The Best Day Trips from Palermo, Sicily

Plus, tips for traveling with a baby.

We visited Sicily in October 2022. We stayed in a house in a small town right outside Palermo called Altavilla Milicia. If you plan on driving, think twice before staying in the city center. If you’ve driven in Italy before and think you can handle it, think again. Palermo is next level chaos. To give you an idea, a local told us to cross the street you should look both ways, pray, then cross.

I don’t want to put you off of Palermo. The food is excellent, the people treat you like family, and I kind of love the chaos that echoed Morocco possibly more than it did Italy. But if you want to see the city, spend two or three days staying there and park the car in one place, then base yourself elsewhere and take day trips by car. Trust us, you’ll thank us later.

Because you may stay somewhere other than Altavilla Milicia, we’ve provided travel times from Palermo.

For those of you following along for baby tips, Luke was 8 months old for this trip. It was his first international vacation. We did have help from grandparents during this trip, but we’ve traveled internationally own our own since then. It’s doable. You just need more planning and to adjust your expectations. Our insider tips for parents in italics will help you do just that.

Monreale

Travel time: 30 minutes

Monreale is a small town outside of Palermo on the top of a mountain. Its main attraction is the Monreale Cathedral. Visiting the Cathedral makes for an easy half-day excursion. Built in 1182, the Cathedral is famous for its golden frescos. You can also climb to the top of the church and go out on the roof for fantastic views. This is quite a hike on steep, narrow stairs, but well worth the effort. You can get an idea of the view from the picture above, which does not do it justice.

Traveling with an infant or toddler? Do not bring a stroller. You’re allowed to bring one in, but it’s not worth the effort. There are many places inside with two or three stairs and uneven floors. A carrier would be easier. Even with a carrier, I would not take a baby with you to the rooftop viewpoint. The stairs get very narrow and the ceilings were so low in places I had to bend over. We saw another couple attempting this and they looked stressed. Better to take turns. One more thing, there are no changing tables in the Cathedral restrooms.

Cefalu

Travel time: 1 hour

Want to go to the beach? Cefalu is the perfect day trip from Palermo. It’s essentially a beach vacation destination for Italians. Though there were some international tourists, there were not many. And unlike most European beaches, this beach is sand instead of rocks.

Cefalu itself is a charming little town full of shops and restaurants. Set on a hillside, the streets are cobblestone and can be quite steep. It’s nothing too strenuous, but you should wear sensible shoes. We had lunch at Porta Terra; the pesto pasta with shrimp was fantastic.

Traveling with an infant or toddler? The beach was kid-friendly and there’s a great little gelato spot in the main square with plenty of benches for seating. We didn’t stay at the beach long since the water was too cold in October, but if you plan to stay for the day there are beach clubs with umbrellas for rent.

Amodeo’s Farm, Montevago

Travel Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

This was hands down our favorite day trip from Palermo. Amodeo’s Farm is an experience! From the moment we got there, the owner, Francesco, treated us like family. We traveled to this little olive farm in the middle of nowhere to do the olive oil experience and farm tour without really knowing or expecting much of anything and we were blown away.

To start, we had a home cooked multi-course meal prepared just for our family on the back deck of the farmhouse overlooking olive groves. Everything was handmade. All the ingredients were grown at the farm or a neighboring farm. It was by far the best meal we had our entire time in Italy.

After lunch, we toured the olive farm, learning about how this farm still grows and harvests olives for small batch, high-quality extra virgin olive oil. We got to try our hand at harvesting ourselves, both using traditional and modern methods to see if we could pick the olives fast enough to actually work on the farm. It gives you an appreciation for how much physical work goes into a bottle of olive oil. Finally, we ended with an olive oil tasting to learn the difference between different types of olive oil. We learned a lot and had a blast. Francesco really makes the experience.

Traveling with an infant or toddler? Amodeo’s was fantastic! You’re on a farm so bring a blanket and let your little one play in the grass for a bit. Our tour was private so we paused when we needed to for a feeding or diaper change; there was nobody else to interrupt. This is one of the few places in Sicily we visited that had a changing table! It just makes things easier.

Castelbuono

Travel time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

We visited Castelbuono on a day trip because my excessive internet sleuthing found an exceptionally well-priced Michelin guide restaurant in the same little town as a castle. Castelbuono wasn’t mentioned in any of the guides I found online, but it ended up being one of our favorite destinations in Sicily and there were only a handful of other tourists there.

Construction started on the Castelbuono castle in the 14th century. The castle was interesting to walk through, with the self-guided tour culminating in a small chapel on the top floor. The chapel is famous for holding holy skull of Saint Anne, grandmother of Jesus, above its altar. Walk through the back of the chapel to what appears to be a small storage room. You’ll find a window open to breathtaking views of the town and surrounding mountains.

The main event in Castelbuono was a multi-course lunch at Palazzaccio. It was out-of-this-world amazing. At approximately $75 for multiple courses (including wine), it can’t be beat. The restaurant is famous for serving dishes featuring locally-harvested porcini mushrooms. We were able to get a table for lunch without a reservation, but I think that was lucky. I would recommend reserving a table in advance.

Traveling with an infant or toddler? This should go without saying, but don’t bring a stroller in the castle. It definitely wasn’t built with strollers in mind. We left ours in the car and then grabbed it after touring the castle. As far as the restaurant goes, they were more than accommodating. The restaurant was full at lunch time and about half of the tables had small children with them. This is not a stuffy, fancy restaurant where every noise will be heard across the room. It sounded more like a lively family dinner inside. A great upscale option for bringing kids along.

Erice

Travel time: 1 hour, 30 minutes by car plus a 10 minute cable car ride

Oh, Erice. This is the day we laugh about. You will find Erice on every list of day trips from Palermo. It’s a medieval hilltop town beautifully preserved and offering stunning views. You ride to the town from a parking lot below on a cable car. The ride to the top takes approximately 10-15 minutes. From the cable car, you can see Trapani and may even be able to spot its famous salt pans.

We thought we would walk around, take some pictures, and have a nice lunch. We were absolutely not prepared for the hiking involved to get to the viewpoint from the top of town. You will be walking up and down very steep, rough cobblestone streets. We managed to get lost in all the winding, unlabeled streets. You should go but please learn from our mistakes – pack light and download a map ahead of time. We also recommend grabbing arancini for a post-hike snack at La Tonda. It was some of the best we had the entire trip.

Traveling with an infant or toddler? Ask yourselves if you would go hiking with your little one to determine if Erice is a good idea. We would, we just weren’t prepared. A carrier is a must. Pack lots of water and snacks. There are no public restrooms in Erice. Before you ride the cable car up the hill, there is a restroom available for a small fee under the cable car office. There are no changing tables. Plan ahead or go to one of the nicer restaurants for a sit-down meal.

Valley of the Temples, Agrigento

Travel Time: 2 hours

Wow. Agrigento was so much more than we expected. We thought we were going to see a few Greek temples. Though called the “Valley of the Temples,” the area is actually the archaeological remains of the city of Akragas. Therefore, you will be exploring the massive area that used to contain an entire, thriving Greek city. You can easily spend an entire day here. Plan ahead for lots of walking!

You can find information on tickets and opening times at the official Valley of the Temples website here. We were in the Valley around sunset and we highly recommend going at that time. The crowds clear out and the sunset with the temples in the foreground makes for great photos. If you plan to spend a day here, know there are a couple of public restrooms and small cafes run by the ticket office.

Traveling with an infant or toddler? This one is a close call on whether to bring a stroller vs. carrier. There is a paved path circling the entire valley, but getting up to most of the individual sites requires going off-path, sometimes up stairs. Ultimately, I would say if you have a kid who can walk, opt for an umbrella stroller you don’t mind leaving behind and let them walk around the sites while using the stroller to go the longer distances between sites. If your kid is not walking (and therefore smaller and weighs less), a carrier is probably easier.