Luxury hotel holidays to Sicily

Sicily - Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sicily a good choice for someone visiting for the first time, or is it better suited to experienced Italy travellers?

Sicily is an excellent choice for first-time visitors and seasoned Italy travellers alike, but it rewards each in different ways. If you have already explored the obvious Italian cities and want something that feels genuinely different — more layered, more complex, less visited and more alive — then Sicily will not disappoint. It is an island with its own distinct identity, shaped by successive waves of Greek, Arab, Byzantine, Norman and Spanish influence, and that history is visible and tangible in a way that surprises even well-travelled clients. For those coming to Sicily for the first time, it offers an ideal combination of the familiar and the revelatory: a warm climate, superb food, beautiful coastline and beaches, and a richness of art and archaeology that stands comparison with anywhere in Europe. The important thing is to allow enough time — Sicily is larger than people expect — and to have someone who knows it well help you decide where to focus. That is precisely what we are here for.

What can we realistically see and do on a Sicily holiday — and how much ground should we try to cover?

Sicily offers an extraordinary range and the temptation is to try to cover too much. Our honest advice is to choose two or three bases and explore each properly, rather than moving every night in pursuit of a complete itinerary. Taormina, perched dramatically above the sea with views to Etna, is the most celebrated base on the east coast and is ideal for combining beach and culture: the Greek theatre, the Alcantara gorge, an ascent of Etna and the Aeolian Islands are all within reach. Siracusa — ancient Syracusae, once one of the great cities of the classical world — is another outstanding base, with its baroque island quarter of Ortigia and the archaeological park containing the finest Greek theatre in Sicily. To the south, the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento and the baroque hill towns of Ragusa and Modica are essential for those who want to explore the breadth of the island. And Palermo stands apart entirely: a dense, layered, magnificent city that deserves at least three nights of its own. A touring holiday that combines two or three of these areas, with a hire car on the mainland and private transfers in Palermo, makes for a deeply satisfying week and a half or two weeks.

What makes Palermo worth including, and how does it differ from the rest of Sicily?

Palermo is one of the most compelling cities in Italy, and it is quite unlike anywhere else on the island or indeed in the country. Its Arab-Norman architecture is unique in Europe: the Cappella Palatina in the Palazzo Reale, the church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti with its red domes, and the cathedral of Monreale just outside the city — with its extraordinary 12th-century mosaics covering every surface — are among the most remarkable buildings of the medieval world. The city has layers of Baroque, Arab, Byzantine and Norman architecture sitting alongside each other in a way that is simultaneously chaotic and magnificent. The street food culture of Palermo is justly celebrated — the Ballarò and Capo markets are among the most vivid in southern Europe — and the restaurant scene has improved dramatically in recent years. For clients doing a touring holiday of Sicily, Palermo makes a natural start or finish; for those who want to focus on the city itself and the north-west of the island, including the Greek temples at Segesta and Selinunte, it works perfectly as a single-centre base. We include private transfers in Palermo rather than a hire car, which is the right approach for a city of that density and character.

How does an Expressions Sicily holiday work in practice — fly-drive, touring or single-centre?

We offer all three formats, and the right one depends on your interests, the time available and how much you want to move around. A single-centre holiday based in Taormina or on the south-east coast suits clients who want warmth, beauty and culture within easy reach without the effort of moving hotels; we include a hire car so that day trips to Etna, Siracusa, Agrigento and the baroque interior are all possible. A two-centre or touring holiday is our most popular format for Sicily: a typical itinerary might start in Palermo, move to Siracusa or the Baroque Triangle, and finish in Taormina, or do the journey in reverse. We include a hire car for all stays outside Palermo and arrange private transfers within the city. We can also build a wine and food focus into the itinerary — a stay on one of the excellent wine estates in Marsala or the interior, a cookery day in Ragusa — for clients whose interests lean that way. Whatever the format, the holiday is entirely tailor-made: your dates, your pace, your choice of hotels from our personally selected portfolio.

When is the best time to visit Sicily, and what should we know about the climate?

Sicily has one of the longest and most generous seasons of any Mediterranean destination, which makes it a flexible choice throughout the year. Spring — April to June — is many people’s favourite: the almond blossom and wildflowers of February and March give way to warm, settled weather, and the countryside is brilliantly green before the summer heat bleaches it back to gold. The sea is swimmable from late May. Autumn — September and October — is equally rewarding, with the summer crowds gone, the sea still warm well into October and the harvest festivals giving the island a particular energy. Summer is hot — very hot in July and August, particularly in the interior and the south — but the beaches and the cooler heights of Taormina and the Aeolian Islands are at their most popular for good reason, and the summer festival season, including the magnificent Taormina Arte in the Greek theatre, is a real draw. Winter is mild by northern European standards and the cultural sites are wonderfully uncrowded; it is not a beach season but it is an excellent time for Palermo, Siracusa and the baroque towns of the south. We will always advise on timing to suit the particular combination of places and experiences you have in mind.