10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Slow Travel Guide

10 Best Activities & Places to Visit in Sicily | Slow Travel Itinerary

Ancient crossroads of the Mediterranean, the gorgeous island of Sicily, Italy continues to enchant travelers from all around the world with its incredible diversity of landscapes and cultural heritage. In this slow travel guide, I’ll share the 10 most wonderful things to do in Sicily.

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After spending two months slow traveling all around the island, Jake and I are ready to share the absolute highlights of this Mediterranean gem!

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Taormina

Taormina is on the eastern coast of Sicily and can be visited as a day trip or used as your base for a stay of a few nights. It’s my favorite town in Sicily, and in my opinion, one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen. Built on the cliffside, the city of Taormina offers jaw-dropping views at pretty much every corner.

The drive takes just over an hour from Catania by car or public transport. To plan a visit to this charming town and pick accommodation, you can read our 3 days Taormina guide just here (coming soon).

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Visit an Island

You can choose from two different archipelagos in Sicily:

The Egadi Islands, in the South | Favignana, Marettimo, and Pantelleria can be accessed from the coastal city of Trapani. There are two different ferries making the liaison and a one-way ticket costs about 25 euros. For what it's worth, our 3 days trip to Favignana was one of our favorite experiences during the two months in Sicily.

For more details on the island of Favignana, you can check out this complete 3 days guide of the island.

The Aeolian Islands, in the North | A cluster of seven islands off the Milazzo coast. Lipari, Salina, and Panarea are the most popular. Vulcano and Stromboli are volcano islands and tend to be less crowded. They can all be reached from Messina or Milazzo and some people even chose to do a day tour from Taormina.

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Hike in Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro

Lo Zingaro is its own version of a long-lost paradise. Rugged dark cliffs plunging in picture-perfect azure waters and sprawling meadows of yellow and greens.

Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve is one of the island’s few coastal areas without a road crisscrossing through it, which makes it all the more wild and enjoyable. The coastal walk is an easy 14 km walk round trip and can easily be done in a day. Jake and I were based about 10 minutes away from the reserve for the entire first month of our slow travel trip, and we visited the reserve on five different occasions.

If you’d like to take a more in-depth look into hiking in the reserve, watch my slow travel vlog linked below!

SLOW TRAVEL VLOG IN ZINGARO

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Hike Up Monte Monaco

It’s no secret that Jake and I love hiking and Sicily has plenty of wonderful trails to explore. One of our favorite trails is located just behind San Vito Lo Capo and is somewhat of a secret spot! Monte Monaco towers high above Capo San Vito and can be summited both from the east or the west side of the mountain—we tried both—and the view from the top is one of the most rewarding we’ve seen in our entire trip.

If you’re planning to do this hike, I highly recommend downloading the app called AllTrails which will help you locate both starting points. It’s really important to have good walking shoes for this hike as the path gets rocky towards the end. Brings lots of water too, the ascent is pretty intense! Round trip the hike takes about 3 hours at a comfortable pace and with a short break at the top.

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Agrigento

The Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO heritage site, comes second only to Acropolis, in Athens, for its importance. It is located on the South Coast, just outside of the city of Agrigento.

The unique charm of this site is in its blend of cultural environment and natural landscape, with olive and almond trees dotting the path. The site regroups about a dozen temples and can be visited in just a few hours. A must-see, whether you are interested in history or not!

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Sail Boat Tour in Favignana

I cannot be the only one who loves sailing trips here, and Sicily is one of the best places to book yourself an island tour! Although mainland Sicily is blessed in many regards, the small archipelagos around it have something very special not worth missing out on. Home to the best beaches in Sicily, it’s possible to enjoy the Egadi Islands from the sea by booking a day tour from the port of Favignana or Trapani.

It won't be possible to visit all of the islands around Sicily on your holiday, but you can most definitely make time to visit one or island-hop between a handful!

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Visit Cefalù

Cefalù was our last stop on this road trip itinerary and I am so glad we made the detour! This ancient fishing village has now become the ultimate beach town for Sicilians and with its pristine and large sand beach, it’s guaranteed to delight most beachgoers. Simply the perfect place to enjoy la dolce vita.

You won’t be disappointed spending more than a day here as there is a lot to do and chose from with the picturesque old town, the beach, and even some great hiking.

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Eat your Weight in Food

In Europe Sicily is famous for its cuisine—Italy in general is, but in Sicily, the locals take it to whole another level. Here most food is simple, locally sourced, and affordable! Think pistachios, almonds, seafood, and delicious freshly made pasta. Have I piqued your interest yet? As a traveler, indulging in this rich cuisine is also a way to connect directly with the island’s culture as you’ll find flavors directly sourced from North Africa, Greece, and mainland Italy, all places that have influenced Sicily in the past.

All the photos in this article were edited with Not Just Colour preset packs. Get $5 OFF on your next purchase with code: FINDYOURTONE2020. Check out the before and after! At Not Just Colour we donate 5% of our profit annually to the Environmental Justice Foundation.

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Watch the Sunset & Sunrise

Light, emotions, memories. If you are planning your trip to Sicily, don’t forget to add a note to yourself to watch as many sunsets and sunrises as you can. Much like Greece, Sicily offers some incredible hues in the early morning and even more jaw-dropping colors in the evening.

Here are some of my favorite spots: Taormina for sunrise and Scala Dei Turchi for sunset!

10 Best Things To Do In Sicily | Enjoy the Little Creeks of San Vito

The San Vito area has so much to offer if you take the time to explore it. Jake and I stumbled on the most wonderful creek on an afternoon drive on our way back from Monte Cofano Nature Reserve, another great hiking spot in the area—albeit more famous and crowded than Monte Monaco. The quiet creek is named Scogliera Macari and features interesting pink rock formation scaling down in pool-like crystal clear blue waters.

That afternoon we were alone in the creek and could enjoy it all by ourselves! That being said, there are so many creeks and hidden beaches in Sicily so I really encourage you to do some exploring. I recommend downloading google maps and using the satellite display to spot these secluded places from anywhere.

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