Your 2026 Sicily Manual
Grazie me later...
‘The path of least resistance’ was a writer pal’s response
to my latest moan about travel feature research. Me: ‘opinion pieces just flow, they’re easy to bash out… ‘
But actually, when you really REALLY know a destination, or have at least spent months trying to wriggle under its skin, the tips and copy flow.
They flow like the Alcantara, (Sicily’s river famous for its basalt gorges you can hike near Mount Etna), or the Aeolian volcanic island of Stromboli’s lava, racing down the steep Sciara del Fuoco until it meets the Tyrrhenian sea (you can genuinely watch this thing smoke and belch from terraces on nearby Salina, with a glass of wine)...
Having written extensively, passionately on Sicily now for seven years, I’ve amassed quite the collection of guides, hotel reviews and opinion pieces on the Mediterranean’s largest island. And rather than scrambling to pull these out from various corners of the internet with each individual request from friends and those who follow my writing, I thought I’d collect them into one plump little Sicilian library… a manual for how to do the island well…
So please use this to guide you when planning any Sicily trips! Below the biblioteca siciliana are three easy-to-follow itineraries with links that only paid subs will receive. Enjoy!
Condé Nast Traveller
Vogue
Times LUXX
The Standard
How to plan an autumn trip to Sicily
Collagerie
Sicilian Splendour: a guide to Sicily’s South East Baroque towns
Country Life
Mr & Mrs Smith
Hotel reviews - mainly Conde Nast Traveller
Casa Luza, The Thinking Traveller
*It’s worth referring to the above hotel reviews and general guides around the below itineraries to flesh them out, or to explore other hotel options in the regions you’re looking at.
Itinerary 1: Your first Sicily trip
Palermo
Stay Villa Igiea, Palermo or Casa Nostra for more boutique & central
Visit the Norman Cathedral, Palazzo Butera for art, Manima tour for embroidery, Vucciria and Ballarò markets, also Mercato delle Pulci, Pasticceria Cappello for breakfast, Coast to Coast for arancina, Nautoscopio for aperitivo, Gagini for a smart supper, Trattoria Bersagliere for a typical, relaxed Sicilian trattoria. Cefalu via the train/hire car if time for the beaches (Kalura is lovely)
Drive down to Scopello OR directly down to Agrigento
Stay Verdura/Adler Resort/Agricola Mandranova (right on the main road though, beautiful but not quiet)
Visit Agrigento - a full morning with lunch booked at Casa Diodoros in the park + a cooking class/workshop. Visit the Scala dei Turchi (smooth, milky Turkish steps).
Drive to the South East Baroque towns
Stay at either Dimora Delle Balze or (if you want to be in central Noto) Gagliardi Boutique Hotel.
Noto: visit the Cathedral, Caffè Sicilia, Palazzo Nicolaci, Monastero del Santissimo Salvatore rooftop for views, Palazzo Castelluccio, communal gardens, concept store Santagatha Pozzilei, Archivio for silk duos, Teatro Tina Di Lorenzo. Book a tour of Sergio Fiorentino’s gallery, Eat at Norma or Manna, cocktails on Gagliardi’s roof terrace. Beaches nearby - Vendecari (more hiking and wildlife), Agua Beach - if you need a bit of a basic day of sunbathing with a restaurant behind (great pasta). Also nearby for hikers Cavagrande del Cassibile - a long canyon walk along the scala cruci (stairway of the cross) from Bevedere for waterfalls, bright turquoise swimspots.
