Why Sicily? Simple, it is the biggest region in Italy, it has so many different dialects and it is so rich in culture that “why not”
In fact, regarding dialects, it is incorrect to talk about “sicilian” but it should be “sicilian dialects”. Each main city has its own and, for example, if a person from Palermo meets someone from Catania and they speak their own dialects, well they probably will understand each other but trust me..it will be a little hard!
If you really want to experience the real “Italy” you cannot miss Sicily! Besides it is not that “turistic” yet..
And now when is the best period to visit this wonderful big island.. I am from Sicily, Palermo and I do believe the best period for a nice vacation is in summer when you can enjoy the blue sky sea! But, please don’t go in August.. it might be a little nightmare! A lot of “Italians” and turists go there in August.. Many Italians, in fact, have vacation from work on August.. yep all the month in certain cases, and what do they do? not to spend too much money, a lot of them decide to stay in the country but at the same time they want to have a real “summer vacation” with sun and see and so a easy and cheap option is to go to Sicily!
Said that, I would skip August! Instead a wonderful option is to go in September.. a lot of “Italians” are back to work and beaches are not too busy and the sea returned calm,cleaner..it seems like relaxed, so how can’t you relax too? it is impossible.. at the same time it is still “summer” but a little more fresh.. the weather is not too hot..perfect!
April, a long time ago i would have suggested this month too.. but lately (2010 for example) it was cold, and it rained..so I would skip it too! instead May is nice but still not perfect for the beach.. well sometimes.. probably if you go the middle of May is perfect– when I say perfect I mean not too hot and humid!
June is definitely Summer.. hot and humid, but still perfect for the beach.. not a lot of people there and the season is not completely open, that means that the cabins along the beach are not ready yet–yep, because unfortunately, these cabins take a big part of the beach!!!
July, the cabins are there and family starts going to the beaches.. a little of caos but still much fun!
If you instead don’t mind the rain, October is a nice period.. to relax, not in the city but in a nice Agriturismo where you can see how they make wine and have a nice taste of it! we have really good and famous wines in Sicily!!
December might be cold, but not extremely.. temperatures never go under zero in Sicily! but the wind blows and it is not too warm :O)
I would say that February is the coldest month!!! brrrr
Anyway, I am Sicilian and I love the sea.. definitely I would go there in September or from May to July!!!
Being that you are Sicilian, I will take this advice as golden. I am thinking of doing a European tour and Sicily is certainly one of the potential stopping points. Sounds like September and October are the months for me. Personally, outside the city and watching the winemaking (not to mention drinking it) is more my style! Thanks for the very helpful tips!
Ciao Devon!
Yes October is wine period! you could maybe partecipate on the process!
Depend on what kind of wine you like you could find an Agriturismo on the east or west coast! Marsala is a small town near Trapani and it is really famous for Marsala wine, kind of sweet wine we like to taste after dinner or lunch..another famous wine is “Sambuca di Sicilia” made in..Sambuca, of course
Or you can simply stay in a beautiful Agriturism ouside the main cities but still close to them and have a wine tour around Sicily (I believe this is the best option!)
Also don’t forget to try the many ricotta pastries we have.. I believe you heard about Cannoli! Well.. they are from Sicily! and the ricotta in Sicily is the best you can find since the taste is sweet and strong at the same time, made with goat milk and not cow milk!!
I can help you find a typical Agriturism and organize your tour since this is what I like to do! at the bottom of this page you can see pictures from one of the tours I did organize!
I am actually organizing a special tour right now, for summer 2011 (but I can propose the same in October!) which includes 5 to 7 nights in Agriturismo, half board, one typical sicilian cooking class and a wine tour… as an extra, people can purchase other daily tours or just enjoy the scenario and relax.
If you are interested, once I am ready I can send you the details!
yes, please keep me posted. Thanks again for all the helpful information.