Last updated on November 14th, 2024.
As a regular visitor — and part-time resident — in Sicily, I’ve built up quite an archive of Sicily bucket list material.
But, there’s one important topic I’ve not yet covered and that’s a general ‘what to know about Sicily’ guide. Et voilà, in this post, I’ll be listing 13 things to know before traveling to Sicily.
I’ll be listing some helpful insider — as well as general — tips on visiting Sicily for the first time.
Covering practical to local Sicily travel tips, you may find these helpful when planning a future trip to Italy.
13 best Sicily travel tips
How many days to spend in Sicily
If you’re wondering how many days you need in Sicily, it all depends on your travel itinerary.
Should your sole focus be on visiting, and spending 2 days in a city like Palermo, for example, then 3 days, 2 nights is enough. However, if you plan to do several Sicily day trips, I’d advise on staying for 1 week.
This will allow sufficient time to see other places in Sicily like Agrigento. We did exactly this on a road trip from Agrigento to Palermo, first stopping to tour the magnificent Valley of the Temples.
With a 2-week travel itinerary for Sicily, you’ve more time to play with. Consider adding Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands to your list, as well as southern cities like Ragusa and Noto.
The island is packed with plenty of beautiful places to visit and I promise that Sicily is worth seeing.
Car is the best mode of transportation in Sicily
Despite my own reservations about driving around the island, renting a car is really the best way to visit Sicily.
Though public transport is available in many cities and towns in Sicily, they don’t run as frequently outside the bigger cities.
August is NOT the month to visit Sicily
Probably the number one Sicily question I get asked is ‘what is the best month to visit Sicily?’
And, my response is almost always the same: any month apart from August. It’s one of many mistakes that visitors make when planning a trip to Italy.
I’d also extend this to include July, but early July is nowhere near as busy as August.
The main reason I say to avoid August is because it’s also traditionally vacation time for Italians. Ironically, it’s also usually the month we tend to be back at home in Sicily.
Why? Because it’s when our friends, from Italy and abroad, come to vacation too. However, when we’re back in Sicily in August, we tend to stick to local places and beaches rather than planning day trips.
What is Sicily like in August?
Though many Italians do choose to holiday in July, August seems to be more popular.
What this means for visitors is that everywhere in Sicily is busy. I’m talking beaches, attractions, hotels, along with services like restaurants, shops and bars.
It can be more stressful if looking for places to stay in Sicily with kids.
Ultimately, it’s best to avoid visiting Sicily, and popular destinations in Italy, in August as much as possible.
School’s out for summer
One reason why August is the busiest month relates to the school holidays. Schools usually break for summer in the first or second week of June and they last for 2.5 to 3 months.
With such a long holiday period, many parents aren’t able to book off the entire duration. Instead, kids may stay with grandparents or other relatives in June and July. So, when August arrives, so too does vacation time for the parents.
August 15 is also when Italians celebrate Ferragosto. The Italian public holiday marks the middle of August and adds an extra day to people’s holiday allowance. It may be another factor as to why the month is much busier.
Burning hot in August
Unless you like your vacations with a side serving of sweaty sweltering temperatures, avoid visiting Sicily in August.
It’s not unusual to see daytime numbers reach 104°F (40°C) or higher in August. I don’t need to tell you how uncomfortable such temperatures would be, especially if visiting Sicily’s popular attractions.
Being by the sea helps, but not by much, something we discovered during our trip to Isola delle Correnti.
Of all my Sicily travel tips, avoiding visiting in August trumps them all.
Sicilians speak a different dialect
Even after years of traveling to and from Sicily, I still struggle to fully understand some Sicilian words and phrases.
But, it turns out I’m not alone. Many Italian friends tell me that they too can’t understand the strong Sicilian dialect and accent.
While this is unlikely to affect your travels around Sicily, I think it’s worth being aware of. For instance, you may notice signs written in Sicilian rather than standard Italian, like ‘bedda’ which means beautiful.
If you’re interested in learning Italian, my post lists helpful tips that’ll have you speaking in just a week.
Names can differ in Sicily (and the south of Italy)
The previous point leads nicely onto my next tip on things to know before traveling to Sicily.
Sicilians take their food culture very seriously, and it’s something that starts from the moment you wake up.
Many like to start their day with a traditional Sicilian breakfast of granita Siciliana and brioche. It also happens to be one of the best Sicilian desserts to try.
Up in the north of Italy, meanwhile, a standard Italian breakfast usually consists of a ‘brioche’ (croissant) and coffee.
If you ask for a ‘brioche’ in Sicily, you’ll be served the round bread roll that accompanies a granita. Instead, ask for a ‘cornetto’ and you’ll get a croissant with a filling of your choice.
Map of Sicily
Sicilians are more laid back
Being in Sicily can sometimes feel like you’re in a completely different country.
Not only is the island physically detached from the mainland but Sicilians also have their own dialect and cultural traditions.
And, what comes with this is a relaxed attitude, something usually associated with island living. This isn’t to say that services are slow or that people are inefficient (this can happen anywhere). But, when you come to Sicily, be sure to leave the big city mentality at home.
Sicilian story-time
I’ll never forget the time when we hired a car at Catania airport (in August) to drive back up north. Despite having ordered online in advance, we’d arrived to find that the car wasn’t there on our arrival.
This wasn’t the whole story however. We’d already waited in line for over 1 hour with many other clients as only two people were working.
After much back and forth, they finally sorted out a car for us. Was it an efficient service? Not at all. While my urban roots had expected better, I’d to accept that this was just how things operated in Sicily.
Mobile networks are weak in Sicily
A recurring issue we encounter on every visit to Sicily is the weak mobile network signals.
I don’t do a good job of explaining the technicalities behind it so I won’t even try. Speaking in layman’s terms, and from experience, the mobile networks in Sicily can be hit and miss.
I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve been in Sicily without a signal — usually in the countryside. While it’s not the end of the world, it’s something to consider if you do need connectivity on your travels.
The obvious solution (indoors) is to connect to the WiFi, which brings us nicely onto the next point.
WiFi isn’t always reliable in Sicily
I apologize if these Sicily travel tips sound a little negative, but they’re based on lived experiences.
WiFi in Sicily, in general, does work. It’s normal to find reliable and secure connections in many hotels, holiday homes and services.
The only downside is that the WiFi isn’t always reliable, usually more so in smaller towns than in larger cities. If you know that you’ll 100% need internet access, inquire about the WiFi before booking your Sicily hotel or holiday home.
Sicilians dine late
I first covered this topic in ‘25 mistakes to avoid in Italy’ but it bears repeating.
Dining late in Sicily — especially in summer — is completely normal. We usually have dinner around 9/9.30pm (earlier at home) and restaurants are typically packed by this time.
On one occasion in Forza d’Agro, our order arrived at 10:45pm, by which time, my hunger had long passed.
Part of the culture
Many Sicilians finish work late, and will go home first, rest up, shower and change before coming back out.
To stave off any hunger pangs, follow our lead and go for an aperitivo before going to the restaurant. Take note, however, as many bars in Sicily serve a generous number of snacks (and for free) with an aperitivo.
To give you an idea, this is what our local bar served with our aperitivo (2 spritz Aperol and 1 beer):
- a bowl of chips
- peanuts
- pistachios
- crackers
- and a plate of focaccia (Sicilian pizza)
For the price, it’s really not bad if you’re traveling around Sicily on a budget. On the downside, the free food can quickly ruin your appetite for dinner.
Advantages of dining early
If dining too late doesn’t appeal, there’s no strict rule to say that you can’t eat earlier. Many restaurants open for dinner around 7/7.30pm (depending on the location) but check beforehand.
The main advantage of eating earlier is that you won’t have to contend with the masses dining after. You can enjoy your dinner, at a decent hour, and with fewer people around.
Traditional Sicilian food isn’t really served in Sicilian restaurants
If you’ve read my post on Sicilian food, you’ll already be aware of some of the tastiest dishes in Sicily.
But, after years of dining out here, I can tell you that many places don’t actually serve authentic Sicilian dishes. I’m talking about a rich caponata, a fragrant pasta alla norma or delicate rolled involtini di pesce spada.
Very few places
Again, I want to stress that it’s not all restaurants in Sicily. But, the majority of places we’ve eaten at rarely have traditional Sicilian dishes on the menu.
Aside from street food in Palermo, and the meaty falsomagro I ordered in the capital, traditional Sicilian dishes are rare.
It’s why there’s only one place where I enjoy eating Sicilian food in Sicily, and that’s at home.
If you’re really interested in learning and sampling authentic Sicilian food, these food and market tours are a good starting point.
- Palermo street food and history walking tour
- Palermo night street food tour
- Palermo local market tasting tour
You may also want to note some of these best restaurants in Sicily. The list is subjective, but we’ve eaten at them a few times and have never been disappointed.
- Ristorante Da Nino, Via Luigi Rizzo, 29, Letojanni
- Al Fogher, Viale Conte Ruggero (exSS 117 bis) – Contrada Bellia incrocio SS 288 per, Aidone Enna
- Ristorante la Madia, Corso Filippo Re Capriata, 22, Licata
- Ristorante Locanda Don Serafino – Relais & Chateaux, Via Avvocato Giovanni Ottaviano, 13, Ragusa
- Ristorante Don Camilo, Via della Maestranza, 96, Siracusa
- Accursio Ristorante, Via Clemente Grimaldi, 41, Modica
- Ristorante Al Duomo, Vico degli Ebrei, Taormina
- Ristorante da Filippino a Lipari, Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini, 98055 Lipari
Not all seafood is fresh (in August)
An island surrounded by the Mediterranean, Ionian and Tyrrhenian Sea, you’d be right to expect the freshest fish and seafood.
But when visiting Sicily in August, this isn’t always the case when eating out. The demand likely outweighs the order meaning that it’s not always possible to serve fresh produce.
What this means is that you may be eating frozen fish and seafood over fresh when visiting Sicily in August.
While this doesn’t mean that the dishes will be bad, you might be disappointed if you’re expecting to eat fresh.
The list of restaurants above are worth noting as many of them do serve fresh produce throughout August. You may have to pay a little extra but it’ll be worth it to eat well.
Another of my Sicily travel tips worth noting is having a good contact in Sicily. Someone that knows where to eat fresh fish and seafood will be more likely to guide you in the right direction. Without one, you may be taking a gamble.
No orange juice in bars
This is a very local Sicily travel tip and one you most likely won’t find published elsewhere.
Despite Sicily producing some of the sweetest, plumpest oranges, there are hardly any bars that serve fresh orange juice.
Honestly speaking, we’ve not seen one place that serves it. I should stress that these are standard bars and cafes, not restaurants. If you do order a juice, it will most likely be the bottled variety.
Beauty services are cheap in Sicily
How would you react if I told you that beauty services started from as little as €11 ($11.6/£9.4) in Sicily?
Now, this likely doesn’t apply to the top salons/places in larger Sicilian cities. But, in smaller towns and salons, it’s more than possible.
I once had a manicure, pedicure and wax for a total of €30 ($31.6/£25.6). Granted, it was a local town spa, but it was immaculately clean and the therapist/technician did a great job.
If you’re in need of a little personal grooming, and feeling brave enough to try, go for it.
What do you think of these Sicily travel tips? Do you feel more knowledgeable on things to know before traveling to Sicily? Let me know in the comments.
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ABOUT me
Welcome to my site. I'm Lisa, an Italy-based travel and lifestyle blogger behind Following the Rivera. Find out more about me and my story.
Hi Lisa thank you for these very helpful tips! We are planning a trip to Sicily in September, starting in Palermo, travelling along the coast to end up with the ferry taking us to Lipari. Will certainly take your advice to heart.
Hi Mariette, I’m so happy to read that! Have a wonderful time here 🙂