Things to do in Sicily

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, about 25,700 square kilometres, and no one base covers it. Palermo to Catania alone is 210 km, around two and a half hours by road. Tours in Sicily go one corner at a time.

Five corners, five bases

• Palermo and the north coast. The capital, Monreale on the hill above it, and Cefalù about 70 km east along the coast.
• The west. Trapani is 115 km from Palermo, about 1.5 hours. Marsala, Erice, Segesta and the Egadi islands are all close to it. San Vito lo Capo, Scopello and the Zingaro reserve lie on the north-west coast.
• The south coast. Agrigento and its Valley of the Temples, two hours across the island from Palermo.
• Etna and the east. Catania sits at the foot of the volcano, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013 and rises above 3,300 metres. Taormina is the clifftop resort up the coast. The quieter north slope starts from Linguaglossa.
• The south-east. Syracuse and Ortigia, 70 km south of Catania. Noto, Modica and Ragusa follow, all rebuilt in baroque after the earthquake of 1693.

What each corner is for

Things to do in Sicily follow the map. Ancient Greece is the south and east: the temples of Agrigento, the theatre at Taormina, old Syracuse. Wine splits in two, Marsala in the west and the Etna slopes in the east.

Boats add two sets of islands. They run from Trapani to the Egadi, and from Milazzo to Lipari and Vulcano in the Aeolians. Cooking classes and street-food walks run all over, strongest in Palermo and Catania.

Getting around

• By car. The easiest way into the interior and the small towns. Most hire cars are manual, and old centres are limited-traffic zones.
• By train and bus. Lines follow the coasts, linking Palermo, Cefalù, Messina, Catania and Syracuse.
• By sea. Overnight ferries run from Naples to Palermo. The short crossing from Calabria lands at Messina.
• One way. Palermo and Catania are the two big airports. Fly into one and out of the other, and skip the backtrack.

Practical

• Weather. July and August afternoons reach about 31C on the coast, and over 40C when the sirocco blows from Africa. January days sit near 15C. April and May afternoons run 20 to 24C.
• Sea. It peaks near 26C in August. Swimming runs from June to October.
• Crowds. Mid-August is the Italian holiday peak, with the beaches full.
• Wind. A rough sea cancels the island boats. Do not leave the crossing for the last day.