Day trips

40 minutes. The great Baroque stone town, honey-coloured at sunset. Go late in the afternoon, have a granita at Caffè Sicilia, walk the main street as the light turns gold, and stay for dinner. A few trains a day go there too.

40 minutes. Nero d’Avola and Moscato di Noto country. Planeta’s Buonivini estate and Feudo Maccari run tastings from about €40⁠–⁠60. We’re planning one winery visit for the group; if you want more, these are close. Someone has to drive, so book a driver.

1h45 each way, a full day. Walk the craters at around 2,000 metres, then have a long lunch at a winery on the slopes (Benanti, Planeta’s Sciaranuova, Gambino). It’s cool and gritty up there: bring a layer and trainers. Go with a driver or a tour; private Etna-and-wine days run about €150⁠–⁠400 per person, depending on the size of your group.

40 minutes, plus a 15-minute walk. A nature reserve with wild beaches, and Calamosche, one of Italy’s most beautiful coves. No facilities and a €3.50 entry ticket: go early with water, lunch and shade. Pairs well with Noto.

20 minutes. White sand, turquoise water and beach clubs with sunbeds, lunch and music. Kukua runs beach, restaurant and evening party in one. Book sunbeds the day before.

About an hour. A deep limestone gorge with thousands of tombs cut into the rock 3,000 years ago, and river pools at the bottom. A good half-day for walkers: trainers, water, swimsuit. Go in from the Sortino side; the other entrance has been closed since a bridge collapsed in 2021.

1h10⁠–⁠1h20. Two Baroque hill towns. Modica for its grainy chocolate, Ragusa Ibla for dinner. Lovely, but the drive back is long.

A long day, or better, two nights. Drive an hour to Pozzallo, then take the Virtu Ferries catamaran to Valletta, about 1h45. In 2026 there was a 09:15 sailing out and returns at 19:00 or 21:30, which gives you about six hours in Valletta. Check times and prices on virtuferries.com; rough seas can cancel the crossing.

Coming from far? Malta is better as two nights before or after the week. Flights from Catania take about 35 minutes.

• Taormina, 1h30⁠–⁠1h45. The cliff-top town and Greek theatre. Very busy in summer.
• Agrigento, 2h30⁠–⁠3h. The Valley of the Temples. Too far for a day unless you love temples.
• Cavagrande del Cassibile, 40 minutes. A canyon with turquoise pools. The main trail reopened in 2024 with a €2 ticket, but it closes on weather-alert days, so check before you go.
• Savoca, about 2 hours, just past Taormina. The Godfather village: Michael meets Apollonia at Bar Vitelli, which is still open, and the film’s Sicilian wedding was shot at the church up the lane.

Coming from Mexico or the US, many of you will make two weeks of it. Brilliant: build it around the week with us. Arrive in Sicily early and work your way to Ortigia by Saturday 28 August, or carry on after the wedding. Times below are from Ortigia, by car.

Palermo Map

About 3 hours. Sicily’s capital: street markets, street food, golden Arab-Norman churches and the mosaics of Monreale just outside. Big, loud and a little rough around the edges. Two or three nights, and easiest if you fly straight into Palermo.

Cefalù Map

About 2h45, one hour from Palermo. A seaside town under a huge rock, with a Norman cathedral and a beach in town. Very busy in August. One or two nights on the way east.

Taormina Map

1h30⁠–⁠1h45. The cliff-top town over the sea, with its Greek theatre and Isola Bella below. Crowded in summer, so stay a night or two and pair it with a day on Etna.

The Aeolian Islands Map

About 2h15 to Milazzo, then about an hour by hydrofoil to Lipari. Seven volcanic islands: Lipari, Salina, Panarea, Stromboli and the rest. Swimming, boats, capers and Malvasia wine. Three nights at least; hydrofoils are run by Liberty Lines.

Western Sicily Map

4 hours or more. Trapani, the island of Favignana and the beach at San Vito lo Capo: turquoise water, salt pans and couscous. Too far to mix with our week; do it as its own leg, flying into Palermo or Trapani.

Agrigento Map

2h30⁠–⁠3h. The Valley of the Temples, one of the best-preserved Greek sites anywhere. A good stop on the drive between Palermo and Ortigia.

Beyond Sicily

• Malta: two nights, by ferry from Pozzallo or a 35-minute flight from Catania.
• Rome: an hour and a quarter by plane from Catania.
• Madrid or Paris: flying home to Monterrey you’ll spend a night in one of them anyway. Make it two or three.

A route we’d suggest

1. Fly into Palermo. Three nights there, with a morning in Monreale.
2. One night in Cefalù.
3. Across to Taormina for two nights, with a day on Etna.
4. Into Ortigia by Saturday 28 August, for the week with us.
5. After the wedding, three nights in the Aeolian Islands or two in Malta, then home from Catania.