Last updated: September 2026.
With its mix of beaches, history and tasty treats, Sicily is a fun option for a family holiday. But working out how many towns to fit in and where to actually base yourself takes a bit of planning. Here’s our honest answer on whether it’s worth it, where we’d stay, and exactly what we did.
I visited at the end of June, right at the end of the first trimester of my pregnancy with R, so this trip wasn’t travelled with him. There was no obvious bump yet, but plenty of tiredness and waves of nausea to manage around all the heat, which did at least give me a real sense of how demanding the heat and driving would be with a baby along for the ride.
Is Sicily good for families?
Sicily is a genuinely rewarding family destination, but it takes more effort than a sit-by-the-pool holiday. You’ll cover real ground: driving between bases, walking cobbled old towns with a pushchair, and adjusting to a slower pace where lunch runs long and dinner doesn’t start until 8pm. In return you get some of the best-preserved ancient ruins in Europe, gorgeous baroque towns, boat days off the coast and food that’s worth the trip on its own. Summer heat is the biggest practical hurdle with young children, regularly climbing past 30°C, so spring, early summer, or September and October are far kinder months to visit. If you want an easy, low-key beach week, Sicily probably isn’t it. If you want a proper family road trip with plenty to see, it’s an excellent choice.
Sicily with kids at a glance
| Best area for first-timers | Agrigento or Ortigia (walkable, less hectic than Taormina) |
| Best for beaches | Marzamemi, or the north coast around Cefalù |
| Best for history | Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples |
| Best with toddlers | Ortigia (compact, easy evening walks) or a countryside base near Noto |
| Best airport | Catania, for a south-east route like ours |
| Ideal trip length | 9-10 days across 3-4 bases |
| Car needed? | Yes, essential |
In this guide:
At a glance Where to stay Our itinerary Things to do With a baby or toddler Getting there Practical tips
Where to stay in Sicily with kids
Sicily rewards a multi-base trip rather than one hotel for the whole stay. Here’s how we’d weigh up the main options.
| Base | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Taormina / Riposto | A dose of glamour and views | Taormina is polished and pretty but busy (and pricier, especially post-White Lotus); basing in nearby Riposto keeps costs down while still allowing a day trip in |
| Agrigento | History and value | Home to the Valley of the Temples, some of the best-preserved ruins we’ve seen anywhere, and noticeably cheaper than the coast |
| Noto | A baroque town plus a countryside base | Gorgeous architecture and a good base for slower countryside days, with Marzamemi’s beaches a short drive away |
| Ortigia / Syracuse | Easy evenings and boat days | Compact, walkable old town with markets and a self-drive boat option; good-value rentals just outside the island itself |
| Cefalù (north coast) | Family-friendly beaches | We didn’t stay here but would add it next time for more accessible beach options than the south-east coast |
If we were doing this again with just one change, we’d combine Noto and Ortigia into a single base (they’re only 30 minutes apart) and use the freed-up nights to add Cefalù on the north coast for a proper beach stop. For a first Sicily trip with young kids and less time, Agrigento and Ortigia are the two bases we’d prioritise.
- Taormina: Panoramic Hotel Taormina, Villa Angela or Hotel Il Piccolo Giardino, or browse hotels in nearby Riposto for better value
- Agrigento: we stayed in this rental, or browse Vrbo options here
- Noto: we’d recommend Dolce Siracusa I Monasteri Golf & Spa (Borgo di Luce), spacious with a nice pool, or Gagliardi Boutique Hotel for a family suite in town
- Ortigia / Syracuse: Algila Ortigia Charme Hotel or Grand Hotel Ortigia, or browse Vrbo rentals here, widening your search to Syracuse town for better value
Our Sicily family itinerary at a glance
Sicily is a big place, and ever the fan of a road trip, we split the trip across four bases: Riposto, Agrigento, Noto and Ortigia, which gave us a proper mix of coastline, ancient ruins, food towns and boat days, without too much time lost to driving.
- Riposto – 3 nights, holiday rental (day trip to Taormina)
- Agrigento – 3 nights, holiday rental
- Noto – 3 nights, Borgo di Luce
- Syracuse / Ortigia – 2 nights
What we’d change next time
Noto and Ortigia only ended up as separate bases because we had a wedding to attend near Noto, which meant we needed a couple of extra nights there. If we went back without that reason, we’d combine Noto and Syracuse/Ortigia into one stay, since they’re only about 30 minutes apart. That would free up a few nights to add a base on the north coast, somewhere like Cefalu, which is beautiful and offers more family-friendly beach options.
Riposto and Taormina
We based ourselves in this building of holiday rental in Riposto, a working fishing port a little further down the coast, and drove in to Taormina for the day rather than staying there. Taormina is where most people start their Sicilian holiday, but honestly, we found it a bit overrated. It’s nice for a walk around and lunch, with beautiful views over the coast, reminding us a little of Capri: fancy restaurants, designer shops, and a polish that felt slightly at odds with the rest of our trip. It’s clearly been blown up since being featured on The White Lotus, and it shows in the crowds.
Mount Etna is an easy stop on the drive between Riposto and Catania, so if you’re picking up a hire car this is a natural add-on rather than a separate day trip. While in Taormina we visited the Teatro Antico, the ancient amphitheatre perched above the town, which has stunning views out over the coast and Mount Etna and is well worth the entry fee. For dinner, Corso Umberto I is Taormina’s main pedestrian street and where you’ll find most of the restaurants. See where to stay above for hotel and rental options in Taormina and Riposto.
Agrigento
A few nights here gave us time to properly explore the Valley of the Temples without rushing, and it was one of our favourite stops of the whole trip. It’s excellent value for what you get: some of the best preserved ancient ruins we’ve seen anywhere – in contrast to Taormina, this is relatively underrated!
Agrigento itself has plenty of holiday rental options, and narrow streets to wander and find some of Sicily’s famous dishes to enjoy.
The drive from Riposto to Agrigento is around 2 hours 15 mins, so we broke it up with a stop at the Sicilia Outlet Village near Agira. It sits right on the A19 motorway, and works well as a halfway stop for lunch and a stretch of the legs, with plenty of designer outlet stores if shopping is your thing. For dinner in Agrigento itself, Via Atenea is the main street and best spot for restaurants and an evening stroll.
Noto
Noto is a beautiful baroque town, lovely to wander with stunning buildings at every turn, and a great spot for lunch or gelato. The cathedral is worth seeing too. We’d suggest timing your visit around lunch or dinner, as there are lovely restaurants with outdoor seating right on the main street.
If you’re just passing through, half a day is enough to see Noto itself. The hills around Noto are gorgeous though, and make a lovely spot for a countryside retreat if you want a slower few days. We stayed at Dolce Siracusa I Monasteri Golf & Spa (or Borgo di Luce as it was called back then), just outside town, which I’d recommend – spacious, nice pool area, and family-friendly.
From Noto it’s a short drive to Marzamemi, a gorgeous little beach town with a small square full of restaurants and bars. Worth an afternoon or an evening if you have the time. See where to stay above for our Noto hotel and rental picks.
Syracuse and Ortigia
For our final base we stayed just outside Ortigia in this Syracuse rental, which had a lovely roof terrace. It gave us a lot more space for the money than staying in Ortigia itself, and it was only a short walk in. It worked really well as a base: easy to get out and about by car during the day, then walk into Ortigia in the evenings for dinner.
Ortigia has a lively market most mornings selling fish, produce and local snacks, and the Fountain of Arethusa is a pretty, free spot to stop by on a walk around the edge of the island. We hired a self-drive boat with Cala Elte, and it was a lovely way to see the coastline from the water and stop for a swim. For dinner, head to the streets around Piazza Duomo and Via Cavour, where you’ll find plenty of restaurants with outdoor seating.
Should you visit Palermo or Catania instead?
Some of the family travel advice we see online suggests basing in Palermo or Catania rather than Agrigento or Noto. We chose our route because it kept driving times down and gave us more time in smaller, walkable towns rather than cities. If you want a bigger city base with more shopping and nightlife, Palermo is the one to add, but it will mean more time in the car.
Best things to do in Sicily with kids
- Teatro Antico, Taormina – an ancient amphitheatre with stunning views over the coast and Mount Etna, see Riposto and Taormina
- Valley of the Temples, Agrigento – some of the best-preserved ancient ruins we’ve seen anywhere, see Agrigento
- Noto’s baroque old town and cathedral – easy half-day wander with gelato stops, see Noto
- Marzamemi beach town – a short drive from Noto, good for an afternoon or evening, see Noto
- Ortigia market and the Fountain of Arethusa – a lively morning market and a free, pretty stop on a walk around the island, see Syracuse and Ortigia
- Self-drive boat off Ortigia – we hired ours with Cala Elte, a lovely way to see the coastline and stop for a swim, see Syracuse and Ortigia
- Mount Etna – an easy stop on the drive between Riposto and Catania, see Riposto and Taormina
Getting to Sicily from the UK
There are two airports you can fly into Sicily from the UK: Catania and Palermo. We flew into Catania, which made sense for this route as it’s the closest to Riposto, around 45 minutes to an hour’s drive depending on traffic. None of the drives were more than a couple of hours.
A car is essential for this route given the driving between bases. We’d recommend comparing rates with Auto Europe, which searches all the major rental companies.
Practical tips
- Best time to visit: spring and early summer, or September and October, are more comfortable than the height of summer, when temperatures regularly climb past 30°C and the heat makes sightseeing hard going with kids
- Like much of Italy, shops and some restaurants close for a few hours in the early afternoon, and dinner doesn’t really get going until 8pm or later, so plan your day around a longer lunch rather than expecting an early dinner
Sicily with a baby or toddler
We haven’t yet done this exact route with R, so take this as informed rather than fully tested advice. The heat is the main thing to plan around with a baby or toddler: aim for spring, early June or September rather than peak summer, and build in some shaded or pool downtime during the hottest part of the afternoon, which suits the local rhythm of a long lunch anyway. Cobbled old towns like Ortigia and Noto are manageable with a sturdy pushchair but easier with a baby carrier for anything beyond the flat main streets. A hire car is non-negotiable for this route, so bring your own car seat or book one through your hire company well in advance.
Our Sicily family destination score
1. Getting there: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Direct flights to Catania and Palermo from most UK airports, and it’s a straightforward drive from there to almost anywhere. A hire car is essential once you’re there, so search with Auto Europe for the best rates.
2. Pramability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plenty of cobbles in the old towns, but you’ll be driving between places a lot too, which balances it out.
3. Adult fun factor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A great mix of culture, history and beach across the four bases, from the ruins at Agrigento to boat days off Ortigia.
4. Cost: ⭐️⭐️
Pricier than the Italy average, particularly in Taormina.
Sicily with kids: FAQs
Yes. It’s a rewarding family destination with beaches, ancient ruins, boat days and great food, though it takes more effort than a beach-resort holiday: expect driving between bases, cobbled old towns and a slower Italian pace around meals.
For a first trip with young kids, we’d prioritise Agrigento (history and value) and Ortigia (compact and easy in the evenings). Add Cefalù on the north coast if beaches are the priority, or Taormina/Riposto if you want a dose of glamour and views.
Yes, with some planning around the heat. Choose spring, early summer or September/October rather than peak summer, build in downtime during the hottest part of the afternoon, and bring a sturdy pushchair plus a baby carrier for the cobbled old towns.
We spent around 9-10 nights across four bases: Riposto, Agrigento, Noto and Ortigia. If we went back, we’d combine Noto and Ortigia into one stay (they’re only about 30 minutes apart) and use the extra nights to add a base on the north coast, like Cefalu. Three towns over 9 days works well if you keep driving distances realistic.
Yes, a car is essential for a route like ours given the driving between bases. Search with Auto Europe to compare rates.
We chose smaller, walkable towns like Agrigento and Noto over either city to keep driving times down. Catania is the more convenient airport for a south-east route like ours; Palermo is worth adding if you want more shopping and nightlife, but it means more time in the car.
Spring and early summer, or September and October, are far more comfortable than peak summer, when temperatures regularly climb past 30°C and the heat makes sightseeing hard going with kids.
Worth a stop for a night or a lunch, but we found it a bit overrated and busier than the rest of Sicily since it featured on The White Lotus. Agrigento and Ortigia were our favourites of the four bases.
Got questions about visiting Sicily with a baby or toddler? Drop them in the comments or find me on Instagram @LittleBritsAbroad.
Allie, Jack & R x
This post contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
