Are you planning to drive around Sicily? This Mediterranean Island is perfect for a road trip – the distances are short, and there is so much to see and do in Sicily. Read on to learn all about our Ultimate Sicily Road Trip.
Sicily is known for its rich history, stunning coastline, ancient hilltop villages, mouthwatering street food, vibrant culture… and, the mafia.
For three unforgettable weeks, we explored this incredible island in our campervan, and in this post we’re sharing the highlights of our trip, along with some hidden gems you might not see anywhere else. We’ll show you the places, the people and the FOOD that made this trip one of our favourite adventures ever.
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When is the best time for a Sicily Road Trip?
Sicily is a year round destination. Peak season is during the summer months – though it will be very hot then!
Spring and autumn are also very popular. We visited Sicily in the winter and found beautifully mild days with plenty of sunshine, and cool nights. The only down-side of visiting Sicily in the winter is that the sun goes down around 5pm.
How long do you need for a Sicily Road Trip?
While we travelled at a relaxed pace and spent three weeks driving around Sicily, you could see all these highlights in 10 days, either with your own vehicle or if you fly into Palermo and hire a car.
Get your FREE Interactive “Ultimate Sicily Road Trip Map” showing you what we saw, where we stayed and where we ATE on this epic journey.
Getting to Sicily
By Air
Sicily has international airports at both Palermo and Catania, and either would be a perfect starting point for your road trip. You will also find a lot of connecting flights come through Rome. Check out Skyscanner for the best deals on flights to Sicily.
If you’re flying into Sicily, you’ll want to hire a car from the airport for your Sicily Road Trip.
By Road
If you’re coming in your own vehicle, you will need to take a vehicle ferry to get to Sicily. There are numerous ports connecting to the Italian mainland. We caught a ferry to Messina from Villa San Giovanni which is just near Reggio Calabria. This ferry takes around 20 minutes to cross the Strait of Messina.
You don’t need to book in advance for this ferry, you can just arrive at the port and buy your ticket there. From the ticket office you will a couple of kilometres through the town to the actual boarding place. It can be a little confusing, but there are plenty of signs – look for “Imbarchi”.
The ferry cost us €92.10 for an open 90 day return ticket. This is based on our 6.4m long campervan – if you’re coming in a regular car it will be less than this.
Where to stay in Sicily
As we travelled in our campervan, we stayed in a mix of private campsites, “Camper Sosta” (stopovers) and wild camps. We will mention these in the destination sections below. Several of these campsites or Camper Sostas include a shuttle bus into the town centre, which means no parking stress!
If you’re hiring a car for your Sicily road trip and planning on staying in hotels or B&Bs, you can check availability and pricing on booking.com.
The Ultimate Sicily Road Trip
Our road trip of Sicily was a clockwise loop, starting and finishing in Messina. This post will follow our route around the island, and we will mention all the places we stopped off.
Taormina
The first stop on our Ultimate Sicily Road Trip was Taormina. This enchanting hilltop town overlooks the Ionian Sea and on a good day you can see Mt Etna from here.
The town itself has a pedestrian street lined with fancy boutiques, and little alleyways off to the sides with stairs leading to restaurants and shops.
There are two ancient gates leading into the city, a medieval cathedral and an ancient Greek Theatre – the second largest in all of Italy!
While you can drive to Taormina, parking might be tricky. We parked at the bottom of the hill and walked up, or, you can take the public bus, there’s even a cable car!
When you visit, don’t miss going even further uphill to Castelmola, and check out the pretty Isola Bella, which is a hop, skip and jump off the coast.
Where we stayed
We initially parked our van in a small carpark at the bottom of the hill under Taormina, and planned to stay there overnight. We’d only been there about 10 minutes, when a local came and told us it was unsafe to stay there, we should come stay at his place.
Francesco operates a small restaurant and parking place at Giardina Naxos, about 10 minutes drive from Taormina. For €15 he even drove us all the way up to Taormina, and we caught the bus back in the evening.
The next morning we arrived at the same carpark early, and there were several vans that had clearly spent the night there!
Syracuse
Syracuse is one of Sicily’s most important historic cities. Founded by the Greeks in 733 BC, it was once one of the most powerful cities in the Mediterranean.
Today Syracuse blends ancient Greek heritage with a beautiful baroque old town on the island of Ortigia.
The Archaeological Park of Neapolis houses a huge selection of ancient ruins. You’ll find a large Roman Ampitheatre – used for gladiator battles; a Greek theatre – the largest in Italy; and the Ear of Dionysius.
The Ear of Dionysius is a huge cave where the tyrant king Dionysius would imprison his political opponents. The acoustics are such that even a whisper could be heard quite clearly. So Dionysius was able to eavesdrop on his prisoners.
Island of Ortigia
Ortigia is the medieval historic centre of Syracuse, and the island consists of narrow cobbled streets and baroque buildings.
We parked in a parking lot near the waterfront and walked through the old town, exploring the ancient street markets, the cathedral and the Castello Maniace.
There are some lovely cafes along the waterfront by the castle. This is a great place to watch the sunset (with an Aperol Spritz of course!)
Where we stayed
We spent a couple of nights in Syracuse in a Camper Sosta behind a large shopping centre – which was great for stocking up on groceries!
We then spent one night in the carpark by the waterfront on Ortigia Island.
This parking lot charges €15 for 24 hours, and there were a lot of campervans parked here!
DRIVING TIP: Most of the island of Ortigia is in a ZTL (Traffic limitation zone). Unlike other towns we visited, here the ZTL is active during the nights and on public holidays. Keep your eye out for the signs as you enter the town.
Noto
Noto is a stunning Baroque town known for its ornate architecture and golden-hued buildings. Its one of the 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sicily. We strolled along the main street, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele to admire these beautiful buildings.
Where we stayed
We stayed at a beautiful Camper Sosta just down the hill from Noto. We were parked up amongst the citrus trees. This Sosta cost €22 per night, and the price includes a shuttle bus into town.
Marzamemi
Marzamemi is a small fishing village with quaint stone buildings, turquoise waters, and a laid-back atmosphere. It was once a tuna fishing hub, and seafood features heavily on all the menus here.
The Tonnara (tuna canning factory) once processed thousands of tuna a year in the early 20th century. Due to the decrease in the number of tuna caught, the plant closed down in the 1920s. The building now houses an event space.
Where we stayed
We parked overnight in a parking lot on the edge of town for €8 overnight. The lot is manned until 10pm.
Valley of the Temples – Agrigento
The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is one of Sicily’s best archaeological sites. This UNESCO World Heritage Site showcases the ruins of an ancient Greek city from when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia (Greater Greece).
These remarkably well-preserved Doric temples date back to the 5th century BC. These are some of the best Greek ruins in existence.
There are two entrances to the park, we came in the Western entrance, or Gate 5. From here it’s a 2km uphill walk to the top of the park, but then, it was downhill on the way back.
The Temple of Concordia is one of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world. The temple became a Christian church in the 6th century. You’ll also see the Temple of Juno, the Temple of Heracles, and stunning views over the Mediterranean.
We recommend visiting in the late afternoon and staying around for sunset – the temples look even more beautiful as they change colours with the setting sun.
Where we stayed
We stayed between the temples and the sea, at the Camping Valle di Templi at San Leone. For €25 this campsite offers electricity and hot showers. There are washing machines here but we didn’t use them.
Scala dei Turchi – Stairs of the Turks or Turkish Steps
Just 20 minutes drive further along the coast will bring you to the Scala dei Turchi, or Turkish Steps. This brilliant white cliff got its name from it’s stepped appearance, and from the stories of Saracens or Turks using the stepped feature to climb the cliff and raid villages.
In recent years there has been a dispute over ownership of the land between a private individual and the municipality. While it was possible to access the cliff when we visited, it appears from the website that access is now closed.
Where we stayed
We stayed in a Camper Sosta overlooking the beach which cost €20 per night. This price includes showers, electricity AND a tuk-tuk shuttle down to the beach.
Erice
Erice is a stunning medieval hill-top town with breathtaking panoramic views of the coastline and the Egadi Islands. The town is known for its cobbled streets, ancient stone buildings, and well-preserved historic charm.
We parked our campervan at the bottom of the hill and took the cable-car up to the village. The parking is paid by the hour, and the cable car costs €11 per person for a return journey.
The Erice Cathedral is beautiful, and inside you’ll also find a museum with some of the excellent silverwork the area is known for. We also climbed the Bell Tower and visited several other churches in town.
Entry to the cathedral is €2.50, OR you can buy an “Erice Passport” ticket which admits you to several more churches, a museum and the Cathedral Bell Tower. All of these individually cost €2.50.
At the opposite end of town you’ll find the Venus Castle (Castello del Balio) which was built over the ruins of an ancient Temple of Venus.
There are plenty of cafes and restaurants (some with terraces overlooking the view). We had coffee and brunch at Café Maria. Don’t miss the Pasticerria Maria Grammatico just down the road for excellent almond pastries.
Where we stayed
We spent the night before visiting Erice at a campsite on the coast, called Camping Lido Valderice. This campsite cost €18. Shower tokens were available for €1.
Scopello
Scopello is a small village on the north-west tip of Sicily, known for the Sea Stacks, these rocky outcrops protruding from the ocean. We actually didn’t visit the town, we came here to hike one of the best trails in Sicily – the Path of the Orchids.
Palermo
We went to Palermo, the Capital of Sicily with no expectations. We wanted to learn more about the history of the Mafia and the impact it had had on Palermo and Sicily. The No Mafia walking tour is a great way to learn more about the Mafia.
The city has impressive Norman and Baroque architecture including the Palermo Cathedral. Make sure you visit the rooftop for great views over the city.
Palermo is known for it’s street food and vibrant lively markets. We visited both the Ballaro Market and the Capo market. We enjoyed Panelle (fried chick pea flour), Arancini (stuffed rice balls) and Granita (a flavoured ice desert).
Cefalù
Cefalù is a picturesque coastal town on Sicily’s north coast. It’s known for its golden beaches, a medieval old town with narrow winding streets, and breathtaking scenery with the imposing La Rocca, a towering limestone cliff overlooking the town.
For the best views of the town you can hike up La Rocca – a moderately challenging hike, but well worth it for the ruins at the top and of course those views.
The most famous attraction in the town is the Norman-style Cefalù Cathedral, a UNESCO-listed site decorated with stunning Byzantine mosaics. The cathedral is HUGE.
Inside the cathedral are beautiful mosaics above the alter, an enormous Christ Pantocrator, atop the Virgin Mary, Archangels and the Apostles.
Walk through the Porta Pescara to check out the beautiful waterfront and the beach, with houses built right onto the rock.
Etna
Throughout our time in Sicily, Mount Etna had loomed high above us. This 3300m giant is Europe’s most active volcano.
We had hoped to hike to the summit, but recent volcanic activity meant that access above 3,000 metres was closed. The group trekking tour we booked onto was cancelled.
However, we did manage to drive our van (after getting the obligatory snow chains) up to the highest point cars can go, then we hiked on the flanks of the volcano, visiting several craters.
Now we have an excellent reason to return to Sicily!
Essential information for driving around Sicily
There’s a couple of things to be aware of as you are driving through Sicily. Firstly, a lot of the roads are narrow and winding, so travel times might be longer than you expect.
Speed limits are quite slow, and it appears that the locals take absolutely no notice of them! We did see a lot of signs that electronic speed detection is in place, but we did not see many actual police on the roads.
ZTL – or “Zona a Traffico Limitato” or Limited Traffic Zones. These are prevalent in Sicilian cities and even the small historic towns. Unfortunately it’s difficult to get accurate information on these, and there’s not one centralised map. The zones are updated and change regularly, so any information we could post here would most likely be outdated quickly.
We googled information as we approached each town and kept our eyes out for the ZTL signs. Most are lit up green if it’s ok to drive there, or red if the zone is active.
Parking in Sicily
The main thing to look out for when parking either on the street or in a parking lot is the colour of the lines you are parked within. White usually means free parking, and blue means paid parking. Yellow means no parking!
Most parking is by the hour, with machines dispensing a ticket to display on your windscreen. Be aware that parking is often restricted to cars only. We parked in an area where campervans weren’t allowed and got a parking ticket.
Beware of this SCAM on the roads!
We were targeted by the “Wing Mirror Scam”. Someone will throw something at your vehicle, then pull you over to say you’ve hit their car and broken their wing mirror. They then ask for a cash payment rather than going through insurance.
We detailed this scam in this video. Should this happen to you, don’t pull over unless its in an area with lots of people around. DO NOT get out of your vehicle. Tell them you will call or go to the police and this usually sends them on their way.
Watch our Ultimate Sicily Road Trip travel film
Each week we produce travel films for our YouTube channel, which highlight the places we visit and also give you a glimpse into what it’s really like to live full-time on the road.
Where to next?
Why not learn more about Palermo, the capital of Sicily, which quickly became one of our favourite cities we’ve ever visited!