Sicily

Two Coasts, One Island

Taormina & Palermo

Sicily is not somewhere you loop around. It is Greek and Arab and Norman and Spanish in layers, and the two ends of the island barely feel like the same place. You stay on the east under Etna, then cross to the west and Palermo, and the drive between them goes through the middle of everything worth seeing. Gay-owned, and welcoming to all.

The same two hotels either way. The choice is how long you have. Seven nights covers both cities properly. Ten nights is what turns it into the whole island, because the extra days are what buy you Syracuse, the Baroque southeast and the Valley of the Temples rather than a longer lie-in.

The east

Taormina

A Greek theatre on a cliff with Etna smoking behind it, still the best seat in Sicily two and a half thousand years later.

The west

Palermo

Loud, layered and genuinely thrilling: Byzantine mosaics, Arab-Norman palaces and the best street food in Italy.

Where You Stay

The two hotels

A Belmond on the east coast and a Rocco Forte on the west. The same two in both journeys, so the only thing that changes is how long you have in each.

Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond Hotel, Taormina

1/5

Taormina · the east coast

Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond Hotel

Directly beside the Greek theatre, with a terrace bar looking straight down the coast to Etna. It has been the address in Taormina since 1873.

Superior room, king or two twins, furnished balcony
Daily breakfast
$100 food and beverage credit per stay
Early check-in at noon and upgrade when available
Fruit and flowers on arrival

Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte hotel, Palermo

1/5

Palermo · the west coast

Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte hotel

An Art Nouveau villa on its own bay just outside the city, restored down to the Basile frescoes, with terraced gardens running to the sea.

Classic room, super king, king or two twins
Daily breakfast
Hotel credit per stay
Upgrade, early check-in and late check-out when available

Add as You Like

Experiences

None of this is included in either price, and none of it is compulsory. Sicily is unusually good value for experiences: the east coast in particular does full days out for less than a decent dinner. Tell us which appeal and we will price them for your dates.

From Taormina

Nights 1 to 4, or 1 to 6 on the Full Island

Etna and the Alcantara gorge, by 4x4

7 hours · private

The basalt gorge cut through an old lava flow, the medieval village of Castiglione, then up the wine road to an estate on the north slope. On by dirt track to the 2002 flow, the Corruccio lava cave in the Ragabo pine forest, and Piano Provenzana at 1,800 metres. A second estate for lunch.

A driver rather than a volcanologist, and it does not go to the summit craters. Say if you want either and we will build it differently.

From $530 per person

Etna oil and wine, at the table

6 hours · small group

An olive estate first, walked with an agronomist who can tell you why the volcanic soil matters, and three artisan oils with bread. Then a family winery, the old cellars and barrels, five Etna wines and a four-course Sicilian lunch. Nerello Mascalese is having a moment and this is why.

From $400 per person

The bay, by boat

4 hours · private, English crew

Out of Giardini Naxos aboard a small open yacht with sofas and sunbeds, along Capo Taormina and round Isola Bella with the Grotta Azzurra from the water, on to Mazzarò and the long beach at Spisone. Two swim stops, snorkelling gear and a paddleboard aboard.

From $1,420 per person

Syracuse and Ortygia

7 hours · small group, guided

The Neapolis park first, with the largest Greek theatre in Sicily, the Roman amphitheatre and the Ear of Dionysius. Then over to Ortygia: the Temple of Apollo, the alleys of the old Jewish quarter, and a cathedral square that is arguably the finest Baroque space in Italy.

This is the day that earns the ten-night journey. Pair it with Noto, half an hour further on.

From $470 per person

Baroque Noto

2 hours · private, expert-led

Levelled by the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt from nothing in gold limestone by Gagliardi and Sinatra, deliberately, as a designed city. In through the Porta Reale, up onto the terrace of Santa Chiara for the view, inside San Nicolò, and the carved balconies of Palazzo Nicolaci.

Begins in Noto itself, so it belongs on the back of the Syracuse day rather than on its own.

From $380 per person

The Aeolians, by private yacht

8 hours · private Ferretti 57

Driven to Portorosa, then out to Lipari and Vulcano for the Grotta del Cavallo, the Piscina di Venere, the black sand at Gelso and a guided walk through the old town. Or further, to Panarea and Stromboli, to watch the Sciara del Fuoco from the water.

Ninety minutes by road each way, and these two carry much stricter cancellation terms than anything else here. We will spell them out before you commit.

From $4,260 per person

From Palermo

The last three or four nights

Palermo and Monreale

8 hours · private, expert-led

Teatro Massimo, Piazza Pretoria, inside Santa Caterina, the Capo market and La Martorana, then up to Monreale for the cathedral and cloister. Byzantine mosaic laid over Norman stone with Arabic inscriptions in the same building, and two and a quarter tonnes of gold in the apse.

From $800 per person

Capo, Vucciria and the street food

3 hours · private, expert-led

Arancini, sfincione, panelle and, if you are brave, pane ca meusa. Through both markets and the alleys between them, past Sant’Agostino and San Domenico, and into the Focacceria di San Francesco, which is a landmark of the anti-mafia movement as much as a place to eat.

From $470 per person

Market, then cook it

5 hours · private, max 6

The Mercato del Capo with a chef to choose what is worth buying, then three courses made properly: arancini, pasta alla Norma and cannoli filled at the last minute the way they should be. You eat what you made, with wine and Marsala.

Not suitable for coeliacs. The market closes Sundays and holidays, and the fish stalls close Mondays.

From $880 per person