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Sicily Travel Guide

Enrico Forte

A tour around Sicily offers you different types of experiences and emotions: beaches, volcanoes, natural parks and a trip across its millenary history made by ancient Romans and Greeks.

Where is the Sicily island?

Sicily is the biggest island in the Mediterranean sea, at the south of Italy.

How to reach the island?

There three possible ways to arrive in Sicily:

  • Airplane: There are two main airports in the cities of Catania and Palermo.
  • Boat: Use the strait of Messina in Calabria.
  • Train: Use the Eurostar trains that link Rome, Milan and Naples with the cities of Sicily (Catania, Syracuse, Palermo, Messina).

How to get around the island?

You can get around by train, bus or car.

  • Trains connect the main cities (Messina, Palermo, Catania, Syracuse).
  • Buses have departure centers in the main airports and the railways stations.
  • By car, using the freeways, A18 Catania-Messina, A19 Catania-Palermo, A20 Messina-Palermo.

What are the best things to visit?

  • The city of Agrigento, on the southwest coast, with its Greek temples.
  • The beach resort of Cefalu, seaside town at the east of Palermo.
  • The city of Enna, 1000 meters high city, the highest in Europe.
  • The village of Erice, a little medieval town.
  • The mountain Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe.
  • The town of Marsala, the heart of wine production.
  • The city of Palermo, the capital of Sicily.
  • The temples of Segesta with some excellent Greek ruins.
  • The city of Syracuse, on the southeast coast, with its Greek theatre.
  • The little village of Taormina, with a beautiful Roman-Greek theatre.
  • The Alcantara Gorges, a natural park in a volcanic river.
  • The Nebrodi Park, a natural reserve full of forests.
  • The Aeolian islands, seven little island of Volcanic origin.
  • The city of Catania, a mix of historical evidences, churches and museums.

What are the best beaches to choose?

  • Mondello Lido, near Palermo.
  • Mortelle, near Messina.
  • Spiaggia Sabbie Nere (Vulcano island), a "Black Sands Beach" in the Aeolian islands.
  • Lido Mazzarò (Taormina), the best summer resort of Sicily.
  • Marina di Ragusa, on the southeasters Sicily.

What are the best activities?

There are different activities like Trekking, Wine tours, Bicycle trips, Sight-seeing, Winter sports on the Etna mountain, horseback ridings, scuba diving and much more. It depends on your budget and the period you choose: in the summer months the best things to do are swimming the in the waters of the coast; in the autumn months the best activities are trekking on the Sicilian natural parks; in the winter the queen is Mount Etna where there is skiing, alpine skiing and much more.

How to find the best accommodations?

There are different types of lodging services to choose, it depends on your budget, the period and the activity you want to practice. You can choose between a great selection of like Hotels, Bed and Breakfast, Camping, Farm, Villas, Apartments and Resorts. The best ones are situated in the cities of Catania, Palermo and Taormina.

Enrico Forte is a travel consultant that manages the website Volcano Etna, the Sicilian travel guide about tours and Etna excursions.

© VolcanoEtna, 2007

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