Updated: 4 August 2021

I have been in Italy for the first time since I had my first contract with a cruise ship company. First, we docked in Venice, then Civitavecchia (an hour from Rome). It all started here. Since then, I have returned for vacation almost every year, sometimes even twice a year. The last summer holiday choice fell on Sicily. It was a last-minute idea. We booked the flight tickets (from Saturday to Saturday) one week before departure and then the accommodations. We wrote a list of what to see and what to do on the island. That was the perfect starting point on arrival, and of course, it all depended on the weather. So here is my ultimate Sicily travel guide and everything you need to know when you visit the island for the first time.

Except for day 4, everything was accomplished. We changed our minds on the way and didn’t visit Except for day 4, we accomplished everything. First, we changed our mind on the way and didn’t visit Cefalù. Instead, we decided to head to Taormina earlier. (As it turned out, we were fortunate because there were heavy rains after we left Palermo.) Based on the pictures and the stories we heard/read, it’s worth going there as well. Second, and perhaps most importantly, we visited everything by public transport. Sometimes it was challenging, but in the end, we managed it. We loved every moment of it.

*Disclosure: This post contains a few affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase through my link.*

Things to know before traveling to Sicily

Sicily is located in the south of Italy. The capital is Palermo. It is the largest island in the Mediterranean and the seventh-largest in Europe. It has a population of nearly 5 million people. You can find Europe’s largest active volcano on this island, Mount Etna. I can recommend you to spend at least a half-day exploring the area around the volcano. You will not regret it. The languages ​​of the island are Sicilian and Italian.

The island has two airports. They are in Palermo and Catania.

Port of calls: Palermo, Catania and Messina. (In my first contract, I had the opportunity to visit Messina by cruise ship. That day I had off, and I could visit Mount Etna for the first time.)

Weather: Mediterranean, summer is from May to October; the July-August period is arid.

Places worth visiting:

• Lipari islands
• Agrigento
• Erice
• Monreale
• Piazza Armerina
• Siracusa
• San Vito lo Capo
• Catania
• Egadi islands

You can read more about the island on the following pages:

• Discover Italy, Sicily
• Visit Sicily

How to get to Sicily from Hungary?

We travelled to Sicily with Wizzair from Budapest to Catania. The flight takes about 2 hours. They are flying currently twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the morning. We stayed from Saturday to Saturday. There is a bus stop right next to the airport, from where you can get to the city by the airport bus (4 euros), called Alibus. The bus goes to the train station. Of course, if someone chose public transportation. Unfortunately, I do not have any experience with car rental. Now I’m going to focus on a different type of travel. From this ultimate Sicily travel guide, you will find all the information you need to know, about how to travel around Sicily by public transport.

Fun fact: It’s worth sitting on the right side of the plane. In case of nice weather, you can admire Lake Balaton from above, which is beautiful even from a distance. However, it’s not an everyday view.

Where to stay in Sicily?

We always use Booking.com to book accommodations. In case of visiting a large city, we consider being close to public transport. And in the case of a small town, we love to be in the centre. View and the pool are not primary considerations, but sometimes these are the main reasons we choose a place to stay.

We had breakfast in both accommodations. In Palermo, we had to send our breakfast requests on WhatsApp every night to the apartment owner. Breakfast was delivered in the room because it was not allowed to use the common areas. In Taormina, everything was ready on the table in the hotel’s restaurant. If we wanted to have something else, we had to ask for it. Here we had breakfast with a view, and that was Mount Etna.

In Palermo, the accommodation was only a 10-minute walk from the train station. It was a five-storey building, and our room was on the third floor. Every room has a private bathroom. The view here was the inner courtyard. Sipping the morning coffee and capturing a real Sicilian sense of life was a pretty good feeling.

In Taormina, the situation was a little bit different. Here we fell in love with the view when we chose the hotel. We had a picture of Mount Etna, the city and the sea. It was perfect. There were only a few buses during the day going to the city centre. Its timetable was not the best for us, so we decided to discover the city on foot. Lots of stairs, narrow streets, cute houses and colourful flowers were everywhere. By the end of the day, we felt a little bit tired but happy.

Public transportation in Sicily

I think public transportation is very well developed. We got from one place to another very quickly. At least for the places, we planned to visit. We used two types of applications along the way. I think these are worth downloading.

Transportation by bus:
– Android: Moovit
– iOS: Moovit
Transportation by train:
– Android: Trenìt!
– iOS: Trenìt!

Other useful sites for public transportation:

Catania Airport shuttle: ALIBUS (about 25 minutes to the centre)

Palermo – Scopello: Russo bus company (You can get to other places with them as well, to visit Scopello seemed faster by bus than by train. It is better to buy the tickets online because they may not let you in without a ticket if the bus is full. There are some places with an early departure, and if you miss the bus, you need to take a taxi to get back to your accommodation.)

Castellammare del Golfo – Scopello: Tarantola bus company (Two bus companies go to Scopello)

Sicily transportation by bus: Moovit

Sicily transportation by train: Trenìt!

Taormina transportation by bus: Linea Verde

Transportation by bus to Taormina and other cities: Interbus

+1 helpful app that works without internet, you need to download the countries you want to visit in advance: iOS Maps.me and Android Maps.me

How to spend a week in Sicily? – Itinerary

Day 0: Balaton from above
Day 1: Monte Pellegrino
Day 2: Mondello Beach & Palermo
Day 3: Scopello
Day 4: Cefalù
Day 5: Taormina
Day 6: Etna & Alcantara Gorge
Day 7: Sunset from the plane

How to spend a week in Sicily? – Details

Day 0

Lake Balaton from above

When I first flew to Naples, I was sitting by the window, and it was a huge surprise to see Lake Balaton from above. I was hoping that it would be the same on the way to Sicily as well. After check-in, the system generated our tickets for the left-hand side of the plane. But Lake Balaton is supposed to be on the right. Since the aircraft was not complete, I changed seats, but only to see the lake. We were lucky with the weather, the sun was shining, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. I was so happy to see it again. Seeing the pictures, I think you will understand why.

Day 1

Monte Pellegrino

We planned a hike for the first day. It was pretty easy to reach the starting point of our trek. We took a local bus (812) up to St. Rosalia Church. It took two hours for us to get around. This hike is easy, but it’s a good idea to have your hiking boots with you. From the top, you will have a fantastic view of the Tyrrhenian Sea and Palermo.

After the tour, we headed to Mondello Beach. However, we had to wait a long time for the first bus, so we went on foot. The way back, the route is already challenging. We started from 440 altitudes down to the sea.

Fun fact: In his book Travel in Italy, Goethe mentions Monte Pellegrino as the most beautiful promontory in the world. What do you think about the pictures? Do you agree with him?

I found the route of the tour on a website called Komoot. Here we can also record our hike and look at the others. We can also offer lookout points.

Day 2

Mondello Beach

After hiking, we had a well-deserved rest on the beach with beautiful views between Monte Pellegrino and Monte Gallo. It is worth going to the beach early in the morning to find a good spot. There is an entrance fee on a large part of the beach, where there are also sunbeds and umbrellas. The water is crystal clear and has a pleasant temperature. We found a free beachside with not so many people. It was very relaxing.

There are many restaurants and cafes across the coast. However, you need to pay attention to the opening hours of the restaurants. Because in Sicily, they take a nap after lunch and at this time the restaurants are not open. Many of them are only available at dinner time, around 6-7 pm. However, gelateria, coffee shops are open, so you still can enjoy your afternoon cup of coffee.
Of course, we couldn’t miss the coffee by the beach. Our choice fell on a place operated since 1950, called Pasticceria Scimone. We were satisfied, it was perfect.

Palermo

After the beach, we headed to discover the city. We walked around the places we planned. But we couldn’t visit everything because it was closed. There was no crowd in the town, which is a good thing, so we could sometimes take photos with no people around.

Main attractions of the city that you should visit:

• Palazzo dei Normanni and Capella Palatina
• Piazza Pretoria
• Cattedrale di Palermo
• La Martorana
• Teatro Massimo
• Orto Botanico
• Catacombe dei Cappuccini

Fun fact: The Godfather 1-3 and The Talented Mr Ripley were filmed in Palermo.

Day 3

Scopello

Like the other places, I discovered Scopello on Pinterest as well. Based on the pictures, I fell in love with the site, and I tried to find a way to get there by public transportation. Luckily I found the answer in the reviews on Tripadvisor.

Scopello can be reached by two bus companies, Russo and Tarantola.
The first bus from Palermo leaves at 6:20 in the morning, and the bus station is right next to the train station. It’s easy to find, arrows indicate the way, and you need to pay attention to the Piazza Cairoli sign. In Castellammare del Golfo you need to transfer to another bus to Scopello, which is half an hour from here. More buses are running every day now. When we were there, only a few buses were going and leaving, and the last one we could get back to Palermo departed at 13:10.

We took a walk in the old town, a tiny place with only 118 inhabitants (2015 data). There are also small restaurants and coffee shops. From the old town, you can walk to the Tonnara di Scopello hotel (1.5 km), which was the accommodation of old fishermen. There is also a historic tuna warehouse in the area. It is also possible to take a bath, and the entrance fee is 7 euros. Perfect program for a day trip.

Fun fact: One of the Goerge Clooney’s movies, the Ocean’s Twelve was (also) filmed in Scopello.

Day 4

Cefalù

This place was the only one that we planned and couldn’t visit. We would have had time for it, but we decided to go to Taormina earlier. Regardless, I would also like to write a few words about what our program would have been like here. Maybe some of you will be interested in visiting this place.

From Palermo to Cefalù the route is approx. 50 minutes by public transport. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Sicily. Near the town, in the mountains, there are hiking opportunities to Castello di Cefalù, where you can see the ruins of the ‘Saracen’ castle. Rocca di Cefalù offers perfect views of the Tyrrhenian town. We usually choose lunch/dinner at random or ‘ask’ help from Tripadvisor, where we pay attention to the reviews.

Day 5

Taormina

The receptionist said the room would be without a view at check-in (the day before) at the hotel. I was surprised, we won’t have a window?! Then we entered the room, and a balcony greeted us and a view of the sea. It was so beautiful! The sunrise was on our side, so in the morning we woke up to the rays of the sun. When they said view, they meant the view of Mount Etna, which we could admire during breakfast. The pool also has views of Mount Etna. It was wonderful!

I think one day is enough to explore Taormina, and if the weather allows, we can also take some time for a swim. Unfortunately, buses rarely ran because of the current situation (virus). So we didn’t wait, we walked. You need to know that our accommodation was on the hills to see all of Taormina. We didn’t have a shortage in km, but it was worth it.

We managed to see a lot of things. We started the sightseeing first with some stairs with the ‘I love Taormina’ sign. We asked a local where it is because there are plenty of stairs in the city. And here it is, we found it.

The sights in the city are close to each other, so we can just walk around even without a map.
The most famous things are the following:

• Corso Umberto (main street)
• Piazza IX Aprile (perfect view to the sea)
• Chiesa di San Giuseppe
• Piazza Duomo
• Duomo di Taormina
• Porta Catania
• Porta Messina
• Isola Bella
• Teatro Antico di Taormina
• Villa Communale di Taormina (botanical garden)

Day 6

Etna

Etna was the only organised trip by an office. It was an all-day-long tour with visiting the Alcantara Gorge. On the way to the volcano, we stopped once to taste some honey. And on the way back at Alcantara. We departed from Taormina, and the route was approx. 2 hours. We took a bus up to Rifugio Sapienza at 1,900 meters. Here you could buy tickets for the cable car (30 euros per person), and you can choose from many tours. The cable car takes you up to 2500 meters, from here you can go further with a Jeep up to 2900 meters, and then even further, up to 3320 meters with a tour guide. Everything was optional. We chose the Jeep tour (2900m), we didn’t go any further—another reason to return to Sicily and retake this tour.

The tour was booked locally in Taormina. On this page, you will find all the details: Saistours Excursion.

Alcantara Gorge

It was an hour-long program after Mount Etna. With the help of the tour guide, the ticket here was 5 euros, otherwise 8 euros. There are three ways to get down to the river: by lift, stairs (1.5 euros), or foot. The water was freezing but crystal clear. Whoever can stand the cold can also swim in the river.

Day 7

Sunset from the plane

Our plane left for home at 8:30 pm (since then the departure time has changed, it goes earlier). I was hoping for clear weather and the perfect sunset. Fortunately, the system gave me a good seat, and I just had to wait for the evening. Do you think it was worth it? Did you like sitting by the window?

Things to see in Sicily – Map

What to pack for this trip?

The list used to be long for me. I haven’t gone anywhere with a backpack yet. The biggest reason was that in most cases I travelled by boat. And here I could pack two big suitcases for six months. So this trip was probably the first time I left with a backpack and a small hand suitcase.

The most important essential equipment for a trip: cameras, photography equipment, chargers, power bank, and earphones. Clothing suitable for programs. We planned to go hike for two days so that we couldn’t leave our hiking shoes at home either. For Etna, I think it is good to have comfortable shoes. A windbreaker that is also waterproof. I took full advantage of this on top of Mount Etna. Summer dresses, slippers, sandals, sunglasses, maybe a book. Sometimes I pack more clothes. Water shoes are also a good idea. And now you can find hand sanitizer, wiping tissues and masks as well in my bag.

Liquid can also be packed in hand luggage. Each can be max. 100ml, which must be placed in a transparent bag. You can get small tubes specifically for travel, filled with shampoo, shower gel or even body lotion or sunscreen. That’s how I took the toiletries.

Overall

That would be the ultimate Sicily travel guide for a week. I hope you enjoyed it and you will find a lot of helpful information in it that you can also use along your way. If you have any questions or requests, let me know in the comments!

More travel photos and stories

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Love, Andi