The Circumetnea Railway is a narrow-gauge railway that runs in a C-shape for 110km from the city of Catania around Mount Etna to Giarre-Riposto which lies on the coast some 25km north of Catania. At least it's that way round if you start where we did. It's incredible value - around 6.50 Euro - and takes you through stunning landscapes with hundreds of differing views of Etna and the mountains, countryside, towns and villages around it. We stopped in Randazzo for several hours en route and found a spot from where we could gaze up at Etna unhindered. Three hours travel up and through and round the most spectacular scenery for just a few measly Euros. My companion and I both agreed that it had been our favourite ever journey by train.

www.circumetnea.it/
From Catania - take the short underground railway system to the last stop, Catania Borgo.
The Circumetnea station is within sight of the exit and is signposted. From Giarre-Riposto station the CR station is equally close/visible.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Lovely, welcoming bargainous B&B (45-90 euro per night) clinging to the hillside above Taormina. Huge balconies overlooking the bay and Giardini-Naxos. Reward yourself after climbing back up the hill after dinner with a bottle of wine and fireworks; more often than not there is of course Etna or be there on 8 September when man-made fireworks are let off all evening to celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

www.villasara.net
Via Leonardo da Vinci, 55, 98039 Taormina, Sicily
+39(0)942 28138
Google map: bit.ly/IyifWm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This small island, closer to Africa than Europe, is the southernmost tip of Italy. It has some of the prettiest and remote beaches in the Mediterranean, most of which are empty outside the months of July and August. Snorkel with manta rays, watch dolphins from a boat, or hire a bicycle and cover the island's 20 sq km in a day. Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs on the Isola dei Conigli (Rabbit Island), and the Riserva Naturale Isola di Lampedusa, a wildlife nature reserve, is an undiscovered land of walks and megalithic sites. If you visit, don't forget to pack Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's literary masterpiece "The Leopard", his grandfather used to own the island.

Take a ferry or flight from Sicily, available year round.
www.euro-marimed.org/en/sicilia-lampedusa.htm
www.bestofsicily.com/islands.htm
Google map: bit.ly/IriJyk

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

West of Palermo on Sicily’s northern coast, picturesque Scopello is the ideal place to soak up the atmosphere of Sicilian village life. Enjoy the evening sun in the fairy lit walled square, surrounded by olive trees. Visit the beautiful ‘tonnara scopello’ set on the edge of the turquoise sea in an isolated bay covered with fragrant oleanders. The more energetic can walk in the stunning Lo Zingaro nature reserve or explore the rugged coastline by boat.

www.tonnaradiscopello.com
www.riservazingaro.it
www.pensionetranchina.com
Via A. Diaz, 7, 91014 Scopello
+39 0924541099

Google map: bit.ly/Hj1ZUC

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends