Compare Sicily holidays

Where to stay in Sicily

For families

Cefalù is an excellent choice for families, combining a long sandy beach with an attractive old town in a dramatic setting under a craggy cliff. Further west is San Vito lo Capo, which has a superb beach.

Giardini Naxos is a classic choice for families, as it has a large selection of hotels and sandy beaches. Salina in the Aeolian Islands is a chilled-out place with smart boutique hotels and quiet beaches. Noto’s car-free centre and nearby beach at Lido di Noto make an appealing combination, and it’s close to Vendicari Nature Reserve.

For food and drink

Although many of the towns in the Val di Noto will appeal to food lovers (including the unique chocolate made only in Modica), Ragusa has some of Sicily’s finest restaurants. At Catania’s famously raucous fish market, the act of selling seafood has been turned into theatre.

Palermo is famous for its street food and market stalls where you can pick one of Sicily’s tastiest snacks – deep-fried balls of risotto rice called arancini. The daily food market in Syracuse’s old town, Ortigia, is one of the island’s best.

For cheap holidays

Both Palermo and Catania have a broad range of affordable accommodation if you’re after a cheap holiday to Sicily. If you want to spend some time on the beach, buses in Palermo take you to Mondello. And in Catania, there’s an 18km (11-mile) stretch of sandy beach right below the city, as well as access to the nearby coastal resorts of Aci Castello and Acireale. Cefalù also offers a good choice of hotels and private rentals that won’t cost the earth and eating out on a budget won’t be a problem.

For nightlife

If you want a good choice of nightclubs and bars, you’re better off staying in the main cities. Palermo has a wide selection of nightclubs as well as cocktail bars and venues with live music, both in its centre and around the city’s port.

Like Palermo, Catania has a large student population, which guarantees a lively nightlife. Dance clubs and buzzing bars are all around the historic centre as well as along the waterfront. Taormina doesn’t have the nightclubs of Palermo or Catania, but it has some very classy cocktail bars.

For culture

Palermo’s cathedral and galleries make the city one of the top choices for a cultural holiday in Sicily, with the bonus of its proximity to Monreale and its Norman basilica.

Ragusa, Noto, Modica and Syracuse are magnets for fans of baroque architecture, and Agrigento is the obvious base for the ancient Greek ruins at the Valley of the Temples. In Catania, you can watch opera in the splendid Teatro Massimo Bellini, named after the composer who was born in the city.

When to go to Sicily

When to go for the best weather?

With average temperatures in the low to mid-30s, July and August are some of the best months to visit Sicily if you’re after good weather and days on the beach. However, this is also when hotel prices soar and beaches get quite crowded – book your holiday as early as possible to secure a better deal.

When is the cheapest time to visit?

If you’re looking for a cheap holiday to Sicily and don’t mind some cooler weather, spring and autumn are good times to visit. April has an average temperature of 21C and even in November, it can stay at about 20C.

The island has mild winters too – generally about 15C – and there will be snow on Mount Etna from December to at least April.

When to go for the best of both?

The best months to visit are May, June, September and October, when you can avoid the summertime crowds and heat, and have a better chance of picking up a cheaper deal. May has an average temperature of 25C, which goes up to 29C in June. Similarly, September and October still have temperatures in the mid to high 20s.

One thing to note: Sicily – and Italy in general – has a way of shutting down its beach resorts early even when the weather is still warm (that is, in September). So while you can still swim and beaches are open, smaller resorts will have packed away their sun-loungers.