Browsing CategorySicily with kids

happy-villa-holiday-in-sicily

Our top tips for happy villa holidays in Sicily The first trip abroad with a baby or toddler can often be somewhat daunting. You may just have got used to some sort of routine at home and the prospect of abandoning that framework is rather alarming. And if it’s your first attempt to holiday with a baby and a pre-schooler, then you’re forgiven for panicking! In fact, if you’ve done your homework and planned well, there’s no reason why your holiday shouldn’t be just as lovely as your now long-forgotten holidays à deux. Lovely, but different. But if you’re not…

luxury-villas-in-sicily-for-rent-wishsicily

Stay in a luxury villa in Sicily this October Not quite ready to wave goodbye to summer? In Sicily, the sunshine often reaches well into October when, as an added bonus, prices are lower and beaches blissfully quiet. Throw into the mix some wonderfully luxurious villas in Sicily, swimming in seas still warm from the heat of the summer sun and lingering over leisurely seafood lunches, and suddenly, a week in Sicily seems like a great idea! Luxury villas with great prices Our newest property is the wonderful Casale Donna Costanza, a beautifully restored rural home that’s made for sharing,…

luxury-villas-sicily-rent-wishsicily

The best luxury villa holidays in Sicily with teenagers They can be a tricky breed, teenagers, and finding a holiday that delivers a steady flow of good-tempered sweetness and light on their part can be challenging. Throw in some younger siblings and you’ve got your work cut out. So we’ve done the homework for you and come up with a selection of luxury villas in Sicily that are a sure-fire way of keeping teenagers, and everyone else in the family happy. Juke box vibes Sicilian villas don’t come much cooler than Villa Arte Mare Blue, a 5-bedroom villa set in…

villa-cecilia-trabia-wish-sicily

Is Sicily the best place for a big family holiday? After 18 months of uncertainty, enforced lockdowns and at worst, oceans between us, there’s never been a better time to plan a holiday with our loved ones. If you’re one of the unlucky ones who have missed out on sharing those landmark moments with the special people in your life, this is your chance to catch up on memory-making. Close the generation gap Let’s face it – no one’s going to spoil your kids as much as their grandparents! If you’ve got young children who have been deprived of the…

villa-rebecca-wish-sicily

How do you go about planning your family holiday?  Does the destination or the villa take priority? And what about the kids – do you involve them or decide that too many opinions will just complicate matters? Finding the right holiday for all the family is never easy so we’ve tried to simplify things by going through some of the questions which crop up year after year amongst our clients. Can we walk to restaurants and the shops? If you want to keep driving to a minimum, you’ll certainly want some shops and a few restaurants within walking distance. In…

Cefalu, Italy - September 19, 2014: View at a parking with people and cars passing by the coast road during a warm summer evening near the old town of Cefalu, Sicily.

If you’ve missed out on a summer holiday, a quick September getaway may be just what you need to get through the winter. Pack your bags for a 4 or 5 day break in Sicily and combine a few days of sunshine with some fascinating city sightseeing. These are our top 5 picks. Catania An east coast stay means there are plenty of towns to choose from. From your base at Terrazza sul Mare, start with the least well-known, Acireale, where fine baroque buildings line the streets of the old town and spectacular views of Mount Etna are on tap…

sicily-holidays-teenagers

There’s no question they can be tricky travel companions, but with a little careful homework, a holiday in Sicily with teenagers can be as enjoyable as holidaying with friends. Remove the pressure of exams and social arrangements and your teenage children may surprise you! Everything on tap Step one is to identify what makes them tick. Do they thrive on being active or would they like nothing better than lazy days by the pool or on the beach? If you have two or more children, the chances of them all agreeing is unlikely so a reliable compromise may be to…

cheap-villas-in-sicily

Spring is on the doorstep and if you haven’t already done so, it’s definitely time to start planning a holiday. The good news is that, if you’re thinking of staying in a holiday villa, there’s no need to splash the cash. In fact, a villa holiday with your family or a group of friends is an excellent option if you’re looking to keep costs down.  Choose exactly how much you want to spend per person before you book and then, when you’re on holiday, enjoy browsing in local markets for delicious ingredients for poolside lunches and dinners under the stars.…

tours-activities-experiences-sicily

If sunshine is top of your wish list but you’re looking for something more than a straight fly and flop holiday, a week in Sicily may be the answer. One of the best things about the island is its incredibly broad appeal.  For nature lovers, there are mountains and volcanoes, national parks dotted with picturesque hilltop villages, and a 1000km-long varied coastline.  Meanwhile, in its towns and cities, the island’s fascinating history has left its mark on its stunning art, architecture and cuisine. The fact is that whether you’re into food, wine, walking or culture, there’s a huge range of…

carnevale-acireale-sicily

Masks, parades, allegorical floats and much more besides … carnival in Sicily is a wonderful mix of tradition, colour and family fun! Age-old traditions still remain in many of the towns and villages but fortunately, confetti is now thrown in place of eggs and vegetables! Behind the scenes in artisan workshops, specialists in design, engineering and sculpture have been working for months on papier-mâché masterpieces to ensure the carnival processions are truly spectacular. But it’s not all about the parades … not surprisingly, food also plays a big part! Traditional food during carnival includes cavateddi pasta with meat sauce and…

family-villas-in-sicily-wishsicily

Now that Christmas is done and dusted, there’s nothing quite like the thought of a sun-soaked summer holiday to get you through the hardest winter months. Admittedly, summer sunshine still seems a long way off and the temptation is to delay any decision making.  However, if you’re planning a family villa holiday in Sicily in the busier weeks of Whitsun half-term or July and August, our advice is to book as soon as you can for maximum choice. The next decision is where to stay. If you’ve been to Sicily before, you’ll know all about our beaches and delicious food…

family-villas-in-sicily

If you’re planning a family holiday with a baby or toddler, the chances are that gentle sunshine and a short-haul flight will be top of your list of priorities.  With blissfully quiet beaches and temperatures that hover in the low to mid-twenties in autumn and spring, Sicily is an obvious choice. These are six of the best reasons we can think of why a holiday in Sicily works so well for young families. 1 – Beaches While some of the beaches on Sicily are pebbly, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to big sweeping stretches of sand with gently…

sicily water activities

Warm weather in Sicily summer with temperatures currently nudging 30° plus, the only way to really cool down is to make tracks for some water.  Most of our Sicily villas with private pool have a direct access to the sea but if you are looking for something a little more active, there are also water-based activities for everyone in the family. Sicily water activity in the Alcantara Gorge Situated on the east coast of Sicily, just inland from Taormina, the Alcantara Gorge is the place for adrenalin-charged activities.  River trekking and body rafting are both on offer and canyoning can…

sicily-holidays

Experiencing authentic Sicilian food and wine regularly rates as one of the most important aspects of our guests’ holidays. After all, browsing through market stalls to select the freshest ingredients for a modest salad can be just as enjoyable as eating out when you have time on your hands and are presented with homegrown produce that is bursting with flavour. But good old-fashioned picnics remains one of life’s simplest pleasures, particularly if you find the right setting. Here are some good places for a picnic in Sicily. Vendicari nature reserve: good places for a picnic The Vendicari nature reserve offers…

villas in sicily with pool

Even when the Tyrrhenian sea is just steps away, staying in a villa with a private pool is the ultimate holiday indulgence. Ideal for a few early morning laps, a cooling dip in between sunbathing sessions or a quick plunge after an intensive day of sightseeing, the pool is guaranteed to be the focal point of your holiday in Sicily. During the heat of the summer, a villa with private pool is the place where the kids will while away the hours splashing around and playing, drawn out only by the lure of a poolside snack or meal. Luckily, all…

teenagers-holiday-in-sicily

Finding the right place for a holiday with grumpy adolescents is never going to be plain sailing, and even less so if there are also younger siblings with very different needs. Think long and hard about what makes your teenagers tick and chat through the options with them once you have done your own homework.   Choosing the right holiday villa Say goodbye to remote holiday houses for the time being. The chances are your teenagers will be much happier if they have the freedom to come and go as they please. Staying in a beachfront villa in Sicily, or…

etna tour with children

Anyone with young children will know all about the ups and downs of a holiday with a baby or toddler: joyful, but at times undoubtedly stressful. So with our pooled knowledge of our own family holidays in italy, our customers’ holiday experiences and, of course, all the insider information on our villas, here is the low down on how families with child can get the best possible holiday in Sicily.   Choosing your family friendly villas   Most of our family villas in Sicily are extremely well-equipped, with everything that you are likely to need for everyday living with kids…

Sicilian-carnival

If you thought you had to wait till summer for a villa holiday in Sicily, think again. Carnival celebrations mean party time right across the island and although traditions vary slightly from one town to another, you’ll find a party-going atmosphere wherever you go. Unsurprisingly (this is Sicily!), traditional food has a leading role with some serious eating taking place before Lent fasting. Think macaroni, cavateddi (pasta) with meat sauce and pork rind, and chiacchere, strips of sweet pastry dough fried and sprinkled with sugar. These are some of the top carnivals in February, so snap up a holiday home…

larger-sicily-villas

If you’re lucky enough to have a big family, there are fewer more agreeable ways to spend a holiday than gathering everyone together in a loud, lively multi-generational melting pot of siblings, cousins and grandparents. The benefits are obvious: for the kids, spending time with favourite cousins means ready-made friends for daytime water fun and evening card games while for the adults, meal preparation takes on a whole new meaning – and there are babysitters on hand if one couple wants to slip out for a spot of sightseeing or a romantic dinner à deux. The question of pooling resources…

LE CASE DELL'ETNA

Get ready to soak up the last of the summer’s rays in Sicily where temperatures can remain in the mid-20’s right into October and beaches and the most popular tourist spots are generally crowd-free. The good news is that we’re offering up to 20% off the price of some of our loveliest villas! A full listing of all our special autumn offers is available here or you can get inspiration on specific locations and villas below.   Grape picking on Mount Etna – save 20% Top of the pile of our new collection of activities and excursions in Sicily in…