Sicily is bigger and more varied than most first-time visitors expect, so this plan uses two bases rather than chasing every famous site on the island: a couple of nights around Palermo in the northwest, then a move east to the Taormina coast, within reach of Mount Etna. That's one manageable transfer instead of daily long drives, and it leaves real time for beaches and downtime alongside the sightseeing.
Summers here run hot and the coastline does a lot of the entertaining on its own — clear, warm water and shallow coves that are genuinely easy with young kids. This plan pairs one real anchor a day with an easy backup and built-in beach or park time, because five days of ruins and cathedrals back to back is a lot to ask of a six-year-old.
How to read this: each day has one main thing, an easy backup, and a note on eating and resting. Two practicalities. First, a rental car makes the Palermo-to-Taormina move and the Etna day far easier than relying on trains and buses, though Sicilian driving in city centres can be intense — consider picking the car up on the way out of Palermo rather than in the middle of it. Second, many old-town streets and archaeological sites are cobbled, stepped, or gravelled, so a carrier works better than a stroller for the youngest.
5-day plan10 stopsFamily tripSicily
Planned by Wonder· built from real, checked placesReal places
Sand, shallow water, and zero planning required on an arrival day. Mondello is a short drive or bus ride from central Palermo; parking near the beach fills up by midday in summer, so arrive early.
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Mondello Beach
Start easy. Mondello, a long-established seaside district just outside central Palermo, has a wide crescent of fine sand and shallow, clear water that's been a beach retreat for Palermo families for well over a century — its elegant early-1900s bathing pavilion still stands at the water's edge as a landmark. It's about as low-effort a first day as you can build: no ticket, no itinerary, just sand, water, and a chance to recover from travel.
The shallow gradient close to shore makes it comfortable for younger kids to wade without much supervision anxiety, and the promenade behind the beach has gelato stands and playgrounds if anyone needs a break from the sand.
Mondello Beach
Photo: Mauro Angeletti
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Mondello promenade
If the beach itself is crowded or the sun feels like too much, the promenade running behind it has shade, gelato stands, and a play area — a lower-key way to spend the afternoon without giving up the seaside setting entirely.
Mondello promenade
Photo: Artur Eustachiewicz
Eat & rest
Mondello's seafront is lined with casual restaurants serving simple grilled fish and pasta — a relaxed, unhurried first dinner with a view of the water is a good way to ease into the trip. Keep the evening low-key; day one is for recovering from travel, not for a second outing.
Day 2Half day
Palermo's botanical garden and the old markets
A note from Wonder
Giant climbable-looking trees and a slow pace after a busy travel start. The garden is a short walk from Palermo's historic centre; go in the morning before the day's heat peaks.
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Orto Botanico di Palermo
Palermo's botanical garden, established in the late 18th century, is a shaded, slow-paced counterpoint to a beach day — giant Ficus macrophylla trees with roots like walls, ponds with waterlilies, and wide gravel paths that are easy for kids to explore at their own pace without a set route to follow. It's a genuinely calm hour or two in the middle of a busy city.
The scale of some of the older trees tends to impress kids more than the botanical labels do — treat it as an outdoor maze to wander rather than a garden to study, and let them pick which path to follow next.
Orto Botanico di Palermo
Photo: Orto Botanico di Palermo
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Mercato di Ballarò
One of Palermo's oldest and liveliest street markets, Ballarò is loud, colourful, and full of things to look at — fish stalls, mountains of fruit, and vendors calling out prices. It's a shorter, more sensory alternative if a quiet garden isn't landing, though it's busier and less shaded, so keep the visit brief in the heat of the day.
Mercato di Ballarò
Photo: Oller Stevanin
Eat & rest
The streets around the garden and the nearby Kalsa quarter have plenty of casual trattorias for lunch. If you visit Ballarò, eating there is part of the point — street food stalls sell arancine (fried rice balls) and panelle (chickpea fritters) that make an easy, cheap, kid-friendly lunch on the move.
Day 3Half day
Moving east to the coast
A note from Wonder
A genuine reward for a travel day, and a sandbar to explore is a novelty kids don't get elsewhere. Reachable by the Taormina-Mazzarò cable car or a short drive down to the coast; check the sandbar's accessibility before wading out too far.
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Isola Bella
After the drive east to the Taormina coast, aim to arrive with enough of the day left for the water. Isola Bella is a small island just offshore, connected to the beach by a narrow sandbar that's sometimes walkable and sometimes a short swim depending on the tide — a nature reserve with clear, calm water in the cove around it that's sheltered enough to feel safe for young swimmers.
The drive from Palermo to the Taormina area takes a few hours depending on the route, so treat travel as the main event of the morning and the beach as the reward rather than trying to fit in a sight along the way.
Isola Bella
Photo: Rozenn GRASLAND
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Mazzarò Beach
Right next to Isola Bella, the beach at Mazzarò is a longer stretch of shingle and sand with the same clear water and none of the sandbar logistics — a simpler option if you'd rather just settle in without watching the tide.
Mazzarò Beach
Photo: Mika Auramo
Eat & rest
There are beach bars and casual restaurants along both Isola Bella and Mazzarò for a relaxed lunch by the water. After a travel day, keep dinner simple and close to where you're staying rather than venturing far.
Day 4Half day
Taormina's old town and an ancient theatre
A note from Wonder
A giant ancient theatre with a volcano in the background, then a scenic cable car ride to the beach. The theatre is a short walk from central Taormina; the cable car runs from near Porta Messina down to the coast.
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Teatro Antico di Taormina
Taormina's ancient theatre, originally built by the Greeks and later enlarged by the Romans, is one of the most dramatic ruins in Sicily — a curved stone auditorium with Mount Etna often visible smoking in the distance beyond the stage and the sea below. For kids, the appeal is the scale and the setting rather than the history lecture: it's a giant amphitheatre with a volcano view, which tends to speak for itself.
Go in the morning before the heat and the crowds build, and keep the visit itself relatively short — twenty to thirty minutes of exploring the tiered seating and the views is usually enough before attention wanders.
Teatro Antico di Taormina
Photo: stefy riedi
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Funivia Taormina-Mazzarò
If the ruins don't hold interest, the cable car connecting Taormina's hilltop old town down to the beach at Mazzarò is an attraction in itself for younger kids — a short, scenic ride with sea views the whole way down, and a good way to combine the old town with a beach afternoon without a long walk or drive.
Funivia Taormina-Mazzarò
Photo: Matteo Cagossi
Eat & rest
Corso Umberto, Taormina's main pedestrian street, is lined with cafés and casual restaurants with views out to the sea — an easy, atmospheric spot for lunch after the theatre. Take the cable car down to Mazzarò afterward for an afternoon swim to cool off.
Day 5Half day
Etna's lower slopes
A note from Wonder
Black volcanic ground and small craters make for a landscape kids haven't seen before, no serious hiking required. About an hour and a half or more from Taormina up to Rifugio Sapienza on winding mountain roads; bring warm layers even in summer, as it's noticeably cooler and windier at altitude.
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Rifugio Sapienza
Finish with a very different landscape. Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, is accessible on its southern side up to the Rifugio Sapienza area, from where a cable car and shuttle buses can take visitors further up toward the craters accompanied by a guide. With young kids, the lower slopes around Rifugio Sapienza are already dramatic enough on their own — black volcanic sand and rock, cooler mountain air, and small craters within an easy, flat walk of the car park.
There's no need to book the full guided summit excursion with a six- or nine-year-old; the lower area gives a genuine sense of standing on a volcano without the altitude, cold, or long guided trek that the higher routes involve.
Rifugio Sapienza
Photo: Caio Leite
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Giardini Naxos
If a volcano day feels like too much for tired legs on day five, Giardini Naxos, just below Taormina, was the first Greek colony founded on Sicily and today combines a small archaeological park with a long, easy beach right beside it — ruins in the morning, sand and swimming in the afternoon, all in one flat, manageable spot.
Giardini Naxos
Photo: zio Salud
Eat & rest
There are simple cafés at the Rifugio Sapienza car park for a coffee or snack before or after exploring the lower craters, though options are limited — bring water and a snack to be safe. Back down on the coast, Giardini Naxos and Taormina both have plenty of relaxed restaurants for a final dinner with a sea view.
Rainy day or heat-of-the-afternoon backup (indoors)
Sicily is dry and sunny most of the year, but midday heat in summer is worth planning around, and occasional showers do pass through in shoulder seasons. Keep these in your back pocket:
Orto Botanico di Palermo — shaded paths and giant old trees make it a cooler retreat than most open-air sights (see Day 2).
Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cappella Palatina (Palermo) — a genuinely indoor stop, with a Byzantine mosaic-covered chapel that holds attention even without much context.
A gelateria break — a proper sit-down granita or gelato stop is a legitimate way to escape the midday heat for half an hour anywhere in Sicily.
The cable car at Taormina — a short, breezy ride that doubles as a change of pace from walking in the heat.
Eating in Sicily with kids
Sicilian food leans toward simple, fresh, and mild — good news for cautious eaters, with a few local specialities worth trying:
Arancine (fried, stuffed rice balls) — a Sicilian street-food staple and an easy, familiar-tasting lunch on the go.
Pasta alla Norma (with tomato, eggplant, and ricotta salata) — a mild, filling classic that tends to go down well with kids.
Granita with a brioche bun — a Sicilian breakfast tradition; icy fruit granita served alongside a soft bun, popular with kids in warm weather.
A note on timing: Sicilian dinner service often starts around 8pm — with young kids, arrive right at opening or lean on gelato and street food to bridge the gap.
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