Sicily is one of the topmost ten destinations as per BootsnAll in the year 2008 for independent traveling. It is a scenic and rugged island of untold beauty, located in the southernmost area of Italy. Sicily has its own distinctive old culture and language, but it is intensely Italian as well in many more ways than the other major cities of Northern Italy. Sicily is alienated from the mainland area of Calabria by Messina Straits that stretches for 5 km. Sicily experiences very hot summers, so the best time to visit would be autumn and spring. The winters are also quite pleasant.
The tourists will be delighted to taste the abundant seafood of exotic varieties. The plentiful vineyards are sure to keep you busy with flowing wines that are very reasonably priced. You can check out the pulsating capital city of Palermo or the fishing village and beach resort of Cefalu at all times throughout the year. You will be able to see many ancient ruins of Greek era and Europe’s biggest volcano, Mt. Etna can be easily explored as well. The places of tourist interest include Greek Temple Valley at Agrigento, University City of Catania, Greek Vases of Gela, Messina City, Greek ruins at Syracuse, Santa Caterina Vilarmosa, Tearto Greco at Taormina. and Trapani.
Sicily is also home to some of the most picturesque islands like the Egadi Islands, Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria, Linosa, Lampedusa and Ustica. The Aeolian Islands is a group comprising volcanic islands. The Egadi Islands are peaceful islands on west coast and you can enjoy a perfect relaxing getaway over here. Ustica has a state of the art diving center. Pantelleria has that typical Arabian ambience, full of tranquility and solitude. The other must sees include impressive collection of Greek Temples at Selinunte, Segesta Greek Temple and ruins, south coastal port of Sciacca, Roman Mosaics at Piazza Armerina, Stone Garden of Noto, Monareale Cathedral, Marsala Museum, Mazara del Vallo, Gole dell’Alcantara, Eraclea Minoa, Corleone, Caltabellotta, Castelbuono, Alcamo and Augusta.
Sicily has well developed air transport with the main airports in Catania and Palermo. Catania is served very well by charter flights, international routes and majority domestic flights to many cities of Italy. Palermo also has some international budget flights and many domestic flights. Sicily is connected to the main train network of Italy at Messina. There are connections of trains of long distance from Naples and Rome. Long distance bus services are also available from Naples and Rome to Palermo and Catania. There are large and slow car ferries linking Palermo to Naples, Livorno, Genoa, Sardinia and other Mediterranean places.
Sicily’s railway network is extensively developed and reasonably cheap. Bus services are also affordable means of transport. The water transport in Sicily is also well developed with regular ferry services. The inland air transport in Sicily is slightly expensive and the rich and busy tourists who are time conscious can avail it. You can explore Sicily by way of bike tours with guides or self guidance. Do not forget to try out the delicious Sicilian desserts while in Sicily.
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