Posts Tagged“Sicily holidays”

Sicilian landscape, Scopello.

Highlights of north west Sicily If you’re planning a villa holiday on Sicily’s west coast, you’ll certainly be thinking about spending a day or two in Palermo where you can marvel at ancient mosaics and art in palazzi and churches, and stroll through colourful markets. There are also plenty of attractions that are easily accessible as a day trip from Palermo. Just an hour or two away by car, these easily match many of the city highlights yet are frequently overlooked. So we’ve put together a list of some of our favourites, with a couple of tips to help you…

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…

street-food-tour-sicily

Discover the main Sicilian street markets If there’s nothing you like more on holiday than a mooch round a market, Sicily certainly ticks plenty of boxes. Most towns have a market, even if just once a week. At the bigger markets, where coloured tarpaulins provide shade from the fierce morning sun, get ready for a maelstrom of noise, colour and activity. Some of the markets’ names, such as Palermo’s Ballarò, date back to the Saracen rule of the ninth century and in fact the atmosphere isn’t much different from their Arab counterpart. Stalls display a dazzling range of exotic spices,…

ragusa-ibla-wish-sicily

Enjoy an action-packed calendar of lively local events in Sicily’s towns and cities throughout October when blazing blue skies and warm autumn sunshine provide a backdrop to vibrant and colourful festivities around the island. During this time, everything from Sicily’s bountiful produce to its rich cultural heritage is on show, making it a wonderful opportunity to get behind the scenes and discover a more authentic side to the island. This year marks the 13th anniversary of the Le Vie dei Tesori festival.  The annual event started in Palermo, with the aim of opening up the city’s rich heritage to the…

tours-activities-in-sicily

Whether it’s climbing a volcano or swimming with dolphins, everyone has a vague idea as to what should be on a bucket list. But does your bucket list really need to take you to the four corners of the globe? You may find that many of those thrilling moments and big achievements are closer than you thought. To get you started, read some of our guests’ favourite things to do in Sicily and get inspiration for your very own personalised bucket list. Climb a volcano Mount Etna isn’t just any volcano. It also happens to be Europe’s largest active volcano,…

Taormina town with Mount Etna on background

If you’re looking for variety, you’ll certainly find it on the east coast of Sicily. Between the drama of Mount Etna and astonishing ancient sights in Syracuse, there are palaces and craggy peaks, powder-soft sands and translucent water to enjoy. Read on to find out more about some of our favourite places and things to do on the east coast. Taormina – Casa dei Sogni Generally regarded as the jewel in Sicily’s crown, Taormina is undeniably chic. Head for the main Corso Umberto to see and be seen, ending up in the Piazza IX April for some of the most…

northern-sicily-tindari

In this post, we take a look at the north coast of Sicily, with its UNESCO world heritage sights, beaches and hideaway mountain villages. Head away from the busier seaside resorts into the hinterland to explore a more authentic side of the island or hop across on a boat to the splendid Aeolian Islands for memorable views of one of Italy’s three active volcanos. These are some of our favourite things to do on holiday in northern Sicily. UNESCO world heritage sights The north of Sicily is home to the most recent addition to the island’s collection of UNESCO sites…

prima-wisg-sicily-blog

Are you the sort of person that gets restless after a few days of doing nothing on holiday? If so, you may want to look at the September issue of Prima magazine which is packed with good ideas on combining a holiday with learning a new skill. Amongst the holidays featured – from meditation and gin-making to bee-keeping and sketching – is the option of learning Italian on a Wish Sicily holiday. The add-on lessons are designed for guests who prefer not to attend a language school but who want to learn some basic Italian, or brush up on existing…

hello-wish-sicily-blog

Hello! magazine, the go-to magazine for the latest celebrity and royal news, is currently turning its thoughts to Europe’s best family holiday destinations. And we’re delighted to see Sicily – and specifically Wish Sicily – on the list! The magazine flags up the fact that although best-known for its sun-drenched beaches, more active families may want to take advantage of the growing number of outdoor activities such as river trekking and body rafting. For anyone visiting Sicily for the first time, and staying on the island’s eastern side, a jeep tour on Mount Etna is a great way for families…

villas-sicily-rent-august

Anyone who has holidayed in Italy in mid-August will know that 15 August is Ferragosto, the national Bank Holiday which sees most of the country shutting up shop and heading for the beach. Essentially marking Assumption Day, the national holiday is a religious one, but it also marks the beginning of Italy’s holiday period. Ferragosto celebrations take place across the country, ranging from local village-based events to huge crowd-pulling occasions such as Siena’s Palio. In Sicily, most activities are focused around the beach, with some towns and villages also organising festivals, processions and fireworks. Not surprisingly, the celebrations spill out…

villas-in-sicily-with-pool

Walking is a great way to explore Sicily’s countryside, and while there are some challenging hikes to choose from, you don’t need to be a fanatical hiker for the best experience. Take a short stroll in early summer when hillsides and nature reserves are sprinkled with the last remnants of spring flowers; or an autumn amble through flame-coloured landscapes. The two latest additions to our portfolio – Villa Rebecca and Casa Maoma – which are both near to two of Sicily’s most striking natural sites, got us thinking about our favourite walks in Sicily. Necropoli di Pantalica A walk through…

sicily-holidays-wishsicily

How much do you know about Sicily? The Mafia, beaches and great food immediately spring to mind but delve further and you may be surprised by what you find.  In fact, holiday just once in Italy’s southernmost region and you may find yourself curiously addicted. Read on for some insider tips on some of the best things to see and do in Sicily. Visit some of the Med’s top archaeological sites Sicily was the star of Magna Graecia and rivals Greece for ancient Greek architecture.  At the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, the remains of the Doric temples are…

The Times Wish Sicily

Italy is one of the top destinations for Times’ readers – no prizes for guessing why! With fabulous beaches and natural landscapes, great food and wine and enough cultural attractions to last a lifetime, a holiday in Italy does seem to tick an awful lot of our boxes. Which makes the compilation of a list of top 50 holidays to Italy quite a challenge! This year’s article included everything from hiking and gastronomic holidays to cycling, sailing and prosecco weekends. For anyone who fancies the idea of being able to chat with the locals, the Times picked up on our…

October and November Holidays in Sicily often mean food tasting

If you have always assumed that the best time to visit Sicily is in the summer, think again. Take a holiday in Sicily in September or October and you can enjoy the double delights of the last of the summer sun and delicious food found in Sicily in Autumn. If you holiday in Sicily in November and December, there are crowd-free museums, churches and archaeological sites and some spectacular Christmas nativity scenes. A trip to Sicily in winter may be all you need to get into the festive spirit. Autumn in Sicily: a good season to go on holiday With…

the beach on your doorstep at Villa Marea

Packed with fascinating cultural attractions and fringed by gorgeous beaches with crystal clear water, Sicily stands out as one of the jewels of the Mediterranean. With sunshine and warm temperatures from April to October and some of the best food and wine in the whole of Italy, a holiday to Sicily Italy remains one of life’s great treats. Like any holiday, however, it is worth investing a bit of planning time if you want to be sure of getting the best of the island. Where are the airports in Sicily? Flights to Palermo in the west or Catania in the…

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…

Catania Fish Market

Strolling leisurely through food street markets and rummaging amongst piles of antiques is one of the great pleasures of being on holiday, and particularly when you are abroad. Buying food or other items is almost incidental – the thrill is often in the aromas, sounds and sights that attack you from all directions.  Messina, Trapani and most of Sicily’s main towns and cities have their own markets but none are on the scale of the fish markets and food markets those found in Palermo and Catania. Flea market in Palermo Sicily The city’s markets – Il Capo, Ballarò and Vucciria…

Cala Rossa - beautiful bay of Favignana island near Sicily.

One of the highlights of a holiday in Sicily is taking to the seas and exploring some of the smaller offshore islands, either on a private charter excursion or as part of an organised tour. Several of the islands, such as Lampedusa and Pantelleria, are too far to visit on a day trip but the Aeolian Archipelagos and Aegadian islands are well within reach. These are a few of our guests’ favourite offshore excursions. Day trips Sicily from Aeolian islands The dramatic scenery and spectacularly clear waters around the Sicily Aeolian Island make them a popular choice with hikers and…

Sicily-holidays

When is the Whitsun bank holiday? Whichever way you look at it, Whitsun weekend is a great time to head off for some sneaky early summer sun. Quite apart from setting you up for the summer, prices are significantly lower than in the peak summer months and, if you head for the Med, temperatures considerably less fierce. The important thing is to head far enough south, to a destination such as Sicily, where the weather is in full summer mode but the beaches still blissfully crowd-free. Get some inspiration from these Whitsun holidays in Sicily and start planning!   Take…

Vendicari, Sicily

Hugely varied Sicily’s landscape veers from sandy beaches and rocky cliffs to nature reserves, marine reserve, dramatic mountain ranges and rocky gorges and, of course, Europe’s largest active volcano. Get a complete overview of the wonderful nature island on a two-centre holiday in Sicily, combining a week in a holiday home on the beach with a week in a rural villa, close to one of the island’s top natural sights.   Sicily’s nature reserves The Vendicari Nature Reserve in southeast Sicily is a blend of rocky and sandy coastlines, sand dunes and lagoons. Carpeted in Mediterranean maquis and juniper bushes…