East and West Coast of Sicily, Italy

July 2023

East and West Coast of Sicily, Italy

Our second White Lotus destination! After our amazing trip to Sardinia last year, we were hooked on Eurosummer. We had wanted to visit Sicily for a while and this solidified it for this year. And then White Lotus came out and blew the lid off of Sicily for everyone. I know it was a popular destination before but I could not imagine how bad it would be now. We ultimately decided it should not stop us and when I looked around, accommodations were still available and reasonably priced so it felt like we would be ok. I made sure I secured reservations for dinners each night so we would not get stuck with a bad meal and again, we had no issues booking them in advance. Eurosummer in Sicily! 

We had a week for this vacation so with eight days, we did not have time to do a romantic road trip around the island so we had to make giant cuts from typical Sicily itineraries – including the major cities of Palermo and Catania. I considered planning the entire trip in one area and seeing as much as possible but I was ultimately swayed by the beaches in the west and the beauty in the east to spend four days in each area – 4 days in Trapani and 4 days in Taormina. 

Flight prices were at an all time bonkers level for this trip so we had to fly out of JFK to find something that worked. We flew Norse Atlantic Airlines for the first time and it is the Norwegian replacement – budget airline for international itineraries where you have to pay for everything – seats, bags, food, etc. I checked in at the 24 hour mark so we got seated together, we were only bringing personal item bags for this trip, and we could bring our own food so there was no need to pay for any of the uncharged items for this trip. 

We had an easy flight into Rome where we hung out at a lounge (thank you Priority Pass), enjoyed some food, and headed off to our connecting flight to Trapani. There are two airports most visitors fly into – Palermo and Catania – but I was pleased to find two flights a day going to Trapani which is where we were starting our trip. Logistics in getting around Sicily are definitely tricky and require a lot of planning. 

When we landed in Trapani, we missed the hourly bus that goes to town so we headed to the taxi line and paid the flat 30 euro rate for the journey. On our way there, we could see the hilltop town of Erice, the Mediterranean Sea, and the salt pans that are in this area. 

Read about our time exploring Trapani and the west coast of Sicily here!

Getting across the island is a bit tricky – Sicily is much larger than I expected when planning this trip. Driving takes about 3 hours from Trapani to Catania. Even with a rental, we found it difficult to find places that would allow for a one day rental. Ideally, we would have spent the entire day scootering across Sicily making stops every 1-2 hours for a full day adventure but I could not find a company that allowed for it to pick up and drop off in different locations. Similar to cars, it was not easy finding a company that allowed for one way drop offs. And car rentals were expensive and hiring a driver was even more insane being quoted over 500 euro. Flights were also not as common as I would have expected – in fact to get from Trapani to Catania we would have had to stop in Rome first which made no sense. Then I found a bus that actually goes from Trapani to Catania – and for 15 euro a person! Flixbus seems to exist all over the world but this was the first time we came in contact with it as a mode of transit. Buses include assigned seats, a toilet, Wi-Fi, and power outlets.

Our 925AM bus departed late – no surprise – at 940AM and we unfortunately came into lots of traffic due to an accident which made our entire journey an hour late. I will say the website was very helpful in tracking our progress which helped us plan for the final leg of the trip to our final destination of Taormina. The drive itself was really scenic – farms, rolling hills, vineyards – and as we got closer to Catania, our first glimpse at Mt Etna. 

We got off the bus at Catania Airport since the stop for the next bus was in the same spot. I purchased tickets for the route through Etna Trasporti. Though based on the fact we were an hour late, we were able to use it for another time than the one I selected without an issue. The route from Catania AIrport to central Taormina was over an hour and only cost 7 euro. So our total trip cost was 22 euro a person to get from Trapani to Taormina – much less than the other options available in exchange for a bit more of vacation time to get there. The drive to Taormina was so scenic as we made our way along the coast. When we got to the base of the mountain, that is when the drive got even more interesting. To get to the top, there are a series of multiple switchbacks to make the climb and doing this in a bus seems impossible but these bus drivers are amazingly skilled – it was so impressive. As we climbed each switch back, the views got more and more spectacular, getting glimpses of Taormina above, Isola Bella in the distance below, and Mt Etna constantly gazing. We could not wait to get out and start exploring!

Read about our White Lotus experience exploring Taormina and the east coast of Sicily here!

Our journey to the Catania airport was seamless. We took the first bus in the morning via Etna Trasporti to Catania airport, it was that simple. The airport here is small and easy to navigate. The quick flight landed in Rome and we actually had a few hour layover where we decided to visit the city for lunch and quick sightseeing. We had both been to Rome before but it was well over 10 years so it was a fun way to spend layover time. And I will say – it was insanely hot and crowded – if you are thinking of doing sightseeing in the summer time… try and reschedule. We could not believe how crowded and uncomfortable it was here.

Sicily was an amazing Eurosummer destination and we were so impressed at how much there is to do on this small island. It was the perfect way to spend a week enjoying the beaches, wine tasting, sightseeing, and more. We are definitely converted to the European summer lifestyle and cannot wait to explore more!

The Perfect One Week Itinerary for Sicily – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

My complete packing list for Sicily – here!

See all blog posts for Sicily – here!