How to Road Trip the Sicilian Coast

Erice

From Palermo, drive west an hour and a half to Trapani, where you’ll ride the gondola to Erice.

This town is all Middle Ages: stone walls, narrow streets, castles on the cliff overlooking the sea. The streets are still paved with smooth stones laid in ancient times. From the edge of the city you can see much of the northern coast of the island.

Apart from the architecture and the views, there are plenty of gelato shops in Erice.

Cefalu

 Old HarborCefalù, ItalyOne of my favorite cities in Sicily. Beautiful old city and has a gorgeous little harbor right off of it. Walk out to the end of the break water and take in this beautiful view!

Cefalu sits on the Tyrrhenian Sea at the base of steep brown cliffs. The drive east from Palermo to Cefalu takes about an hour and gives a few good vistas of the town and its focal point, the cathedral.

Cefalu’s small beach is packed in summer, so if that’s when you’re there it might be best to spend your day like a local: lounging at a restaurant or café in the shadows of the cathedral’s towers.

Siracusa

 TuristfortSiracusa, ItalyAmazingly beautiful and clear waters. Walk along the little boardwalk here and bask in the warm sun. Several restaurants and hotels are nearby for you to grab a drink outside and enjoy the water views. Or rent a boat and join the people out there! #free #italy #sicily

Drive across the island (about 3 hours from Palermo) to another city with an ancient past, Siracusa. Founded by Corinthians, Siracusa was a powerful city-state.

The best evidence of Siracusa’s history is in the old district of Ortigia and its ruins of the Temple of Apollo — a few humble columns in the middle of a modern square.

The Duomo, built around the Greek temple to Athena, dominates Ortigia. Inside, you can see the temple’s original 12 columns absorbed by the newer church walls.

From there, head through the wide Piazza Archimede with its baroque fountain centerpiece and catch a cab to Neapolis, an archeological park with a well-preserved Greek theater. Plan ahead to catch a play.

Taormina

 Mount EtnaCatania, Italy#abovetheclouds #volcano #bellaitalia

Taormina, a resort town on multi-tiered cliffs overlooking the Ionian Sea, is an hour and a half north of Siracusa. This is where you can get a tour to Mt. Etna, and at night the volcano’s glowing lava is easily visible.

Taormina has plenty of pedestrian streets with shops and restaurants (which get very crowded, so go early in the day). There’s also the ancient ruins of the Teatro Greco, and you can climb the long staircase to the top of the mountain overlooking the town.

 Teatro Antico di TaorminaTaormina, ItalyThis ancient theater is an absolute must-see on the island. Seriously, if you don’t get around to seeing it, you might as well not say that you’ve been to Taormina. Some nights there are open-air concerts which are pretty cool. Philosophy nerds, rejoice! (My college prof. gave me an A even when I came back to school a month late because I was hanging out over there) #free #history

The beaches below are accessible via an aerial tramway, the funivia, which runs every 15 minutes.

Drive to nearby Catania (an hour from Taormina) to drop off your rental car and fly home.

More tips

Be prepared for fast, impatient drivers and for tolls on the autostrada, the equivalent of a U.S. interstate. You could also take the slower local roads that sometimes parallel the autostrada, but you may not always have a choice.

Traffic and parking are less ferocious than on the mainland, but still give yourself extra time when arriving at your destinations.

Get a map from either the Automobile Club d’Italia or the Italian Touring Club before setting out.

Most major car rental companies operate in Sicily and you can shop around for the best rates on Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz.

There’s a charge for dropping off the rental car at a different airport, but depending on gas prices and currency conversion rates, it could be around the same price of driving back to Palermo. Plus, you’re saving yourself a couple hours by leaving from a closer airport (Catania).

For more information on the rules of the road in Italy, check InItaly.com.

[Note: This was originally published in February 2010.]