Sicily Sicily Sept 2026

[BryanS]

We recently visited Sicily for the first time after living in Italy for 20 years This was specifically for a friend's wedding after which we spent several days touring the island.

Day 1: We flew from Pescara to Trapani, a short flight over the peninsula with some interesting arial views of many locations we have visited at ground level. The Trapani airport is rather small with about a 200m walk to the lot where our rental car was located. The airport assistance for me is a must and worked well at both locations.

We spent the first night in the countryside outside of Marsala at Podere Fossarunza. A very nice agriturismo with 7 rooms, pool and restaurant. The AC in our room wasn’t the best considering the temperature was in the 90’s with high humidity. The restaurant however was very good and the owner and staff were very accommodating and friendly. I had the “Chef’s Surprise” complete dinner for 40€; it included an antipasto, primo, secondo, dolce and digestive – very good. Breakfast was beyond abundant; they brought out baskets and plates, way too much for us to eat so they wrapped up some of it for us to take along.

The countryside in this area was not impressive, looked a lot like a film set for a Middle East war or northern Africa. No good direct driving routes going south.

 

[BryanS]

Day 2: We headed for Mazara del Vallo for the wedding. The bride is a girl we’ve known for years from Trivigno and the groom was from Sicilia. A bus load of our paesani came down from Trivigno along with the priest. It was hot and humid but the ceremony was in the beautiful cathedral at Mazara del Vallo, one of the most beautiful churches we saw in Sicily.

The reception was a full blown southern Italian affair amongst the Greek temple ruins of Selinunte - spectacular! It was still rather warm and humid when we headed back to the hotel on the group bus well after 1 am.

The wedding party had arranged rooms for those of us coming from the mainland at the Hopps Hotel on the lungomare in Mazara del Vallo. We, and everybody we talked to from our group, had a bad experience with this property. The sink in our bathroom was not properly connected to the drain line, the bidet leaked at the floor, the shower door didn’t close completely, etc. We mentioned the plumbing issues to the front reception when we left for the wedding and nothing was done by the time we returned. Highly recommended to avoid. The lunch buffet was gross, and at breakfast the coffee from a machine had spoiled milk. Worst hotel experience ever!

 

[BryanS]

Day 3: Our next destination was Agrigento with a stop in Granitola Torretta (recommended by our friend Enrica), there wasn’t much to see of interest in this town but cute and a good stop for a caffe’. We continued south and stopped in Sciacca for lunch. We chose this location based on photos we saw online of the town view from the sea, this was a disappointment as the views did not match the photos. We did not explore the historic center as it was too far and steep on-foot but found a very good restaurant at the port, one of the few that was open for lunch, Levante Ristorante.

Continuing towards Agrigento we made a short stop for a quick view of the Scala dei Turchi from an overlook. Interesting formation and good photo location but there was no parking at this marked overlook.

In Agrigento we stayed at the BnB “Il Giardino del Tempo”, located just outside the Porta V (Porta Quinta) and Sant'Anna entrance to the Valle dei Templi. From the roof-top terrace we were able to watch the sunset shine on the temples in the distance and as they were lit-up in the dark. This location has several rooms with no onsite staff, the ground-floor room was well equipped but did have a problem with small ants and the small refrigerator stopped working in the middle of the night and we awoke to the sound of dripping water from the defrosting freezer.

 

[BryanS]

Day 4: In the morning we visited the Valle dei Templi in some extreme heat, even at 9AM, there is little to no shade in the park. We parked at the Giunone entrance, a dirt lot with very limited organization. The temples are spread along a stone road about 2.5 km (1.5) long on a slight slope. After initially being denied one of the available electric wheelchairs to use in the park (I don’t have a handicap parking placard) we hiked up to the Tempio di Giunone. Once we came down, we waited for what is supposed to be a private run shuttle operating in the park for a small fee, but by 10AM they had not started operating. An auxiliary Carabinieri working at this temple intervened on my behalf with the staff to get the last unreserved chair – a BIG help.

The temples are spectacular but you can only view them from the outside, other locations such as Paestum, allow you to walk through them. The audio guide is informative but the unit we used had a relatively low volume where you had to hold it against the ear at full volume to hear the descriptions. There are a café and restrooms about half-way through the park with a wide variety of refreshments and outdoor seating – a welcome respite in the heat. We stopped for granita and cold drinks, as Valerie was red with near heat-stroke. Not as impressive as we expected considering the hype and other Greek ruins we have seen in Italy.

Our next stop was the town of Noto along the far southeast corner of Sicily and we chose to drive across the island on the Autostrada instead of the coastal route. Our experience with the coast roads had been such that we had little confidence in the times listed on Waze and Google Maps to reach our destination.

Heading across the uplands was mostly autostrada with more greenery than we had seen along the coast. At Caltanissetta we encountered a traffic jam due to an accident and decided it was time for lunch. We drove towards the center and found a parking lot just outside of the historic center to check Google Maps for restaurants and lucked out that there was one just a few meters away, Ristorante Centro Storico.

There is a bell on the outside of the door to gain access and we were greeted by the wife; her husband is the chef. She would only come out to serve or if another customer buzzed for access. This is a small osteria location with less than 10 tables in a cantina style setting. She explained the menu and local dishes and we ordered a couple items based on her recommendations. The food was excellent and the owner was very accommodating. Definitely a lucky find.

The baroque town of Noto was next and a gem, located in the hills above the coast. We stayed at Hotel Porta Reale, located just inside the city gate of the same name. This is a few meters into the pedestrian only zone so we had to park in a nearby public lot. The historic center is located on a ridge and only the main strip, Corso V. Emmanuele, is mostly level as the other areas slope away from this point.

The hotel was almost luxurious and our room had a balcony overlooking the Corso. They have a rooftop terrace where we had complimentary drinks before going out for a short stroll to see the center under the lights. Their festival lights were still above the streets and we were told they keep them up for all of September. We had hand-made Sicilian cannoli before returning to our air-conditioned and cushy room.

 

[BryanS]

Day 5: The next morning, we enjoyed the abundant breakfast buffet and then walked along the Corso and visited the Cattedrale di San Nicolo’. Unfortunately, the interior does not match the splendor of the outside as the dome and part of the roof had collapsed in the 1990’s and the replacement is rather plain.

Heading north from Noto we stopped at the Isola do Ortigia (Siracusa) where we did an Ape Calessino tour to catch the main sites and narrow streets. This was a good way to see a lot more than we could on foot in the continuing heat. There were an abundance of foreign tourists and everywhere a crowd. Again, the cathedral was disappointing inside except for the Greek temple columns that had been incorporated into the structure. We found the cathedral in Mazara del Vallo, Santissimo Salvatore, to be the much most impressive overall.

We then continued north to Linguaglossa on the northern slope of Mt Etna and our BnB, Casa Arrigo. This is part of a winery and there is an adjoining wine tasting room. Casa Arrigo is part of a property that includes the luxury resort Villa Neri. This would be our base for the next three nights. The room was quiet and overall comfortable, breakfast was nice and the assistant, Angela, very talkative and sweet.

 

[BryanS]

Day 6: I had booked a half-day tour of Mt Etna with Go Etna, expecting a 4x4 off-road Jeep tour based on their description and photos. I knew there might be portions that I would not be able to participate in based on my mobility limitations but we were quickly disappointed. We arrived at the meeting point to find Ford 9-passanger vans and a disorganized group. We finally departed in a caravan of 9 vans and only spent about half an hour “off-road” of the 5-hour tour. The rest was on the main paved road, Via Mareneve, zipping past picturesque lava flows to parking lots where the 9 vans disparaged their passengers for a short hike (which I couldn’t do) and short walk into a lava tube (again I couldn’t do this). The tour and conditions did not match their website description as suitable for everyone.

 

[BryanS]

Day 7: We visited some of the intriguing towns with basalt churches and architecture along the northern slope of Mt Etna. Our first stop was Randazzo with its churches that incorporate blocks made from the local lava: Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta and Chiesa San Nicolo’. There is also the interesting Via degli Archi which claims to be one of the oldest paved lanes in the town.

Based on some recommendations we then drove to Castiglione di Sicilia, which is supposed to be included as one of “I Borghi pui Belli di Italia”. It looks very promising as you approach from the west but we eventually made our way through the town to the top and did not see any resemblance to a borgho pui bello. It was rather disappointing so we then headed back to Linguaglossa.

For lunch our Mt Etna driver had recommended the restaurant Boccaperta in Linguaglossa and I had made reservations the day before. Again, there was the buzzer to gain entrance and we were greeted by the owner. This is a small osteria with less than 12 tables and a small rear patio area. The owner explained the menu, all local dishes, and was very helpful. We split an antipasto, pasta and lamb dish – all were excellent, highly recommend with reservations.

In the evening we drove up the side of Mt Etna, the same road we had been on with our tour the day before to catch the sunset. We were able to go at our own pace and stop where we wanted to get some good photos of the lava flows and the volcano. We also drove up to the Piano Provenzana at the base of the ski area, higher up the mountain than we had been the day before (recommended by an Irish couple staying in the BnB.) Definitely a better opportunity to experience the volcano.

 

[BryanS]

Day 8: After a week we flew out of the Catania airport, it was crowded with foreign tourists arriving and departing but was well organized, inside. Again, the assistance through the airport and onto the plane was very good. We left just in time as they closed the airport the next day due to eruptions of Mt Etna.

The people in Sicily were very friendly and we experienced lots of great food! Sicily was not as interesting and beautiful as we had anticipated based on our Italian friends’ comments but we are glad we finally made the trip.

 

[Pauline]

What a great trip! Thanks for posting!

We did parts of it about 10 years ago. We loved the Valley of Temples at Agrigento but hated Noto, the opposite of you. We were there in spring so it wasn’t as hot. Noto was full of tourists and I reached travel overload there. And we got a parking ticket (but at least there was a place to park - we just forgot to pay).

Selinunte was beautiful and a great place for the wedding party!

Disappointing hotels, bad roads and chaos is typical for Sicily I think. We tried to visit several towns where there was no parking - none! And I remember a pothole getting onto that highway in the centre that almost removed my teeth the bump was so bad!

 

[NoSpin]

Well, for people going to Sicily I can give you two superior hotels. The first is in Taormina. The Grand Hotel San Pietro is hands down the best hotel we have ever stayed at (and we have stayed at Ritz, Four Seasons and specialty boutique hotels). Most high end hotels have great locations, great accommodations and great service. This hotel just simply beat them all. Their breakfast buffett was not only the most extensive, it was the most quality I have ever experienced in Europe. Most of all, the staff was incredible.

And a very nice hotel in Palermo is the Grand Hotel des Palmes (I guess Grand Hotel is a popular theme in Sicily). The outstanding attribute of this hotel is it had by far the best shower I have ever experienced. In addition to the usual hand held and rainfall shower, it also had a waterfall shower. If you look at the shelf in the upper left corner, from here comes a torrent of water that actually massages your back. The shower is large, the water pressure is very strong also for both the handheld and the rainfall. The controls are also unique. You push a button to turn on and off the various functions.

In Catania we stayed at the Palace Catania. Nothing special but it was centrally located. The last photo is from our balcony looking at Mt. Etna.