Basics

Getting there

Getting around

Accommodation

Food and drink

The media

Festivals

Sports and outdoor activities

Culture and etiquette

Shopping

Travel essentials

GETTING THERE

Budget airlines fly direct to Sicily from all over Europe and, outside peak holiday periods, the taxes often exceed the price of the ticket. The island has two main airports, at Palermo in the west and Catania in the east, though Ryanair and others also use Trapani airport in the far west. In September 2013, a new airport opened in the southeast at Comiso, served by Ryanair flights from Stansted, Rome Ciampino and Brussels Charleroi. There are also airports on the main outlying islands of Pantelleria and Lampedusa.

No direct flights go to Sicily from the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand: the main points of entry to Italy are Rome and Milan, from where it’s easy to pick up a connection to any of the Sicilian airports. If you want to see some of France or Italy en route, or are taking a vehicle, various overland combinations of ferry, rail and road are possible, though these will nearly always work out pricier than flying direct. European rail passes will save you some money, but most need to be purchased before you leave. Finally, package holidays and tours can be good value – from beach breaks to escorted historical tours – while airlines, travel agents and specialist operators can all also provide car rental, hotel bookings and other useful services.

  Air fares are seasonal, at their highest at Easter (a big celebration in Sicily), Christmas and New Year (as Sicilian émigrés come home), and between June and August (when the weather is hottest and the island the busiest). The cheapest flights from the UK and Europe are usually with no-frills budget and certain charter airlines, especially if you’re prepared to book several weeks in advance or chance a last-minute deal. Budget airline tickets are sold on a one-way basis, so you may find the outward or return leg of your journey significantly more expensive depending on demand. Cheap flights also tend to have fixed dates and are non-changeable and non-refundable. Major scheduled airlines are usually (though not always) more expensive, but tickets remain valid for three months and usually have a degree of flexibility should you need to change dates after booking.

A BETTER KIND OF TRAVEL

At Rough Guides we are passionately committed to travel. We believe it helps us understand the world we live in and the people we share it with – and of course tourism is vital to many developing economies. But the scale of modern tourism has also damaged some places irreparably, and climate change is accelerated by most forms of transport, especially flying. All Rough Guides’ flights are carbon-offset, and every year we donate money to a variety of environmental charities.

Flights from the UK and Ireland

There are daily direct flights to Sicily (around 3hr) with easyJet (London Gatwick to Palermo and Catania), Ryanair (Stansted to Palermo and Comiso, Luton and Manchester to Trapani, Stansted, Luton and Liverpool to Trapani) and British Airways (Gatwick to Catania), while Thomsonfly has a weekly seasonal service (May to Oct) from either Gatwick or Manchester to Catania. Prices on all routes can range from as little as £7.99 plus taxes each way to over £600 return. From Ireland, Ryanair offers a direct flight from Dublin to Palermo.

  The alternative from the UK or Ireland is to fly to one of the many airports on the Italian mainland, and travel onwards from there. Ryanair alone flies to around twelve Italian airports, and uses Trapani as its Sicilian hub, easyJet flies from Milan to Catania, while Alitalia and British Airways have decent connections from Rome, Milan and others to Palermo, Catania, Trapani, Lampedusa and Pantelleria. There are also flights to Sicily with the budget and holiday airlines of other countries (like Germany) with an established tourist connection. In the end, you’ll have to weigh up the extra travelling time flying via mainland Italy, or elsewhere, with the savings you might make.

Flights from the US and Canada

There are no direct flights from the US and Canada to Sicily, so you’ll have to fly first to Rome or Milan (9 hours from east coast US/Canada, 12 hours from Chicago, 15 hours from west coast US/Canada). For the connection to Sicily add on another hour and a half or so, plus any time spent waiting for the connection itself.

  Alitalia flies direct every day between the US or Canada and Italy, and their great advantage is the ease of making the connecting flight to Sicily with the same airline. But several other airlines – including Delta and Air Canada – fly to Rome or Milan, and can arrange an onward connection for you. Or you can fly to Italy with airlines like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa and Iberia, which travel via their respective European hubs.

  Generally, the cheapest round-trip fare from the US to Palermo or Catania, via Rome or Milan, starts at around US$600, rising to US$1500 during the summer. From Canada, low-season fares start at around Can$800, increasing to around Can$2300 in high season. The alternative option is to pick up a discounted flight to the UK, and then fly on to Sicily with one of the European budget airlines. It depends on how soon in advance you book, and the season, as to whether this will be a realistic way to save money. The easiest way to research the best available deals are price-comparison sites such as  skyscanner.com,  kayak.com or  edreams.com.

Flights from Australia and New Zealand

Although there are no direct flights from Australia or New Zealand to Sicily, many airlines offer through-tickets with their partners via European or Asian hubs. Round-trip fares from the main cities in Australia start from around Aus$1700 in low season, going up to around Aus$2000 in high season; from New Zealand, fares cost from NZ$3000. Fares don’t vary as much between airlines as you might think, and in the end you’ll be basing your choice on things like flight timings, routes and possible stop-offs on the way. If you’re seeing Sicily as part of a wider European trip, you might want to aim first for the UK in any case, since there’s a wider choice of cheap options to Sicily once there.

Trains

It’s a long journey from the UK to Sicily by train (2672km from London to Messina). The fastest route (via Paris, Rome and Naples) is scheduled to take around 30 hours, but delays on the Italian stretch – especially south of Rome – are not uncommon. Tickets include seat reservations, though for any degree of comfort it’s also worth reserving a couchette or sleeping car for the overnight part of the journey. The easiest way is to take the Eurostar service from London to Paris (from £70 return), then the overnight train from Paris to Rome (from £95 return), followed by the direct Intercity express from Rome to Sicily (calling at Messina, Taormina, Catania and Siracusa, or to Palermo, from around £70 return). There’s also an overnight Rome-to-Sicily service. You can book tickets online with Rail Europe and with Italian Railways – the Italian Railways site has an English-language version and posts fares and full Italian train timetables.

  The invaluable train travel website  seat61.com tells you exactly how to book the entire journey, down to precise details about the various sleeper-train options. It also has a “Railpasses” section which will help you decide whether or not buying a rail pass is a good idea. InterRail and Eurail are the best known of these, giving unlimited rail travel throughout Europe, as well as providing discounts on Eurostar and cross-Channel ferry crossings.

Buses

It’s difficult to make any case for travelling to Sicily by bus, especially as there’s no direct service from the UK. Eurolines has a service from London Victoria to Naples, but that takes at least 35 hours depending on connections in Paris and Milan, and then you’ll have to take a second overnight bus with Italian bus company SAIS on to Sicily (another 6 hours to Messina, 10 to Palermo). Even with book-in-advance promotional fares (up to thirty days in advance), buses cost far more than the average low-cost flight.

Car and ferry

Driving to Sicily from the UK, using the standard cross-Channel services or Eurotunnel ( eurotunnel.com) through the Channel Tunnel, takes at least two full days. From the France/Italy border, it’s possible, with a bit of luck, to reach the Straits of Messina in a long day if you keep on the autostradas. While not a cheap option (factoring in the cross-Channel trip, tolls, overnight stops and meals), it is a good way of seeing something of France and Italy on the way.

  The shortest crossing from the Italian mainland, over the Straits of Messina, is from Villa San Giovanni by ferry; or, fifteen minutes further south – at the end of the motorway – by hydrofoil or fast ferry from Reggio di Calabria.

  To cut the driving time in Italy, you could use one of the earlier ferry or hydrofoil crossings from the Italian mainland to Sicily, from Genoa (to Palermo, 20hr), Salerno (to Palermo, 12hr, or Messina, 8hr), Civitavecchia (near Rome, to Palermo, 12hr and Termini Imerese, 13hr) or Naples (to Palermo 11hr, or Aeolian Islands from 10 hours by ferry (year-round), 4–6hr by hydrofoil in summer). Non-drivers could even combine a cheap flight (say Ryanair to Genoa) with one of these ferry crossings. You can also approach Sicily by travelling via Corsica or Sardinia, though obviously this is a somewhat complicated route involving two lengthy crossings – it’s not recommended for a short trip to Sicily. The Genoa, Salerno and Naples crossing schedules are seasonal, and with several different operators, but there are daily sailings in summer and at least two or three per week throughout the year. The best places to check schedules and fares, and book tickets, are the exhaustive websites  directferries.co.uk and  viamare.com, which contain details about every Italian ferry service.

Airlines, agents and operators

AIRLINES

Air Canada  aircanada.com

Alitalia  alitalia.com

British Airways  ba.com

Delta  delta.com

easyJet  easyjet.com

Ryanair  ryanair.com

Thomsonfly  thomsonfly.com

DISCOUNT FLIGHT AGENTS

North South Travel UK  01245 608 291,  northsouthtravel.co.uk. Friendly, competitive travel agency, offering discounted fares worldwide. Profits are used to support projects in the developing world, especially the promotion of sustainable tourism.

STA Travel UK  0871 2300 040, US  1800 781 4040, Australia  134 782, New Zealand  0800 474 400, South Africa  0861 781 781,  statravel.com. Worldwide specialists in independent travel; also student IDs, travel insurance, car rental, rail passes, and more. Good discounts for students and under-26s.

Trailfinders UK  0845 058 5858, Republic of Ireland  01 677 7888, Australia  1300 780 212,  trailfinders.com. One of the best-informed and most efficient agents for independent travellers.

TOUR OPERATORS

ART AND CULTURE

Martin Randall Travel UK  0208 742 3355,  martinrandall.com. Small-group cultural tours, led by experts on art, history, archeology and music, to the classic sites of Sicily. Tours depart two or three times a year, costing from £3780 for twelve days, including flights, meals and transport.

Tabona and Walford UK  0208 767 6789,  tabonaandwalford.com. Tailor-made as well as itinerary-based cultural walking holidays in Erice and the Egadi Islands or the Madonie and Lipari, with bike and market excursions, vineyard visits, cooking courses, language lessons and other activities. From around £900.

FOOD AND DRINK

Arblaster & Clarke UK  01730 263 111,  arblasterandclarke.com. Deluxe seven-night wine cruises around Sicily and its offshore islands for £5250 including flights, meals and tastings, plus an expert guide.

The International Kitchen US  1800 945 8606,  theinternationalkitchen.com. Six-night all-inclusive Sicilian culinary tours and cooking school holidays, from US$2750, with winery and market visits included. Bases include Palermo, Agrigento, Modica and Palermo.

Italian Connection Canada  1800 462 7911,  italian-connection.com. The “Experience Sicily” walking and culinary tour (seven days, from US$4990) ranges across the island from east to west. More specialized tours and one-day walking and cooking excursions (from US$260) are all accompanied by local experts.

GENERAL

Citalia UK  0800 232 1802,  citalia.com. Italian holiday specialist, offering short breaks, resort holidays, tailor-made island tours, villas and car rental.

CIT Holidays Australia  1300 361 500,  cit.com.au. Italian travel specialists, offering Sicily tours, hotel reservations, car rental and rail passes.

Italiatours US  1800 283 7262,  italiatours.com. Low-cost Italy specialist with a range of escorted bus-tour programmes, from three days to a week exploring the island highlights (from US$1161). Also hotel bookings, flights and transfers.

SAILING

Nautilus Yachting UK  01732 867 445,  nautilus-yachting.co.uk. Yacht holidays, operating out of Sant’Agata di Militello and Portorosa (for the Aeolians) and Marsala (the Egadis). Prices start from £1150 for the boat for a week, though if you have no experience you can add the services of a skipper for €1000 per week.

WALKING

Adventure Center US  1800 228 8747,  adventurecenter.com. The worldwide adventure and hiking specialist has an eight-day “Sicilian Volcano Hike” walking tour that ranges from Etna to the Aeolian Islands, from US$1490; a Mount Etna walking weekend for US$960; and a nine-day cycling tour of the west starting from Scopello for US$2249.

Alternative Travel Group UK  01865 315 678,  atg-oxford.co.uk. Eight-day walking holidays (April–June & Sept/Oct) in the Monti Madonie, from Enna to Cefalù. Accommodation is mostly two- and three-star standard, and prices start at £2175 for a fully inclusive escorted programme.

Ramblers Worldwide Holidays UK  01707 331 133,  ramblersholidays.co.uk. Eight-day walking holidays (including flights, accommodation and food) based in Francavilla (near Taormina) for seeing eastern Sicily (from around £665), or a twelve-day touring holiday of the island taking in Siracusa, Selinunte, Agrigento and Palermo (from around £1235). Weekly departures Feb, March–May, Sept, Oct & Dec.

RAIL CONTACTS

Eurostar UK  08432 186 186, outside the UK  +44 (0)1233 617 575,  eurostar.com

Rail Europe UK  0844 848 4078, US  1800 622 8600, Canada  1800 361 7245,  raileurope.co.uk

Italian Railways  892021,  trenitalia.com

BUS CONTACTS

Eurolines UK  0871 781 8178, Textphone for UK customers who are deaf  0121 455 0086,  eurolines.com.

SAIS  091 617 1141,  saistrasporti.it

< Back to Basics

GETTING AROUND

You don’t have to rent a car to see Sicily’s major towns and sights, but getting around by public transport is not always as easy as it should be. The rail system is slow, few buses run on Sundays and route information can be frustratingly difficult to extract, even from the bus and train stations themselves. On the positive side, public transport prices are reasonable.

The “Arrival and departure” sections in this book give the full picture on transport schedules and frequencies. Note that unless specified, these refer to regular working-day schedules, ie Monday to Saturday; services are much reduced, or even nonexistent, on Sundays. Note also that comments such as “every 30min” are approximations – on the railways in particular, there are occasional gaps in the schedule, typically occurring just after the morning rush hour, when the gap between trains may be twice as long as normal.

  One thing to bear in mind is that travelling by train is not the best way to see all of the island. Some stations are located a fair distance from their towns – Enna and Taormina are two notable examples (though there are bus connections) – while much of the west and centre of Sicily is only accessible by bus or car.

SICILY’S SIX BEST DRIVES

SS120, Nicosia to Polizzi Generosa Bare landscape punctuated by isolated hilltop villages, with Etna dominating the eastern horizon.

SS185, Tyrrhenian coast to Taormina Across the Peloritani mountains to Etna and the sea.

Avola to Cava Grande Winding up the mountainside to where eagles dare.

SP624 and SP5, Palermo to Piana degli Albanesi Past jagged fangs and towers of rock, with glimpses of lakes and lingering views over fertile valleys.

Trapani to Erice For the startling interplay of coast and mountain.

SS118, Agrigento to Corleone Remote western valleys and crags, rock tombs and Mafia towns.

By train

Italian State Railways, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), operates the trains in Sicily though a private railway, the Ferrovia Circumetnea, operates a route around the base of Mount Etna. The FS website  trenitalia.com has a useful English-language version, where you can view timetables and book tickets. Trains connect all the major Sicilian towns, but are more prevalent in the east of the island than the west. On the whole they do leave on time, with the notable exception of those on the Messina–Palermo and Messina–Catania/Siracusa routes that have come from the mainland. These latter can be delayed by up to three hours, though around an hour late is more normal.

  Of the various types of train, the most expensive are the Intercity (IC) trains that link the main cities. Diretto and Interregionale trains are long-distance expresses, calling only at larger stations, while the Regionale services (also called Locale), which stop at every place with a population higher than zero, are usually ones to avoid. A seat reservation (prenotazione) is obligatory on Intercity services and advisable on other trains where possible, especially in summer when trains can get crowded. You can buy tickets and make reservations at any major train station, or buy online on the FS website (both regional and Intercity services) and print your own tickets. Fares are very reasonable – a typical journey, say Palermo to Catania, costs around €16. Children aged 4–12 pay half price, while the under-4s travel free provided they do not occupy a seat. If you jump on the train without a ticket you’ll pay the full fare plus a fine to the conductor.

  Information boards and timetables are displayed at stations. “Departures” are Partenze, “Arrivals” Arrivi, “Delayed” In Ritardo, while some services are seasonal (periodico) or only operate between certain dates (Si effetua dal… al…). Feriale is the word for the Monday-to-Saturday service, symbolized by two crossed hammers; festivo means that a train runs only on Sundays and holidays, with a cross as its symbol.

  Unless you’re visiting Sicily as part of a wider Italian or European tour, the major pan-European rail passes (InterRail and Eurail) are not worth considering. Both schemes do also have single-country Italy rail passes, but given the relative cheapness of local train tickets, and the restricted service in some parts of Sicily, buying one of these probably won’t save you any money either.

By bus

Almost anywhere you want to go will have some kind of regional bus (autobus or pullman) service, usually quicker than the train (especially between the major towns and cities), but generally more expensive.

  Between them, four main companies – SAIS Trasporti ( saistrasporti.it), SAIS Autolinee ( saisautolinee.it), AST ( aziendasicilianatrasporti.it) and Interbus ( interbus.it) – cover most of the island. Other companies stick to local routes. Many routes are linked to school/market requirements, which can mean a frighteningly early start, last departures in the early afternoon, and occasionally no services during school holidays, while nearly everywhere services are drastically reduced, or nonexistent, on Sundays.

  The local bus station (autostazione) is often in a central piazza, or outside the train station, though in some towns different bus companies have different bus terminals. Timetables are available on the companies’ websites, and also from company offices and bus stations. You usually buy tickets on the bus, and increasingly online, something worth doing for a longer route, such as Messina to Rome, for which tickets often sell out. On most routes, it’s possible to flag a bus down if you want a ride. If you want to get off, ask “posso scendere ?”; “the next stop” is “la prossima fermata”.

  City buses usually charge a flat fare of €1–€1.80, and the tickets are often valid for ninety minutes, allowing you to change services for free within that time. Invariably, you need a ticket before you get on. Buy them in tabacchi, or from the kiosks and vendors at bus stops, and then validate them in the machine in the bus. Checks are frequently made by inspectors who block both exits as they get on, though if you don’t have a ticket you’ll usually get off with an earful of Sicilian and be made to buy one; some inspectors might hold out for the spot fine. Several cities, including Agrigento and Palermo, now allow passengers to buy tickets on board at a slightly higher price.

STAMP IT

All stations have yellow validating machines in which passengers must stamp their ticket before embarking on their journey. Look out for them as you come onto the platform: if you fail to validate your ticket you’ll be given a hefty on-the-spot fine. Note that if your ticket is booked for a specific train, validation is not necessary – but if in doubt, ask.

By car, scooter and quad

Driving in Sicily is almost a competitive sport, and although the Sicilians aren’t the world’s worst drivers they don’t win any safety prizes either. However, with a car you’ll be able to see a lot of the island quickly, and reach the more isolated coastal and inland areas.

  Most main roads are prefixed SS (Strada Statale) or SP (Strada Provinciale), and signposting is pretty good. On the whole they are two-lane roads with passing places on hills, though some stretches near towns and cities are dual carriageway. Road maintenance, however, is very patchy and even major routes can be badly potholed. In the interior, on long routes like the SS120, SS121 or SS189, you should expect road washouts, resurfacing work and other interruptions on any journey.

  Some roads provide spectacular cross-country driving routes, as do the impressive Sicilian motorways (autostrada), which are carried on great piers spanning the island. These link Messina–Catania–Siracusa (A18), Catania–Palermo (A19), Palermo–Trapani/Mazara del Vallo (A29) and Messina–Palermo (A20), while work continues on extending the autostradas network towards Agrigento and Gela (it has so far reached Rosolini). The Messina–Catania–Siracusa and Messina–Palermo autostradas are toll-roads (pedaggio, toll; autostrada a pedaggio, toll-motorway). Take a ticket as you come on, and pay on exit; the amount due is flashed up on a screen.

  Rules of the road are straightforward: drive on the right; at junctions, where there’s any ambiguity, give precedence to vehicles coming from the right; observe the speed limits (50km/h in built-up areas, 110km/h on country roads, 130km/h on autostradas); and don’t drink and drive. Speed cameras and traffic-calming humps are becoming more evident, but this doesn’t seem to deter Sicilians from travelling at any speed they choose.

  Italian fuel prices are roughly in line with those in the UK, with unleaded petrol (senza piombo) slightly cheaper than leaded (super). Blue lines in towns signify authorized parking zones, where you’ll pay around €1 an hour, either in a meter or to an attendant hovering nearby. You can also often buy a biglietto parcheggio, a scratch card, from tabacchi or local bars, where you scratch off the date and time and leave it in the windscreen. However, if you’ve parked in a street that turns into a market by day, you’ll be stuck until close of business, while if you park in a zona di rimozione (tow-away zone), your car will most likely not be there when you get back. Most cities also have official car parks and garages, charging between €10 and €15 a day. Never leave anything visible in the car when you leave it (hide away or remove MP3 players and satnavs), and always depress your aerial and tuck in the wing mirrors.

  To drive in Sicily, you need a valid driving licence and, if you are a non-EU licence holder, an international driving permit. It’s compulsory to carry your car documents and passport while you’re driving, and you’ll be required to present them if you’re stopped by the police – not an uncommon occurrence. You are also required to carry a triangular danger sign, which will be provided with rental cars. Many car insurance policies cover taking your own car to Italy; check with your insurer when planning your trip (you’ll need an international green card of insurance). You’d also be advised to take out extra cover for motoring assistance in case you break down, and motoring organizations like the RAC ( rac.co.uk) or the AA ( theaa.co.uk) can help. Alternatively, by dialling  116 you can get 24-hour assistance from the Automobile Club d’Italia ( aci.it).

THE SICILIAN DRIVING EXPERIENCE

If all you had to do was drive on Sicilian motorways – light traffic, fast travel, dramatic scenery – things would be fine. Unfortunately, you have to come off them sooner or later and drive into a town, and then all bets are off. The good news is that the swirling town traffic isn’t as horrific as it first looks – the secret is to make it very clear what you’re going to do, using your horn as much as your indicators and brakes. There are established rules of the road in force, though Sicilians, needless to say, ignore most, if not all, of them as a matter of principle. A character in Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano novels drives “like a dog on drugs”, which is a pretty fair assessment of local driving skills, and if you go your entire holiday without being cut up on the inside, jumped at a junction or overtaken on a blind bend, you’ll have done well.

  You’ll switch your satnav off the first time you encounter a Sicilian one-way system – installed by traffic engineers with a sense of humour – which lead you into old-town areas where the streets grow ever narrower until the point that you can’t back out or turn round. It usually works out fine if you rigidly follow the one-way signs, though matters aren’t helped by it being accepted local parking practice simply to drive your car up on the pavement, or stop where it’s most convenient for the driver – this can include the middle of the street, or pausing for a chat with a mate at a major road junction. Out in the countryside it’s generally less of a hassle, though you do have to allow for shepherds and their sheep (and there aren’t many places in Europe you can still say that about) idling around the next bend.

  Pedestrians, meanwhile, deal with the general mayhem by taking a deep breath, staring straight at the drivers and strolling boldly across the road. If in doubt, follow someone old and infirm, or put out your hand policeman-like, but never assume that you’re safe on a pedestrian crossing – they’re regarded by most drivers as an invitation to play human skittles.

Car rental

Car rental in Sicily starts at around €200 per week for a three-door, a/c Fiat Punto, with unlimited mileage. It’s usually cheaper arranged in advance through an online broker (though watch out for hidden extras), with your travel agent or tour operator, or through a large international chain such as Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Holiday Autos and Thrifty – check their websites for online-only deals and special offers. Otherwise, rental agencies – including local companies like Maggiore ( maggiore.it) – are found in the major cities and at Palermo, Catania, Trapani and Comiso airports.

  It’s essential to check that you have adequate insurance cover for a rental car. Going by the dents and scratches on almost every car on the road, you want to make sure that your liability is limited as far as possible. Ensure that all visible damage on a car is duly marked on the rental sheet. It’s worth paying the extra charge to reduce the “excess” payment levied for any damage, and most rental companies these days offer a zero-excess option for an extra charge. You can also avoid excess charges by taking out an annual insurance policy (from £38.99) with  insurance4carhire.com, which also covers windscreen and tyre damage.

Scooters, quads and mokes

Virtually everyone in Sicily – kids to grandmas – rides a moped or scooter, although the smaller models are not suitable for any kind of long-distance travel. They’re ideal for shooting around towns, and you can rent them in Taormina, Cefalù and other holiday centres – check the Guide for details. Crash helmets are compulsory, though you’ll see many Sicilian youths just riding with one slung over one arm. Lampedusa and other minor islands also have quad-bikes and mini-mokes available for rent, which are great for bashing around local roads to beaches and beauty spots – just be aware that there’s a high accident rate with machines like these.

Taxis

There are plenty of honest, reliable taxi drivers in Sicily, but as ever there are a few sharks; to be on the safe side, always establish a price before you set off. Although meters are supposed to be used by law, both passengers and drivers usually prefer to settle on a fee before setting out. Fares for long-distance journeys are published by each city – for example, the official rate from Siracusa to Catania airport is €70, though you may be able to negotiate. A day-tour by taxi, say taking in Siracusa, Piazza Armerina and the temples of Agrigentos will cost around €250.

By ferry and hydrofoil

There are ferries (traghetti) and hydrofoils (aliscafi) to the Aeolians, the Egadi and Pelagie islands, and Pantelleria and Ustica, and there’s also a summer hydrofoil service from Palermo to the Aeolians. The main operators are Siremar ( siremar.it), SNAV ( snav.it), NGI ( ngi-spa.it) and Ustica Lines ( usticalines.it), and you’ll find full details of services, schedules and fares in the relevant sections of the Guide. Timetables also available online, pinned up at the dockside or available from the ferry offices and tourist offices.

  You can island-hop year-round in the Aeolians and Egadis. Services are busy in summer, making early booking advisable, though you should always be able to get on a ferry if you just turn up. Both passenger and car-ferry services operate, though non-resident vehicles are banned on several islands during the summer. In fact, it’s debatable how much you’ll need a car on any of the islands – only Lipari, Pantelleria and Lampedusa are of any size, and in any case you can rent a vehicle there if you need to.

By plane

If you’re short on time, consider flying to Lampedusa or Pantelleria from Trapani, Palermo or Catania – otherwise, the alternative is an overnight ferry ride. Flights are with Darwin Airline ( darwinairline.com), and prices start at around €60 one-way – check the website for timetables and the latest offers.

< Back to Basics

ACCOMMODATION

On the whole, accommodation in Sicily is slightly cheaper than in the rest of Italy, starting at around €60 a night for a basic double or twin room (though prices can double in summer in the most popular resorts). The only accommodation cheaper than this comes in the form of the very few youth hostels and the many campsites across the island. Hotels run across the entire range, from crumbling townhouses to five-star palaces, and restored country villas to resort hotels. There’s also a large number of “bed and breakfast” places and “agriturismo” rural properties, where the attraction is mixing with your hosts and experiencing something of Sicilian life.

All hotel accommodation is officially graded and the tariffs fixed by law. In tourist areas, there’s often a low-season and high-season price, but whatever it costs, the rate should be posted on the door of the room. In summer (usually in August) some places – especially in major resorts or on outlying islands – insist on half-board accommodation (mezza pensione, full-board pensione completa), when the price will also include lunch or dinner, and there may even be a three-night or longer minimum stay. Few single rooms are available anywhere and, in high season especially, lone travellers will often pay most of the price of a double. B&Bs are also regulated by law, but such is their proliferation that many – while offering a perfectly fine experience – operate outside the tax regime and may not be interested in seeing your passport or providing you with a receipt. Breakfast is usually included in the price in hotels (save perhaps in the very cheapest places), but not when you stay in afittacamere (“rooms”) places or apartments – while, sometimes, in “bed and breakfast” places, you’ll be given a voucher instead for breakfast at a nearby bar.

ACCOMMODATION PRICES

The prices quoted in this book are for the establishment’s cheapest double room in high season – there may well be other rooms that cost more. For much of the year, however, you can expect to pay a lot less, especially as internet booking becomes the norm (hence with prices based on availability rather than season).

  Prices are for the room only, except where otherwise indicated; fancier places often include breakfast in the price – we indicate this in the listing, but check when booking.

Hotels

Sicilian hotels are known by various titles (pensione, albergo – plural alberghi – or even simply “hotel”) and are graded with one to five stars. Some cheaper hotels, especially in town centres, are located in old mansion buildings or palaces, which can be characterful places to stay. However, not all have been modernized, so plumbing, heating and decor might occasionally be on the primitive side, and they probably won’t take credit cards either.

  Official star ratings still exist, although with the rise in B&B accommodation, boutique hotels and affitcamere, they have become almost irrelevant, and are not by any means always displayed. Facilities in a one-star hotel tend to be minimal (there are exceptions), but once you’re up to three-star level (€90–120) you can expect an en-suite room with satellite TV, air conditioning and, increasingly, internet and wi-fi. Four-star hotels, plus hotels in resorts and on islands, can charge pretty much what they like, especially in August when room prices can top €300, while the dozen or so five-star hotels on the island (notably in Palermo, Taormina, Siracusa and the Aeolian Islands) charge international rates. There are some bargains around out of the summer season, when even the classier hotels drop their room rates by as much as forty percent, and in cheaper places you might be able to negotiate a lower rate for a longer stay (ask “C’è uno sconto per due/tre/quattro notti?”).

  In the cheaper places especially, you can always ask to see the room before you take it (“Posso vedere?”) – and check if it’s en suite (“La camera ha un bagno privato?”) or air conditioned (“C’è aria condizionata?”). It’s worth noting that smaller, inexpensive places don’t have much in the way of heating in the winter – you can freeze in some of the older palazzi.

TOURIST TAX

The Sicilian authorities have introduced a new experimental tourist tax (of €1–1.50 per night) in recent years, levied in several cities, towns and even whole islands. It’s not yet in place everywhere, but in cities such as Catania, it’s charged to anyone spending a night in a hotel or B&B; and in the Aeolian Islands to anyone travelling in via hydrofoil or ferry, or even on a tour boat. We’ve noted all the places that levy the tax in the Guide, but it remains to be seen whether the effort and cost of collecting and administrating the tax will be deemed to make it worthwhile – however, don’t be surprised if other major tourist destinations decide to introduce it as well. 

Private rooms and B&Bs

Private rooms (camere, affitacamere) for rent are common in beach resorts and on the Aeolian and Egadi Islands. Facilities vary, but the best are clean and modern, with private bathroom and often with a kitchenette. Prices start at about €50, with variations depending on the season and location – in August in Taormina and on the Aeolians you might pay as much as €100 a night for a room. Breakfast isn’t usually included, but is sometimes available for an extra charge.

  Recent years have seen a huge growth in the number of “bed and breakfasts” (as they term themselves). Pretty much every Sicilian town now has some B&B choices, all liberally signposted as you tour around, and in many places they’ve taken over from the old-fashioned family-run pensions. Many are actually little different from private rooms, with the owners either not living on the premises or not always available throughout the day – often, you have to call a mobile phone number to summon attendance. Prices start at around €30 per person per night, usually for an en-suite room in a nicely maintained building where you’ll get a flavour of Sicilian home life. Some B&Bs are truly magnificent, based in remarkable Baroque palazzi or elegant country houses, and you can pay as much as €90 per person. The southeast particularly has lots of B&Bs, and tourist-friendly towns like Siracusa, Ragusa, Modica and Noto are awash with stylishly converted old homes. Check the very useful websites of Bed and Breakfast Italia ( bbitalia.it and  venere.it).

ACCOMMODATION ALTERNATIVES

CouchSurfing  couchsurfing.org

Vacation Rentals by Owner  vrbo.com

Airbnb  airbnb.com

Crashpadder  crashpadder.com

Self-catering villas and apartments

Private holiday apartments and villas are available in places like Taormina, Cefalù, Siracusa and the Aeolians, and are generally rented for anything from a couple of nights to a month. Although these can be very expensive in the peak summer season – when Italian families come on holiday – real bargains can be found in May or late September, and during the winter. Good websites are  homelidays.it,  casa.it,  homeaway.it and  casavacanze.it.

  Tour operators and villa companies also have self-catering villas, farmhouses and apartments located right across the island, usually in beautiful locations, often with swimming pools. Rates vary wildly, from €600 a week (sleeping four) to thousands for a place suitable for a house party. For an idea of what’s available, contact companies like Think Sicily ( thinksicily.com), Bridgewater ( bridgewater-travel.co.uk), Travel Sicilia ( travelsicilia.com), Italian Breaks ( italianbreaks.com), Solo Sicily ( solosicily.com) or Dolce Vita Villas ( dolcevitavillas.com).

Rural accommodation

Rural tourism has expanded significantly in Sicily in recent years, and every region now holds a choice of interesting places to stay, from working farms and wine estates to restored palaces and architect-designed homes. Accommodation is in private rooms or apartments, and many establishments also offer activities such as cooking courses, horseriding, mountain-biking, walks and excursions. Hosts often speak English or French, and sometimes offer meals (or there might be a restaurant attached serving home-produced food, as is the case in many farmhouse-style places). We’ve recommended some of our favourites in the Guide, but many others fall within various umbrella schemes like Agriturist ( agriturist.it) and Agriturismo ( agriturismo.com), whose websites have sections on Sicily, with links to the properties. Rooms usually cost €80–120, depending on the establishment, and note that some places require a minimum stay of three nights.

Hostels, campsites and mountain huts

Hostels are rare in Sicily – there are only seven or eight on the whole island, though they’re in useful tourist destinations like Palermo, Catania, Taormina, Noto, Siracusa, Lipari and Piazza Armerina. Dorm beds cost €16–20 a night, depending on season, and all have some kind of self-catering facility available. Some are official IYHF hostels, others are independent backpackers’ (ie no membership required), but the official ones at least are detailed on the Hostelling International website ( hihostels.com), and if you aren’t already a member of your home hostelling organization you can join upon arrival at any hostel.

  There are approximately ninety officially graded campsites dotted around the island’s coasts, on the outlying islands, and around Mount Etna. Few are open year-round; indeed, campsites generally open or close whenever they want, depending on business, but there are more details on the comprehensive website  camping.it. Many of the sites are large, family-oriented affairs, often complete with pools, bars, shops and sports facilities. Charges are usually between €5 and €7 per person per day, plus the same again for a tent and vehicle. Many campsites also have bungalows, caravans or apartments for rent (often with self-catering facilities) – demand and prices are high in summer (when a week’s minimum stay might be required), but out of season you can expect to pay €35–50 a night.

  Staffed mountain huts (rifugio, plural rifugi) are available in certain magnificent locations, particularly in the Madonie and Nébrodi ranges and on Mount Etna. They’re used mainly by hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, and operated by the Club Alpino Italiano ( cai.it) – non-members can use them for around €20 a night, but advance reservations are essential.

UNUSUAL PLACES TO STAY

L’Atelier sul Mare, Castel di Tusa. Extraordinary “art hotel” on the northern coast.

Dammuso houses, Pantelleria. Native domed cube-houses, available for rent.

Eremo della Giubiliana, Ragusa. Medieval feudal estate and hermitage, now five-star country retreat with its own airstrip.

Grand Hotel Villa Igiea, Acquasanta, near Palermo. Luxury Art Nouveau seaside villa.

Azienda Agricola Silvia Sillitti, Caltanissetta. Stay on a working, organic olive, almond and wheat farm.

Ostello del Borgo, Piazza Armerina. Ancient Benedictine convent, now backpackers’ hostel and budget hotel.

Palazzo II Cavaliere, Modica. Stylishly restored Baroque B&B.

La Salina Borgo di Mare, Salina. Aeolian Island chic in an old saltworks.

Stenopus Greco, Porticello. Boutique rooms in a working fishing port near Palermo.

Suite d’Autore, Piazza Armerina. Every artwork and piece of furniture is for sale in this outrageously quirky designer hotel.

Tonnara di Bonagia, Bonagia, near Trapani. Fun, family lodgings in a converted tuna-fishing village.

< Back to Basics

FOOD AND DRINK

There’s much to be said for coming to Sicily just for the eating and drinking. Often, even the most out-of-the-way village will boast somewhere you can get a good lunch, while places like Catania, Palermo, Ragusa, Trapani and Siracusa can keep a serious eater happy for days. And it’s not ruinously expensive either, certainly compared to prices in the rest of mainland Italy: a full meal with local wine generally costs around €30 a head, a pizza, drink and ice cream around half that.

Contemporary Sicilian cooking leans heavily on locally produced foodstuffs and whatever can be fished out of the sea, mixed with the Italian staples of pasta, tomato sauce and fresh vegetables. Red chillies, tuna, swordfish, sardines, olives, pine nuts and capers all figure heavily, while the mild winter climate and long summers mean that fruit and vegetables are less seasonal (and much more impressive) than in northern Europe: strawberries appear in April, for example, while oranges are available right through the winter. The menu reader in the “Language” section covers all the basics, as well as including a full rundown of Sicilian specialities, some of which crop up in nearly every restaurant.

THE ORIGINAL FUSION FOOD

Historically, Sicilian cuisine has been held in high regard: one of the earliest of cookbooks, the Art of Cooking by Mithaecus, derived from fifth-century BC Siracusa, while in medieval times Sicilian chefs were much sought after in foreign courts. As the centuries passed, the intermittent waves of immigration left their mark, from the use of prickly pears (originally imported from Mexico by the Spanish) to the North African influence evident in the western Sicilian version of couscous or in orange salads. The Arab influence is also apparent in the profusion of sweets – marzipan is used extensively, while cassata, the most Sicilian of desserts, derives from the Arabic word quas-at, referring to the round bowl in which it was traditionally prepared. Indeed, virtually every dish – though apparently common-or-garden Italian/Sicilian – calls upon 2500 years of cross-cultural influences, from the Greeks and Romans to the Arabs, Normans and Spanish.

Breakfast, snacks and markets

For most Sicilians, breakfast (prima colazione) is an espresso or cappuccino, and the ubiquitous cornetto – a jam-, custard- or chocolate-filled croissant. Many bars and patisseries (a pasticceria) also offer things like an iris (a pastry ball stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese), a romano (deep-fried sugared turnover filled with sweet ricotta), and cannoli (pastry tubes with sweet ricotta cheese and candied fruit). The traditional summer breakfast is a granite (preferably almond or coffee) with a brioche. Look out also for almond milk in summer, and freshly squeezed red oranges in winter.

  There are sandwich (panini) bars in the bigger towns, though alternatively, in most places, you can simply go into an alimentari (grocer’s shop) and ask them to make you a sandwich from whatever they’ve got. Bakeries sometimes sell panini or pane cunzati, crusty bread rolls filled with pungent combinations such as tuna, tomato, anchovy and capers. Tramezzini are ready-made sliced white-bread sandwiches with mixed fillings, while toasted sandwiches (toste) tend to be a variation on cheese with ham or tomato. Look out also for impanata or scacce, bread turnovers filled with combinations of potato, onion, fennel-seed and chilli sausage, broccoli and wild greens.

  You’ll get most of the things already mentioned, plus small pizzas, ready prepared pasta and deep-fried, breadcrumbed balls of rice known as arancini (usually either ragù, with Bolognese sauce, peas and cheese, or al burro, with cheese and ham) and full hot meals in a tavola calda (literally, “hot table”), a sort of stand-up snack bar. In the larger cities, you’ll occasionally come across an old-fashioned focacceria – takeaway establishments selling focaccia (an oven-baked flatbread, with a topping or filling) and other bread-based snacks. Or there’s the ubiquitous rosticceria in every Sicilian town, a takeaway grill-house where the speciality is spit-roast chicken (pollo allo spiedo).

  Grocers’ shops (alimentari) and markets are the best places for fruit, veg and picnic food, and you’ll usually be able to jazz up your picnic lunch with sweet peppers, olives, seafood salad and pickled vegetables. Some markets also sell traditional takeaway food, loved by Sicilians, though perhaps a challenge for some visitors – usually things like boiled artichokes, cooked octopus, raw sea urchins and mussels, and fried offal sandwiches.

ICE CREAM

A cone (un cono) of famous Sicilian ice cream (gelato) – or perhaps a dollop in a brioche – is the indispensable accessory to the evening passeggiata. The best choice is at a gelateria, where the range is a tribute to the Italian imagination and flair for display. If they make their own on the premises, there’ll be a sign saying “produzione propria”; sadly, however, this increasingly means they make the stuff from pre-packed commercial pastes and syrups. Anyhow, there’s no trouble in locating the finest gelateria in town: it’s the one that draws the crowds. And as it’s hard to find decent ice cream in restaurants these days (it’s mostly confezionato, ie mass-produced), many locals also head to the gelateria for dessert.

Pizza

Outside its home of Naples, Sicily is the best place to eat pizza in Italy. It comes flat, not deep-pan, and there are some fairly distinctively Sicilian combinations – using pecorino cheese instead of mozzarella, oregano instead of basil, and lots of anchovies, capers and hot peppers. It’s also easy to find pizzas cooked in the traditional way, in wood-fired ovens (forno a legna), so that they arrive blasted and bubbling on the surface, with a distinctive charcoal taste. Unfortunately, because of the time it takes to set up and light the ovens, forno a legna pizzas are usually only served at night, except on Sundays and in some resorts in summer.

Restaurant meals

For a full meal, rather than just a pizza, you’ll have to go either to a trattoria or a ristorante. A trattoria is usually the cheaper, more basic choice, offering good home cooking (cucina casalinga), while a ristorante is often more upmarket (tablecloths, printed menu and uniformed waiters). In small towns and villages, the local trattoria is often only open at lunchtime, there may not be a menu and the waiter will simply reel off a list of what’s available. In tourist resorts and larger towns you’ll come across hybrid establishments (a trattoria-ristorante, say, or ristorante-pizzeria) that cater to all tastes, while there are also more youthful pasta-oriented restaurant-bars called spaghetterias. Signs or blackboards announcing “pranzo turistico” or “pranzo completo” are advertising a limited-choice set menu which can be pretty good value at €15–30.

  Traditionally, lunch (pranzo) or dinner (cena) starts with an antipasto (literally “before the meal”), at its best when you circle around a table and help yourself to a cold buffet selection. If you’re moving on to pasta and the main course you’ll need quite an appetite to tackle the antipasti as well. Otherwise, the menu starts with soup or pasta, il primo, and moves on to il secondo, the meat or fish dish. Note that fish will either be served whole (like bream or trout) or by weight (usually per 100g, all’etto, like swordfish and tuna), so ask to see what you’re going to eat and check the price first. The second course is generally served unadorned, except for a wedge of lemon or tomato – contorni (vegetables and salads) are ordered and served separately, and often there won’t be much choice beyond chips and salad. If there’s no menu, the verbal list of what’s available can sometimes be a bit bewildering, but if you don’t hear anything you recognize just ask for what you want: everywhere should have pasta with tomato or meat sauce. Dessert (dolci) is almost always fresh fruit, fruit salad or ice cream, though restaurants may also have a choice of cakes, tarts and puddings – unfortunately, though, many of these are mass-produced (by such brands as Ranieri), and a restaurant tiramisù or cassata, say, can be a poor substitute for the real thing.

  Although Sicily has hardly any specifically vegetarian restaurants, most pasta sauces are based on tomatoes or dairy products, and it’s easy to pick a pizza that is meat- (and fish-) free. Pizzas are also available without cheese, though soups are usually made with a fish or meat broth.

  In many places, the bill (il conto) doesn’t amount to much more than an illegible scrap of paper so, if you want to be sure you’re not being ripped off, ask for a receipt (una ricevuta). Nearly everywhere, you’ll pay a small cover charge per person for the bread (pane e coperto); service (servizio) will be added as well in many restaurants – it’s usually ten percent, though fifteen or even twenty percent isn’t unheard of. If service isn’t charged, leaving ten percent would do, though most pizzerias and trattorias won’t expect it.

SICILIAN TIME

Sicily is a part of Europe where time is still a fluid concept, so giving accurate opening hours for bars, cafés and restaurants is difficult. In general, daytime bars and cafés open around 7.30am for breakfast and close at 8.30–9.30pm, depending on how busy they are. Restaurants will usually be able to feed you if you turn up at noon, but expect to be eating alone – traditional lunchtime is 1–3pm here. In the evening, most restaurants open around 8pm, and are at their busiest at around 9–9.30pm. In winter most restaurants continue serving until at least 10pm, but in summer – especially in holiday places – they will carry on for as long a there are people turning up to eat.

Coffee, tea and soft drinks

One of the most distinctive smells in a Sicilian street is that of fresh coffee. The basic choice is either an espresso (or just caffè) or a cappuccino. The latter is primarily a breakfast drink – no Italian would order a cappuccino after a meal. A watered-down espresso is a caffè lungo, with a drop of milk it’s caffè macchiato (“stained”), while coffee with a shot of alcohol is caffè corretto. In summer you might want your coffee cold (caffè freddo), or try a granita di caffè – cold coffee with crushed ice that’s usually topped with whipped cream (senza panna, without cream). Tea, too, can be drunk iced (tè freddo), usually mixed with lemon. Hot tea (tè caldo) comes with lemon (con limone) unless you ask for milk (con latte).

  For a fresh fruit juice (usually orange, lemon or grapefruit), squeezed at the bar, ask for a spremuta. Fruit juice mixed with crushed ice is that Sicilian speciality, granita; a frullato is a fresh fruit shake, while a succo di frutta is a bottled fruit juice. As an alternative to Coke try the home-grown Chinotto (Coke-like, but not so sweet, with a tamarind flavour). Tap water (acqua normale) is drinkable almost everywhere, and you won’t pay for it in a bar, but mineral water (acqua minerale) is the usual choice, either still (senza gas or naturale) or fizzy (con gas, gassata or frizzante).

Beer, wine and spirits

Beer (birra) – generally lager in Sicily – usually comes in 33cl (piccolo) or 66cl (grande) bottles. The Sicilian brand Messina, and the Italian Peroni and Dreher, are widely available – ask for birra nazionale, otherwise you’ll be given a more expensive imported beer, and note that draught beer (birra alla spina) is usually more expensive than the bottled variety. So-called “dark beers” (birra nera, birra rossa or birra scura) are also available, which have a slightly maltier taste, and in appearance resemble stout or bitter.

  Local wine (vino locale) is often served straight from the barrel in jugs or old bottles, and costs as little as €2 a litre. You may be flummoxed by the vino locale not being the colour you’ve ordered, but you’ll get whatever they make – in the west, for example, it’s often a tart but refreshing rosé, in Marsala it’s amber. Bottled wine is more expensive, though can still be good value, usually from €8–10 in a restaurant (though often much higher in tourist resorts).

  The most famous Sicilian dessert wine is marsala, made in the western town of the same name. If you’re heading to the offshore islands, watch out for malvasia (from the Aeolians) and moscato (from Pantelleria), while around Taormina the local speciality is vino alla mándorla, almond wine served ice-cold. Spirits are known mostly by their generic names, except brandy which you should call cognac or ask for by name – again, for cheaper Italian brands, ask for nazionale. At some stage you should also try an amaro (literally “bitter”), a remarkably medicinal after-dinner drink supposed to aid digestion. The favourite brand is Averna (from Caltanissetta) but there are dozens of different kinds. Look out, too, for artisan or home-made rosolio, alcohol infused with herbs or spices such as bay leaves, wild fennel, rose petal or cinnamon.

SICILIAN WINE

Over the past few years Sicilian wines have built an increasingly prestigious reputation. There’s no shortage of the stuff either – the island often produces more wine in a year than any other Italian region, and as much as the whole of Australia. Typical of the wines making waves are those made from the local Nero d’Ávola grape variety (a hearty red, similar to a Syrah/Shiraz), which is well suited to the dry climate. Other Sicilian regions produce very distinct tastes, too, like the dry reds and whites made from grapes grown on the volcanic slopes of Etna; Cerasuolo di Vittoria (red and white) from vines in the area around Ragusa; and the famous Malvasia grapes of the Aeolian Islands. Boutique wineries are springing up all over Sicily – Etna and the Ragusa area are good destinations for a cantina-crawl – though the major brands, with decent mid-price wines that you’ll see everywhere, include Corvo, Nicosia, Planeta, Donnafugata and Regaleali. Settesoli is a reliable budget brand sold at most supermarkets, while many market stalls and alimentari sell local wine in unlabelled plastic bottles for around €2 a litre.

Where to drink

In most town and village bars, it’s cheapest to drink standing up at the counter (there’s often nowhere to sit anyway), in which case you pay first at the cash desk (la cassa), present your receipt (scontrino) to the bar person and give your order. There’s always a list of prices (the listino prezzi) on display, and when you present your receipt it’s customary to leave a small tip on the counter – though no one will object if you don’t. It’s more expensive to sit down inside than stand up (the difference in price is shown on the price list as tavola) and it costs up to twice the basic price if you sit at tables outside (terrazza).

  Although bars have no set licensing hours, outside the cities it’s often difficult to find a bar open much after 9pm. Children are allowed in and bars, like restaurants, are smoke-free (strictly enforced), though if you’re drinking or eating outside it’s fine to smoke. Tourist bars and cafés are open later, but they’re more expensive than the typical chrome-counter-and-Gaggia-machine local joints.

  Most Sicilians tend to drink when they eat, and young people especially don’t make a night out of getting wasted. In recent years the aperitivo scene has taken Sicily (and the rest of Italy) by storm. Bars advertising aperitivo (usually between 6.30pm or 7pm and 8.30pm or 9pm) will provide a buffet or table-served nibbles which can range from simple pizza, bruschetta, miniature arancini, and rice, pasta or couscous salad to delectable morsels of fish, cured hams and salamis, baked aubergines, courgette fritters, fresh ricotta or other local cheeses.

  When young Sicilians do go out on the town, it’s to a birreria (literally “beer shop”) or something calling itself a “pub”, which is actually a bar open at night. Needless to say, they’re not much like English pubs, though in the various “Irish” pubs that are springing up in the cities and resorts, you’ll be able to get a pint of Guinness and watch the big game.

< Back to Basics

THE MEDIA

Many Sicilians prefer to read local newspapers rather than the national ones, even though these have local supplements. Sicilian TV is popular, too, playing to the insatiable appetite for local gossip and celebrity – you might find yourself turning to foreign TV channels or papers if you want an international outlook on events. For Italian news in English, go to  lifeinitaly.com.

Newspapers and magazines

The two most widely read national newspapers are the centre-left La Repubblica and authoritative and rather right-wing II Corriere della Sera, both published with local Sicilian supplements. If you have a smattering of Italian, you’ll get far more of a flavour of Sicily by reading one of the regional papers, full of news on the latest Mafioso misdemeanours and arrests, political bickering, local gossip, transport schedules, reviews, film listings and suchlike. In Palermo, the most popular is II Giornale di Sicilia; in Catania, La Sicilia; in Messina, La Gazzetta del Sud. English-language newspapers can be found in Palermo, Catania, Messina, Siracusa, Taormina and Cefalū, usually a day late, and for three times the UK cover price, so reading newspapers online is usually a more economic option.

TV

Italian TV is appalling, with mindless quiz shows, variety programmes and chat shows squeezed in between countless advertisements. There are three state-owned channels (Rai 1, 2 and 3) along with the dozen or so channels of Berlusconi’s Mediaset empire. You’ll also come across all kinds of tiny local channels busying themselves with the minutiae of local life, and running non-stop silent footage of scenic landscapes when budgets are tight.

  Satellite television is fairly widely distributed, and three-star hotels and above usually offer a mix of BBC World, CNN and French-, German- and Spanish-language news channels, as well as MTV and Eurosport.

Radio

As for radio, the most serious RAI channel is RAI 3, while the most listened-to pop radio stations are RTL (102.5 FM) and Radio Deejay (frequency depends on where you are – check  radiodeejay.it). There are several free apps such as iRadio UK Free that allow you to listen to radio stations from home – great for when you have wi-fi on tap.

< Back to Basics

FESTIVALS

There’s nothing to beat arriving in a Sicilian town or village to discover that it’s festival time. Many annual feast days have remained unchanged for decades, if not centuries, celebrating the life of a patron saint or some notable event lost in the mists of time. But whatever the reason for the party, you are guaranteed the time-honoured ingredients for a Sicilian knees-up – old songs and dances, a costumed procession, perhaps a traditional puppet show, special food and sweets, and noisy fireworks to finish.

Food-inspired sagras are lower-key, but no less enjoyable affairs, usually celebrating the local speciality of a town or village (with lots of free nibbles, copious wine and the usual music and dancing). There are literally hundreds of these food festivals, and driving around Sicily, you will come across posters advertising sagre of wild mushrooms, ricotta, pistachios, strawberries, capers or any local produce an area is famous for.

  For online information on most Sicilain festivals, visit  siciliainfesta.com.

THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL

Sicily can boast some of the Mediterranean’s most idiosyncratic festivals. The conquest by the Normans is echoed in August’s Palio dei Normanni in Piazza Armerina, a medieval-costumed procession with jousting knights, while the similar La Castellana throngs the streets of Caccamo in September. The island’s fishermen have their own rituals, such as the festive boat parade and fish-fry of Sagra del Mare at Sciacca. During May’s Pesce a Mare festa at Aci Trezza, on the Catania coast, as the local tourist brochure puts it, “a fisherman pretends to be a fish and excitedly the local fishermen catch him”. Unmissable, for different reasons, is the pilgrimage every May in the Etna foothills, when the pious run, barefoot and shirtless, up to the sanctuary at Trecastagni.

Carnevale

Carnevale (Carnival, or Mardi Gras) is celebrated in the five days immediately before the start of Lent (in practice, some time between the end of February and the end of March). Traditionally, its significance is as the last bout of indulgence before the abstinence of Lent, which lasts for forty days and ends with Easter. Sicily’s best carnival is generally judged to be at Acireale on the Catania coast, where flower-filled floats, parades and concerts keep the townspeople occupied for days. Most towns and villages, however, manage to put on a little bit of a show, with kids walking around in costume, and street vendors selling local carnival food – inevitably a local variation of sweetened fried bread dough.

TRADITIONAL ENTERTAINMENT

Puppet theatre (teatro dei pupi) has been popular in Sicily since the fourteenth century. The shows are always the same, and all Sicilians know the stories, which centre on the clash between Christianity and Islam. As each strutting, stiff-legged knight, such as Orlando (Roland) and Rinaldo, is introduced, the puppeteer lists his exploits. There may be a love interest, perhaps a jousting tournament to win the hand of Charlemagne’s daughter, before the main business of staged battles between the Christians and the Saracen invaders. Between bouts, Orlando may fight a crocodile, or confront monsters and magicians. Things climax with some great historical battle, like Roncesvalles, culminating in betrayal and treachery as the boys face an untimely and drawn-out death. The whole story plays out regularly in theatre shows in Acireale, and also tourist centres like Siracusa and Taormina, though it’s Palermo where you can best explore the tradition.

Easter

All over the island, Easter week is celebrated with slow-moving processions and ostentatious displays of penitence and mourning. Particularly dramatic events take place at Erice, Marsala and Taormina, while at Enna in the interior, thousands march in silent procession behind holy statues and processional carts. It’s in Trapani, however, that the procession of statues is raised to an art form. Just as they have been every year since the seventeenth century, the city’s “Misteri” figures, portraying life-sized scenes from the Passion, are paraded through the streets on Good Friday. There are more curious events at Adrano, where the Diavolata is a symbolic display showing the Archangel Michael defeating the Devil; while in Modica, the Easter Sunday celebration known as Vasa Vasa sees a statue of the Madonna in mourning carried through the Baroque streets as if searching for her lost Son; when she meets the resurrected Christ she kisses him (“vasa” means kiss in Sicilian) and sheds her black veil). Meanwhile, at the Albanian village of Piana degli Albanesi, near Palermo, the villagers retain their ancient Orthodox traditions and costumes. Other, less conventional, parades take place at Prizzi in the western interior, and at San Fratello above the Tyrrhenian coast, where masked and hooded devils taunt the processions.

Ferragosto

The biggest island-wide celebration, bar none, is high summer’s ferragosto, the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The day is actually August 15, but anywhere with a celebration of any size makes a meal of it, perhaps starting with services and parties a few days earlier before culminating, like all ferragosto celebrations, with spectacular fireworks on the night of the 15th. This is a particularly good time to be in Messina, where the procession of the city’s enormous patron giants is followed by a mad scramble when the elaborate carriage on iron skis, known as the Vara, is pulled by the faithful through the streets, with water thrown down before it to ease the way. As the night wears on, flowers are thrown to the crowds before fireworks light up the Straits of Messina late at night.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

January 1 Primo dell’anno, New Year’s Day

January 6 Epifania, Epiphany

Good Friday Venerdì Santo

Easter Monday Pasquetta

April 25 Giorno della Liberazione, Liberation Day

May 1 Festa dei Lavoratori, Labour Day

May 15 Festa Autonomia Regione Sicilia

June 2 Festa della Repubblica, Republic Day

August 15 Ferragosto, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 1 Ognissanti, All Saints’ Day

December 8 Immaccolata, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

December 25 Natale, Christmas Day

December 26 Santo Stefano, St Stephen’s Day

A festival calendar

JANUARY

New Year celebrations Taormina (from Jan 1). Puppet shows, folk-singing and concerts, ending on Epiphany (January 6).

Epiphany (Jan 6). Orthodox procession at Piana degli Albanesi; traditional costumes and the distribution of oranges. Elsewhere the Epiphany witch Befana gives stockings of sweets to children who’ve been good, and coal (made of black sugar honeycomb) to those who haven’t.

FEBRUARY

Sagra del Mandorlo Fiore (first/second week). The almond-blossom festival sees elaborately costumed dancers and musicians from around the world perform in the Valle dei Templi and in Agrigento town.

Festa di Sant’Agata Catania (Feb 3–5). Boisterous street events, fireworks and food stalls, and a procession of the saint’s relics.

Carnevale (weekend before Lent). Carnival festivities in Palazzolo Acreide, Cefalù, Taormina, Giardini Naxos and Acireale with processions, floats, fireworks and music.

MARCH

San Giuseppe (March 19). On the Saturday closest to San Giuseppe, horses, astonishingly decorated with flowers, follow the Holy Family through town in a candlelit procession at Scicli. On March 19 at Malfa, Salina, participants feast on pasta and ceci (chickpeas) cooked in huge cauldrons, along with antipasti and puddings made by local people, presided over by locals dressed as Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Repeated in April at Lingua, and on May 1 in Leni.

Easter (dates vary). Celebrations islandwide.

APRIL

St George’s Day. There’s a costumed procession and statues paraded through the streets at Ragusa Ibla (Last Sun), and another procession on the 23rd at Piana degli Albanesi.

MAY

Madonna delle Milizie Scicli (last Sat). Re-enactment of a battle between the Normans and Saracens, won by the Normans after they invoked the help of the Madonna.

Sagra del Lago Lago di Pergusa. Held throughout May, with folk events, fireworks, singing competitions and games.

International Museum Day (mid-May). Sicily’s museums put on events and stay open all night to celebrate the international initiative.

Greek Drama festival Siracusa (mid-May to mid-June). Classic plays performed by international companies in the spectacular ruins of the ancient Greek theatre.

Cantine Aperte (last Sun). Wine estates all over Italy open their cellars to the public.

Festa di Sant’Alfio Trecastagni (May 9–10). Traditional high jinks including a barefoot and shirtless pilgrimage by athletic souls who run the main road linking Catania to the sanctuary at Trecastagni.

Annual World Windsurfing Festival Mondello (last week). Races, food, drink and entertainment.

JUNE

Sagra di Fragola Maletto (dates vary). This little town is famous for its strawberries, considered to be the sweetest and most intense in Sicily, and the strawberry festival here sees a weekend of processions through the streets in traditional hand-painted Sicilian carts.

International Film Festival Taormina (second/third week in June). Screenings in the Teatro Greco.

Sagra del Mare Sciacca (June 27–29). A statue of St Peter is paraded on a boat at sea; there’s a big fish-fry and maritime-themed games at the port.

JULY

Festival of St Rosalia Palermo (July 11–15). A procession of the saint’s relics, fireworks and general mayhem.

Festival of Santa Marina Santa Marina Salina, Salina (July 17). A religious procession, market, music and fireworks.

Festival of Santa Maria di Terzito Salina (July 23). Music, market and more fireworks at the sanctuary of Madonna del Terzito.

Tindari festival Tyndaris. Theatre and concerts in the ancient theatre, from the last week in July until late August.

Castroreale Jazz Castroreale (late July to early Aug). The mountain village of Castroreale attracts international musicians for a series of open-air concerts.

Estate Ennese Enna (July & Aug). A series of concerts and opera in the open-air theatre at Enna’s castle. Runs until end of Aug.

AUGUST

II Palio dei Normanni Piazza Armerina (Aug 12–14). The largest of several similar events in surrounding towns, Piazza’s medieval pageant commemorates Count Roger’s taking of the town in the eleventh century with a processional entry into town on the 12th and a ceremonial joust on the 14th, along with costumed parades and other festivities.

Palio Ortigia island, Siracusa (first Sun in Aug). A boat race round the island, in which the five traditional quarters of the city compete with raucous enthusiasm.

Ferragosto (Aug 12–15). Processions and fireworks throughout Sicily; Messina has perhaps the best event.

OCTOBER

Monreale concerts A week of ecclesiastical music concerts, staged at the cathedral from the last week in October to the first week in November.

DECEMBER

Christmas week Display of eighteenth-century cribs in Acireale.

Santa Lucia Siracusa (Dec 13). Festival of St Lucy: a procession to the church of Santa Lucia.

Nativity procession Salemi (Dec 24). Procession of locals dressed as characters from the Nativity story.

< Back to Basics

SPORTS AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

As a Mediterranean island, Sicily is well set up for water sports of all kinds, from scuba-diving to windsurfing, while many come in the cooler months either side of summer (April, May, September and October) for the hiking. The volcanoes of Etna and Stromboli offer more adventurous excursions – probably the most emblematic Sicilian outdoor activity is the climb up Stromboli to see the nightly volcanic light show.

Watersports

The best places for snorkelling and scuba-diving are the limpid waters of the offshore islands, principally Ustica, the Aeolians, Lampedusa and Pantelleria. Diving schools on each of these offer day-trips and courses for beginners and experienced divers alike. Other areas are protected as marine and natural reserves, so even at far more touristed resorts like Mazzarò (Taormina) the water is often remarkably clear. Windsurfing gear is available for rent at most of the major resort beaches and lidos, and kitesurfing is increasingly popular at places like Mozia on the west coast.

Hiking

Hiking is growing in popularity, though it’s nowhere near as established as in alpine Italy. If you’re keen to do a lot of walking in a short time, your best bet is to join a walking holiday – several tour operators now offer this as an option and the routes used have all been thoroughly tried and tested. The best walking areas are in the interior, around Etna in the east, and in the mountain regions of the Monti Madonie and Monti Nébrodi (between Etna and the Tyrrhenian coast), where a few marked trails have been laid out, making use of existing paths.

  On the whole, though, given the paucity of information and services, unsupported hiking in interior Sicily is more for the experienced and well-equipped walker. You’d do well to get hold of Walking in Sicily by Gillian Price, which details 42 walks across the whole island. However, if all you’re looking for is a half-day stroll or short hike you’re better off sticking to the coast or outlying islands. The Aeolians and Egadis in particular offer some lovely walking, while the protected coast between Scopello and San Vito Lo Capo (north of Trapani) has an excellent network of well-maintained paths.

Outdoor pursuits

The dramatic volcanic terrain around Mount Etna supports a whole outdoor activities industry, from guided summit hikes to 4WD safaris. Local tourist offices and travel agents as far away as Siracusa and Taormina are geared up to book visitors onto trips. The small mountain towns of Nicolosi and Linguaglossa are the centres for Etna’s surviving skiing (ski lifts keep being destroyed by eruptions), and winter sports are also available in the Monti Madonie around Piano Battaglia, where you can rent ski gear. Really, though, no one comes to Sicily just to ski. Volcanoes are a different matter, though, as few in the world are as active as Etna and Stromboli – the latter (the furthest flung of the Aeolian Islands) is another great base for guided crater treks (day and night), volcano-watching cruises and the like.

  Finally, horseriding and pony-trekking are available in some areas – sometimes offered by agriturismo (rural tourism) properties.

< Back to Basics

CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE

Sicilian society remains deeply conservative, though values are shifting in the big cities and in places that attract a lot of tourists. Urban Sicilians tend to dress far more smartly than their Northern European counterparts, and even in the most remote village, folk will put on their finery of an evening or for Sunday Mass. And even in holiday resorts, Sicilians would never go out for an evening drink straight from the beach, but go home to shower, and dress up first. Sicilians would rarely sport outright beachwear in a city, but in summer shorts and strappy tops for women, and shorts (of a certain length) for men are quite normal. However, the same clothes worn on a hot day in April or October will win you stares.

VISITING CHURCHES, MUSEUMS AND RUINS

To visit churches and religious buildings you should dress modestly (which means no shorts, not even Bermuda-length ones, and covered shoulders for women), and avoid wandering around during a service. At otherwise free chapels, museums and archeological sites, if you’re shown around by a custodian or caretaker it’s customary to give a small tip – say €1 each.

Gay and lesbian Sicily

Homosexuality is not illegal in Italy, and the age of consent is 16. That said, attitudes towards homosexuality are much less tolerant in Sicily than in Rome or the industrial north. Taormina is the only place in Sicily where there is any kind of gay scene, and even this is very low-key. Even so, physical contact between men is fairly common in Sicily, on the level of linking arms and kissing cheeks at greetings and farewells – though an overt display of anything remotely ambiguous is likely to be met with hostility. The main national gay organization, ArciGay ( arcigay.it), has branches all over the country, including Sicily, and its English-language website is a good place to look for information. The  gay.it website also has a wealth of information for gays and lesbians in Italy.

Women travellers

Although Italy has a reputation for sexual harassment of women that is well known and well founded, there’s no reason to presume unwarranted intrusion at every turn. A woman travelling alone, or with another woman, can expect a certain amount of attention, including staring, horn-tooting and whistling, though bear in mind that local custom dictates that every friend and acquaintance is greeted with a toot, and that staring openly at strangers is seen as perfectly acceptable. If you follow common-sense rules, the most that should worry you is the occasional try-on.

Travelling with children

Children are revered in Sicily and will be made a fuss of in the street, and welcomed and catered for in bars and restaurants. It’s perfectly normal for Sicilian children to stay up until they drop, and in summer it’s not unusual to see youngsters out at midnight, and not looking much the worse for it.

  Pharmacies and supermarkets carry most baby requirements, from nappies to formula food. However, you may not see the brands you are used to at home, and don’t expect there to be a full range of (or indeed any) organic food products, especially in smaller towns. Otherwise, food is unlikely to be a problem as long as your children eat pasta and pizza, and while specific children’s menus are extremely rare, many restaurants are happy to provide a smaller version of an adult meal.

  Hotels normally charge around thirty percent extra to put an additional bed or cot in the room. However, self-catering apartments, or rooms or B&Bs with the use of a kitchen, are quite common and most Sicilian resorts offer such options. Generous discounts apply for children at most sights and attractions, and also when travelling on trains.

< Back to Basics

SHOPPING

Sicilian street markets provide some of the best experiences on the island – the Ballarò and Capo in Palermo and Catania’s fish market, for example, are sights in themselves, while any market can provide inexpensive souvenirs and gifts like stove-top coffee pots or espresso cups. You’ll be taken for an imbecile if you don’t haggle for everything except food – ask for “uno sconto” (a discount).

Other day-to-day items, toiletries and basic supplies can be bought in local supermarkets. Food and drink souvenirs are almost endless: a bag of dried wild oregano or salted capers from the Aeolians or Pantelliera; pistachios from Bronte; almonds from the Agrigento area; frutta di martorana from Palermo; or marsala wine from Marsala.

Clothes

Taormina and Ortigia, and islands such as Panarea and Salina, have excellent boutiques, with clothes and shoes often sourced from the many small Italian designers who work for big names such as Martin Margiela. All the main Italian labels and brands have outlets in Palermo, Catania and Messina, and over the last few years international high-street chains such as H&M, Zara and Mango are becoming more common; look out also for quality everyday clothes at the Italian chain Oviesse.

Souvenirs

Sicily has a reputation for its ceramics, widely available in tourist shops in the major resorts but best sourced at the production centres, like Santo Stéfano di Camastra (Tyrrhenian coast), Sciacca (south coast) and especially Caltagirone (southern interior).

  You’ll also see lace and embroidery in gift shops in places like Palermo, Taormina and Cefalù, and the quality isn’t too bad. But keep an eye out, especially as you travel through small villages in the interior or on the islands, where you may find women and girls at work outside their homes – most will be only too happy to make an unexpected sale.

  Recently, small Sicilian companies such as Siculamente have begun to apply a graphic eye to Sicilian tradition, producing witty clothes and accessories that make a change from the ubiquitous Godfather T-shirts. There has also been an explosion in stylishly packaged local oils, pestos, conserves and liqueurs, ideal for presents – though if you care more about contents than packaging, you’ll do far better buying capers, wild oregano, olive oil and the like direct from small producers or markets.

  Tourist tat outlets usually sell gift versions of traditional Sicilian theatre puppets and hand-painted carts, along with a vast array of souvenir fridge magnets. Anywhere near Etna, you’re also guaranteed to find things in shops fashioned from lava – paperweights and jewellery to sculptures.

< Back to Basics

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

Beaches

You’ll have to pay for access to many of the island’s better beaches (known as lido), with lounger, parasol and use of the showers often included in the price (usually €7–10 a day). Many lidos also have other facilities like pedalo- and windsurf-hire, bars and restaurants, and thus make a good bet for families. Elsewhere, beaches are free though not always clean – during the winter most look like dumps, as it’s not worth anyone’s while to clean them until the season starts at Easter.

Costs

Sicily isn’t particularly cheap compared to other Mediterranean holiday spots, though it is usually better value than the popular tourist parts of mainland Italy. The single biggest cost is generally accommodation, with simple one-star hotels, private rooms and bed and breakfasts all starting at around €60 a night. A decent three-star hotel, on the other hand, will set you back up to €120. Of course, you’ll pay a lot more in summer in the big tourist spots – Erice, Cefalù, Siracusa and Taormina – and more all year round on most of the offshore islands, particularly the Aeolians and Pantelleria.

  Most other items are fairly inexpensive. The Sicilian staple, a pizza and a beer, costs around €10 just about everywhere, while a full restaurant meal can cost as little as €20 a head. Of course, there are some excellent Sicilian restaurants where the bill comes in much higher, up to say €50 or €60 a head, but even these are remarkably good value for the quality on offer. A litre of local house wine rarely comes to more than €10, a bottle €10–12, and the same wine in a supermarket might cost a third of that. Other snacks and drinks soon add up, especially in fancy resorts, and you should note that if you sit down in a café (rather than stand at the counter) it’ll cost twice as much. Public transport, on the other hand, is very cheap, while even the island’s showpiece museums, archeological ruins and attractions rarely cost more than €8 – and under-18s and over-65s usually get in for free.

  Overall, apart from accommodation, you could reasonably expect to spend €50 a day – taking the train, eating picnics, cheap meals and pizzas, seeing the sights and so on. For a more comfortable daily experience (meals in better restaurants, plus taxis, evening drinks, concerts and the like) you’re looking at €80 and upwards.

Crime and personal safety

Although Sicily is synonymous with the Mafia, you’ll forget the association as soon as you set foot on the island. Cosa Nostra is as invisible to the average tourist as it is ingrained for the islanders, and the violence that sporadically erupts is almost always an “in-house” affair. Of more immediate concern is petty crime, mainly in crowded streets or markets, where gangs of scippatori, or bag-snatchers, strike on foot or on scooters, disappearing before you’ve had time to react. As well as handbags, they whip wallets, tear off visible jewellery and, if they’re really adroit, unstrap watches. Carry shoulder bags, as you’ll see many Sicilian women do, slung across your body. It’s a good idea, too, to entrust most of your money and valuables to hotel safes or management. The vast majority of petty crimes occur in Catania and Palermo, and at or on the way to and from the airports. On the whole it’s common sense to avoid badly lit areas at night, and run-down inner-city areas at all times.

  If the worst happens, you’ll be forced to have some dealings with the police. Most conspicuous are the Carabinieri – the ones with the blue uniforms – who are a branch of the armed forces and organized along military lines, dealing with general crime and public disorder. They are also the butt of most of the jokes about the police, usually on the “How many Carabinieri does it take to…?” level. They share a fierce turf rivalry with the Polizia Statale, or state police, to whom you’re supposed to report any theft at their local HQ, the Questura. The Polizia Urbana, or town police, are mainly concerned with directing the traffic and punishing parking offenders. The Guardia di Finanza, often heavily armed and screaming ostentatiously through the cities, are responsible for investigating smuggling, tax evasion and other similar crimes, and the Polizia Stradale patrol the autostrada.

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Police (Carabinieri)  112

Emergency services (Soccorso Pubblico di Emergenze)  113

Fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco)  115

Road assistance (Soccorso Stradale)  116

Electricity

The supply is 220V, though anything requiring 240V will work. Plugs have two or three round pins (and some sockets have larger holes than others); a travel adaptor plug is very useful.

Entry requirements

British, Irish and other EU citizens can enter Sicily and stay as long as they like on production of a valid passport. Citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand don’t need a visa, but are limited to stays of three months. Most other nationals will have to apply for a visa from an Italian embassy or consulate.

  Legally, you’re required to register with the police within three days of entering Italy, though if you’re staying at a hotel this will be done for you. Although the police in some towns have become more punctilious about this, most would still be amazed at any attempt to register yourself down at the local police station while on holiday.

ITALIAN EMBASSIES ABROAD

Australia  02 6273 3333,  ambcanberra.esteri.it

Canada  613 232 2401,  ambottawa.esteri.it

Republic of Ireland  01 660 1744,  www.ambdublino.esteri.it

New Zealand  04 473 5339,  ambwellington.esteri.it

UK  020 7312 2200,  amblondra.esteri.it

USA  202 612 4400,  ambwashingtondc.esteri.it

Health

Sicily poses few health problems for visitors; the worst that’s likely to happen is that you suffer from the extreme heat in summer or from an upset stomach. Vaccinations are not required, but you should take insect repellent and strong sun protection. The water is perfectly safe to drink (though bottled water tastes better). You’ll find public drinking fountains in squares and city streets everywhere, though look out for “acqua non potabile” signs, indicating the water is not safe to drink.

  An Italian pharmacist (farmacia) is well qualified to give you advice on minor ailments, and to dispense prescriptions. There’s generally one pharmacy open all night in the bigger towns and cities. A rota system is used, and you should find the address of the one currently open late/all night on any farmacia door or listed in the local paper.

  Every town and village has a doctor (médico). To find one, ask at a pharmacy, or consult the local yellow pages (Pagine Gialle) under “Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale” or “Unità Sanitaria Locale Pronto Soccorso”. Out of hours (ie weekends, holidays and night-time), the local Guardia Médica first-aid clinic is available in most towns and, though sometimes minimally equipped, will be able to treat stings, bites, fevers and minor accidents.

  In an emergency, dial  113 and ask for “ospedale” or “ambulanza”. The nearest hospital will have a Pronto Soccorso (casualty) section, while on smaller islands, or places with no hospital, there is usually a Guardia Medica clinic.

Insurance

It’s essential to take out a travel insurance policy to cover against theft, loss, illness or injury during your travels. A typical policy will provide cover for the loss of baggage, tickets and – up to a certain limit – cash, as well as cancellation or curtailment of your journey. Most policies exclude so-called dangerous sports, unless an extra premium is paid: in Sicily this can mean things like scuba-diving, windsurfing and volcano trekking. If you need to make a claim, you should keep receipts for medicines and medical treatment, and in the event you have anything stolen, you must obtain an official statement from the police. This is sometimes easier said than done in Sicily, but persevere; without it, you’ll not be able to claim your money back.

ROUGH GUIDES TRAVEL INSURANCE

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Internet

There are internet places all over Sicily, with access costing up to €5 an hour. However, free wi-fi access is increasingly available in B&Bs, hotels and bars, and there are wireless hotspots in many public spaces (though you might need to sign up and pay for an hour’s or day’s use for these).

Laundry

Coin-operated laundries are very rare. More common is a lavanderia, a service-wash laundry, where you’ll be able to get your washing done for €10 or so. Many B&Bs offer a laundry service as well. Although you can usually get away with it, washing clothes in your room can be problematic – simply because the ancient plumbing often can’t cope with all the water. It’s better to ask if there’s somewhere you can wash your clothes.

Living and working in Sicily

Unemployment in Sicily is at a distressingly high level, so it is extremely unlikely that you will find a job that does not depend on your ability to speak English. All EU citizens are eligible to work and study in Italy. Work permits are pretty impossible for non-EU citizens to obtain: you must have the firm promise of a job that no Italian could do before you can even apply to the Italian embassy in your home country.

Red tape

The main bureaucratic requirements to stay legally in Italy are a Permesso di Soggiorno and a codice fiscale, respectively a piece of paper proving your right to be in the country and a tax number. Available from the questura (police station), a Permesso di Soggiorno requires you to produce a letter from your employer or place of study, or prove you have funds to maintain yourself. In reality, EU citizens can simply apply on the grounds of looking for work (attesa di lavoro), for which you’ll need your passport and a copy of it, four passport photos, and a lot of patience. A codice fiscale is essential for most things in Italy including buying a transport season pass, a SIM card, opening a bank account or renting a flat. It can be obtained from the local Ufficio delle Entrate, although you can start the process online at  www.agenziaentrate.gov.it.

Work options

One obvious option is to teach English, for which the demand has expanded enormously in recent years. You can do this in two ways: freelance private lessons, or through a language school. For the less reputable schools, you can get away without any qualifications, but you’ll need to show a TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) certificate for the more professional – and better-paid – establishments. For the main language schools, it’s best to apply in writing before you leave (look for the ads in British newspapers), preferably before the summer. If you’re looking on the spot, sift through the local English-language press and phone books and do the rounds on foot, but don’t bother to try in August when everything is closed. Italian high schools are also required by law to have mother-tongue language assistants – another good source of work, though the best teaching jobs of all are with a university as a lettore, a job requiring fewer hours than the language schools and generally providing a fatter pay-packet. Universities require English-language teachers in most faculties; write directly to enquire about positions. Strictly speaking, you could get by without any knowledge of Italian while teaching, though it obviously helps, especially when setting up private classes.

  Au pairing is another option: again sift through the ads in locally produced English-language publications in Sicily’s big cities to find openings.

Study

The only academic institution offering study abroad programmes in Sicily is run by Arcadia University at MCAS, the Mediterranean Centre for Arts and Sciences. Based in Ortigia, Siracusa, it’s a liberal arts faculty (part of Arcadia University) offering accredited courses to American students. Courses include archeology, marine biology and the Mediterranean diet.

Mail

Post office opening hours are usually Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 6.30pm; offices in smaller towns close on a Saturday, and everywhere else post offices close at noon on the last Saturday of the month. You can also buy stamps (francobolli) in some gift shops in tourist resorts, and in shops called tabacchi, recognizable by a sign displaying a white “T” on a black or blue background (these also sell cigarettes, sweets and stationery). The Italian postal service is among the slowest in Europe – if your letter is urgent, consider paying extra for the express service, or posta prioritaria.

Maps

The best large-scale road map of Sicily is published by the Touring Club Italiano (Sicilia, 1:200,000), available from map and travel bookshops or online retailers. Otherwise, the Automobile Club d’Italia issues a good, free 1:275,000 road map, available from the State Tourist Offices, while local tourist offices in Sicily often have free road maps of varying quality. Local tourist offices also hand out reasonable town plans and regional maps.

  Hiking maps (scale 1:25,000 and 1:50,000) for the Monti Madonie and other areas can be ordered from the Istituto Geografico Militare ( igmi.org), or check what’s available at the Palermo stationer’s shop Cartoleria de Magistris, Via A. Gagini 23 ( 091 589 233). Note, however, that most of these maps were drawn up in the 1970s, and, particularly at altitudes above 1500m, many of the paths shown on them no longer exist. The Club Alpino Siciliano, Via A. Paternostro 43, Palermo ( clubalpinosiciliano.it), or – sometimes – tourist and regional park offices in Palermo or Cefalù can supply you with 1:50,000 maps of the Monti Madonie, but again, these should be treated with caution. However, all national parks and nature reserves (Madonie, Nébrodi, Pellegrino, etc; see  parks.it) have walking itineraries on their websites, while the various park offices listed in the Guide can supply rudimentary hiking maps and, occasionally, English-language route guides.

Money

Italy’s currency is the euro (€); notes are issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros, and coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 and 2 euros. At the time of writing the exchange rate was approximately €1 to £0.84 and €1 to US$1.35. Up-to-the-minute currency exchange rates are displayed at  xe.com.

  By far the easiest way to get money is to use your bank debit card to withdraw cash from an ATM (known as bancomat in Italy). These are found even in the smallest towns and on some of the more remote islands, as well as on arrival at the three main airports. Make sure that you have a PIN that’s designed to work overseas, and check with your bank whether you can use your debit card directly in shops and petrol stations etc, as not all systems are available in Sicily.

  Credit cards can also be used for cash advances over the counter in banks and for payment in most hotels, restaurants, petrol stations and some shops. MasterCard and Visa are the most widely accepted cards.

  Banking hours vary slightly from town to town, but are generally Monday to Friday 8.30am to 1.20pm and 3pm to 4pm. Outside these times you can change foreign currency at large hotels, the airports at Palermo and Catania, and some main train stations.

Opening hours and public holidays

Basic opening hours for most shops and businesses are Monday to Saturday from 8am or 9am to around 1pm, and from around 4pm to 7pm or 8pm, though some offices work to a more standard European 9am to 5pm day. Everything, except bars and restaurants, closes on Sunday, though you might find cake shops, and fish shops in some coastal towns, open until lunchtime. Local religious holidays and festivals don’t generally close down shops and businesses, but everything except bars and restaurants will be closed on the public holidays.

  Most churches open in the early morning (around 7am or 8am) for Mass and close around noon, opening up again at 4pm or 5pm, and closing at 7pm. More obscure ones will only open for early morning and evening services; some only open on Sunday and on religious holidays. One problem you’ll face all over Sicily is that lots of churches, monasteries, convents and oratories are closed for restoration (chiuso per restauro). We’ve indicated the more long-term closures in the text, but even if there’s scaffolding up you might be able to persuade a workman or priest/curator to show you around.

  Museums are generally open daily from 9am to 1pm, and again for a couple of hours in the afternoon on certain days; likely closing day is Monday, while they close slightly earlier on Sunday, around 12.30pm. Archeological sites are usually open from 9am until an hour before sunset (in practice until around 4pm from November to March, 7pm from April to October, though never bet against a custodian bunking off early on a slow day). Sites are also sometimes closed on Mondays.

Phones

Dialling  170 or  176 will get you through to an English-speaking operator. You can find numbers online with the Italian Yellow Pages ( paginegialle.it) or White Pages ( paginebianche.it). To call Sicily from abroad, dial your international access number + 39 (Italy country code) + number.

  Most cellphones bought in the UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, will work in Sicily, though a mobile phone bought for use in the US might not work here unless it is triband or supporting GSM. To make sure, check to see if your phone supports GSM 900 and GSM 1800 frequencies. Prices are coming down, but it remains expensive to use your cellphone exclusively to make national and international calls in Sicily. You might simply be able to buy a replacement SIM card for your own phone, though this depends on the model, contract and service provider. Or, if you’re coming for more than a couple of weeks, you could even buy a mobile in Sicily – basic models cost as little as €39. A mobile phone is un cellulare or telefonino, a recharger is un ricaricatore, and a text message is un messaggio SMS.

Time

Sicily (and Italy) is always one hour ahead of GMT. Italy is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and ten hours ahead of Pacific Time.

Tourist information

The Italian Government Tourist Board ( enit.it) has a useful website for general information, or you can contact the state tourist office organization in your own country. In Sicily, most towns, main train stations and the two principal airports have a tourist office (ufficio di turismo) or a Pro Loco office, usually funded by the Comune, overseeing cultural events and providing tourist information. Other than in the main tourist areas staff aren’t likely to speak English, but you should at least be able to get a free town plan and a local listings booklet in Italian, and some offices will reserve you a room and sell places on guided tours.

  Likely summer (April–Oct) tourist office opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 7pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm, though some offices in tourist areas open for longer. From November to March hours may be reduced. If the tourist office isn’t open and all else fails, the local Sicilian telephone office and most bars with phones carry a copy of the local Tuttocittà ( tuttocitta.it), a listings and information magazine which details addresses and numbers of most of the organizations you’re likely to want to know about. It also has indexed street maps for local towns and adverts for restaurants and shops. The Palermo version (with an interactive map) is available online.

TOURISM WEBSITES

 bestofsicily.com Informative site detailing history, the arts, books, food and wine, sights and travel.

 siciliaonline.it Some information in English, with details on everything from folklore and the weather to transport and festivals.

 press.sicilia.it Mostly Italian, with extracts from all sorts of articles about Sicily, plus news and reviews.

ITALIAN STATE TOURIST OFFICES

Australia & New Zealand  02 9262 1666,  italiantourism.com.au

Canada  416 925 4882,  italiantourism.com

UK  020 7408 1254,  italiantouristboard.co.uk

USA  212 245 5095,  italiantourism.com

Travellers with disabilities

Although most Sicilians are helpful enough if presented with a specific problem, the island is hardly geared towards accommodating travellers with disabilities. In the medieval city centres and old villages, few budget hotels have elevators, let alone ones capable of taking a wheelchair, and rooms have rarely been adapted for use by disabled visitors. Narrow, cobbled streets, steep inclines, chaotic driving and parking are hardly conducive to a stress-free holiday either. Crossing the street in Palermo is a major undertaking even if you’re fully mobile, while Taormina, the most popular resort, poses great accessibility challenges for anyone in a wheelchair.

  If the thought of negotiating your own way around the island proves too daunting, an organized tour may be the way to go. While that will cost more than planning your own trip, you can request accommodation in higher-category hotels that should at least have some facilities for disabled travellers, and you’ll also have someone on hand who speaks Italian to help smooth the way. Accessible Italy ( accessibleitaly.com) is an Italian organization offering tours and advice to foreigners, and though it’s mainly useful for mainland Italy, you can ask for advice on travelling in Sicily. You can also contact one of the organizations in your own country dedicated to people with disabilities. Tourism For All ( tourismforall.org.uk), for example, publishes an information pack about holidaying in Italy for disabled travellers.

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