Sicily Travel Guide

Zingaro Nature Reserve | Sicily, Italy

Sicily, the island that sits at the boot of Italy, feels as though it could be its own country. It is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and quite possibly the island with the most influence from other cultures.

Not only does Sicily lie just 100 miles North of the border of Tunisia, but it has a long history that explains the Arab influence on the island. Invaders, known as ‘Moors’ conquered Sicily in the Middle Ages, bringing 200 years of cultural influence with them. This influence is seen strongly today in the cuisine, with ingredients like lemon, pistachio, dates, dill, orange, and almond. You can also find evidence of Greek and Roman influence on the island. If you visit Sicily, don’t expect it to be anything similar to any region of the mainland of Italy. The food, the people, and the culture are entirely different: they’re Sicilian!

There are dozens and dozens of different ways you could plan a trip to Sicily. The island is huge and you would need at least a couple of weeks to see it all. For our trip, we went for 10 days and stayed in one small corner of the island. We went in early June, 2022 for our honeymoon. This travel guide is going to outline our trip, and solely the places we chose to visit. We only saw a very small portion of this beautiful island, but it was the perfect way to have a laid back trip without the pressure to see it all.

PALERMO

We flew from Madrid to the Palermo Airport. From the airport, we took a bus (for just a few euros) into the city. It dropped us at a bus stop just a few blocks from the Airbnb we rented for the night. We rented a car for the trip, but decided we didn’t want to have it in Palermo, and would rather pick it up the next day. We didn’t want to spend much time in Palermo, and just one night proved to be the perfect amount of time for us. There are times when we love to really plan ahead, research restaurants, and decide where we’re going to eat ahead of time. And there are also times when it is fun to just wander the streets and stumble into a place that attracts your attention. In Palermo, we chose to just wander and follow our noses, and were wishing we had done research and chosen a place for dinner ahead of time. Nonetheless, we had a great time wandering the streets of Palermo, people watching, and taking photos of the non-stop commotion. The next morning, we had a taxi take us back to the airport to pick up our rental car, and we drove West from there.

tonnara di scoppello

We had the next 6 nights booked near San Vito Lo Capo on the Westside of the Island. On our way in that direction, we stopped at Tonnara di Scopello for a swim and some lunch. Tonnara is an old tuna fishery that has been turned into a sort of beach club and inn. The rooms are expensive to rent, but entrance to the beach front is just 10€ for the day. I imagine it is a zoo in the high season, and probably not worth the visit when it is over-crowded. But if you happen to visit in a slower season, we thought it was quite a charming spot. We laid in the sun, went for a swim around the rocks scattering the shoreline, and had a sandwich from the bar.

CUSTONACI

The Airbnb we rented was nothing short of perfect. The cottage was an old worker’s shelter on an olive grove that has been remodeled. It sits on the Monte Cofano Nature Reserve with a view overlooking the ocean. A long and bumpy dirt road leads to the house, and once you’re out there, it’s perfectly quiet (besides the sounds of some nearby goats grazing the grass). The cottage was a 5-10min drive to the small town of Custonaci, and about 2o minutes from the center of San Vito Lo Capo. For a home cooked meal, we got some fresh fish from a local fish monger in San Vito Lo Capo and cooked it on the coal fire grill at the house. On the Monte Cofano Nature Reserve, there is plenty of hiking and serene spots for swimming. We are so happy we chose to stay on this side of the island. It felt like a peaceful oasis.

MONTE COFANO

San Vito Lo Capo

Just a 20 minute drive from our Airbnb, we visited San Vito Lo Capo often. San Vito Lo Capo is a beachside town that seems like it would attract quite a lot of visitors in the high season. The gorgeous white sand beach, Spiagga San Vito Lo Capo, sits just beneath Monte Monaco (which you can hike to the top of!). You’ll find it scattered with sun-bathers and people trying to sell floats and beach towels. In town, there are tons of great restaurants offering classic Sicilian fare and seafood. The best place we stumbled upon in San Vito Lo Capo was Salumeria Enoteca Peraino, a high quality delicatessen that will make you a custom panini. We found ourselves here more than once, ordering paninis to take with us to the beach, or to our hike to Zingaro Nature Reserve.

zingaro Nature Reserve

Visiting the Zingaro Nature Reserve was one of our favorite days in Sicily. We parked our car at the North Entrance, but you can also enter from the South Entrance. We paid 5€ each for entrance for the entire day. The Reserve is a trail spanning about 10km across the coastline, connecting a number of small beaches. The beaches are quaint and stunning. Be sure to bring enough water and food with you for the day! You’ll find a couple small museums, public restrooms, and picnic tables along the way. We had a blast getting hot from hiking from beach to beach, then cooling off in the pristine water.

Erice

We took another day trip to the historic town of Erice, just a 30 minute drive from Custonaci. Erice is a well preserved Medieval town with two castles atop a hill. The cobblestone streets of this town feel like you’re wandering through an ancient maze of sorts. The town is small, but has a few options for restaurants and tourist shops. We spent a few hours here just walking all through the town, taking photos, stopping for an arancini here and a granita there.

Terrasini

For our final night, we decided to stay in Terrasini, a beach side town that is close to the airport. On our way there, we stopped in Castellammare del Golfo for lunch and to check out some of the smaller beaches on that coastline. We spent the afternoon at Spiaggia Cala Rosa and actually rented an Airbnb from the owner of the Club, Cala Rosa. This Airbnb was on a gorgeous property and was beautifully designed, but it was sort of hard to find and we didn’t love the location. We spent our final evening walking around the town of Terrasini and watched the sunset from the beach. It was a lovely and mellow ending to our trip. The next morning was a quick 15 minute drive to the airport, hassle-free.

PLACES WE WOULD VISIT NEXT TIME

There are a few places we would have loved to have visited if we had had more time. On the West side of the island, I would take a day trip to the island of Fiavignana, I would travel south to visit olive orchards in Castelveltrano, and I would go even further south to visit Scala de Turchi. On the North Coast, I would visit Cefalù and a bit inland, I would book a stay at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School/Agroturismo. And on the East Coast, I would visit Taormina, hike Mt Etna, then drive South to visit Noto and Ragusa. And maybe a final stop near Vittoria for a visit to the Occhipinti Vineyard and a stay at Baglio Ochipinti. We loved visiting Sicily and will certainly be back!