DIVINE SICILY Travel Guide

We’ve put together some useful information to help with your Sicily travel plans. 

Download Guide PDF for Printing

Flight Planning
One important thing to keep in mind is, you will need to leave the U.S. one day before you need to be in Sicily. For example, if you’re planning to join us on the 15th of April in Palermo or Catania, you will need to leave the U.S. on April 14th. When planning your departure from Sicily, please remember we will be staying approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on traffic) from either airport. We encourage our guests to make their departing reservations after 10 AM if at all possible.

Transportation
Here is a list of airlines that fly into Palermo and Catania from Rome:

Alitalia (www.alitalia.com/us)
Blue Express (www.blu-express.com)
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com)
Meridiana (www.meridiana.it)
Wind Jet (www.volawindjet.it)
 
If you prefer to travel to Sicily from different ports of Italy by ferry:
Ferries Online (www.cemar.it/dest/ferries_sicily.htm)

Weather
Sicily Weather (www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cities/intl/Pages)
Italy Weather Hub (www.wxusa.com/international/Italy.htm)

Packing Suggestions
Comfortable clothes are especially important when you are traveling. Try to pack light and use soft-sided luggage if possible.

Suggested Packing List:
Comfortable walking shoes
Rain jacket with hood
Slippers
Travel umbrella
Bathing suit (May through October)
Lightweight jacket and scarf
Travel alarm clock
Camera
Sunglasses and sunscreen
Prescriptions/medication

For the most part, Sicily is casual.  You’ll want to dress as comfortably as possible for our adventures. For any cooking classes, we do ask that you wear comfortable, closed shoes. 

The Mt. Etna region, where we’ll be at a high altitude, can be a bit cooler during the day and at night. But traveling to the southern part of the island can be as warm as 70-80 degrees during the day. Bring layers. Having the ability to add or subtract a layer will make you a lot more comfortable.

Our farewell dinner, and other evening meals are the only occasions where you might want to wear something spiffy and fun.

I usually bring along an empty smallish, cloth zippered bag for all kinds of goodies that I’ve collected along the way. I stash it in my carry-on bag or checked bag on the way over. Remember, liquids have to be checked, so a small bottle of special olive oil or wine can be brought home with you, as long as it is wrapped and packed properly in your checked baggage.

Pack a converter plug for Italian electrical outlets. You can usually get these at Radio Shack, or any good electronics store. It has 2 rounded prongs. You’ll need this to recharge your camera battery and possibly your cell phone, etc. Hair dryers are furnished in the guest rooms.

Currency
Don’t forget to contact your bank and/or credit card company to let them know that you’ll be traveling in Italy and Sicily, so they don’t decline purchases/ATM use due to an unusual location. You will need to have some euros with you for spending money for incidentals, tipping, etc. In our travels throughout Sicily, we have found the most convenient way to acquiring cash is to use your ATM card. You will be charged a 3 % or so exchange fee, but having cash is much easier than using traveler’s checks.