Lead-in price per person, based on two sharing. Tap any month and we’ll confirm live availability and the best price for your dates.
From prices are per person, based on two people sharing. What you pay depends on your travel dates, how many nights you want, your departure airport and anything you add — tell us what you need and a UK specialist will confirm your price. ATOL 10713 protected.
A holiday to Sicily costs from £279 per person, based on two people sharing. That covers 4 nights and return flights from London. January 2027 is the cheapest departure currently on sale. Secure it with £99pp and pay the balance nearer the time. Every holiday we sell is ATOL 10713 protected.
Four nights at the NH Catania Parco Degli Aragonesi or similar 4★ with return flights from London and daily breakfast listed in the package. ATOL protection under licence 10713 applies and a £99 per person deposit holds it. Regional UK airports are available at a supplement confirmed at enquiry. Excursions, car hire, transfers, the city tourist tax and travel insurance are not included, and your meal arrangement is confirmed in writing before you pay. The base is on the coast just outside Catania, which puts Etna and Taormina within an easy drive.
Both are available and the answer changes which month you should book, so it is worth deciding before you pick dates.
As a touring trip, Sicily is exceptional — Etna, Taormina, baroque towns, Greek temples and some of the best food in Italy. That works from March through November and it works particularly well in the cooler months when walking around ruins is a pleasure rather than an ordeal.
As a beach holiday, it works from June to September and not really outside that. The cheapest month here is January, and January in Sicily is mild and green but firmly not beach weather.
This is the difference between Sicily and the Canaries. In Lanzarote or Tenerife the cheapest months are also the warmest relative to home, so cheap and good coincide. Here they do not, and a low winter price is buying you a touring holiday rather than a discounted beach one.
| Month | What it is good for |
|---|---|
| January | Cheapest; mild, green, touring only |
| February | Almond blossom; still touring weather |
| November | Warm enough for sightseeing, quiet |
| December | Festive premium on a mild month |
| May | Warm, before the heat — arguably the best month |
| September | Warm sea and bearable temperatures |
| October | Still warm, harvest season |
| June | Hot, beaches open |
| August | Very hot; much of Italy on holiday |
| July | Dearest and hottest |
May and September are the two months where everything works at once — warm enough for the coast, cool enough for Etna and the ruins, and well below the July price.
Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and the reason most people come. You can drive to the Rifugio Sapienza at around 1,900 metres, take the cable car higher, and go further with a guide. It is considerably colder at altitude than on the coast and the terrain is loose volcanic ash — proper footwear matters. Access to the upper craters depends on activity and is decided day to day by the authorities, so it is not something anyone can promise in advance.
Taormina sits on a cliff above the sea about forty-five minutes north, with a Greek theatre that looks across to Etna. It is the prettiest town in Sicily and the busiest — go early or late rather than midday.
Catania itself is not pretty in the way Taormina is, and it is the more interesting city. Built and rebuilt from black volcanic stone after eruptions and earthquakes, with a baroque centre and La Pescheria, a fish market that is genuinely a spectacle rather than a tourist one.
The food is the other reason to come. Sicilian street food — arancini, panelle, sfincione — is a cuisine in its own right rather than a snack, and the island’s Arab and Norman history shows up in the cooking in a way it does not elsewhere in Italy.
All quoted at enquiry against your dates.
Flights are from London, around three hours, with regional UK airports at a supplement confirmed at enquiry. Italy is one hour ahead of the UK.
Transfers are not included. Catania airport is close to the hotel — one of the shorter transfers in our Mediterranean programme. Taormina is reachable by train along the coast, which is a pleasant journey in itself.
For everything else, hire a car. Sicily is a large island and Etna, the baroque towns of the south-east, the Greek temples at Agrigento and Syracuse are all a drive away. Sicilian driving has a reputation and it is not entirely undeserved — the roads are fine, the etiquette is assertive, and confidence helps.
Checked against GOV.UK foreign travel advice on 17 September 2026.
Italy is in the Schengen area, so British passport holders need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years of your arrival date and be valid at least three months after you leave. A passport renewed early before October 2018 may carry months that no longer count.
The EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System is rolling out, replacing passport stamps with fingerprints and a photograph on your first crossing. It is free, lasts three years and speeds up later trips. ETIAS is not currently required.
Italy charges a city tourist tax, payable at the hotel rather than in the package price. It is a small nightly amount per person.
Access to Etna’s upper craters is decided day by day depending on volcanic activity, and it is closed at short notice more often than visitors expect. Nobody can promise the summit. The lower slopes, the cable car and the wine estates are almost always open.
It is much colder at altitude than on the coast — often by fifteen degrees or more, with snow on Etna into spring. Take a jacket and proper shoes regardless of what Catania is doing.
Sicilian restaurants add a coperto cover charge and service is generally included, so tipping beyond rounding up is not expected. Lunch is the bigger meal and many kitchens close between three and seven, which catches out anyone arriving hungry at five.
Sunday and public holiday closures are more thorough than in northern Italy, and smaller towns can be almost entirely shut. Build a Sunday around a long lunch and a drive rather than around shops or museums.
Catania is a working port city rather than a resort, so ordinary city sense applies around the station and the market at night. The hotel is on the coast outside the centre, which is quieter, and taxis back are straightforward to arrange.
Your booking is covered by our ATOL licence 10713 and we hold IATA accreditation 91285611. It is held with a deposit of £99 per person, with the balance due before travel.
Prices are per person, based on two people sharing. May and September are the two months where the coast, Etna and the ruins all work at once, and both sit well below the July price.
From £279 per person for four nights, reduced from £360, including return flights from London and a 4★ hotel near Catania. January is the cheapest month and July the dearest. Your exact figure depends on your dates and departure airport and is confirmed at enquiry.
Both are available, and it changes which month you should book. As a touring trip it works March to November and is exceptional. As a beach holiday it works June to September and not really outside that. The cheapest month, January, is mild and green but firmly not beach weather.
May or September — warm enough for the coast, cool enough for Etna and the ruins, and well below the July price. January is cheapest but is a touring month rather than a beach one.
Partly, and how far depends on the day. You can drive to the Rifugio Sapienza at around 1,900 metres and take the cable car higher, with guided ascents going further. Access to the upper craters is decided day by day depending on volcanic activity, so nobody can promise the summit in advance.
Proper footwear and a jacket, regardless of what the coast is doing. It is often fifteen degrees colder at altitude, the terrain is loose volcanic ash, and there is snow on the mountain into spring. People go up in shorts and trainers and regret both within minutes.
It is the prettiest town in Sicily — cliffside, with a Greek theatre looking across to Etna — and it is also the busiest. Go early or late rather than at midday. It is about forty-five minutes north of the hotel and reachable by train along the coast.
Not pretty in the way Taormina is, and more interesting for it. Built and rebuilt from black volcanic stone after eruptions and earthquakes, with a baroque centre and La Pescheria, a fish market that is a genuine spectacle rather than something staged for visitors.
The NH Catania Parco Degli Aragonesi or similar 4★, on the coast just outside Catania. That puts Etna and Taormina within an easy drive and the airport close by. Hotels in Taormina itself or in central Catania can be quoted against your dates.
Your meal arrangement is confirmed in writing before you pay, so there is no ambiguity about what is covered. Ask when you enquire and we will confirm what is covered.
It changes the holiday more than on almost anywhere we sell. Without one you have Catania, Taormina by train and the hotel beach — a decent four nights but a fraction of the island. Etna, the baroque south-east, Syracuse and Agrigento all need a car.
It has a reputation and it is not entirely undeserved. The roads themselves are fine; the etiquette is assertive and confidence helps. If you are a nervous driver it is worth considering guided excursions instead, and we can arrange those rather than car hire.
It does not, for a beach holiday. In Lanzarote or Tenerife the cheapest months are also the warmest relative to home, so cheap and good coincide. In Sicily the cheap months are touring months — mild and green, but not warm enough to swim.
No. Italy is in the Schengen area and British passport holders can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without one. Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years of your arrival date and be valid at least three months after you leave. Checked against GOV.UK on 17 September 2026.
Yes. Italy charges a city tourist tax payable at the hotel rather than included in the package price. It is a small nightly amount per person, collected at check-in or check-out, and it is not optional.
Distinct from the rest of Italy and better than most of it. The Arab and Norman history shows in the cooking, and the street food — arancini, panelle, sfincione — is a cuisine in its own right rather than a snack. Lunch is the bigger meal and kitchens often close between three and seven.
It covers Etna, Taormina and Catania, which is a good introduction. But Sicily is a large island and the baroque south-east, Syracuse and Agrigento are all a drive away. Five or seven nights is priced on request and the island genuinely rewards the longer stay.
Syracuse and its island old town of Ortigia, the baroque towns of Noto and Ragusa, and the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento — Greek ruins better preserved than most of what survives in Greece. All need a car and each is most of a day.
It is very hot, much of Italy is on holiday, and Etna in that heat is hard work. At £379 per person it is also near the top of the range. May or September give you better conditions for less money.
No. Catania airport is close to the hotel — one of the shorter transfers in our Mediterranean programme. We can arrange a private transfer as part of your booking if you would rather not sort it on arrival; just ask when you enquire.
Ninety-nine pounds per person, with the balance due before travel. The holiday is ATOL 10713 protected and we hold IATA accreditation 91285611. Prices are per person, based on two people sharing.
Far less than Rome, Florence or Venice, which is one of its quieter advantages. Taormina gets busy at midday in season and Etna has coach parties, but the island as a whole carries a fraction of the footfall of mainland Italy's headline cities.
May and September are the best months and hold availability reasonably well. July and August sell on Italian holiday demand as much as British. For a hotel in Taormina itself rather than on the Catania coast, book sooner — there are far fewer of them.
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