Travel with the Twins to Sicily
Kathryn & I are just back from a summer vacation in Sicily and are excited to report on our findings, particularly because the island is big, and we were pulled in so many different directions when planning. We ultimately decided to focus on the Aeolian Islands and Sicily’s east coast because of Delta’s new direct flight from JFK to Catania (and the fact that we were traveling with two six-year-olds). We’d love to return to the West of Sicily, but fell in love with the destinations we explored: Salina, the second largest Aeolian Island known for its lush landscapes and slow pace, Modica, a beautiful Baroque town in Sicily’s Southeastern interior, and Noto, another elegant Baroque town closer to the coast, plus a handful of fabulous stops in between. Read on for our logistical tips, hotel and restaurant recs, shopping notes, and day trip adventures; we did the research so you don’t have to!
Salina, Aeolian Islands
After landing in Catania, we rented cars and drove a few hours North to the port town of Milazzo. Our rec here is to leave early especially if it’s a weekend. There is a lot of traffic around Sicily’s coastal towns (especially Taormina of White Lotus fame) on summer weekends when everyone is beach-bound. In Milazzo, we stashed our rental cars at Garage Delle Isole, grabbed a quick, great iced coffee at Salamandra Coffee Roasters, and boarded the Liberty Lines ferry to Salina. Salina is the second largest of the Aeolian Islands and is notably greener than the others. It’s known for its unhurried pace, excellent food, and vineyard-covered hills. We loved every moment there.
To Stay:
We were deciding between Capofaro and Hotel Signum. We decided on the latter and fell in love with this property and its central location in the sweet and walkable town of Malfa. We were happy to wander into Malfa for food or drink and walk down the steep path to Spiaggia dello Scario beach.
Beyond its convenient location on an enchanting, winding path off the main street, the hotel is elegant with rooms decorated in a traditional Aeolian style and features charming common areas including a library, lush outdoor gardens and hidden nooks, and multiple dining options including a Michelin-starred restaurant. Family-run for over 35 years, the service is excellent, including spritzes at the infinity pool (there’s no reserving loungers at 8am — this place is so calm and relaxed), and delightful evenings on the beautiful terraces.
One more of The Signum Restaurant via Yolo Journal:
To Do:
Explore Malfa: The town is a charming tiny maze of cobblestone streets with a surprising number of good restaurants, and a cute shop — Boutique Flora — selling handmade crocheted linen dresses and local ceramics (Kathryn came home with a butter dish from here).
While one could easily spend a day at Signum’s pool sipping on chilled white wine (Grillo is a crisp white grape from Sicily that goes down easily), there is also plenty to explore on the ten square mile island. Salina has both charming seaside towns and great hiking trails. The lush green valley in the middle of the island sits between two ancient, “sleeping” volcanoes.
Hike from Valdichiesa to Monte Fossa delle Felci through a forest of pine trees and flowering plants. We found shade and enjoyed the breeze — and views — from the top of the island.
From Valdichiesa we hopped a taxi to Lingua on the southeastern coast. Any travel guide will include a mandatory stop to Da Alfredo — a family-run restaurant famous for their granitas (a big deal in Sicily) and Pane Cunzato (a seasoned Sicilian flatbread) — and it did not disappoint. I am normally allergic to anything that is overtly touristy but it seems that Da Alfredo is beloved by tourists and locals alike and for good reason. The food — and icy cool granitas — were delicious. The perfect post-hike meal!
Beach Day: From Hotel Signum you can walk the 15 minute steep downhill trail to Spiaggia dello Scario, a rocky, very European-feeling beach with crystal clear waters and an excellent beach shack bar. The beach rents umbrellas (essential in July) and inflatable cushions to lounge on. The place to really hang is in the water which was delightfully blue, mild, and lovely. Equally lovely was the beach bar which sold 6 EUR paninis and Aperol spritzes.
Boat days are often the best days and Captain Antonello of Blu Salina did not let us down. We enjoyed the most marvelous day on his classic Italian boat. We motored over to the neighboring Aeolian island of Filicudi for snorkeling and a lunch stop at La Sirena, one of our favorite meals of the trip. Antonello was born and raised in Malfa and knew every inch of the Aeolian Islands. We enjoyed our day with him so much that we booked a sunset cruise with him a few nights later during which his girlfriend — a historian who spent much of her career in Rome — joined and narrated an entertaining history of the islands.
To Eat and Drink:
We dined primarily at Signum (a testament to the excellent food, friendly and laidback but professional service, and overall great vibes), but ventured twice for pre-dinner drinks to Bar Ravesi next door. I’m not sure how such an extensive selection of expertly made cocktails exists in such a tiny town, but even Peter (our resident cocktail connoisseur) was beyond impressed. The drinks were matched by delightful (complimentary) appetizers, and views of Panarea and Stromboli (with its active volcano).
The view from Bar Ravesi:
We found Patricia, a sweet Italian teacher slash babysitter, through the hotel and ventured down the street to A Quadara for a grown-up dinner one evening. We also heard good things about La Pinnata.
Modica: The Baroque Chocolate town:
We took the 9am ferry from Salina back to Sicily and prepared for a big day of driving to Modica. We were all grateful for a stop at Pipispezzi, a restaurant in Savoca. The hillside town is known as the setting for several scenes in The Godfather (that’s what happens when you leave Peter in charge of finding a lunch spot en route!). From Savoca, we continued south and reached Modica in the early evening. The town was absolutely golden in the early evening hour. It's built into the side of a steep cliff and the teetering hotels, churches, shops and homes have an almost magical and mysterious quality (how were they built there hundreds of years ago?!).
To Stay:
Casa Talia is the undisputed best “boutique” hotel in Modica. It is the brainchild of Marco and Viviana, a Milanese architect couple who opened the intimate hotel 20 years ago and are continuing to evolve the property (a restaurant and spa are slated to open in the next year). The property is intimate, with rooms meticulously restored from century-old homes, and connected via a network of stone paths and shared gardens. We’d absolutely return to Casa Talia; it's such a special property.
Eats, Drinks, & Sweets:
It’s hard to eat badly in Sicily and Modica delivered. Our first meal was at Radici, a Michelin-noted restaurant overlooking Duomo di San Pietro, one of the two major churches in Modica. Johnny and Ruby instantly befriended a boy around their age and spent the evening running through the square while the adults enjoyed pasta, fresh fish, and negronis. Vacation!
Other favorite spots included Il Bar Sabadi for drinks under the citrus trees of the gardens of San Giorgio (the iconic 1700s cathedral in the middle of town). The setting is enchanting, with views of the city and flowering plants on all sides (Sabadi also has a beautiful shop of their handmade chocolates just around the corner). We also loved Quello Buono wine bar for delicious rectangular pizza and steak grilled to perfection. There was a kitty cat in the garden that entertained the kids all evening. For more traditional fare we had an excellent meal at Osteria dei Sapori Perduti. Lastly, you can’t miss Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, a 150 year old chocolatier that offers tours in addition to plenty of chocolate shopping.
To Explore:
We used Modica as a base for a few afternoon excursions to coastal lidos — the Italian beach clubs that for a fee supply umbrellas, beach access, and cold drinks for the day. Thirty minutes due south of Modica is Spiaggia di Sampieri where we spent a relaxing day chilling and swimming at Pappafico Beach Club. Further to the east we checked out the fishing village of Marzamemi (read great things, personally found it a bit touristy), and more beaches — we especially liked Spiaggia dei Due Mari and Playa Carratois — but you can’t go wrong. Vendicari Nature Reserve is also worth exploring; the protected area doesn’t have lidos but offers incredible beaches, namely Eloro and San Lorenzo.
Just up the street from Spiaggia dei Due Mari is Ristorante Scala where we relished a quintessentially long and delicious vacation lunch — mussels, pasta vongole, and white wine — all from Sicily and exceptionally local. Scala is known for its fantastic fresh seafood.
Noto:
From Modica, we drove 45 minutes east to our third and final stop: Braccialieri Eco Resort (aptly named as we stayed in an Italian cabin meets luxurious yurt on the hotel’s stunning, olive-tree dotted property). This was just outside of Noto, the most elegant of the Baroque towns. Less than 2 years old, Braccialieri is still working out some wrinkles (the property, pool scene, bar and decor are magnificent, the meal service is a work in progress), but has tons of potential and reminded both Kathryn and me of a mutual favorite, similar-feeling olive-oil-producing property in Portugal — São Lourenço do Barrocal. The red and white checked pool and similarly upbeat tiled bar were made for Instagram and I fell in love with the custom Alessandro Enriquez-designed fabrics and wallpaper designed for the property. It made me want to give Bellport even more color in the form of bright, Italian-inspired colors (you know my other favorite for an injection of happy, colorful, Italian florals is everything Lisa Corti).
Shopping in Noto:
Kathryn and I were super impressed with the restaurant and retail scene in Noto; the design-forward coffee shops, cocktail bars, and concept retail reminded us a lot of our trip to Mahón, Menorca last summer and resulted in some above-average souvenir shopping.
We loved Archivio for designer Rosita Gia’s Italian made silks (sis bought a slip skirt she will live in), she also uses the store (if it can be called that, it’s a magnificent space inside an 18th century Baroque palace) as a gallery for her photography and to showcase other makers of extremely chic hats, jewelry, bags, vintage furniture, and tabletop wares. (Check out her guide to Noto which I am wishing I discovered before we visited!).
Santagatha, a concept store inside the 18th century Church of Sant’Agata di Noto is a masterpiece. The soaring 50-foot ceilings feature painted frescoed ceilings and the clothing, accessories, and ceramic edit rivals any top tier fashion retailer in Europe or NY. Our husbands went wild for the men’s selection.
My favorite stop might have been V., a newly opened boutique from Dutch transplant Laurien Manon Venekamp. Laurien features female designers working slowly and intentionally (speaking our language?!) from around the world and her edit was both beautiful and thoughtful. I got a tomato linen shirt and cream pants I will live in and sis and I both purchased straw hats from French designer Vanessa Sposi.
Mama Kim, Kathryn, and I have always loved Ortigia Sicilia for their scents and inspired prints (which they layer onto soap dishes, trays, silk scarves and sarongs) and so despite shopping the brand in the States, we were excited to visit their Noto locations (the brand is from Sicily and has several stores across the island). We also perused Aniel boutique and Amare Noto for chic, Italian clothes and homewares, and got little Johnny a full linen look from Just Noto. Last but not least, sis found the coolest antique bronze crabs and clay soap dishes at Antichità Nicolaci, both part of my top-layer-mission in her new Long Island home.
Land & Sea:
If you know us, you know we love exploring (by foot and sail) so we couldn’t resist a hike to work off all the vongole and spritzes outside of Noto. 30 minutes from Braccialieri you can find Riserva Naturale Cavagrande del Cassibile, an extraordinarily beautiful nature reserve with well-marked, excellent hiking. We loved exploring deep canyons, beautiful rivers and large boulders, quiet wading pools and even a little red fox on our trail. I can’t recommend this enough.
We loved venturing just outside of Noto to eat at Manna — situated in the courtyard of a 19th century castle. The food and service were both excellent. And if you’re seeking a chic breakfast or lunch cafe in town, pop into Forno Piano Altro, which had strong coffee and gorgeous baked goods in a cool, casual setting.
We spent our last night with Salvo of Classic Boat Ortigia, a local young Italian guy (he also has a 5-year-old daughter) aboard his beautiful Tahiti Ketch, a classic wooden sailboat designed in 1924 by American boat builder John Hanna. This was the perfect way to cap off 10 beautiful days in Sicily. We boarded the boat from the harbor at Ortigia (the small island adjacent to the coastal town of Syracusa) and explored the bay, with stops in a few different coves for swimming and sunset views. Just when we thought the evening could not get more beautiful, Salvo’s shipmate Silvia appeared from below deck with an aperitif (it was so big it was dinner) of the freshest mozzarella, steamed mussels straight from the sea, caponata, and white wine. Enjoying our final Sicilian meal on a 100-year-old sailboat in a beautiful harbor was the cherry on top of a superb trip. Saluti!
My Sicily-Inspired Packing List & Shopping Guide:
Warm-weather vacations are my favorite to pack for because I generally live in swimwear and sarongs by day and dresses by night, which means extra room in the carry-on for souvenirs (I brought back a few fabulous Sicilian ceramics and a couple of clothing purchases). As far as our sarongs, dresses, and exploring outfits go: I pack a lot of pareos and roll them for maximum efficiency; I'm drawn to bright colors so that my vacation wardrobe feels full of pieces I'm excited to wear; I lean into flats but pack a lot of them (because they take up minimal room); and I'm not afraid to mix colors and prints (like a striped sarong and animal-print swimsuit). After all, it's a vibrant island — from the bright blue water to pervasive pink bougainvillea to the golden hues of the Baroque towns — and I'm very much here for it; in fact, now that I'm back, I'm trying to insert some of these pops of Sicilian color and pattern into my New York life.
Discover my finds here on Substack and follow along for more!
