Travel Advice: what to see in Sicily

Hello friend,

I need to say thanks to everyone who has sent me their questions about Sicily. I’m gradually making my way through your queries. Give me some time to work through them. The response has been great.

Here is this weeks question that I try to answer for you.

Ciao Rochelle,

I have plans to travel to Sicily in mid July for my 30th birthday, and wanted to ask you for any tips on where to stay / what is a must see!
I’d love to book a villa by the sea for 12 people for a week.
If you could recommend an area you love or a good website for accomodation I would be most grateful.

Very best regards, G.

 

Hello G,

So very lovely to meet you. What an excellent way of celebrating your birthday than visiting Sicily. Thanks for contacting me; I feel privileged that you think I could help you.

I’m not an expert in organising holidays in Sicily but have lived here for many years.

If you plan to stay only for a week, I suggest you try something like Airbnb; there are plenty of options for villas and accommodation around the island, and if you have a good host, they will help with recommendations for where to eat and what to do.

You should book soon because Sicily has become very popular and you might have problems if you leave it too late.

If you arrive at Catania or Palermo airport, you can base yourself in Catania or Palermo provinces.

If you arrive at Palermo, the airport is a little outside the city, but you can quickly get onto the autostrada along the north coast. Palermo’s traffic is chaotic, but it isn’t too bad once you get out of the city.

Heading west along the spectacular coastline from Palermo, many beautiful places to visit or stay, including Castellamare and San Vito lo Capo. Trapani and Marsala are also beautiful cities that are further down the coast.

Catania airport is near the city so you can arrive and explore Catania. The area in and around Catania is bustling during the summer, but the autostrada can take you further down the southeast coast to stunning cities like Syracuse and Augusta.

The baroque towns of the Val di Noto make wonderful day trips if you base yourself in the ancient town of Siracusa. Most Val di Noto cities were destroyed in a massive earthquake in the 1600s, so most villages were rebuilt in the ornamental Sicilian baroque style.

So the towns in this area are stunning, particularly: Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Palazzolo, Ragusa, Modica, Noto and Scicli.

A good website for some more ideas and information is Italy Magazine (https://www.italymagazine.com)

And here are a couple of other general posts I wrote about how to explore the island: 

Sicilian Provinces

Bitesize pieces of Sicily

I hope this helps you a bit.

Please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you have any other questions.

Enjoy your trip.

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