A 2-Week Road Trip Around Sicily

I was welcomed to Sicily by the car horns and chaos of the streets of Catania, tightly gripping the wheel of our compact SUV rental car, bracing myself for two weeks of road-tripping around Sicily.

It’s funny because 14 years before this trip, my high school French teacher told me about an upcoming vacation to Sicily he was planning during summer break and how terrified he was to drive there. I remember thinking to myself, I’m never going to drive in Sicily.

Yet somehow, the things we say we’re never going to do are often the things we inevitably end up doing, like some sort of jinx. So here I was, in Sicily, on the verge of a meltdown as my road trip had just begun.

We started in the foothills of Mount Etna and made our way around the island, from Cefalù on the north coast to Erice on the western side, then down to the Baroque villages of the Noto Valley.

Two weeks of almond granitas, historic palazzos, turquoise waters, stuffed-to-the-brim cannoli, 2,000-year-old temples, seaside villages, and busiate pasta. There is so much richness in Sicily, in both its culture and character. The realness and rawness of the island, the heat and smells of Ballarò Market, the grittiness of Palermo, the untouched beauty of the beaches in the Zingaro Reserve, the soul in the cooking, the passion of the people. These are the things that have stayed with me, even two years after my trip.

I survived the driving, and it wasn’t actually as scary as I initially thought. Though, similarly to how I arrived, I bid farewell to the island in the most chaotic Sicilian fashion. At Palermo Airport, while we waited to drop off our bags for our flight, there was no line, just a big crowd of people yelling at each other as most of us were about to miss our flights because there was absolutely no organization whatsoever. Ah yes, this is Sicily.

Inside this guide is a detailed itinerary of our 16-day road trip around Sicily, day by day. Where we ate, where we stayed, what I loved, and what I would have changed, plus a map to help with your planning.

P.S. This will be much easier to read on desktop :)

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Where we stayed: Palazzo Previtera in Linguaglossa – Direct | Booking.com

Anything I would have done differently? I would have spent an extra night in Linguaglossa to explore more of the area around Mount Etna.

DAY 1: LINGUAGLOSSA

We arrived at Catania Airport from Rome mid-morning, picked up our rental car, and drove straight to Linguaglossa, a village in the hills at the foot of Mount Etna. We dropped our bags off at Palazzo Previtera, a centuries-old villa renovated by Alfio, a native Sicilian, and his family, where we spent two nights.

The area surrounding Linguaglossa is verdant and fertile, with olive groves, vineyards, and nut farms making up the landscape. Visiting a couple of the nearby villages and tasting food from the source at local producers is a great way to explore the area. Save some time to enjoy the hotel, too. There’s a nice pool and garden area.