Taormina, Sicily with Kids
Last May half term, we had the most beautiful week staying in Mazzaro, the beach just below Taormina in Sicily. Whilst it absolutely wins on scenery and had been on my list to visit for years after we fell in love with the Amalfi Coast {of which it feels quite similar}, I wouldn’t say that Sicily is the most child friendly place we’ve ever been to. It’s very much old school charm. We knew that before we booked! But here are some things that our children {aged 4 & 2} really enjoyed and some top tips if you’re planning to visit…
I increasingly get my travel wanderlust from Instagram. When @jayneytravels shared the most dreamy balcony view from this AirBnB a couple of years ago, we jumped on & booked it straight away for last May half term! It was an absolute dream spot having a beach that beautiful so close {and shares the same bay with £££ hotels}. It meant we could wake up & give the kids breakfast watching the sunrise, didn’t have to carry our beach gear very far, could pop back if we forgot anything, it made afternoons where they needed to be out of the sun a dream for us as we could relax with a view whilst they played under the big canopy, take them for post dinner swims and we could then sit out when they went to bed. We all loved watching the boats come & go and spent half the time ogling over that sparkly clear water which was even better from above. Definitely made our trip! I think it’s sadly gone up in price since we visited but it was ridiculously good value when we went at £150 a night. It had two bedrooms, a travel cot, high chair, washing machine, full kitchen and gorgeous traditional Sicilian decor - those tiles!
I loved the cactus and palm trees everywhere. And Taormina is the most stunning, romantic town. Try to visit early or late to avoid the busy mid-day cruise ship visitors. The main church square is a must see as are wandering around all of the little pretty streets off of the main strip.
We spent a lot of time deciding whether it would be better to stay in Taormina itself or down at the beach. Both have pros and cons but I think for us with the kids, being at the beach for the majority was the best decision!
Whilst it absolutely wins on scenery and had been on my list to visit for years after we fell in love with the Amalfi Coast {of which it feels quite similar}, I wouldn’t say that Sicily is the most child friendly place we’ve ever been to. It’s very much old school charm. We knew that before we booked! But here are some things that our children {aged 4 & 2} really enjoyed…
1. Beach playgrounds // We found these at Letojanni and Giardini Naxos
2. Villa Comunale gardens // Peaceful, shady gardens with interesting follies, incredible views & a fab playground. Our kids spent ages here! Perfect to take some yummy food to, we got take out food from highly recommended Rosticceria Da Cristina 2 nearby. These gardens were created by a Scottish lady called Florence in the 1800s and are stunning.
3. The food! // Pizza, pasta, filled cornetti croissants, delicious produce, GELATO. Plus the Italians just love children so go out of their way to be helpful & make a fuss! You know how good ‘normal’ Italian food is? Sicily takes it to another level. The cannoli, the arancini, the pistachio everything.
4. Boat trips // there are boat trips from Mazzaro, Isola Bella & Naxos. Skippered or self drive, pedalos, kayaks or evening dolphin spotting trips. Our children loved going in the blue caves. We hired a boat from the beach right outside our Airbnb as it was convenient but it’s cheaper to do it from Naxos.
5. Ancient Greek theatre // children go free at this impressive piece of history with incredible views. It was built by the Greeks but then rebuilt by the Romans. Our kids were a bit young to appreciate just how cool it was but enjoyed the views of the volcano & climbing along the benches & through the secret passages. It’s just a short walk from Taormina’s main street, we bought tickets on the door but you can prebook them online to save queuing at busy times. They even host concerts there which would be the most amazing venue!
6. Beaches // we spent the most time at Mazzaro as we stayed there and it was the most incredible little bay - that almost felt Greek? - to swim at.
Giardini Naxos has lovely soft sand and is a bit more of a touristy beach town. We spent a nice morning there.
The famed Isola Bella is full of big pebbles perfect for painting & has an island you can walk over to {paid admission to the gardens}. It’s stunning. We visited in the morning & evening when it wasn’t quite so packed. Like most beaches in Italy, there are only small public areas and large beach clubs to rent chairs from or private hotel beaches. But we always found enough public space. We did visit in May though, I guess August would be a lot busier.
The water was beautiful, so crystal clear. But not the warmest in May half term.
7. Steps // the reality, be prepared for a lot of buggy carrying, take a light stroller or use a carrier as there are always a lot of stairs everywhere! You can also take the bus or the cable car.
Reality!
A few details; we flew to Catania with EasyJet and then took the public bus from there, you buy the tickets outside the terminal, to Taormina for just a few euros. It was such a scenic trip getting to see Mount Etna out of the window for most of the way!
We didn’t hire a car as Taormina is hard/expensive to park and we didn’t venture too far so could walk everywhere/take the bus from our apartment up to Taormina or the surrounding beaches. We wanted a pretty chilled beachy week but a lot of people do a two centre trip to Cefalu or Noto.
We mainly self catered and found that the beach area that we stayed in didn’t have a full supermarket, we’d go up to Taormina to the bigger supermarkets.
A few places that came highly recommended; Bam Bar for granita in a brioche bun, La Napoletana for pizza, Villa Zuccaro Pizzeria, Gelatomania, Bar Pasticcerria Etna dal 1963.
Make sure you watch White Lotus season 2 before you go!
A few other ideas; taking a tour or self drive up to Mount Etna 🌋 or ride in the cable car between Taormina & Mazzaro. If we go back then I’d love to visit Noto!
Lots more on my Instagram page here including a big story highlight.