1. Piccole Gole, near Linguaglossa
   
2. Castiglione Di Sicilia
   
3. Cuba Di Santa Domenica
   
4. View of Randazzo, from Mount Etna
   
5. Etna lava field
   
6. Taormina looking north
   
7. Templo di Diana, Ortigia
   
8. Ear of Dionysius, Siracusa
   
9. Spiaggia di Forte, Ortigia
   
10. Greco-Roman amphitheater, Catania

We stayed in Taormina for a few days, these shots were a few highlights from our visit.

Giardini Naxos.

Hi everyone! I am from the United States and my family has planned a Christmas trip to Sicily for 10 days. We have planned to stay in Cefalu for a few days (it’s our favorite place!) and then stay in Trapani for Christmas until the end of our trip. We will visit some other towns as day trips. Should we stay somewhere else? I’m worried there will be nothing to do and no places to eat. How are these towns during Christmas/Winter? Are there Christmas markets? Are there any other tourists? We have only ever visited Sicily in hot summer months!! Any advice, tips, or insight would be very appreciated!! Thank you!!

1. A mechanic repairing a car in a small garage with hanging game (pheasants?) On ceiling hooks

2. An old woman dressing a male mannequin up in a suit in a discarded tub outside her home with plastic flowers

3. A footballer figurine in a Christmas Nativity scene

4. A man offering to bed me and my friend, proving his virility by breaking a plank with side of his hand.

Looking for honest thoughts, insight, ideas, and perhaps (respectful) reality checks lol. My husband and I (30 and 32, from Chicago in the US) are looking to plan a trip for 2027 in early September and are leaning toward Sicily. For context, we got engaged in mainland Italy a few years back (Rome, Florence, and Venice), eloped and honeymooned in Greece last year (Santorini, Naxos, Paros, and Athens), and just got back from a road trip in Scotland. We’re chasing climate, history, unique experiences (small local boat excursions), and THE FOOD reminiscent of Greece but wanted to do something different. I am gluten free (Celiac disease) and I’m craving a trip where the food isn’t as stressful and I can eat lots of seafood mixed in with other local cuisine like we did in Greece if possible! We were all over the place looking at other parts of Greece (mostly because of the food lol) like the Peloponnese or Ionian Islands, Malta, Portugal (Algarve or Madeira), Sardinia, and of course Sicily. What has us leaning toward Sicily is actually Stromboli and the unique experiences of the Volcanic Aeolian islands and boat tours.

We were feeling pretty good about a base in Cefalu, with maybe a day trip to Palermo, and then spending a few nights in the Aeolian islands (Lipari, Salina, or Stromboli) but there’s so many different combinations of bases that we’re conflicted. We’re also not sure if we should even stay on the Aeolian Islands or just do a day boat trip from the mainland.

Honestly, seeing some of the negative experiences with Sicily on this sub has us questioning ourselves too. But we aren’t usually picky travelers. We’ve had people say that Athens was dirty and shabby (some things I’ve seen said about Sicily) and we absolutely loved it. I will say we really did not like Naples when we stopped in on our last trip to Italy and would like to avoid similar vibes.

What we’re looking for around 10-12 days:
- Good food, adaptable to gluten free, ideally with lots of seafood options
- A mix of beaches/coves/swimming spots and history/culture
- Some local unique experiences like Stromboli/natural wonders, local wineries, or boat tours
- Ideally minimal driving/needing a car to get to place to place; we just did a Scotland road trip and we are totally fine with renting a car locally to reach less crowded spots but would rather not have to rely on one

Would be so grateful to get your thoughts on what itineraries you’d recommend, what the highlights (and perhaps lows) of your Sicily experiences were, if Cefalu + the Aeolian Islands sounds right for what we’re looking for, or if Sicily even seems like a good match. Thank you in advance!

So I've been hiking a local trail in Riserva Naturale Orientata Pizzo Cane and seen these gorgeous signs entering the reserve, which seem to be left permenantly in quite a lot of places in Sicily. I've seen this one for example from 2024 on some reports.

The info I gathered so far, basically if you don't see any works going on is to ignore and hike ?

Also I see some private property signs by farmers but judging by strava heatmap and other reports hikers are allowed to pass through ?

I was wondering if I could rent a bike and cycle around the Egadian islands during the last week of November? Or are the bike shops closed? Also is there anything worth doing on the islands during that time?

Hi all, me, my girlfriend and daughter (8 months) are in Sicily for 5 weeks and have stayed in Ortigia and are now in Cefalu and don’t know what to do next.

We will end our trip in Noto but have 10 days in between we need to fill in start-November. We have loved both Ortigia and Cefalu and see these cities as pretty calm and baby friendly, great food, great for strolling and great architecture to look at.

For the same reason we are hesitant to go to Palermo next as we fear it may be too chaotic for our liking and Taormina if it is too expensive and “luxurious”.

Where would you recommend us going next, also taking into consideration that it is in November so may not be for beach days all the time?

My question is, why are people in Sicily—and in Italy in general—so messy? A man, clearly Italian, walked past me. He bought cigarettes and threw the pack on the ground. The trash can was just two steps away from him. The same thing happened with a young woman. She blew her nose and tossed the tissue on the ground. I was just in Sicily and before that in Rome, and there was trash everywhere. I’m not used to that coming from Central Europe (the Czech Republic, Poland).

​

I want to buy a small farmhouse with land with it.

Zone south of sicily or mazara del vallo coast.

I wanted to share our 5 night Sicily itinerary in case it happens to help anyone. We truly had the best time and can’t wait to return. The food! The people! The vibe! Probably my favourite place in Italy. I know we only skimmed the surface, but feel like we got to cover some decent ground and see lots considering our short timeline. 

For some context. Both my partner and I are 35, and were looking for a relaxing trip. We enjoy good food, some wine, being active, and beaching.

Day 1 - flew into Catania for early evening, picked up our rental car and stayed near Mount Etna for the night + had dinner Cave Ox Bar. 

Day 2 - hiked mount etna with Sicilia Adventures (top crater tour). This was truly amazing and we lucked out with being the only people on our tour so it felt like a private tour. Michele was awesome and made the tour easy going, and fun. We are very fit people who like a good physical challenge and found this hike to be very easy. The guide strategically makes you go slower, given that for some people, the altitude could be a challenge. We chose this tour because we didn’t want a whole day out there, and liked the vibe of a smaller tour company. Highly recommend booking with Michele. 

We then drove 2.5 hours to Vittoria area and stay at the Baglio Occhipiniti. Let me tell you, this was an absolutely incredible experience. One I will think about for the rest of my life. We only stayed for 1 night which felt like a great treat. Definitely expensive, but felt worth it for the night. The breakfast spread is one of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m still dreaming of their homemade almond milk. 

Day 3 - Drove 4 hours to stay in Castellammare del Golfo for the next 3 nights. We were dreading this drive, but it was honestly great! We drove along the coast, felt like we got to see more of Sicily, stopped for sandwiches along the way and enjoyed the experience. We drove straight to Scopello that day. Picked up some wine + snacks and spent the afternoon at the beach. 

Day 4 - Went back to Scopello! We fell in LOVE with Scopello. Truly the highlight of our whole trip, and wish we had more time here. We did a hike at the Riserva Natural Orientata dello Zingaro in the morning. Picked up sandwiches and drinks from the store and spent the day at Cala Mazzo di Sciacca (our favourite low key beach). You can pay for parking right there, get some drinks at the bar if you want, and the swimming was awesome. Then went to the town of Scopello and played crib + had drinks at a bar in the square.

Day 5 - drove to Trapani from CDF and then took the ferry over to Favignana. Rented some pretty clapped e-bikes (they did the trick tho!), biked around the island and swam. Our favourite spot here was the Blue Marino beach. We left there, then actually went back to Blue Marino because it was so beautiful, and no other spot felt as special. We then went into town and got sandwiches from Tipica which were 10/10!!

This was the only day that we wish we had maybe done differently. Don’t get me wrong, it’s so beautiful here and biking around was an absolute hoot. But the island itself feels pretty desolate and run down (could have been the season). The town was super charming though, and swimming off the rocks at Blue Marino was an incredible experience. But I think the beaches in Scopello are just as beautiful? If you had lots of time I think it would be worth the trek to Favignana, but if you’re short on time. Scopello is just as beautiful so great. We're still undecided if the drive + ferry ride was worth it for our short timeline.

Day 6 - Woke up and flew out of Palermo (feeling very sad to leave)! 

A few other notes:

• While Scopello was definitely our highlight, we were happy to be based out of Castellammare del Golfo for 3 nights. Only a 15-20min drive into Scopello and had access to more amenities, restaurants and accommodation options. The restaurants in Scopello (at least the ones that were open while we were there), were a bit pricer and ‘fancier’. Some of the smaller spots were closed for the season in Scopello. So we were happy to have some more low key options in CDF. Fav spots for dinner in CDF: Rollò and Trattoria le 2 Terre. Lots of great looking grab and go local deli spots around as well.
• We’re already talking about how we want to go back and rent a house in Scopello for 3-4 weeks. We would have loved to have access to cook our own food with all the local produce and ingredients. The square in Scopello is amazing. We ended up going to a bar there every evening to play crib and have drinks. 
• Driving was so much easier than we had expected. Yes, people drive fast and tail behind you if you’re not going well over the speed limit, but you can’t let it get to you. Just pull to the side and they will pass you when it's safe. We're also confident drivers, who are used to driving on windy roads and big highways.
• We were there Oct 18th-23rd. We had a mix of weather. Some rain, wind, and hot sun. I think this is a great time to visit if you don’t need to be absolutely roasted by the sun, or be around a swarm of other tourists. The ocean was still warm enough to swim in, I got a tan, and the evenings were still pleasant. I truly couldn’t imagine how busy and different our experience would have been peak summer season. 

I know it’s daunting to plan an itinerary here, but I don’t think you can go wrong. It's an incredible place that truly has it all depending on what you're looking for!

Cheers.

Hi everyone, recently climbed mount etna (20th October) and I would like to help by sharing some useful info that may save your trip up the volcano.

I had a rental car so I used that to get to the refuge Sapienza, where I was supposed to take the funnicular. As soon as I left the car, some dudes from the parking pretended to be guides and told me that from up the mountain you can't see anything because of the weather (which made a pinch of sense since it rained the past day). They suggested we postpone the climb to later and take the ATV tour. Also they said that in order to reach the top you had to arrive before 9:30 in the morning.

Anyway, we decided to still check at the start of the base if we can do the tour (gondola+offroad bus+walk tour) and it turns out we could and that everything those dudes said was nonsense. By the way, I had a hard time finding this info online beforehand, the full tour was about 80€ per person.

Other tips for the walk tour: it was very windy when we got there, so face protection helped a lot (glasses, scarf or anything that would stop the tiny rocks thrown by the wind from hitting your face). The walk is about 40mins, with the whole tour taking about 3 hrs.

In short, don't get scammed by those ATV guys if you came to climb the mountain.