Sicily - or suggestion please!!

[LaLaFlottes]

Any recommendations for Sicily? It would be for me and DH plus 18 year old DD.

We like the occasional beach or pool day, but enjoy exploring, history and being active!

Would Sicily be a good fit? Or any other suggestions!! We’ve often enjoyed a city combined with something relaxing - so a week in Sorrento followed by a few days in Rome, Lake Garda with trips to Verona and Venice for example.

Also thought about Corsica or Sardinia but don’t know much about them!

Thanks!

Sicily is lovely. I would recommend anywhere around taormina.
You have the beach, the amphitheatre , the beautiful town, gorgeous views, great food, vineyards etc etc

It’s lovely

We LOVED Siracusa... Could walk round for hours.

Lots of fab restaurants etc.. It's on the coast but no beach though there are some nearby.

We found Taromina v touristy though depends on what you want.

Also similar to your other preferences is Cinque Terra, 5 stunning costal towns that you can walk/sail between. Lots of good food and wine!

Thank you so much @Pagwatch and @Randomuser9876 this is really helpful! I will start researching.

This photos are fabulous! Wish we were going this summer but sadly this is for 2022!

I loved Sicily. I was based in Cefalu and then I drove most of the coast heading east, round to Marsala. Palermo is brilliant.

WEST, not too east. San Vito lo Copo was a lovely beach side town.

We did Catania, Taormina and Syracuse by train. Like the PP I preferred Syracuse but we went in August when Taormina was absolutely rammed with tourists (Italians, North Europeans..lots of Brits). Taormina was beautiful though..I’d just go out of season when the hordes aren’t there. It has a lovely little island attached to the beach as well as a picturesque old town and the most beautiful Greek amphitheater. Accommodation was twice as much in Taormina as we paid elsewhere.

Syracuse, particularly the old Greek part (Ortigia) is stunning. Lots of history (Greek and Roman). We didn’t see half as many tourists as Taormina and of the ones there, a lot were French. Lots of good places to eat out in lovely piazza’s. We stayed in Ortigia..it doesn’t have a beach, just swimming platforms into the sea but I believe you can reach a few beaches by bus.

Sicily is definitely worth going to. Etna is constantly smoking away and a good day trip (there is a train that takes you around the volcano). The food is great. Has a very different vibe to the mainland Italy, Northern Italy in particular. It’s not so scrubbed up.

Agrigento on the south coast, daytrip by train from Palermo is astounding - the Valley of the Temples.

Palermo is very interesting. Google the catacombs (not for the faint-hearted!).

Along the coast to the west of Palermo is Erice high on a hill; to the east Cefalu is a lovely old fishing town, very quiet but spectacular.

We were supposed to go last summer will be another couple of years until we can go again. I'd love to go back, we were enchanted by it.

We loved Taormina, beautiful and historic, but visited in September so imagine less crowded than August and cheaper, September is a good month to go if that is an option, it was still busy but manageable. We loved the stuffed swordfish kebabs in the restaurants you get all over Sicily. We did not like Palermo but maybe were in the not nice bit, we had police sirens going off 24/7. We hired a car and moved around every few days.

Just remember in July/August it's extremely hot!

Sicily has absolutely everything. Go for it. As PP said, Siracusa is great and you can take the little historic train called Barocco, and of course a trip to the Etna.
I did however love Taormina as well, we stayed at the Villa Diodoro.

@RandomMess

Just remember in July/August it's extremely hot!

I went mid October and it was freakishly hot still. Around 30°c. I don't think I realised how far south the island was.

Would you recommend hiring a car for the duration?

Also, did you find any watersports? Paddleboarding, kayaking, dinghy sailing?

I think quite a few people do hire cars but personally, we found the trains fine and cheap. They are stop/start services though so if you wanted to cover a lot of the island, a car would probably be better.

Cant comment on the watersports! I remember a few boats floating around the Isola Bella in Taormina. You may have to look at specific hotels for those details. Lots of yachts in Ortigia but they were of the millionaire Russian oligarch kind!

Placemarking as currently planning a trip. Torn between flying into Palermo and staying round the NE vs flying into Catania and doing E/SE. We’re have primary aged DC so want beaches and a bit of history/culture in easily manageable, DC-friendly doses. We’re happy to travel about a bit. I think the DC would be excited to see a volcano so may base decision on a visit to Etna.