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My partner and I recently returned from sailing around the beautiful Sicilian islands.
I was absolutely blown away by Sicily’s heritage beauty, authenticity and strong passion for delicious food. Being someone who suffers from allergies and intolerances I was slightly apprehensive travelling an area where their culture heavily circulates around pizza, pasta and bread – something that doesn’t bode well with my gluten intolerance. That being said I found healthy eating in Sicily far easier than expected. It was really easy to avoid the gluten based dishes (although my partner still very much enjoyed them) and rather indulge in plenty of rich fruits, Italian salads, cooked veggies (Caponata – a signature Sicilian dish being my favourite) and fresh seafood!
When to go:
Travelling during May is a great time to go if you want to explore the island without having to share your experience with a ton of tourists, since holiday season doesn’t kick off until mid-June. That being said if weather is your priority and you want 24/7 sunshine, visiting during this period can be a gamble.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather during our travels, however we did experience a few days of intermittent cloud, rain and strong winds (especially when sailing). The last 4 – 5 days of our trip (end of May) reached 26 degrees with minimal cloud and wind, which was perfect beach weather for us! If you want consistent sunshine heading out during later months (July, August, September) might be more suitable.
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Where to go:
Palermo
We started our trip by flying into Palermo and spent a day exploring the small city. If you’re on a tight time scale, one day or even an afternoon is absolutely enough time to wonder and explore the main attractions. We were able to check out everything we wanted to see in a few short hours.
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Things to do in Palermo:
- Wonder the traditional food markets
- Visit the famous Palermo Cathedral
- Explore the botanic gardens
- Browse the boutique shops
- Indulge in Italian dining. For a hit of health try out Bio Solo Organico café which provides a number of gluten free, veggie and vegan dishes.
- Enjoy an Italian cuppa and pastry at Casa Stagmit – the best coffee house in town!
I’d describe this town as a little rough around the edges but it definitely doesn’t lack authenticity.
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| - Palermo Food Market |
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| Headoverhealing - Palermo Cathedral |
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| Headoverhealing - Inside Palermo Cathedral |
The next two islands we sailed around were a dream! It’s a tough call to say which one was my favourite between Favignana and San Vito Lo Capo. I loved them both but they’re very different. If you have capacity to check out both - 100% do it!
Favignana
Favignana is more beach orientated, allowing you to beach hop around the island whilst enjoying stunning scenic views and costal walks. The colour of the sea is nothing I’ve witnessed before - 50 shades of turquoise (although a little chilly during May).
I’d definitely recommend hiring a bicycle (we hired electric – very fun) to explore the island, which will take no more than a few hours as it’s relatively small. You can find a number of bike hire stores in the town centre.
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| Headoverhealing - Beautiful Bue Marino Beach |
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| Headoverhealing - Cala Rossa Beach |
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| Headoverhealing - Stunning costal walk |
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| Headoverhealing - Bue Marino |
Restaurants:
The town square is filled with plenty of cafes, coffee houses, bars and restaurants as well as beautiful, boutique shops and market stalls! On the other side of the island near the beaches (approx. 10 minute cycle), is La Costa Sunset Bar - our favourite spot on the island.
The stunning views overlooking the sea makes it a real winner to witness an incredible sunset. Everything about this bar enticed us to return on a multiple occasions - the buzzy atmos, great food and namely delicious wine! It’s definitely not one to miss out on!
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| Headoverhealing - La Costa Sunset Bar |
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| Headoverhealing - Lido Burrone beach in Favignana with a selection of cafes |
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| Headoverhealing - La Costa Sunset Bar |
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| Headoverhealing - Favignana town centre |
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Headoverhealing - Bike hire in Favignana town centre
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Accommodation:
We enjoyed a night at Cave Bianche Hotel, which is possibly the most beautiful hotel we’ve stayed in. The sheltered and secluded complex is comprised of 32 modernised rooms with a number of relaxing facilities available. Guests have access to two pools, 4 jacuzzi’s, a roof terrace, multiple sun loungers and a fine dining restaurant.
The food here further impressed our stay, by enabling us to experience a real taste of true Sicilian cuisine. We enjoyed a mammoth complimentary breakfast buffet and an elegant 3 course evening meal. The staff are really clued up on everything on the menu and helped us make the best food and vino choices!
Since it was pre-holiday season and we booked very the last minute, the room was really cheap. I’d highly recommend checking www.booking.com for deals, which is where we found ours!
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| Headoverhealing - Pool No. 1 @ Cave Bianche Hotel |
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| Headoverhealing - Cave Bianche Hotel |
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| Headoverhealing - Pool No. 2 @ Cave Bianche Hotel |
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| Headoverhealing - Cave Bianche Hotel |
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| Headoverhealing - Cave Bianche Hotel |
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| Headoverhealing - Roof terrace @ Cave Bianche Hotel |
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| Headoverhealing - Roof terrace @ Cave Bianche Hotel |
San Vito Lo Capo
San Vito Lo Capo, based North-West of Sicily is the most beautiful town I’ve come across. The elegant, narrow streets are filled with luminant white buildings draped in beautifully flourished flowers. The area is quickly becoming a hot spot for mainstream tourists owing to it’s white-sand beach and crystal clear sea, capturing the hearts of many travellers (including mine).
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| Headoverhealing - Famous flower street in San Vito Lo Capo |
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| Town centre - San Vito Lo Capo |
Accommodation:
Keen to be amongst the buzz we stayed in a reasonably priced, central Airbnb - Sweet Dreams. The hosts were extremely accommodating, especially when it came to cooking a GF breakfast for me. Each morning we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast in the sunshine on their cute Italian balcony, absorbing the sea view overlooking the whole town.
Being central meant we had everything on our doorstep. We were minutes away from the town centre, filled with boutique market stalls, shops, buzzy cafes, restaurants and bars. The beach is also less than a 5 minute walk, situated in a sheltered bay overlooking beautiful Mount Monaco.
Restaurants:
You definitely won’t be short of food options in this area. There are heaps of cafes and restaurants to choose from. Our top favs are:
- La Caponata Ristorantino – perfect lunch or dinner spot with outside seating. They offered a filling lunch + wine deal for a little as 12 euros.
- Ristorante Corallo – situated in the centre with a beautiful outside garden. The seafood here was amazing!
- Un Sorso di Sicilia - a fine wine bar owned by a passionate connoisseur who gave up his legal profession to follow his passion in wine. We enjoyed a few glasses of their finest fizz before enjoying a meal at Ristorante Corallo (directly opposite).
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| Headoverhealing - White-sand beach in San Vito Lo Capo |
Mondello:
Mondello is a small borough of the City of Palermo and was our final stop. We spent two full days here, which gave us more than enough time to explore the area.
Mondello didn’t quite have the same wow factor for us as Favignana and San Vito Lo Capo and having done the trip again, we probably would’ve visited here at the start of the holiday and saved the best islands until last. That being said we discovered some incredible restaurants and stayed in a beautiful Airbnb - La dependance di Villa Rosa owned by two lovely locals (and their gorgeous pups), only minutes down the road from the beach.
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| Headoverhealing - Modello sunset |
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| Headoverhealing - Mondello beach |
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Restaurants:
Our favourite meal of the trip was at Badalamenti Cucina e Bottega, rated number 1 best restaurant on trip adviser. The Italian passion of the three brothers who own the restaurant oozes through their carefully cultivated, fine dining menu.
The restaurant is situated within a little organic food and wine store, allowing you to take a piece of Italy home with you (we of course couldn’t leave without picking up an organic bottle for the road). The menu is reasonably priced and filled with insanely, delicious organic food and wine, including a number of GF and vegan dishes - all cooked and served in true Italian style.
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| Headoverhealing - Airbnb pup - La dependance di Villa Rosa |
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My food diary: How to eat healthy in Sicily.
Having mentioned previously suffering with a gluten intolerance meant a lot of the traditional Italian foods were off the cards for me. Don’t let that put you off though if you suffer too! I had more than enough choice on every island, which made healthy eating in Sicily super easy! I found the Mediterranean diet full of rich, fresh fruits; salads, seafood and plenty of olive oil settled really well with my tummy.
My typical daily diet consisted of:
Breakfast: An Italian breakfast mostly revolves around sweet pastries or bread, something I wasn’t too keen on. Rather I opted for plenty of rich fruits and a black coffee to start my day! On the days we were sailing, we made our own breakfast and lunch (usually fruits and salads).
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Lunch: Often involved a plate of Caponata. A signature appetiser dish comprised of baked aubergines, olives, celery, tomatoes, onions & pine nuts. This was my favourite go to dish and was on pretty much every menu!
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| Headoverhealing - Caponata |
Dinner: Involved freshly caught seafood, veggies and roasted spuds or a big Italian salad with a side of veggies.
Tip: If you you're a veggie or vegan and there are limited menu options, try ordering the sides dishes which are mainly made up on fresh veg, salads and potatoes.
My partner on the other hand enjoyed pizza, pasta and bread every night. We were always able to find something to accommodate us both. Doing a little research beforehand on google and reading through a number of blogs definitely helps in finding the best spots!
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| Headoverhealing - Crystal clear sea in San Vito Lo Capo |
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