I have just returned from a dreamy long weekend trip to Sicily with my husband and 8 month old baby staying in a 5* resort that we didn’t want to leave and I can’t recommend enough! However, we did pull ourselves away a few times to see a bit of the Eastern Coast of Sicily and I can see why people rave about this island. Here’s what we got up to and why we loved our trip to Sicily with a baby!
How to get to Sicily?
Sicily has 4 airports that offer international flights with Catania-Fontanarossa (CTA) being the biggest and busiest one which is where our flights to Sicily with Jet2 flew into!
Catania Airport is perfect for those looking to explore Mount Etna– most active stratovolcano in the world! And the eastern side of Sicily including the very popular areas of Taormina and Syracuse.
When travelling with a baby it is nice to have day time flights so they are happy being awake and a nap time is due to take place during the flight, and our Jet2 flights from Manchester Airport to Sicily worked well being in the late afternoon and we returned home late afternoon too.
I’ve flown with Jet2 a few times and I have to say that I’ve always had such a positive experience with them and one of the noticeable things about flying with Jet2 is the friendliness of the staff.
Cabin crew came to give us the infant seat belt and life jacket and told us to ask if we needed anything and advised which bathrooms had baby changing facilities which is always a nice touch and throughout the flight they were doting on him a lot! Babies are going to cry and moan a bit on the plane, whether it’s from their ears hurting, being bored and wanting to move, so it is nice to feel that staff on board are considerate and understanding and I feel like this comes across to guests too.
Staying at Mangia’s Brucoli Resort Autograph Collection
When looking at holidays to Sicily with Jet2holidays, I noticed just how many beautiful hotels Jet2 has on offer. Many of them are on the Northern Coast closer to Palermo which looks like a great location if you’re on holiday in Sicily for a week as the transfer time is 2+ hours from Catania Airport, however, with us being there for a long weekend and with a baby (who often cries in the car!), I choose Mangia’s Brucoli Resort Autograph Collection which is just a 30-40 minute drive from Catania Airport.
We’re not ‘all-inclusive hotel’ people but honestly, this is why this resort suited us so well, as well as visiting during the shoulder season of May meaning it wasn’t too busy.
The Rooms
We stayed in a suite which is a great option if you’re travelling with 1 or 2 young children because the living room has a sofa bed and with a bathroom and dressing area seperating the living room and bedroom, it really gives these two rooms space from each other.
We had an outside seating area off of the master bedroom which overlooked the sea.. very dreamy! One of the things we loved about the resort is all of the outside seating areas on offer, some overlooking gardens, others with a a sea view, and even if you book a room without an outside seating area, the hotel offers so many hidden corners and seating dotted around the resort that you’ll always find somewhere to relax with a book!
The Facilities
Mangia’s Brucoli Resort felt more like a villa complex mixed with an Arabian Kasbah rather than a standard hotel resort with lots of low level buildings covered in greenery and hidden facilities.
Onto the facilities, the hotel offers 3 swimming pools which feels pretty epic. One adults only pool in a quieter area close to the beach, a family pool right in the middle of the complex and a children’s pool ideally located next to a play area and where I believe they host kids club in the summer season.
My husband described the hotel as a sort-of wellness resort too, since there are lots of sports facilities and an amazing hidden-away fitness room overlooking the gardens and sea which you need to walk through the resorts very own olive garden to get to.. yes, you read that right!
Finally, it took me 3 days to even work out where the sports facilities are as they are tucked away nicely in a forest area of the property, but once here there is so much on offer from padel, tennis, basketball and more!
The Food
What makes a resort holiday is not needing to leave right? And Mangia’s Brucoli Resort have that covered with plenty of dining spaces.
We visited in early May and this is still considered out of season so we only had the main restaurant available but in summer there is a Pizzeria, Sushi Bar and Grill.
Breakfast was a highlight for us, and not only eating breakfast, but simply walking the beautiful grounds to breakfast with our baby each morning.
There is indoor and outdoor seating available and we took advantage of the cool but warm May mornings by sitting outside in a very Mediterranean setting. We loved the omelette and crepe station as well as all of the fresh fruit and chance to try some local sweets like Cannoili which you may have seen around Italy before but is actually Sicilian, and Arrancini with sweet cream inside.. something I had never seen before!
We also had a nice and relaxed lunch in the pool side cafe during nap time (IYKYK) enjoying a fresh salad, sandwich and smoothie!
Getting Around Sicily
Jet2 Holidays offer transfers from the airport and the hotels will offer excursions from the hotel around the island, but we decided to hire a car so we could do some days out. This is something we always do on our family holidays to give us more flexibility and explore ourselves.
We found the roads to be good and easy to navigate with some toll roads which is very common in Italy and they accepted card as well as coins.
Places to Visit in Sicily
With our 3 days in Sicily we actually only went out to explore once as we enjoyed the resort so much on the other two days and made core memories with the baby in the pool and in the hotel gardens. However, we did do a day out to the popular hilltop town of Taormina driving past Mount Etna on the way, and we went for dinner in the 2 local towns to the hotel – Brucoli and Augusta.
– Taormina
Taormina is a must visit if you are staying on the Eastern side of Sicily like we were. You might not think a hilltop town with a baby is a good idea but there are plenty of paths and we had no issues with the pram. We paid to go the Amphitheatre which is the remains of an ancient Greco-Roman theatre. We couldn’t go all the way to the top with the pram but we could go most of the way and then we took it in turns to walk to the top and take in the coastal view!
I do recommend parking at the car park – Parcheggio Lumbi and getting the free shuttle bus to the top as parking is limited once at the top.
– Mount Etna
Mount Etna is the most active stratovolcano in the world and it actually errupted when we were there but we didn’t realise until guests on our Jet2 flight showed us videos they captured the night before our flight home!
Although you can do an organised hike to the top of Mount Etna, a family friendly activity is to take the cable car to the 2500m high station. This is not the top but it is close and still an amazing way to see the island below. If you do go with a baby or young children, make sure you pack layers as people say it can get very chilly at the top and I imagine it can!
Before visiting Sicily, I asked my followers on Instagram where they recommend visiting on the island and I got the following responses back as great places to visit in Sicily:
– Palermo
The capital of the island the capital rich in history, food, music and art.
– Cefalu
A Northern Coastal city with old-town vibes and gorgeous beaches.
– Syracuse
An historic coastal city known for its ancient ruins.
– Island of Ortigia
A tiny, walkable island famous for its beaches and food.
– Fontane Bianche
A white sand beach with seafront restaurants, bars and hotels.
Sicily with a Baby
I have heard that people love visiting Italy with a baby and young children because Italians seem to love them so much and we definitely had this experience in Sicily. Everywhere we went locals were doting on the ‘bambino’ which was really cute and nice.
I can’t talk for all restaurants of course but the few that we went into, even small ones, had a high chair for us to use which made meal times easier and as he’s only weaning, Pizza crusts were a great option to give him!
Like everywhere, Sicily will have its challenges and although we didn’t see much of the island, I think from the warm welcome of babies alone in Italy and Sicily, this makes it a good place to visit with a little one!
I visited Sicily with Jet2 on a press trip however all thoughts and opinions are my own.