The Mountains of Sicily with Cefalù

Great holiday and fantastic introduction to Sicily. Excellent walks on most days through beautiful scenery and visits to stunning hilltop villages and towns. Best bits ... amazing walk to Castelbouno through isolated area of Madonie Natural Park, food throughout (but especially wonderful at Yerax in Geraci Siculo) and lovely accommodation and welcomes everywhere. Our final three nights at Hotel Alberi del Paradiso in Cefalu was the perfect way to relax, swim and be properly spoilt at the end of our holiday. We were especially lucky to enjoy glorious October weather.

We enjoyed the journey element of this trip from inland hilltop villages through the high Madonie Mountains & eventually to the coast at Cefalu. It provided a diverse experience of the rural, rugged remote & resort habitats of Sicily. The hotels & food too were diverse; mostly very welcoming, all comfortable & lovely pools at Raino, Bergi & Cefalù. Would definitely recommend a dip in the pools beneath the Roman Bridge at Petralia Sottana! We were blessed with glorious weather though the anticipated views of Etna were difficult to spot in the hazy skies. The first two days included a lot of walking on tarmac through agricultural foothills. On the days when we walked in the mountains we saw wild boar, black pigs, cattle & hundreds of fallow deer engrossed in their noisy, annual rut. Be prepared for the descent into Castelbuono; it is very long & pretty steep in places. Cefalù though touristy & busy has a wonderful old town. We clambered through the arches to walk along a footpath on the rocky foreshore. We also hired a double kayak from the main beach & headed out into the bay & round to the lighthouse for a unique view of this ancient place.

The views were outstanding, hosts magnificent, and walks spectacular. We saw wild boar, deer, snakes, cattle, horses.

Naples was well worth the visit. The scenery was beautiful but very different to that of the Alps where we have been previously. There was lots of wildlife and few other hikers. Download the GPX files.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer combined our self-guided walking holiday 'Mountains of Sicily' with our city add-on in Naples

An excellent, very enjoyable walking holiday through an ancient land.  The walking is at times challenging, but very rewarding, with wonderful prospects and for long periods only the company of cows and goats, wild black pigs and deer, horses and donkeys.  Good hotels, ample meals (some very good indeed), and well-thought-out practical arrangements. 

This is a wonderful trip for intrepid seasoned Inntravellers who have good navigational skills, a spirit of adventure and are wishing to see the heart of a beautiful Island. Make sure to start your journey in fascinating Catania to become immersed in Sicilian life, visiting the daily fish market which you can imagine unchanged for centuries or take a guided tour of the Monastery which narrowly escaped being buried by lava from Mount Etna and is now a University department, with a modern library housed in ancient cellars. Don't miss dining with the locals in Trattoria del Cavaliere.

Walking in the Madonie National mountain park itself was very special, with more animals than people seen and very varied flora in the park itself even in late September. Climbing La Rocca in Cefalù was a highlight with views of the pantile roofs below reminiscent of Dubrovnik.

We had a wonderful holiday and like our previous trip with Inntravel the arrangements worked extremely well. 

Thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Madonie. Until you reach Cefalù, this is definitely off the beaten tourist track. Unless there are others from Inntravel doing the same route at the same time, don't expect to see many (or even any) other walkers. So, although none of the routes are particularly challenging, do be prepared to be independent and self-sufficient, especially as mobile signal isn't always available. We were, however, surprised by the number of livestock quite high up in the hills (cattle, goats etc., but few sheep) and the wildlife (lots of deer, wild boar, butterflies, the occasional snake . . .).

Mostly very good walks. Fantastic hotel in Cefalu.  Disappointing that 2 of the walks were spoiled because one had not been checked (Cozzo Ipsi) and the other (Gangi to Geraci Siculo) had been blocked with an electric fence.

We were very lucky with the weather so walking conditions views etc all excellent. Although temperatures were in the high 20's there was nearly always a breeze and the pools were very welcome where available. I'm sure doing the holiday in the spring is preferable for the flowers but the mountains were still beautiful in September. Accommodations were all satisfactory and in wonderful old hill top towns. They were generally very quiet with few tourists, the downside being that bars were often closed until 4.30 so few refreshments available especially in Petralia Sottana. Evening meals all good especially at Geraci Siculo. The final hotel at Cefalù was very luxurious in contrast and the town full of tourists, but a lovely end to relax on the beach.

We all had a fabulous holiday. The welcome in each of the hotels was first class and we enjoyed the variety of experience in each of the accommdation venues. The food was also varied and of good quality - we felt that we'd had a truly Sicilian adventure. The walks were enjoyable and challenging enough for our group and as the temperatures increased we were grateful that we didn't go for more difficult hikes. All our transfers were punctual and the drivers were friendly and helpful.  

Another superb, well organised self guided holiday. Main memories of the walking are wild flowers, many varied butterflies (yellow, blue, white ro mention a few) and cow/goat bells. We were blessed with good weather if perhaps a bit hot for some 30 centigrade. We could see evidence of previous rain with very dry muddy paths and some still very wet - good footwear needed. All transfers excellently organised and all accommodation very good. Particularly liked the Hotel Aberi for relaxation before our time in Catania. Love the fact that we got to visit places that are so difficult to reach for tourists, even Sicilians we spoke to could not believe where had visited. We flew to Catania (no flights from Manchester to Palermo) and went by train from Cefalu to Catania. Inntravel had booked us across country with 2 changes due to train work. We rebooked Cefalu to Messina and Messina to Catania at a little more expense but better with 2 large suitcases. Hotel in Catania really central and so easy to access everything. In Catania we booked a food tour, hiking Etna and day trip to Siracusa and Noto. Just about to check website for next year. Well done Inntravel again.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk Mountains of Sicily with Cefalù with our Catania City add-on

A good holiday, staying in a delightful array of characterful accommodation, disappointed to have missed one of the walks due to poor mountain conditions but managed to avail ourselves of one of the optional walks at Petralia Sottana.

HIGHLIGHT: Monreale visit on local buses. Palermo markets and botanic gardens with the interesting trees. Walking in Madonie Park, spectacular views, loads of wildflowers, butterflies as well as deer and wild boar spotting. Small hilltop towns and villages gave a real taste of true rural life away from tourist destinations. The Notti O Tunn boutique hotel and Yarax tasting meal were real highlights. Cefalu was great to finish, Hotel Paradiso was lovely place to end a holiday, restaurants in the town offering sea view terraces to eat in were great for watching the sunset ... worth booking a table in advance if busy to make sure you get a good place. For the future, train back to airport from Palermo may be easier than the bus but the bus was very frequent and pleasant to use.

INNTRAVEL: These customers combined our Palermo City add-on with our walk Mountains of Sicily with Cefalù 

This trek offered good varied terrain of the right length and challenge for a reasonably fit person and we had sufficient opportunity each day to shower and wander the towns before dinner. We were mired in mud on day two due to 22 days of rain in May but very good weather apart from that. Accommodations were mostly comfortable (with the exception of Il Principe in Catania), and Notti O'Tunn was exceptional, as was the mult-course meal at Yerax. At Il Principe the air conditioning barely worked and the shower did not function, nor did they follow through on my request to have it repaired. The upgrade to the Kalura in Cefalu was a real treat. 

The directions were mainly good with one major exception: on day 3 around the 6-8 kms mark we spent about an hour looking for the trail that goes uphill to the left - a marker would be very helpful there as it is quite overgrown.      

We particularly enjoyed the beautiful wild flowers we saw daily. The food in the agroturismi was delicious and fresh and we were the only cutomers in the restaurant on the night that we stayed at Notti O'Tunn. We were treated to an excellent taster menu, which was carefully explained by the owner and the chef. They obviously didn't want to let down Inntravel and we felt that they gave exceptional service and delicious food. We found the people who live and work in the Madonie to be extremely friendly and helpful .They have an obvious pride in their region and its culture.

Just returned from the Mountains of Sicily with Cefalu and am happy to report on another well organised and thoroughly enjoyable trip. The downside was the weather, but I am sure that will make the trip more memorable, and we were told many times how abnormal it was. Its just a shame we couldn't enjoy the pools until the last day of our trip. We absolutely loved the easy going atmosphere and the wonderfull food at Villa Raino; the lovely welcome we received at Notti O'Tunn, despite our extremely wet and muddy appearance; in fact all of the hotels were perfect, with Hotel Alberi del Paradiso being an absolute treat. The opportunity to walk in such a beautful area with wild flowers everywhere you looked was wonderful. Cefalu is a lovely town with beautiful old streets to wander through, a very picturesque beach and lots of restaurants and cafes to spend time in.

We had the memorable trip that one hopes doesn't happen to them. We got Covid in a country that still requires quanrantine, it rained and the trails were muddy, the Sirocco wind kept us penned in our room for 24 hours in Cefalu and then Mt. Etna erupted the day we moved to Catania. Through it all Inntravel was very helpful. The hotels took excellent and kind care of us. We only walked two days so we can't comment on all the walks but we are very aware of the accommodations. Our favorite stay was at beautiful Agriturismo Bergi Castelbuono. Inntravel says the walking trails are not well maintained and that can be tiring. Sicily is a beautiful, friendly island with deep history so very worth the visit. 

Sicily was full of charm and character, a warm friendly welcome everywhere and contrasting scenery and sights during the walking. The Madonie Park was a beautiful region, forests, meadows, pastures, full of deer, wild boar and a wide variety of birdlife accompanying us on each route. The ancient villages of Geraci Siculo and Petralia Sottana were lovely, and the very special meal at the Yerax restaurant will live long in the memory, what a magnificent and superbly presented meal.

The weather for us was disappointing, with a lot of rain and cold winds, unusual for May in Sicily. There was a torrential strom in Cefalu which lasted for hours, we had to contend with very muddy paths, waterlogged sections, and some difficult rocky descents, but that's the reality of hiking, and we are not complaining, it's what can happen and we were well prepared for every eventuality.

Our first walking holiday in Sicily and we thoroughly enjoyed it

Really enjoyed the format as this was our first time. Enjoyed exploring local area and towns. Very nice mix of places although often got caught out arriving in towns during siesta, which made some towns feel like a ghost town. Very few places open for a post trek refreshment or gelato! Weather was sadly not on our side with visibility down to approx 20m at times. Yarex was a real highlight of gastronomic excellence, without the pretentiousness. Antonio was brilliant and really passionate about slow food and local provenance. Agriturismo Bergi was also a highlight as we really appreciated their ethos.

This was an excellent holiday in a beautiful place. With one or two exceptions we thoroughly enjoyed the food. Exploring the locations was very interesting because of the very varied history of Sicily and its impact on the architecture and landscape. The mountaintop villages of Gangi and Geraci Siculo were fascinating. We spent one day in Palermo rather than Cefalu, which was the right option because it was not beach weather.