Travel tips for Sicily

Sicily rewards a bit of preparation before arrival, and most of what catches first-time visitors off guard falls into a handful of categories. Money is the easy part for anyone coming from the eurozone: the currency is the euro, so there's no exchange rate to plan around, but expect a coperto — a cover charge of one to three euros per person — at most sit-down restaurants, and tipping that's appreciated rather than obligatory.

Transport starts at one of two main airports: Catania Fontanarossa on the east coast and Palermo Punta Raisi on the north, both connected to their cities by bus and train, with car rental the more practical option for reaching Etna's villages, the Madonie or most of the southeast and south. Driving in Sicily is largely straightforward on the autostrada network, but nearly every historic centre enforces a ZTL, a limited traffic zone policed by camera, and an unauthorised entry means an automatic fine mailed weeks later; parking at the edge of the old town and walking in avoids it entirely.

Trains link the coastal cities reasonably well — Palermo, Cefalù, Messina, Catania and Syracuse — but service thins out fast once you leave that line, and buses fill some but not all of the gaps. Heat shapes the calendar more than almost anything else: July and August regularly pass 35°C inland, with spikes above 40°C, which rules out a lot of walking-heavy sightseeing in the early afternoon, while April to June and September to October offer the most reliable combination of warm days and manageable evenings.

Mid-August brings Ferragosto, a public holiday on the 15th when Sicilians themselves head to the coast, so beaches and coastal towns get genuinely crowded while inland towns can feel quiet. Ferries and hydrofoils connect Sicily to its own islands — the Aeolians, the Egadi, Ustica, Pantelleria and Lampedusa — and every one of these routes can be suspended by rough seas, sometimes with only a few hours' notice, so a fixed itinerary built entirely around one crossing carries real risk.

Hassle is minimal by most standards, but touts near major sights — the Valley of the Temples, central Palermo, Taormina's main street — sometimes push overpriced tours or guides; there's no obligation to engage, and official ticket offices are always the safer route. Alcohol is available everywhere without restriction, and a glass of wine with dinner is the norm rather than the exception.