Sicily Family Holidays & Breaks

Take the Family is a travel agency specialising in active, adventure and luxury holidays. Your personal travel advisor will create the perfect Sicily holiday for your family, with expert advice and dedicated support throughout.

Sicily for family holidays

This fascinating island with its rich mixed heritage (Greek, Arab, Roman and Norman – resulting from a long history of invasion) is a unique family destination with those eclectic influences seen in its architecture, culture and landscapes.

Whether you opt for the capital Palermo with its jumble of Greek, Roman and Byzantine structures or head straight to Taormina, Sicily's grandest resort, to watch the sun set against the backdrop of Mount Etna, this is a fantastic option for those who love exploring as well as relaxing on the beach.

Book a Sicily holiday with Take the Family and, as elsewhere in Italy, you'll find that children are effusively welcomed everywhere you go. And the locals' friendliness towards younger visitors will help smooth over the language differences outside the main resorts if you don't speak any Italian.

As a specialist family travel agency, we can tailor-make the perfect holiday in Sicily for your family – perhaps as part of a wider family holiday in Italy. Contact one of our travel advisors now and let's discuss your dream trip.

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Things to do with kids in Sicily

Sicily Outdoor Activities

• Impress even the most excursion-weary of kids with a trip to Mount Etna, which is Europe's largest active volcano. You can ride over the mounds of smoking lava by cable-car or opt for a 4X4 adventure through the moon-like volcanic landscape.

• East of Palermo, explore the nearby Madonie National Park, a great place for mountain-biking, trekking and horse-riding for all ages. 

• Tackle the rope ladders and zipwires of the nearby Parco Avventura Madonie, spending the night in a treehouse, a tent in the trees, a tent on the ground, or a B&B room.

Sicily Best Beaches and Watersports

• Many of the island's beaches are pebbly, but get in some good snorkelling in Sicily's clear waters.

• For more watery fun, hit the waterslides at Etnaland water, theme and prehistory park on the east coast (we can book you theme-park breaks at nearby hotels), or the Acquapark Conte di Sommatino in the centre.

• Ask us about booking you a stay in one of the island's east coast resorts, but after lazing by the pool, make sure to dress up and join in the communal evening stroll or passegiata.

• Hop aboard a boat trip to one of the smaller islands that Sicily controls offshore, which include Ustica and the Aeolians (mainly Stromboli, Vulcano, and Lipari), where you can enjoy a family mud bath.

Sicily History and Culture

• Hit the capital Palermo, to explore Greek, Roman and medieval influences and spot monsters peeking out from the Baroque architecture. With older kids with gory imaginations, visit the Convento dei Cappuccini's catacombs to see the mummified remains of Palermo's 16th- and 17th-century noble classes.

• Delve into Sicily's long tradition of puppet theatre, recognised by UNESCO as an oral and intangible heritage of humanity. There are at least five puppet theatres in Palermo and some in other major towns, including Syracuse (La Dei Pupari) and Acireale (Teatro Pupi Macri). Plays are usually in Italian, but the lively battles and music help little ones follow along.

• In Palermo, combine a puppet show with a trip to the Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino, dedicated to Sicilian puppetry.

• Pay a visit to the Museo del Giocattolo e Delle Cere Pietro Piraino in Bagheria, with more than 700 toys from the last four centuries.

• At the popular resort of Taormina, ride the cable-car from the beach at Mazzaro, taking you up to the town to explore the famous Greco-Roman amphitheatre.

• Visit the temples at Agrigento and Segesta or the Roman-era mosaics of Piazza Armerina.

• See the salt pans between Trapani and Marsala, with enormous piles of salt drying in the sun and a small Museo del Sale inside a restored windmill.

• Tour the vast archaeological park of Selinunte, where you can have hours of fun exploring Greek ruins.

Setting out on an Etna tour

Eating in Sicily

Food in Sicily is super-healthy and delicious, with the focus on seafood and on vegetables such as aubergines and fennel. Typical Sicilian dishes include pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines, fennel, pine nuts and raisins), involtini di pesce spada (grilled rolls of swordfish with a herb stuffing) and spaghetti a la Norma, with aubergines, ricotta cheese, basil and tomato. If that's too adventurous for younger children, there are all sorts of good sandwiches and types of pizza.

The morning fish market in Trapani is great for a browse, and don’t go home without sampling some of Sicily's delicious pastries stuffed with ingredients such as marzipan and ricotta.

Eating out in Sicily is normally great value, and kids get a genuine welcome in just about any restaurant you care to try out.

Treetop adventures and a tree tent at Parco Avventura Madonie

When to go to Sicily

The best time to go to Sicily is March and April, when the island is at its greenest, May (including May half term) or June, which are sunny but not usually too hot (summer temperatures rise to 30°C), and autumn. The latter stays warm so is a good time for those who like to combine swimming with sightseeing – indeed, Sicily is the perfect destination for October half-term holidays for families seeking a little culture. 

Puppet museum

How to get to Sicily

There are direct flights from the UK to Sicily from London airports, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds Bradford, between them serving airports in Catania, Palermo and Trapani. London to Sicily flights take about 3 hours. We will book the most convenient flights for your family, as well as car hire if you want to explore under your own steam, or transfers to your resort if required.

It is possible to take the train all the way from the UK to Sicily (via Paris, Milan, Rome and/or Naples – an exciting option since the whole train is shunted onto a ship to cross the Straits of Messina – mind-boggling, especially if you’re not expecting it!

Sicily

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