I'm planning a driving trip in Sicily with my son, his wife and my 3 year-old grandson. We'd appreciate insights about our driving route and possible places to stay (apartments, agritursmi) We will arrive from Europe in Catania on December 19 (so no jet lag to deal with), and want to stay in the East/SE region through Christmas, leaving on Dec. 26 or 27 when we'll have 4-5 days to drive to Palermo (arriving by 12/31) where we're meeting friends and staying put for another 7-10 days. I don't need advice on the Palermo/Mondello stay, but would appreciate recommendations for the first part when we're working around the Christmas holiday. Should we just head directly south from Catania to the Siracusa area and stay put for a week in an apartment, taking day trips to Ortigia, Ragusa, Nota, etc.? Are we really missing something if we don't go to Taormina? From Siracusa we'll want to stop in Agrigento and maybe the west coast on the way to Palermo. We need relatively easy driving routes, my grandson gets carsick so avoiding winding mountain roads when possible is a good idea! Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
2003 posts
I ought to be able to help you somewhat, even though we haven't been to Sicily in December yet --- we've spent a couple weeks in Sicily in July 2001 and, more recently, last spring (https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/sicily-spring-2025). We've travelled with a 3-turning-4-year-old grandson (and his baby sister) to Puglia and Rome at Easter time. And we often spend a month in Italy before, during, and after Christmas. Christmas in Sicily will be fantastic!
We had a car for all those trips. Mostly easy driving, but we enjoy and purposely choose the winding roads so our routes wouldn't be useful to you. You will be driving the speed limits or even slower, so if a faster car or a few cars are behind you, you can either edge over or actually signal and pull off the road when you see a good place to do it to let them go past. Also, drink-driving laws are stricter in Italy, so be aware of that.
I can recommend apartments and B&Bs in Sicily since we enjoyed every one we stayed at in 2025, although some were trickier to drive to and park near than others (we like to stay as close as possible to the historic centers of town). All were 2-bedrooms and some had 2 bathrooms, so that would suit your family group well. Green Apartment Catania (Airbnb) in Catania, Casa Vacanze Miriam in Randazzo, Matteotti Royale Apartments in Ortigia, Casa Hybla in Ragusa Ibla, and the B&B La Casa sulla Collina d'Oro in Piazza Armerina (to visit the Villa Romana).
You know you need a carseat that meets Italian standards (stricter than ours), right?
In cities and large towns at Christmas, some museums may be closed for a day (and neither Google nor the museum's website will necessarily tell you when --- when it really matters to us, we try to contact the museum on a day it's open to ask about their holiday hours). Some restaurants will be closed and others will be very full and you'll want to have made a reservation early enough. Any time of year, things are likely to be closed from early afternoon until maybe 4:00pm, but it's a nice time to either nap or walk around town or go for a drive.
I guess I'd be inclined to take a taxi to your accommodation in Catania for a couple nights and then take a taxi to a car rental place on the outskirts of the city. Then either drive to Randazzo for a few nights if you are interested in a great town and doing things around Mount Etna or to a town like Ragusa Ibla or Noto or Ortigia from which to go on day trips. Of those three, I'd say that Ragusa Ibla is the most child-friendly, although hilly to get there. We parked in the garage under the apartment, but my guess is that there is a parking lot.
If your grandson likes animals, he might like the Villa Romana mosaics on your way to Agrigento.
Posted by
OP
Chelan, wa, usa
3 posts
Thank you, that's very helpful information, especially the apartment recommendations. I know about traveling with kids, have been taking my own on international trips since they were babies 50 years ago, and my little grandson is already a world traveler. We'd arrange a car seat through the rental car company, my son lives in Berlin and they don't have a car, so no seat either. I'm curious if you think stopping in Catania for a couple of nights is worthwhile, or if we should head directly south to the Siracusa/Ragusa area and stay put over the Christmas holiday. We haven't really discussed Mt. Etna. One reason we like an apartment is that we don't need to go out for meals much at night, although we enjoy lunches out and we like to shop and cook. Might look at Ragusa area instead of Siracusa, what do you think since we'd be there on Christmas Day? And of course we expect hills and curvy roads, but won't seek them out on purpose!