the island.

Our stays during our first trip to Sicily

We were pleasantly surprised with our accommodations in all three of the places we visited in Sicily.

If you intend to take a couple days to explore the historic center of Palermo, along with the areas near the marina, we recommend two particular neighborhoods.

The first is the Il Capo district, which is just a couple blocks to the west of the Via Maqueda.  Here you will find a number of smaller B&B type hotels that put you very close to all of the major sites.

We stayed at B&B Sant’Agostino, and would happily go back.  We became fast friends with the hotel manager, Fanny, a lovely lady, who goes out of her way to make your stay as pleasant as possible.

If you prefer a larger hotel, consider staying in the Borgo Vecchio neighborhood a little bit to the north of Teatro Massimo.

In Taormina, the best place to stay is as close to Corso Umberto as possible.

This puts you in the middle of just about everything the town has to offer, and you’ll be able to walk everywhere from here.

Realistically, if you are here for a short stay and the beaches are not a priority, you will want to stay in this part of town.  It is simply not feasible to stay anywhere else due to hilly topography of the area.  You’ll be able to see more without the need for hiring a taxi.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast called Casa Arico and highly recommend.  It is the home of a family that has an appreciation of Italian art, and it was close to all the main attractions in town.  The service was also impeccable and the views from the rooftop deck were stunning.

In Cefalu, we recommend staying at the Artemis Hotel.  The hotel is within a couple blocks of the beach and the train station, and about 1/2 mile from the edge of the historic town center.

You can literally walk everywhere from this hotel.  The staff was excellent, our room was quite large and comfortable, and they offered us a free cocktail during our stay.

The hotel is in the newer section of Cefalu, where many of the residents live.  It is convenient to grocery stores, pharmacies and other necessities.

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