Our Sicilian experience

We had not originally planned to visit Sicily, but when we realized how close we were simply needing to catch a 30minute ferry and the way our friends in Italy were raving about it, the choice seemed obvious.

We arrived in Messina, Sicily via the ferry from Villa San Giovanni. This was our very first ferry journey where we had taken a car on board and to make it more exciting, the weather was quite dramatic. As we crossed, we could see areas of bright sunshine right next to the dark skies of a menacing storm. As advised, we had timed our journey so that we would be able to catch the famous ringing of the tower’s bells at the Duomo of Santa Maria Assunta.

View from the ferry to Messina
Still not 100% confident while driving on the right-hand side of the road, simple things for locals like figuring out where to get tickets for the ferry journey and how to pay for the toll roads, all became part of the Sicilian adventure.

Google maps on these winding roads can be tricky to follow, so by accident, we ended up driving through the hilltop streets of Taormina, edging our way through the tourists. However, we were glad for the necessity to drive slowly on these winding roads next to sheer drops to the ocean.



Taormina, Sicily, Italy

We finally made our way to our home for the next few days in Letojanni, a beach town practically located in the in the shadow of Taormina. The apartment was a fantastic base for us, and as the peak season had not yet started we had the building (and its private beachfront) to ourselves. We also had access to the best Gelato on the planet – Crème Caramel flavoured!

One highlight of our day of wandering the streets of Taormina was the visit to the Teatro Greco. You can only imagine what it must have been like to view the performances at this theatre with the fantastic view of the ocean below.

Since we still had our rental car, we planned a day trip down the coast, driving past a steaming Mt Etna. We travelled to the wonderfully Baroque town of Noto, with its elaborate stone buildings. The architecture was lovely and made this visit very special. On our way home we stopped at Siracuse and Ortigia Island. The Duomo Siracuse and the adjoining Piazza were also well worth the trip.




The public transport system is very efficient and affordable, so we quickly realised that we could return our rental car and save much money. The remaining days in Sicily were spent lazily walking into town, buying local wine and fresh produce to make delicious meals while eating a gelato on your way home enjoying the view of the pebble beaches.


Overall, hiring an apartment in Letojanni, Sicily in May is something we would highly recommend to anyone who needs a little soul rejuvenation.

View more photos of our visit to Sicily and Southern Italy here.

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