Just ask anyone shuffling along Palermo’s main roads: Sicily is not Italy. Though they share the same government, Sicilians will be quick to point out the many differences. Sicily’s history as a prime military site meant that it was constantly being overrun by invaders. Thus, the island is left with a much more convoluted but fascinating combination of cultures, which make Sicily vacations a great way to see the island like you never imagined.
Sicily tours will often stick to the coastlines. The interior of the island is mountainous, sparsely populated and more than a little hazardous. Most Sicily vacations being in Palermo, the island’s unabashedly loud and boisterous capital. Here is the first instance of Sicily’s unique history – Arab, Renaissance and Modern architecture stand side by side, jockeying for your attention. You could spend as much time in Palermo as you want – there’s plenty to do. Though the essentials of Sicily tours are centrally located and easy to see in a day, you’ll want to stick around the city and drink in its energetic atmosphere.
While some may be tempted to just stick inside the warm confines of Palermo Sicily, vacations are about seeing everything available; although Palermo is one of Italy’s top destinations, the rest of the island has plenty to see too. One great side trip is to take a ferry over to the neighboring island of Ustica – a tiny volcanic island with grottos, caves and cliffs that glow beneath the hot Mediterranean sun.
If you really want to get to know the curious history
of the island, there are plenty of Sicily tours that will
bring its rugged and violent past back to life.
Look for them in Palermo - they usually begin here, before
heading to other popular cities on the island’s
east coast, like Siracusa, Taormina
and Catania, the last two trapped beneath the shimmering
Ionian Sea and Mount Etna.
Mount Etna is definitely one of the major tourist attractions found on Sicily, its imposing stature perfect for hiking and biking. You’ll also find plenty of Sicily tours that will take you up and down the mountain – perfect for those who want a little adventure on their vacation. Stopping off in Taormina or Siracusa proves that Palermo Sicily vacations might be the most popular way to spend your time here, but necessarily the best. Taormina has all the stylish resort areas, located above two luminescent bays and perfectly outfitted with Mount Etna as the backdrop. No one leaves Taormina without raving about the exorbitant beauty and decadent luxury offered here. Siracusa features some of the oldest Greek ruins in the world, as it was once a major port for the empire.
No matter what you choose to see in Sicily, tours of the island are a great way to get to know the people, the history and the culture of a land shrouded in secrecy and fables.
