Sicily – a practical summary of vacations in Sicily

We spent a full week in Sicily. What exactly did we do? What did our route look like? What’s worth seeing beyond the obvious Etna?

We will summarize everything in this post. You will also find some practical tips here.

Table of contents

What is worth seeing in Sicily?

When we went to Sicily, we did not expect that there are so many interesting places to see here. At first, when planning our trip, we thought of going around the entire island in one week. The closer we got to the trip, the further we were from the idea.

And good! Because even being in the south-east there is something to do and for two weeks. Seriously :) Of the top spots that we think you absolutely must visit while in this part of Sicily are:

Valley of Temples
near Agrigento. Once we were in Athens at the Acropolis. We did not like it there terribly…. Heap of rubble, everything covered with scaffolding, wild crowd, nothing interesting. Agrigento is something else entirely, a large open space (ignoring that we were completely out of season), but most importantly well-preserved temples. Yes, the temples. Not one, not two! ;)
An interesting option is to take a walk near the mysterious tombs carved into the rock, viz.
Necropoli di Pantalica
. An ideal place to take a break from the urban hustle and bustle (which is not hard to come by in Sicily) and from the wild crowds in high season.

It would be silly not to mention
Etna
. And although our trip was not a complete success, being in Sicily and not being on Etna is like being in Krakow and not seeing the Cloth Hall ;)
It’s also worth hooking up for a longer stay in
Syracuse
. For two reasons. First, the island of Ortygia, the old part of Syracuse, a beautiful old town and atmospheric streets. Second, the Archaeological Park where we can see, among other things. Greek amphitheater for up to 24,000 people (!), or the famous Ear of Dionysius.
A non-obvious point on the map may be the town of
Noto
. A typically baroque town that simply enchanted us. And when you add to this a quiet afternoon at the beautiful market in nearby Marzamemi, you already have the perfect day :)

It is impossible not to mention one more place….
Taormina
. Beautifully located Greek amphitheater, nice town…. although I don’t quite understand the overwhelming admiration for Taormina. However, it is worth remembering the place and seeing for yourself than regretting it later.

Map of recommended attractions in Sicily

You can find these and other points on the map below:

Remember that we base here only on our experiences and places where we have been ourselves :)

And real Italian ice cream?

That’s right! How could we leave out real Italian ice cream! Remember when we were in Rome and tested ice cream parlors? :)

Yes, we love real Italian ice cream :)

Unfortunately, in Sicily we didn’t have much opportunity to test. Yes, again the lack of tourist season is to blame here :) Most places were simply closed, especially the recommended ones.

We were very disappointed with the ice cream in Taormina, supposedly homemade, supposedly praised, and yet this is not it. Insufficiency remained.

However, we can calmly recommend to you the local chain Gelati Bianca, which you can find in Syracuse, at several points in the city. Very good ice cream, different flavors. Luck in misfortune (or vice versa ;-)) their headquarters was quite close to our accommodation, so we even took ice cream to go, counted in kilograms…. yum! :)

Some practical information

What should you keep in mind before traveling to Sicily?

Sicily is part of Italy, so it belongs to the European Union. As a result, we can get there only on the basis of our Polish identity card, we do not need a passport.
As is the case throughout Italy, electrical outlets here are no different from our Polish ones…. but only potentially. In our accommodation we encountered strange three-pin sockets (although there were also normal ones like in Poland), which we had not seen before in Italy. Fortunately, each such outlet had a suitable adapter, so any equipment worked without a problem.

As far as safety is concerned, Sicily is…. relatively safe. It is known, the mafia and those things, but that was a few years ago ;) Nowadays, tourists should only fear petty theft, mainly in Palermo and on crowded beaches. We also often encountered advice not to park the car on suspicious streets and certainly not to leave anything out in a locked car.
Sicily’s roads are well-developed and well-marked, nevertheless our navigation got lost several times. Mainly because of the new roads, which I don’t think anyone on the maps has yet introduced ;) The important thing is that some of the highways in Sicily are tolled! It is not a lot of money, but it is worth paying attention to. The free episodes include. the one between Catania and Rosolini (south) and Catania and Palermo (west).

In Sicily, the currency is, of course, the Euro. In most places we paid by credit card and there was no problem at all. When buying admissions to attractions, however, you already have to expect to pay more in cash.
Sicily is an island, it is known. So the easiest way to get there is by plane. There are now many connections from Poland, including direct ones. Mainly due to summer charters from travel agencies and low-cost carriers. We flew Wizz Air from Warsaw to Catania. We recommend :) Although it is also possible to get there by ferry directly from Italy.

In our opinion, the best way to get around locally is by car. And this one needs to be rented ;) We recommend our guide on how to rent a car for vacation.
Prices of products in stores are similar to our Polish ones, with local differences, of course. At least there is no reason to go with a suitcase full of food ;)
Before leaving, it is essential to get an EHIC (issued by the National Health Service for free) and travel insurance.