From the most beautiful sunsets in Sciacca to the bustling town of Taormina, Sicily is a dream come true, even traveling as a family of 5. What a way to start our family vacation by flying Emirates NYC to Milan. I have never flown on a more luxurious and family friendly airline.
Yes, we did fly business class, but there are wonderful point transfer options from Amex to Emirates making it super affordable! If you don’t have points, it’s well worth the money.
Once we got to Milan, we hopped a quick flight to Palermo and jumped into our 1.5-hour transfer van and headed to the glamorous Verdura resort in Sciacca, Italy. A resort that’s surrounded by olive and lemon trees and the perfect place for us to unwind and beat the jetlag.
This resort has it all. From the insanely large pool, the refreshing sea, the freshest fish I have ever eaten to the beautiful golf course that surrounds this astonishing resort, not to mention the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen. They also have a state-of-the- art gym and spa, and a lovely kids club. There is something for everyone. If you don’t ever want to leave the resort, you don’t need to.
I crave Italian villages that I’ve never been to, so we ventured out for dinner as a family to the local town of Sciacca, and I’m so happy we did! It’s a beautiful quaint fishing town only 15 minutes from the resort. We ate where all the locals eat, and it was incredible.
After 3 nights at Verdura, we headed to the glamours town of “The White Lotus” aka
Taormina. 13 years ago, during our honeymoon, my husband and I fell in love with Taormina. We decided to take our 3 crazy kids and share our passion and love of Italy, while we reminisced a bit.
They are so intrigued with volcanos, and they are obsessed with pizza and pasta as
most young kids (and adults) are, we knew this would be a cool trip for them. Little did we know, just a few short hours after we hiked Mt. Etna and had a wonderful lunch at a woman’s house up in the hills close by it erupted! That was a sight to see that the whole family will never forget.
Taormina is super luxurious, whether you want to stay by the sea or up in the incredible
ancient town with spectacular views of the sea, you can’t go wrong. We chose to stay at the Mazzaro Sea Palace down by the Sea and this was the right decision for us. From the moment you walk in, you will have a smile on your face. The resort is stunning, directly on the sea, the rooms are spacious and spectacular, but the staff was truly the best. You can’t wait to wake up in the morning to head to breakfast. My whole family is still dreaming about their Nutella croissants and Granita, the perfect Sicilian breakfast.
One morning we took a private boat tour along the coast of Taormina with a husband-
and-wife duo, whose lifelong passion has been spent out on the sea. Saro and Graziella
made you feel like you were part of their family the second you stepped aboard. The
endless prosecco and beautiful home cooked lunch by Graziella was perfect. This was
the highlight of the trip for all of us.
There are many restaurants you can walk to down by the bay, or you can opt for a short
cab ride into the city. If you choose to skip a cab ride up to town, you can take a short
walk to the funicular and head to town the way it has been done for almost 100 years.
I was fortunate enough to have a site visit at the famous San Domenico hotel. This hotel speaks for itself, especially for those that have seen the White Lotus. I was unaware of the extensive history of this phenomenal resort! If you have the opportunity to stay here, they have private history tours that you will be blown away with. Beauty surrounds you as you walk around, you will be astonished with the remains left from thousands of years ago that are still part of this luxurious resort.
Taormina has countless shops, restaurants, gelaterias and cannoli shops all throughout
town. Some of the best places are nestled in the quieter streets, which I really enjoy.
You can spend hours strolling around shopping or sit, relax and people watch while
enjoying an aperitivo.
Getting on that plane back to NY was difficult to do. I now close my eyes and dream of
the views, the smells of the food and sea, and all the incredible memories my family and
I made.
Until next year, Ciao Italia!
Reach out to me for your next trip to Sicily at barbara@chesneydavistravel.com.