Sicily: The North Coast

Sicily is hands down one of the most beautiful regions in Italy. A small island that at first glance appears to be easy to explore on one trip, yet so vast in natural features, historical value, and cultural characteristics that I believe it’s better to divide the island up into sections and focus on one at a time.

On this trip, we spent two weeks travelling along the Northern Coast on the Tyrrhenian Sea, focusing on nature and relaxation then doing a city break in Palermo at the end.

We flew into Catania, rented a car, and drove to stunning, peaceful, and touristy Taormina, a charming little town with Mt Etna looming in the background.

From Taormina, we drove to Milazzo to take the ferry to the Aeolian Islands. I’d heard from a lot of people how beautiful these islands are but I was still not prepared. It’s not so much the beauty that impressed me, but more the isolated, laid-back, and serene atmosphere.

In the islands we stayed in Lipari, the biggest one of all them, to have more things to do, though we ended up not doing a lot there. We stayed in a nice apartment with a large terrace overlooking the sea and the other islands in the background, so we spent most of our evenings just relaxing on that terrace and even did yoga there on some days. Then, each day we visited a different island.

The best day was the boat trip to Stromboli to see the active volcano. As you get off the ferry, you can immediately feel the heat, as the climate there is about ten degrees hotter than the other island’s already hot, mid-summer, high temperatures. There, we went to Black Beach, chilled on the black volcanic sand, and had some Messina beer with the volcano over us. After that, we got back on the boat which took us around the island to see the sunset with the volcano up close and managed to catch some eruptions light up in the dark.

Another day we went to Panarea and Salina. Panarea is the luxurious one of all the islands, very posh and pretty. Salina, in my opinion, was the most beautiful and peaceful one. If I ever go back to the Aeolian Islands, I would like to stay there. This island also had the nicest, most pristine water and beaches.

I felt so incredibly relaxed and free after spending five days in the islands, as if nothing could upset me. I was able to completely disconnect from real life, barely used my phone, and almost forgot Covid exists. As we were heading back to the main island of Sicily, it was hard to believe that we were only halfway through the trip since I already had so many great memories.

Our next stop along the northern coast was Cefalù. The historic, charming town and beautiful beaches are definitely worth exploring, though in the middle of August the beaches were too crowded for my taste.

The most anticipated stop for me, after the islands, was the Trapani region because I’d read that some of the most beautiful beaches and nature reserves were to be found there. The first beach we visited was Scopello. Although it was pretty with its clear water and stacks, I thought it’s a bit overhyped. It was too crowded to properly enjoy, especially considering that we were still in the middle of a pandemic. There were lawn chairs lined up in rows making it seem like a theater and the stage was the sea.

The next day was another high point on the trip for me, we went to Riserva dello Zingaro, one of the most beautiful natural reserves in Italy and something I’d been wanting to see for years. You can hike all the way from San Vito lo Capo to Scopello, but we only had time to do it halfway from San Vito and back. From the park you can walk down to the beach in certain points and go for a swim. The reserves ended up being burnt down two weeks after that and is now closed, so I’m so glad we got to do that just before.

By the time we got back to the beach in the town, the scorching heat of mid-August had exhausted us to the point that I collapsed when we got to the beach and laid out there in the shade til sunset. The beach at San Vito met my expectations, supposedly one of the best beaches in Italy, though that might be an overstatement.

The day of Ferragosto, an important Italian holiday that basically just celebrates the summer, we went to see some history: Erice and Segesta.

Erice is a historic town high up on a mountain overlooking Trapani and the sea. The drive up is amazing, though I was sure glad I wasn’t driving the hairy road and just enjoying the scenery instead. The views from up there were spectacular, the charming alley streets fun to explore and the medieval architecture jaw-dropping.