Travel Content // 7 Spots in Sicily to Escape Britain’s Winter*

For British travelers, Sicily’s summer heat and its ideal temperate climate at all seasons of the year, offer the perfect escape from the harsh cold weather of Britain. These factors are also a major reason why British tourists flock to Italy every year by the thousands- in and out of the holiday season – to sip wine in the sunny vineyards of Tuscany, or sunbathe in the beaches of Sicily and the Aeolian islands. Even in September Sicily still enjoys high temperatures well through October.

Currently you can book Flights to Sicily from London’s Gatwick to Palermo’s Punta Raisi Airport at very affordable prices . If you need further information on direct flights from London to Sicily, you can check out some local sites like Wishsicily.com where you can find a list of airline companies  that operate from and to Sicily.   – although February is usually a very busy month for tourism in Sicily. Easyjet has one way ticket deals for February starting at £89.99, while tripadvisor will cost you E 195 for a round trip with Vueling and E 200 and up flying Iberia and British Airways.

Palermo is a good place to reach all the best spots in the mainland and the islands, and because Sicily enjoys a lot of sunshine even in January and February, the temperature is always mild and sometimes reaching the 70s (usually between 15-20°C in the daytime and 10°C at night in winter) so it is the best place to escape the winter cold. It is also less crowded so finding accommodations is less of a hassle. From Palermo you can even enjoy skiing on the slopes of Mt. Etna and then retreat to the warmth of secluded bays and sunny beaches like Mondello(Palermo), Lungomare di Cefalù, Isola Bella (Taormina), Spiaggia dei Conigli (Lampedusa), where air and water temperatures make swimming  possible even through December and also March.

Sicily’s six UNESCO World Heritage sites (the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina, Mt. Etna, the 7 Aeolian Islands, Syracuse and the necropolis of Pantalica, the Val di Noto with its Baroque medieval towns) are also special places to see during the winter months as you are likely to find them almost empty of tourists. The exotic appeal of these protected nature reserves and archeological sites can be savored in tranquility without the worry of long waiting lines for entry tickets or museum visits.

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