Earlier this year, we embarked on a month-long journey to navigate some tough personal circumstances. Despite being a last-minute decision, it turned out to be a wise one. In this blog post, you’ll discover how we traveled with our 2-year-old without flying or taking a car for a full month, using only four light travel items.
Exploring Sicily Sustainably
While most people opt for rental cars to explore Sicily, we chose a more climate-friendly and adventurous route: public transport. Focusing on trains, boats, and buses when necessary, this mode of travel brought us joy and countless memorable experiences. We met locals, received insider tips, and embraced the slow travel mentality, allowing us to fully absorb and enjoy our surroundings.
We rarely booked local trains or buses in advance, buying our tickets at the station an hour or less before departure for very reasonable prices (10-40 euros per person max).
Balancing Work and Travel
Traveling for a month in the middle of the work season meant I had to keep an eye on some ongoing projects. We agreed that I would work two half-days per week. I reserved slots on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, starting at 7:00 and working until 11:00 or 12:00 before joining Tine and August in our activities. The colleagues were informed, ensuring deliverables were ready by Monday evening so I could review and steer the projects during my dedicated work hours. This schedule allowed me to disconnect for five days each week and fully recharge for the next working slots.
Our Eco-Friendly Sicily Itinerary
Our travel loop around Sicily included staying at least 2-3 days in each location. For detailed tips on traveling from Brussels to Sicily by train, check out our separate blog post (link here).
- Taormina – Coastal mountain city with views of Etna
- Catania – Busy city life
- Etna – Impressive natural beauty
- Catania – Train around Mt. Etna
- Siracusa-Ortigia – Historic peninsula
- Noto & Avola – Historic village in the hills
- Vulcano – Volcanic island vibes
- Cefalu – Luxury and historical charm
- Palermo – Rich cultural life
- Agrigento – Ancient temples
- Favignana Island – Nature and slow island life
- Trapani – Historic city
- Palermo – Preparing to return
Tips for Traveling Light with a Toddler
Traveling for a month without a car meant packing light was essential. We managed with:
- One big hiking backpack for our clothes for a week, books, and toiletries.
- A child carrier backpack for August’s clothes and supplies, including diapers and milk powder.
- A sleeping tent for August, including his teddy bear.
- A foldable stroller for easy carrying and occasional groceries.
For more tips, check out our blog post on traveling by train with kids.
Scoring Last-Minute Hotel Deals
Traveling in the low season allowed us to capitalize on last-minute hotel deals. We found great rates by booking after 16:00 on the same day. Starting our search at that time, we would call accommodations and negotiate prices, leading to stays ranging from 45 to 150 euros per night, including breakfast.
Highlights of Our Step-by-Step Itinerary
1. Taormina – Coastal mountain city with views of the Etna
- Transport & accommodation: We got off the night train from Milano in Taormina and hiked up the hill to the village, where we stayed at a B&B.
- Activities: visit the Teatro Antico de Taormina, have an aperitif on the terrace of Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo or Piazza IX Aprile in front of the church. We hiked through a beautiful GR route to the neighboring village Castelmola, first passing a castle and the Chiesa Madonna della Rocca chappel, and on our way back we had dinner with spectacular views on the Etna in Al Saraceno
2. Catania – Busy city life
- Transport & accommodation: We took the train from Taormina to Catania, with the only purpose of staying overnight and taking the normal bus to the Etna the next morning. There’s tours to visit the Etna, but they stay only a couple of hours, while we wanted to sleep on the Etna.
- Activities: We visited the old city center with some beautiful historic buildings and had dinner there. Next to the usuals, our recommendations for Catania are the view from Chiesa della Badia di Sant’Agata church, the Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l’Arena, and the roof of the Chiesa di San Nicolò l’Arena just next to it. The Bellini Gardens with a viewpoint on the Etna were also definitely worth it, and we had lunch in a good Sicilian restaurant next to it called Putì
3. Etna – Impressive nature
- Transport & accommodation: To take the regular bus to the Etna was quite an adventure. I went the day before, but could not book it. They told me to come back at 7 am to this bar called Nafè close to the central station, where they sold us the tickets, while the bus to Rifugio Sapienza was leaving at 8:30. There were more visitors than spots on the bus, so quite some people were disappointed and had to still book a tour to the Etna to get there. Hotel Villa Dorata was impressive, we only paid about 65 euros per night including a good breakfast, for a nice room with a mountain view.
- Activities: there are different options, but you surely want to take the cable car up, and either do a small walk on your own or take a guided walk that you book at Etna Esagonal Trekking Tour next to the cable car. The two small old craters are also worth walking around as a start but are of course less spectacular
4. Catania – Train around Mt. Etna
- Transport & accommodation: We fetched a ride back from the hotel to Catania with the lovely owners of the hotel on the Etna.
- Activities: There’s a beautiful train driving around the Etna on weekdays and some weekend days (check the timetable!). They leave from Ferrovia Circumetnea Stazione Borgo. We got off the train in Randazzo for a walk but did the whole train ride in one day. If time allows, you can surely split it in two days as well. The train does not do a full circle, but you can switch stations at walking distance to catch the normal train back to Catania from Riposto. For more things to do, see 2. Catania busy city life.
5. Siracusa-Ortigia – Historic peninsula
- Transport & accommodation: We took a high-speed train from Riposto, after getting off the Ferrovia Circumetnea, to Siracusa. We stayed at Hotel Gran Bretagna with decent rates and a good breakfast. Some nice restaurant recommendations are Area M, aLevante, and A Putia
- Activities: Siracusa and Ortigia are spectacular to hang around in the little old streets, and swim in the sea at one of the small beaches like Spiaggia di Fonte Aretusa or Cala Rossa Beach. A must-visit is the Parco Archeologico Neapolis with the Teatro Greco.
6. Noto & Avola – Historic village in the hills
- Transport & accommodation: To go to Noto we took a bus from Siracusa station. We stayed at The Mandorleto Resort and B&B a “kind of” agriturismo along the way, but there’s ample accommodation in Noto as well. It was a very long hike of more than an hour to get to Noto or Avola, so this location was not ideal without a car. Nevertheless, we had a studio with a kitchenette for 45 euros per night, including a very decent breakfast. Price-quality it was spectacular ;-). We had a very good lunch in Nachè.
- Activities: We hiked to Noto and visited the churches, took the little tourist train with August, went to the barber,… chill life in a spectacular historic setting. It’s worth visiting the rooftop of Chiesa di San Carlo al Corso. Tine did some running back, while I fetched a ride back with August to our B&B.
7. Vulcano – Vulcanic island vibes
- Transport & accommodation: To get from Avola to Vulcano is quite a journey. We took the bus bus from Avola to Siracusa, and the train from Siracusa to Messina… with a very very short transfer time of less than a minute we made it on the train to Milazzo from where we shared a taxi with other people heading from the railway station to the boat… and were just in time for the last boat to Vulcano! We booked the ferries online via our smartphone. We stayed a bit outside the center for a very affordable price in Holiday Eolie Village, but a bit more into the season, there are surely other places to stay with higher. In April most hotels were still closed.
- Activities: Vulcano is a beautiful island for swimming in la Baia Negra and hiking up the Vulcano volcano, which is possible on your own. Do check the traffic lights so you don’t get fined ;-). The island used to have hot springs in Spiaggia delle Acque Calde but these have been closed for construction permit reasons and “health reasons”. You can still swim in the sea in front of the hot springs and find some spots with warm water smelling like sulfur, but be aware it’s not very healthy to breath this mix of vulcanic gasses coming out of the water. We also rented a little car with an open roof for an hour to drive to Belvedere Capo Grillo.
8. Cefalu – Luxury and history
- Transport & accommodation: A ferry, taxi, and train ride later we arrived in Cefalu. Since it was low season, we managed to book Hotel Le Calette for 150 euros per night. We got an amazing upgrade to one of the suites and stayed for 3 nights in a room that normally costs +1000 euros per night. The tricky consequence is that the restaurant in the hotel was quite exclusive with a dinner menu of 95 euros per person excluding drinks. But clearly, the whole experience was spectacular and the personnel was extremely friendly. We arrived in the rain and were welcomed with towels and a glass of champagne, we got private use of the spa for free for half an hour, and the breakfast was breathtaking,…
- Activities: Cefalu is a beautiful village to stroll around. We climbed to the top of Castello di Cefalù and had picknick there, the small entrance fee was worth it.
9. Palermo – Rich cultural life
- Transport & accommodation: Palermo is only a simple train ride away from Cefalu. In Cefalu we were joined by our friend Sarah, so we booked a super beautiful Airbnb “blue apartment” in the city center in the building above a bar called Ferramenta. As a recommendation for vegetarian brunch Ecologica bio shop & bistrò. For I Segreti del Chiostro, expect to queue for a while. Other nice places: Graziano al mare, Nautoscopio – NAUTO,
- Activities: You can easily spend four days visiting Palermo. Our highlights were the Palazzo dei Normanni, going on the roof of Cattedrale di Palermo, Orto Botanico, the market around Chiesa del Carmine Maggiore
10. Agrigento – Ancient temples
- Transport & accommodation: To get to Agrigento there’s a direct train from Palermo, with impressive views of the inland of Sicily. If you’re on time, try to book Hotel Villa Athena just next to the archeological site. For a good restaurant, reserve at Sala8.
- Activities: The one main reason to come to Agrigento is the Valle dei Templi. Talking about impressive history, this is your thing. You can easily spend half a day strolling around. Make sure your phone is charged so you can listen to the audio guide. If you start on time, you have the chance to visit the gardens as well that seem very beautiful. We were just too late and the gardens had already closed. We also visited the Museo Archeologico Regionale the next morning, which put a lot of good context to the overall site and history of the excavations.
11. Favignana island – Nature and slow island life
- Transport & accommodation: We took the bus from Agrigento to Marsala, which was a bit of an adventure. It was very unclear how to buy the tickets, and in the end, we paid in SAIS Trasporti Biglietteria Agrigento even though we were traveling with another bus company. The bus dropped us off in another location than foreseen, on the outskirts next to a hospital. From there we had to hitchhike to the port to catch our boat to Trapani. We booked the ferries online via our smartphone. Have breakfast in Bar Europa, lunch in Magneva, and dinner in Osteria del Sotto Sale.
- Activities: on Favignana, we went swimming in Cala Rossa, Spiaggia Bue Marino and we visited the old site of the former tuna factory Ex Stabilimento Florio delle Tonnare di Favignana, the city museum Palazzo Florio house. We also rented bikes and cycled around the island while visiting the Giardino dell’Impossibile, a lovely garden constructed at the bottom of the old stone quarries with an audio tour all around the gardens. We also recommend climbing up to Castello di Santa Caterina.
12. Trapani – Historic city
- Transport & accommodation: We took the ferry from Favignana to Trapani. Tine stayed for two nights in an Airbnb, while I left a day earlier to catch the night train from Palermo to Milano.
- Activities: The city is beautiful, with its esplanade where we had dinner with sunset views in MOAI Sunset Restaurant. In the morning I went running to visit the salt planes of Saline di Trapani.
13. Palermo – Preparing to go back
- Transport & accommodation: I took the bus from Trapani to Palermo, there’s multiple buses per day, so I took one where I would be on time to still stroll around the market streets, buy some food and drinks and have an extensive lunch before boarding the night train to Milano.
Final Thoughts
Our month-long, car-free journey around Sicily was an enriching experience, filled with cultural encounters and beautiful landscapes. We hope our eco-friendly travel tips inspire you and your family to enjoy similar adventures!
Carbon Conscious Travel 