Volcano, Greek theatres, warm sea into October
🌋Sicily
Italy
Sicily is the rare family destination that works on two levels at once: children get warm shallow sea, arancine and a real live volcano, and adults get Greek temples, baroque towns and food worth flying for. It is also bigger and harder than it looks on the map. The island is roughly the size of Wales with mountain roads instead of motorways, the two airports are three hours apart, and a resort near Palermo is a genuinely different holiday from a resort near Syracuse. The good news is that the family end of the market is strong. The south and east coasts have sand and shallow water, the big villages come with real kids clubs rather than a token play corner, and the sea stays swimmable well into October, which is when the island is at its best. Pick one coast, book a car, and do not try to see all of it.
3 357 m
Height of Mount Etna
24°C
Sea temperature in October
2
Airports, 3 hours apart
1 000 km
Of coastline to choose from
Live prices & availability
Stays near Sicily, Italy
We compare Booking, Expedia, Hotels.com and more so you book at the best price. Prices update in real time.
Why it works with kids
- The sea stays warm into October, so a half-term week here still means swimming, and September prices are half of August's
- Sicilian food is child food with a better accent: arancine, pizza, granita with brioche for breakfast, and gelato that ends every argument
- Mount Etna is an actual smoking volcano you can walk on, and the Greek theatres at Taormina and Syracuse turn a history lesson into a morning out
- The south and east coasts have long shallow sandy beaches, and the big villages there run real kids clubs, some taking babies from one year old
Best areas to stay
- 1Taormina and Giardini Naxos: the shortest transfer from Catania, the Greek theatre, Etna within reach and the best base for families who want days out rather than a week behind a gate. The trade-off is hills, steps and pebble beaches
- 2Cefalù and the north coast: sand, a postcard old town and the island's most complete big resorts, including clubs that take babies from one. About an hour from Palermo airport
- 3The south and south-east, from Sciacca and Menfi round to Marina di Ragusa: the warmest, calmest, emptiest water and the sandiest beaches, plus the baroque towns and Agrigento. You will drive, and it is worth it
Our KidProof picks
Hand-picked and scored on the eight things that matter to families.
in Sicily
Verdura Resort
203 rooms and suites, all with a sea view and all on one or two low floors spread through 230 hectares of countryside, so you never queue for a lift with a pushchair. Families mostly land in the Junior Suites or the communicating doubles, and the layout (terrace, then lawn, then sea) means a sleeping baby is never far from where you are sitting. The trade-off is walking: your room can be a genuine ten minutes from the kids club, and the resort buggies are the difference between charmed and exhausted.
in Sicily
Grand Palladium Sicilia Resort & Spa
Low blocks scattered through a 10-hectare park, which means shade, lawns and a walk to breakfast rather than a tower and a lift. Family rooms and connecting options are standard here rather than a scarce upgrade, so four in one booking is normal. Furnishings are resort-practical, not boutique. The rooms nearest the beach are the quietest, the ones nearest the main pool are the most convenient, and you cannot have both.
in Sicily
Mangia's Brucoli, Sicily, Autograph Collection
402 rooms across a large seafront estate, refurbished into the Autograph Collection but still, at heart, the Italian holiday village it has always been. Family rooms and adjoining pairs are plentiful, which is the whole reason to look here: four of you fit without a second booking, and the resort openly discounts a second room. Expect functional rather than designer, and ask for something away from the entertainment stage unless your children sleep through anything.
in Sicily
Mazzarò Sea Palace
82 rooms, most with a balcony or terrace over the Bay of Mazzarò, and the view really is the product. Family configurations exist (triples, connecting doubles, suites) but they are limited and they sell out first, so a family of four booking in June will be looking at two rooms. Everything is stacked on a slope above the beach, so lifts and stairs are part of daily life.
in Sicily
Athena Resort
A classic Italian villaggio: low-rise blocks spread through a huge site inside the Pino d'Aleppo nature reserve, with family rooms and quadruples as the default rather than the exception. Furnishings are plain and functional, and nobody is pretending otherwise. What you are buying is space, three pools, a private beach and three age-banded clubs, at a price that makes a fortnight possible.
in Sicily
Splendid Hotel La Torre
170 rooms on the rocky point at Valdesi, at the far end of Mondello bay. Rooms are spacious and plainly modern, and the ones with a sea view look straight down onto the boardwalks and the saltwater pool. Extra beds and cots are chargeable per night, so a family of four adds up: check the total, not the headline rate. Some rooms give direct access out to the pool terrace, which with children old enough to swim is the configuration to ask for.
in Sicily
Hotel Caesar Palace
220 rooms in a large block on the Recanati hillside above Giardini Naxos. Rooms are simple and dated in places, family rooms and triples are widely available, and the ones facing the sea are worth the small supplement because the view down to the bay and across to Taormina is the best thing about the building. This is a hotel you book for the pool and the price, not for the decor.
in Sicily
Menfi Beach Resort
242 rooms in a village layout, each with a balcony or a door onto the garden. Everything is air-conditioned and equipped with the basics: TV, minibar, safe, hair dryer. Nothing here is designed, it is provisioned, and for the price that is a fair deal. Family rooms and connecting arrangements are easy to get. Ask for a garden-level room if you have small children, because being able to open a door onto grass is worth more than a view here.
Compare our picks in Sicily
| Hotel | Score | Kids club | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdura Resort | 85 | ✅ Free kids club | 620€ |
| Grand Palladium Sicilia Resort & Spa | 81 | ✅ Free kids club | 240€ |
| Mangia's Brucoli, Sicily, Autograph Collection | 77 | ✅ Free kids club | 260€ |
| Mazzarò Sea Palace | 73 | — | 380€ |
| Athena Resort | 72 | ✅ Free kids club | 130€ |
| Splendid Hotel La Torre | 72 | — | 190€ |
| Hotel Caesar Palace | 71 | ✅ Free kids club | 150€ |
| Menfi Beach Resort | 66 | ✅ Free kids club | 120€ |
Browse Sicily by what matters
Family things to do in Sicily
Mount Etna
Drive to the Rifugio Sapienza at 1,900 m and walk the Silvestri craters: black gravel, warm ground and real steam, doable with children of five upward and no equipment. The cable car and jeep to the higher craters is a bigger, colder, pricier day and needs proper shoes. Take a fleece even in August, because the summit is 15 degrees colder than the beach.
The Greek theatre at Taormina
The Teatro Antico is the one ruin children do not have to be talked into: it is a working amphitheatre with Etna framed in the gap where the stage wall fell down. Go at opening time, before the heat and the coaches. Bribe with granita on the way out, and it costs you an hour.
A boat trip along the coast
Small boats run from Taormina's bay to Isola Bella and the grottoes, from Cefalù along the Madonie coast, and from Marina di Ragusa in the south. Two to three hours, with swim stops, and it is the single activity that reliably delights everybody from four to fourteen. Book the morning slot: the afternoon sea is choppier.
Etnaland
Sicily's big water and theme park at Belpasso, near Catania: 280,000 m² across a water park, a theme park and a prehistoric park, with around thirty gentle attractions for little ones and serious slides for everyone else. Most of the good slides need 120 cm, so check heights before you promise. Go on a weekday, and take water shoes: the ground gets scorching.
Parents also ask
Do we need a hire car in Sicily?
Almost always yes. Public transport between towns is slow and thin, and most family resorts sit outside any village. The exceptions are Taormina, where the cable car and trains cover a lot, and Mondello, where buses and taxis reach Palermo easily. Everywhere else, budget for a car and an automatic if you are not used to hills.
When should we go with children?
June and September are the answer. The sea is warm, the crowds are gone and prices drop sharply. July is hot but manageable; August is 35 degrees plus, every Italian family is on holiday at once, and the beaches and the roads show it. October still swims on the south coast.
Are Sicilian beaches sandy?
It depends entirely on the coast, and this catches families out. The south and south-east (Menfi, Marina di Ragusa, Fontane Bianche) are sandy and shallow. The north coast around Cefalù has long sandy stretches. Taormina and much of the east are pebble or rock with deep water, beautiful for snorkelling and no good for a paddling toddler. Read the beach description before the star rating.
Catania or Palermo airport?
It decides your holiday, so book the flight after you choose the hotel, not before. Catania serves Taormina, Giardini Naxos, Brucoli, Syracuse and Etna. Palermo serves Cefalù, Mondello, Sciacca and Menfi. Driving from one to the other is roughly three hours, and no, you do not want to do it on arrival day.
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