Explore Sicily our Tips for your Holidays
Whenever you head on holiday somewhere for the first time, you never quite know what to expect when you arrive. Will you enjoy it? What will you discover? Will you stick to the beaches and the typical tourist activities or will you strike out on your own to see what it’s all about?
In Sicily’s case, you can certainly have a beautiful holiday doing all the traditional touristy things. You can visit the main sights in Noto, Siracusa and Modica, and see what Ragusa offers. There are classic areas you may already have read about, such as Ortigia, regions that have their secrets to share with you.
But what of going off the beaten track? Is the best of Sicily to be found in these other areas where few tourists ever venture?
Some would undoubtedly say yes. There are main roads that will take you and a hire car across to the other side of the island to be sure, but there is much to be said for making your route. Smaller, narrower and quieter roads take you to more unique places, which do not always appear on the more traditional itineraries.
There are two ways you can go about this activity if it appeals to you. Before you get your hire car, you can look at a few Sicily maps and perhaps pick out one or two roads or destinations. Alternatively, you can pack some food and drink into your car, make sure you have a full tank of petrol and see where the road takes you. Either way, a roadmap is a good idea!
In truth only you will know what would please you most when exploring Sicily in this way. Perhaps it will be coming upon a quiet, quaint village, far from all traces of tourism, so you can see just what real Sicilian life is like. A meal enjoyed in a quiet restaurant in some such place can be an experience in itself – and a mighty pleasant one at that.
Alternatively, you may enjoy looking out for signs of the past. Perhaps architecture is what appeals to you, watching out for signs of a long-since-gone Sicily that still can be seen in the modern world – but only if you look for them. It could be something as simple as finding a small stretch of coastline that seems to have remained undiscovered by your fellow tourists: somewhere you can stretch out, relax and call your own, if only for a day.
It is this Sicily that appeals so much to many people who visit each year. While tourism has been a significant income source for the island for decades, it is still far from the tourist-heavy place some areas of mainland Italy have become. Many would-bes were thankful for that.
There is an opportunity here to see Sicily for what it is: a charming place with character, passion, a respect for the past and an eye on the future and is there any other Sicily you would rather see than this?
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