Sicily travel tips: Etna, Taormina, Noto, Agrigento & wintering

Why Sicily?

Let me be upfront: Sicily is still ahead of me. After Sardinia by motorcycle, the Amalfi Coast and the Mediterranean by ship, Italy’s largest island is my next project – a few weeks in winter, when fog settles in at home. This page is my planning: what I have read, heard from friends and put together for myself. As soon as I have been there, I will rewrite it with first-hand experiences and hotels.

Sicily is not simply southern Italy, it is a world of its own: Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards all built here, and it is all still standing. The temples of Agrigento and Segesta are better preserved than most in Greece, Syracuse was once bigger than Athens, Palermo has Arab domes on Norman churches. And above it all Etna, 3,300 metres high, white in winter, reliably smoking.

Then there is the climate. While we sit under fog at home, in Taormina you are at a café in the sun by eleven. The island has over 300 days of sunshine a year, winter is mild, spring starts in February with the almond blossom around Agrigento. Retirees have what counts most here: time. Three or four weeks in the same place, market in the morning, espresso on the piazza, a walk by the sea, dinner at nine – that is how a holiday becomes a slice of everyday life under palm trees.

And the food: pasta alla Norma, arancini, caponata, fish from the market, cannoli, granita for breakfast, wine from Etna. Mediterranean, fresh, and the bill is about half of what it is at home.

How I plan to book Sicily

For accommodation I compare on Booking.com as always – in winter there are sea-view flats at monthly prices that would cover a week at home. Without a car you will not get far in Sicily: I would pick up the hire car at Catania or Palermo airport, price comparison on Discover Cars. If you stay longer and want to bring your bike or motorcycle, take the overnight ferry Genoa–Palermo, about 20 hours. Tickets for the temples, the Etna excursion and guided tours in Palermo I book in advance on GetYourGuide, as usual.

Places to stay in SicilyBooking.com – hotels and apartments; monthly discounts in winter, free cancellation. Car hire from Catania or PalermoDiscover Cars – all rental companies compared, full cover without excess available. Tickets & toursGetYourGuide – Etna by cable car and jeep, Valley of the Temples, Palermo street-food tour, boat trip Taormina. Ferry to Sicilyfaehreonline – Genoa–Palermo, Livorno–Palermo, Naples–Palermo; take your car or motorcycle.

Direct flights from Zurich to Catania and Palermo with Edelweiss, SWISS and easyJet, less frequent in winter but daily. Catania is the better airport for the east (Taormina, Syracuse, Noto), Palermo for the west (Cefalù, Trapani, Segesta).

What I have planned for Sicily

Two bases instead of moving daily: two weeks on the east coast between Taormina and Syracuse for Etna and culture, then two weeks in the west around Trapani or Cefalù for peace and beaches.
Etna in winter: by cable car from Rifugio Sapienza up to 2,500 metres, snow at the top, blossom below – bring a jacket and sturdy shoes.
Visit the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento in the late afternoon, when the light turns golden and the coaches have left. The Scala dei Turchi is 15 minutes away – for sunset.
Noto, Modica and Ragusa in one day: all three baroque towns are half an hour apart. Buy chocolate in Modica, have dinner in Ragusa Ibla.
Marzamemi in the evening: the piazza in front of the old tonnara fills up from seven, fish at a table under the open sky – even in November.
Driving: relaxed on the motorway, chaotic in Palermo and Catania. Choose a hotel with parking and do the cities on foot.
If in the end you cannot tear yourself away: Italy tempts foreign retirees who move to small towns in the south with a low flat tax – a subject of its own, but there are Swiss who have done it.

Pictures from Sicily – what awaits me

East: Etna and Taormina

Snow-capped Etna above Taormina – in winter you can ski in the morning and sit by the sea in the afternoon.

Taormina, Piazza IX Aprile with clock tower and church — Taormina, Piazza IX Aprile – Sicily’s balcony, with views of Etna and the coast.

The coast at Taormina with Etna in the background — The coast below Taormina – coves, villas built into the slope, and the volcano behind.

South-east: baroque and temples

Noto, baroque façades on the piazza — Noto – honey-coloured baroque, rebuilt from scratch after the 1693 earthquake.

Marzamemi, piazza with restaurants in the evening — Marzamemi on the south-east coast – in the evening the piazza in front of the old tuna factory fills up.

Temple of Juno in the Valley of the Temples, Agrigento — Valley of the Temples, Agrigento: the Temple of Juno on the ridge – UNESCO World Heritage.

Scala dei Turchi, white cliffs by the sea — Scala dei Turchi near Agrigento – white marl cliffs stepping down into the sea.

West: Segesta and Palermo

The Doric temple of Segesta – 2,400 years old, alone in the hills, never completed.

The Greek theatre of Segesta overlooking the valley — The theatre of Segesta, built into the hillside – views over the hills to the sea.

Mondello, Palermo’s beach — Mondello, Palermo’s city beach – still swimming weather in October.

Where to stay?

For the east coast Taormina is the most beautiful but also the most expensive base; cheaper and just as well placed are Giardini Naxos right below it and Syracuse with the old-town island of Ortigia. In the south-east go for Noto or Marzamemi, in the west Cefalù for beach and old town, Trapani for Segesta, Erice and the salt pans. Palermo is great for two or three nights, but too noisy for wintering.

Find accommodation in Sicily

I almost always compare hotels and apartments on Booking.com – with real reviews and usually free cancellation. For several weeks, use the “holiday home” filter and the monthly discounts.

See accommodation in Sicily Compare on Hotels.com

Affiliate links: if you book, I receive a small commission – the price does not change for you, sometimes you even get an extra discount.

← All destinations