Sicily & the Aeolian Islands
IT 02Italy · 10 nights
Palermo's markets, three nights on Salina, a volcano at dusk and Baroque Ortigia, all with the minimum of luggage.
Sicily has been conquered by almost everyone, and the result is an island where a Norman cathedral stands near an Arab-influenced chapel and a very good lunch is never far. This route leaves out the long drives. It starts in Palermo, hops by hydrofoil to the Aeolian islands, comes back for Etna and ends in Ortigia, the old heart of Syracuse, where the days are measured by meals.
Inês would start with the logistics, because they are what make or break the Aeolians. The hydrofoils run on a seasonal timetable, with fewer services in spring and autumn, and the sea can cancel a sailing without notice. She builds slack into the middle of the trip and has a driver ready on the mainland side. Salina is the base because it is green, quiet and has proper places to eat; Stromboli is a day trip with a guide, not a destination.
She would also change the pace. If you dislike climbing, the Stromboli evening can be swapped for a boat trip round the volcano at dusk, which shows the same eruptions from a cooler position. If you love food, she would add a cooking morning in the hills above Palermo, and a day with a caper grower on Salina. If you are travelling in high summer, she would suggest moving it to late September, when the water is warm and the crowds have gone back to work.
The trade-off is that this is a trip of boats and small houses, not hotel lobbies. Some of the best places have narrow stairs and no lift, and the luggage rules on the hydrofoils are strict. We pack your bags forward and move them separately, but you will carry a small bag yourself. For most people that is a fair price for a view of the sea from a terrace with no one else on it.
The timetable
- Days1–2
Palermo
Breakfast of granita with a brioche at a bar near Ballarò, and the Palatine Chapel without a queue.
- Days3–5
Salina
A white-walled house among the capers, with Malvasia on the terrace and the sea on three sides.
- Days6
Stromboli
A guided late-afternoon climb to watch the volcano erupt in the dark, then down by torchlight.
- Days7–8
Etna
Wine estates on the north slope at Passopisciaro, where the vines grow in black volcanic sand.
- Days9–10
Ortigia
A small island city of Baroque palaces, with the fish market at Via dei Mercanti in the morning.
This is an illustrative route. Every Orra journey is redrawn for the people travelling it.
Every Orra journey begins with a half-hour call.
No fee to design, no obligation to book. Tell us roughly when, who with, and what you'd like to come home with.