Mainland Italy and Sicily are separated by the Strait of Messina, which is a body of water that links the Ionian sea in the south with the Tyrrhenian Sea in the north.
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Italy is noted for its colourful and culture-rich cities, rolling hillsides and vineyards, beautiful coasts and beaches. Yet Sicily possesses some truly unique landscapes and terrain that is hard to find anywhere else in the world.
You can take a train from mainland Italy to Sicily. The whole train goes onto a ferry from the mainland, and you can reach a few cities by train once on the island, including popular beach resort towns like Taormina.
Between the island of Sicily and mainland Italy runs a narrow strip of water, the Messina Strait. Connecting the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west with the Ionian Sea in the east, this skinny strip of water is just 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
At a high level, we think you're going to need at least two weeks (14 days) to see both eastern and western Sicily. Anything less than that and you'd need to cut some of the best sights in each region to try and fit it all in, which we would absolutely not recommend.
If you're interested in visiting Sicily for its culture, food, wine, architecture, ruins, and history — and have less of an interest in beaches — winter is a great time to visit. And you can even ski on Mount Etna! It's not the greatest skiing in the world, but how cool is it to say you've skied on a volcano in Italy?!
Good news for U.S. travelers yearning to visit southern Italy: on Thursday, United Airlines announced a brand new flight from New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport to Palermo, Sicily. It'll be the only daily nonstop flight from the U.S. to the capital city of the Italian island.
While Sicily is generally a safe place to visit, there are a few areas that you might want to avoid for safety reasons. Here are a few neighborhoods to watch out for and avoid: Ballarò: This neighborhood in Palermo is known for its street markets, but it can also be dangerous, especially at night.
Sicily has retained a distinct history, leading to its broad range of architecture, particular cuisine, and amalgamation of traditions. Sicily was a crossroad for so many cultures, it is hard to find another place that has been impacted by Phoenicians, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Romans, British, and French.