Waterfront villas in Sicily >>
Though you won’t find many locals in the water between October and May, for those accustomed to northern climes the sea temperature around Sicily is pretty much swimmable all year round, though don’t expect more than a quick dip when the water is at its coldest from December to April.
The coastline itself is very varied; moving anticlockwise from Palermo, one immediately arrives at the splendid sandy beach at Mondello which for years has been a magnet for people from Palermo and the surrounding region. The best season for Mondello is between September and June as in the summer is gets very crowded. Continuing west, the Zingaro nature reserve offers some excellent coastal walks and crystal clear waters. Past the Zingaro, the long sandy beach at San Vito lo Capo draws tourists and residents of Trapani. The saline lagoon between Trapani and Marsala has been supplying salt for over 2,000 years, and the salt works make an interesting detour. The southern coast of Sicily is a broken line of sandy beaches and cliffs, dotted with the remains of the Greek colonies, and the odd modern metropolis.
The nature reserve at the river Platani has a particularly pleasant beach, but many of the beaches along this coast are well worth a visit. At the southern most tip of Sicily is the Isola Delle Correnti, which offers an almost African scenario, indeed, it is further south than Tunis. Just around the point, the Vendicari Nature Reserve offers the opportunity to see nesting turtles and migrating flamingoes on deserted beaches. Up the east coast there are a selection of sand and pebble beaches around Syracuse and Catania, and the pebble beaches near Taormina are particulary popular.
Around the point at Messina, which is dominated by cliffs, one soon arrives at San Gregorio and Capo D’Orlando, with their splendid sandy beaches and views of the Aeolian Islands and then to Tindari, with its famous tongues of sand. The north coast between Capo d’Orlando and Palermo is a mixture of rocks and pebbles until you reach Cefalu with its long sand beach. Past Cefalu, the dramatic rocky outcrops of Capo Zafferano and Capo Mongerbino announce your arrival at Palermo and the Conca D’Oro, once a fertile paradise and a sign longed for by mariners through the centuries.
A note for those looking for a summer beach holiday: when the schools close for the summer between mid June and mid September, a large part of their diligently studious population heads for the beach to release tension. Then in August, the rest of the adult population heads for the beach too. There are still plenty of quieter beaches around, and we’ll tell you where they are, but be prepared to spend a little time driving to them.