5 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE TRAVELING TO SICILY ITALY

Are you planning a trip to Sicily? Whether it’s a quick vacation or a longer stay, this video is for you. We cover 5 essential things you need to know before you go, plus a bonus tip at the end to save some money!

Every year, countless travelers flock to Sicily to explore its treasures. If you’re considering making the journey, it’s a decision that can profoundly change your life. To make the most of your experience, it’s essential to understand when to visit, how to navigate the island, get around, manage your budget, and find suitable accommodations.

Croce and Carol Amato, veterans on living in Sicily, provide valuable insights in this video about the 5 things you need to know before traveling to Sicily, Italy.

▶️ Video Chapters:

00:00 – 5 Things To Know Before Traveling To Sicily Italy

00:15 – 1. When to Go:
The best time to visit Sicily depends on what you’re looking for. May to June and September to October offer great weather for beach time and sightseeing, with fewer crowds than peak summer.

01:57 – 2A. How to Get There:
You can reach Sicily by plane, ferry, or cruise. Most people fly, with direct flights from some major cities available in the summer months. Budget airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet can save money, but clear your website cookies and browsing history to avoid price hikes.

03:29 – 2B. Getting Around Sicily:
A small rental car is ideal for exploring the island. While there are highways, you’ll also want to navigate charming alleys and hidden gems. Public transportation is affordable (buses and trains) but can be slow.

04:35 – 3. Prices:
Mid-range hotels cost around €60-80 per night, while Airbnbs average €90. Off-season offers better rates. Lunch is the most affordable meal, ranging from €6-10 for a full plate. Dinners cost €10-15, with pizza even cheaper. Stay away from tourist traps for the best deals.

05:56 – 4. Best To Do

06:45 – 5. Patience is Key:
Things move differently in Sicily. Be prepared to wait in lines, as stores often close for afternoon siestas but stay open later in the evening. Numerous festivals and holidays can also lead to closures. Embrace the laid-back culture and enjoy the slower pace.

08:09 – Bonus:
Skip Airbnb and Hotels.com! Look for seasonal rentals (transitorio) on Italian websites like Casa.it, Subito.it, Idealista.it, and Immobiliare.it. These offer 30-day minimum stays (up to 90 days) and are often cheaper than Airbnbs, especially for more extended stays.

We hope these tips help you plan your amazing Sicilian adventure!

5 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE TRAVELING TO SICILY ITALY

In this video, we’re going to cover five essential things that you need to know before you head to Sicily, whether it’s on vacation or for a longer stay. And be sure to stick around for the bonus one at the end because that will help you save a little bit of money.

1. When to Go:

The first tip is when to go to Sicily. Now, there’s a lot of debate about this, but the main suggested times are when, Croce? May to June and September to October.

Yes, because those are really good months for good weather, right? They can still go to the beach and do hiking, and then you won’t have as many tourists. Now September, there will be tourists around, but those are the months that you can still swim and go to the beaches and do whatever you like.

But I’ll tell you what, even though folks say to stay away in August because that’s the month that Italy shuts down, well, not completely. Up north, it’s not used as much. But that’s the month for national vacations, so a lot of Italians take their vacation in the month of August, and a lot of places completely close down, and you can’t order.

If you’re doing a project, you can’t order lumber, you can’t do anything, but that doesn’t affect us. And the heat doesn’t bother us because the older we get, we’re in our 60s, we are not bothered by the heat. Now, we use fans and all, and AC sometimes, but doesn’t bother us. So August would be a good month for us.

But they suggest June, May through June, and then September through October. In the autumn months, it’s kind of rainy, right? Autumn and the winter, you get a lot of rain, and I love the rain. I love sitting on the veranda and watching a good rainstorm, so I don’t mind the rain.

But as far as going around and visiting and driving, it would be a little bit chilly and rainy in the fall and winter, and the places are usually not insulated, so it can feel colder.

2A. How to Get There:

Next, we’re going to talk about how to get there. Yes, Sicily is an island, of course, and there are boats, there are cruises, there are ferries.

But most everybody flies there, and we have used all the major airlines. We’ve used ITA. And there have been, in the summer months, from JFK to Palermo, direct flights with no layovers in Rome or Milan or anywhere else. So that’s really convenient, but that’s typically during the summers only.

I know your Uncle Peter got a one-way — or got a direct flight from JFK, and he’s in Brooklyn. So he got it from JFK to right to Palermo, and boy is that nice not having to deal with another airport. But we’ve used ITA, Delta, American Airlines, all of them.

But as far as the budget airlines, what do you suggest? Ryanair and EasyJet. Yes, Ryanair and EasyJet. You can save a lot of money.

And I’ll tell you, when you go on the websites, if you clear your browsing history and clear the cookies and everything, and you can change browsers, whether you use Firefox or Chrome. Sometimes they log your activity. I know they do. And when you’re checking on prices, and you’re not ready to book, the next time you log in on the same browser, sometimes that price jumps up and up and up and up.

Well, either clear your cache and cookies and start your browser again, or switch browsers to either Firefox, if you’re using Internet Explorer, whatever you’re using. Sometimes that helps.

2B. Getting Around Sicily:

The next topic is getting around in Sicily. So, Croce, what do you recommend for getting around the island? Well, definitely a small car.

Small car, yes, because they do have highways and there are big major thoroughfares and such. But there are little alleyways and streets that you’re going to want to explore and go down. I know I’ve taken you on many a joyride. Oh, let’s see what that looks interesting. Let’s go down that alleyway, and then we end up having to move our mirrors in because it’s so narrow and tight. We love it. We love to explore and just go where our heart takes us, but you’re definitely going to want a car.

Now, there are public transportation, buses, train system in Sicily, and there are good schedules available. You can actually get a bus pass for the month and pay a little over 30 euros, and that will last for a full month. For example, a bus ticket from Palermo, the capital in Sicily, to Cefalu, which is a beautiful beach town, costs about €6.

Yes. Public transportation is definitely possible, and it’s very affordable. It’s just a little slow sometimes.

3. Prices:

The next area we’d like to talk about is prices. And if you want to stay in a mid-type hotel, it could cost you between €60 and €80 per night, and on the lower end, if it’s mid-level, which there are plenty of those. And then an Airbnb ranges around, I would say averages around €90 per night, even in Carini, Sicily. So, it’s kind of pricey. And of course, the off-season is much cheaper. You get better rates.

And as far as dining out, eating out, we have found that lunch is more affordable. And lunch ranges what, Croce? Around 6 between €6 and €10.

Yes, between €6 and €10 per person for a meal, and that’s a full meal. That’s, you know, swordfish and eggplant and a salad on the side with a drink. So it’s very affordable, and the food is so delicious and good.

And then dinner runs about what? Between €10 and €15. Yes, and if you get pizza, it’s even less expensive than that, depending on what you want and what level of restaurant you go.

Of course, there is fine dining with, you know, all the high-end services, but that’s about the average. So it’s enjoyable and very affordable. If you stay away from the touristy places, the prices are going to be really good. It’s what the locals pay, and we love it.

4. Best To Do

There are so many wonderful places to visit and things to do in Sicily. Inexhaustible list; if you’re interested in going to monuments and historical buildings in Palermo, or the ancient ruins in Agrigento, or Mount Etna, the volcano, it’s a live active volcano, or visiting the nearby town or city of Catania, it’s beautiful, or visiting, for example, Cefalu, a fishing village with beautiful views and vistas, beautiful beaches.

You will have a list of things to do, and everything is easily accessible, especially by car. We highly recommend getting around by car, either rental, or you can purchase one. You’re going to make some wonderful memories in Sicily.

5. Patience is Key:

The next topic is? Patience. Yes. Lots of patience. Yes, you need to develop some patience, because things are different. It’s a different country.

It’s not like the U.S. I’m an American. Croce was born and raised in Sicily. He’s used to it, although living in the United States, you’ve kind of gotten a little spoiled. But you do have to wait for things. There are lines for things.

Things close down in the afternoon for several hours. Stores will shut down. And that’s when people go home and have lunch with their families, and just take a little bit of a rest, but then they’re open till 9:00 at night, so everything kind of weighs out. Everything kind of balances out.

There are a lot of festivals and holidays. I couldn’t believe how many times everything shut down, because they were celebrating something, some feast or festival. It’s wonderful.

But you do need to develop a little bit of a thick skin compared to here, because the bureaucracy can get a little bit frustrating when you need to get something accomplished.

The office workers have their own time frame, and you can’t expect things to be run exactly as efficiently as you would want them to be done. They have their own system and their own way, and they get it done. They do get it done, so just relax, let it flow, and just be patient.

 Bonus:

Here’s the bonus we promised. Instead of going to Airbnb or Hotels.com or wherever you’re going to look to book your place, I recommend going to four websites with the extension with the it at the end for Italia — dot it.

And what are they, Croce? Casa, Subito, Idealista, Immobiliare. Yes, those four websites.

You can go on there and look for seasonal rentals, and they are called transitorio, and go to those four websites. It’s a 30-day minimum to rent, but they go upwards to three months sometimes. Yes, 90 days, and so that’ll be probably a lot cheaper than Airbnb.

Now, Airbnbs have gone up. And the local people on these websites, not as much. Now, things are rising everywhere, but these local places that rent their place or have an extra cottage in the back of their home that they rent out, those don’t go up near as fast as the Airbnbs do. Yes.

And the video you need to watch next is The Honest Cost of Living in Sicily, our personal breakdown where we go into very good detail of every category, so that will give you some information as well.

Thanks for watching. Arrivederci.