t The gorgeous pebbly beach of Isola Bella Island at sunrise
A sun worshiper’s Shangri-la, Sicily’s jaw-dropping seascapes are peppered with powdery white and black volcanic beaches, pebbled coves and flinty promontories. With more than a dozen offshore islands and hundreds of miles of coastline, there’s a beach for everyone.
t The gorgeous pebbly beach of Isola Bella Island at sunrise
Whatever your budget, Sicily’s beaches have everything you need for a day of sun and frolic. Public lidos (bathing beaches) are ideal for budget-conscious beach-goers. Head to Cala Modello, just outside Palermo, for powder-soft sands and nearby snack bars. Have funds to spare? Opt for a stabilimento (private beach club), such as uber-stylish Isola Bella in Taormina with convenient sunbed and umbrella rentals, plus toilets and showers – for a fee. Top tip: sunbeds often go by noon.
For easy days of fun in the sun, take your pick of beautiful beaches blanketed with soft, fine sand – perfect for building sandcastles. Resorts like San Leone near the city of Agrigento have wide expanses of golden sands for kids to romp, as well a wealth of services, such as good toilets and snack kiosks, ideal when you have youngsters in tow. At Sampieri near Scicli hire lounge chairs and shady umbrellas (a godsend when temperatures soar) and set up for a full day of fun.
All around Sicily, the beach slopes underwater to gorgeous coral reefs. Grab a mask and a pair of fins and learn the secrets of the Sicilian seabed from the expert guides at Dive Sicily (www.divesicily.com) as you drift across the surface of the sea at Taormina. Off Ustica’s shore, spot vibrant sea stars and anemome clinging to the reef’s famous red corals.
Join Sicilians on hot, muggy days and abandon stifling cities in favour of il mare (the sea). Our favourite sun-and-sea spots are all solitude and pristine scenery. Dip into Vendicari nature reserve and choose between deserted dunes and isolated inlets biting the coastline. To really get away from it all, catch a Liberty Lines (www.libertylines.it) hyrdofoil to the untrammled Aeolian island of Salina and dive into the azure waters around the Perciato di Pollara.
The total length of the Sicilian coastline in km (922 miles).
The myths and legends of Sicily tie its inhabitants to the sea. One-eyed Cyclops, made famous in the Odyssey, is said to have tossed boulders from Mount Etna at Ulysses, forming the rock stacks off the Ionian Coast. Folklore also explains the rough seas in the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the mainland. It was here that Zeus turned beautiful Charybdis into a monster, condemned to swallow huge gulps of sea water, so causing treacherous whirlpools. It was also here that Scylla was transformed into a monster who still vents its rage on sailors passing through.