In spite of its dubious mafia connections, Sicily is becoming an increasingly popular travel destination with more and more visitors discovering the alluring Italian island each year. It’s a traditional and rustic place with a rich culture and a heady mix of architecture, arts, cuisine, literature, music and history.
Sicily is where you can spend your time sitting on beaches, visiting archaeological sites or just kicking back and sampling some of the locally produced wine. To help you escape the crowds and find your own slice of unspoilt Sicilian heaven, here are the best and unspoilt places to visit in Sicily for travel snobs…
Sciacca
Known for its eclectic mix of carnivals, thermal spas and fishing, you’ll find this beautiful commune nestled on the southwestern coast. The town climbs up the surrounding cliff affording beautiful views of the glistening Mediterranean Sea below.
Still not yet discovered by the tourist masses, it’s a relatively untouched place with gorgeous beaches and picturesque traditional houses.
If you visit at the beginning of Lent (February) you’ll get to experience carnival tine where the locals gather together, make floats and have a whole lot of fun.
Cala Dogana, Levanzo, Sicily
Levanzo is the smallest of the three main Aegadian Islands which are located just west of the island of Sicily. They’re worth the extra effort to get to as just at the entrance to the valley (which runs south-north through the island) you’ll find this beautiful harbour village that seems to be trapped in time.
Here crisp white houses are surrounded by clear glistening waters and gently bobbing boats – a place where the traditional way of life is still very much preserved.
Foce del Belice
Located on the south-west coast of Sicily, this is one of the quietest and most unspoilt stretches of coastline on the island. Meaning ‘mouth of the river’ and its tranquillity is probably to its protected nature reserve status.
Visit for complete isolation away from the summer crowds and to spot the wildlife which lives in the surrounding dunes and pinewoods.
Marsala
Famous for its sweet dessert wines, Marsala is an attractive coastal town in western Sicily. It has ancient origins and is blessed with beautifully preserved baroque architecture, elegant piazzas, marbled streets, some fine restaurants and shops and an excellent archaeological museum.
Make sure you include a visit to their famous wineries and if you have time, take a food tour as it’s an excellent way to sample the local cuisine.
Capo Passero
This is a picturesque ancient fishing village located on the southern tip of Sicily. Its gorgeous sun-drenched sandy beaches are worth the visit alone but it’s also a timeless place where they still continue in their tradition of preparing seafood delicacies (such as dried tuna roe salamis).
It’s also a largely unspoiled place with lush green surroundings and a pleasant fresh breeze.
Syracuse
This was once a powerful metropolis and although its heyday is long gone it has retained its ability to awe. History oozes from every pore of this UNESCO-listed city and the area is strewn with impressive examples of its Greek cultural past including ruins of amphitheaters and architecture.
Also visit for its beautiful piazzas, cathedral and long wide streets which are perfect for romantic evening strolls.
Marzamemi
Arguably the prettiest seaside village in Sicily, this harbour-side commune is nestled in the south-east of Sicily and is a beautiful place to visit.
Fishing is still its main industry and the locals continue to process seafood delicacies such as dried tuna roe, tuna salamis and marinated anchovies.
There’s a picturesque old centre which dates back to the mid-18th century and a very attractive Piazza. On the south side is where you’ll find working harbour with its fleet of colourful bobbing wooden boats.
Where to Stay
For the ultimate romantic Sicilian escape try what the Guardian called the ‘tower of love’ – a fairytale-esque tower for two complete with arched windows and a crenelated tower.
Badia Tower It’s located 2km away from Marsala town in the privately-owned Badia Estate surrounded by towering palms, brightly-colored oleanders and scented Mediterranean gardens. Inside expect terracotta tiling, white-washed walls and attractive blue furnishings.
We also have posts on…
- Unspolit places to visit in Kefalonia
- Unspolit places to visit in Crete
- Unspolit places to visit in Majorca
- Unspoilt places to visit in Italy
Scott Balaam – writer and photographer
Scott started his travelling life back in 1999, when he headed off on a solo jaunt to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia with just a backpack, a camera and a spirit for adventure. After that, the travel bug bit hard and now he is always seeking to head off somewhere new. Over the years he has lived in Italy, Qatar, Australia, Ireland, UK and the USA but his spiritual home will always be Rome as this is the city which most satisfies his unrelenting thirst for culture, good food and great football. In his spare time Scott loves nothing better than to be behind the camera and also runs his own blog and Instagram page. He also counts Melbourne, the rest of Italy, Amsterdam, USA, Athens, Cape Town and Tel Aviv among his favourite places. Find Scott on Linkedin, Instagram, or Twitter.
Every time I see images from Sicily it goes straight to the Godfather flicks. A place that is enchanting, beautiful, and steeped in history. Cala Dogana, Levanzo is the town that is now on my bucket list to visit.
Very good choice of places! Syracuse is my favorite! But I think you missed one that really deserves to be in this list for how you describe it. It’s Vendicari, do you know it? I wrote this post about it on my blog: http://gaddersblog.blogspot.com.es/2014/04/a-journey-to-extreme-southern-piece-of.html
My Dad’s family is from Sciacca! We spent a day there a few years ago on a tour of the island — such a cool little town and zero tourists. We never made it to Marzamemi (I’ve actually never heard of this place until just now) but this picture makes me want to go asap!!
Hope you can there, you won’t regret it! 🙂
We fell in love in love with Sicily last summer. Can’t wait to go back and see more of the island. Stayed in Modica and drove around a little bit. Went to Syracuse too. Beautiful! Posted a couple of things about our “love story” to my blog. Enjoyed so much reading yours! Got some excellent ideas for our next visit, thanks to you. 🙂 Ciao!
Thanks Vasillis, we’ll check your Sicily posts out. Always good to compare notes!
Being off the beaten path always leads to the best adventures and the most accurate example of how the local people live – the only way to travel for us!
We spent 6 weeks in Sicily a couple of years ago and would love to return. Syracuse was one of our favourite places as was Sciacca and the Aeolian island of Salina. Marzamemi is as cute as it looks…it would be great to spend some more time there!
this is one of my favorite series you all do! i also have not been to Sicily but it’s on the list 😉
I’ve been hearing lots of great things about Sicily, and I’m glad that travelers are overcoming their hesitation to visit because of its mob ties. Syracuse and Cala Dogana look especially appealing.
My brother went to Sicily on holidays about ten years ago and still raves about it… I think this year I have to finally get around to going!
I would never consider myself a travel snob. I love touristy places way too much but this list is aaamazing and I hope to visit a few of these destinations very soon! Definitely bookmarking this one. Thanks for sharing.
Happy travels 🙂
GORGEOUS photos! we’ve never made it to sicily but may need to change that now. must get to marzamemi STAT.
Marzamemi, in particular, looks delightful! Yes, we’d like to visit Sicily!
A friend visited Sicily a few years ago and raved about everything it had to offer, great food, wonderful beaches, history. Seems like she wasn’t wrong!
Sicily is so beautiful and I can see some resemblance with Greece, especially the blue and white colors bursting! I would love to make it to Marzamemi to dig into some local dishes :). Stunning photos as always.
I love this concept of telling us some unspoilt places of an area.
Maybe you should start a series!
The only drawback is that our lists of places to visit get longer and longer LOL
Thanks Claire, we do try and post up as many unspoilt places as we can, most are part of our ‘travel snob’ series 🙂
I visited Sicily a few years ago and absolutely loved it! And I agree, Syracuse is a wonderful town.
One of my favourite places in the world, the people in Italy are soo friendly much more than I ever realised. I recommend Sciacca, especially if you like seafood!
What a great round up on a place I’ve always been curious about, would love to visit all these places!
This looks absolutely stunning. I am a great believer that one cannot have too much Italy in one’s life. Never been to Sicily, but totally on the list. One day, one day!
Very true Ana, we definitely agree! 🙂
who are you calling a snob? haha.. Isn’t that just part of traveling in Italy? The images are gorgeous and make me want to dive right in!