October–November
Wk 43–45
The quietest stretch among this region's best weather weeks: crowd level around 25 out of 100, weather comfort near 70.
- Crowd level
- 8–42
- Comfort
- 65–75
Italy · Sizilien
Sicily: Etna and a valley of temples
The largest island in the Mediterranean carries Etna, Europe's largest and most active volcano, and was settled in turn by Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans. After the earthquake of 1693 the baroque towns of the Val di Noto rose in the southeast; since 1946 Sicily has been an autonomous region with Palermo as its capital.
Busiest week
AugustCrowd level 100
Wk 32 · 765,950 overnight stays
Quietest weeks
JanuaryCrowd level 0
Wk 2–4 · measured against the region's own year, not against other regions
Sweet spot
October–NovemberCrowd level 8–42
Wk 43–45 · quietest while the weather still holds
Warmest month
29 °CComfort 72
July · around 6 mm of rain in the month
Sizilien in brief
Sicily, at 25,426 square kilometres, is the largest island in the Mediterranean, lies southwest of Calabria and forms the Autonomous Region of Sicily together with smaller islands lying off its coast. Etna, at 3,403 metres, is the highest mountain in Sicily and at the same time Europe's largest and most active volcano. Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans shaped the island in turn; under the Normans an independent kingdom arose from 1130, with a fusion of Byzantine, Arab and Norman art. After the earthquake of 1693 the baroque towns of the Val di Noto rose in the southeast; since 1946 Sicily has been an autonomous region with Palermo as its capital.
When is Sizilien busy, when is it quiet?
Click a week. The panel on the right explains why it is busy or quiet.
Weather profile
Weather comfort is an absolute scale (0 = poor, 100 = ideal) and a second axis next to the season-relative crowd level.
JanuaryØ 1
FebruaryØ 3
MarchØ 9
AprilØ 31
MayØ 44
JuneØ 63
JulyØ 82
AugustØ 96
SeptemberØ 70
OctoberØ 42
NovemberØ 11
DecemberØ 3
Colour = season-relative crowd levelBar = weather comfort (Sun & warmth), absolute 0–100
Why this week?
October · Wk 43
Crowd level42/100 · moderate
quietbusy
Weather comfort40/100 · Sun & warmth
+9 % versus the region's annual average.
- Contributing months
- October (100 %)
- Overnight stays/week
- 372,262
- School-holiday pressure (source markets)
- 12 % of source markets on school holidays · +2 % crowding from holidays
- Main source markets
- Italy (57 %) · Germany (17 %) · France (4 %) · 87% of guests modelled
- Region range
- 86,112–765,950 (avg 341,070)
- Base years
- 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 (excluding 2020, 2021)
v1: Crowd-Score aus der Eurostat-Basisschicht (Übernachtungen), moduliert vom Schulferien-Druck der Quellmärkte, region-spezifisch gewichtet mit dem Quellland-Mix. Season-relativ zur Region. Event-Schichten folgen.
Plan your trip
Pre-filled with the next date in week 43.
DestinationSizilien
Travel datesPick a week in the calendar
FlightSearch flights (opens in a new tab)
StayFind stays (opens in a new tab)
ActivityExplore activities (opens in a new tab)Ad · commission link
Photos: Johny Goerend · reisetopia · Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash
The travel year in Sizilien, month by month
The year as a table to read and to cite: crowd level for every month, plus weather comfort and temperature from the climate normals.
| Month | Crowd level0–100, season-relative | Weather comfort0–100, profile “mild” | Avg temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 37 | 8 °C |
| February | 3 | 41 | 10 °C |
| March | 9 | 51 | 12 °C |
| April | 31 | 71 | 15 °C |
| May | 44 | 82 | 20 °C |
| June | 63 | 79 | 26 °C |
| July | 82 | 72 | 29 °C |
| August | 96 | 73 | 28 °C |
| September | 70 | 81 | 24 °C |
| October | 42 | 79 | 19 °C |
| November | 11 | 61 | 14 °C |
| December | 3 | 43 | 10 °C |
The crowd level is season-relative: 100 is the annual peak of Sizilien itself, not the busiest destination in Europe. The figures say when it is quiet here — not where it is quieter than elsewhere.
Weather comfort 0–100 from the climate normals, profile “mild” – the same profile as the recommendation above, not the selection in the calendar. A “–” means the data for that month is missing.
Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026
The windows worth catching
Three windows from the model: first whether the weather suits the region, then how busy it gets.
April
Wk 15–17
A second option, also with usable weather: crowd level around 32, weather comfort near 73.
- Crowd level
- 31–33
- Comfort
- 69–77
August
Wk 31–33
The region's peak: crowd level around 98 out of 100. Only if the dates are fixed.
- Crowd level
- 96–100
- Comfort
- 71
Sizilien compared with Europe
How full the accommodation is here, measured against Europe – on the only measure on which two travel regions can be compared.
- Bed occupancy in Sizilien
- 10.4
- European median
- 23.1
per cent of bed places, annual mean
per cent of bed places, annual mean
Furthest from the median: February, at 0.2× the value. Closest to the median: September, at 0.6× the value.
Mean across 12 months, weighted by their weeks. This occupancy compares travel regions with one another. The crowding in the table above compares Sizilien with itself. The two measures are never combined.
Climate through the year
Average temperature with day/night range and precipitation across the twelve months.
- Avg temperature
- Day/night range
- Precipitation
| Month | Avg temperature (°C) | Day avg (°C) | Night avg (°C) | Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 8 | 5 | 56 |
| Feb | 8 | 10 | 6 | 61 |
| Mar | 9 | 12 | 7 | 70 |
| Apr | 12 | 15 | 10 | 52 |
| May | 17 | 20 | 13 | 67 |
| Jun | 22 | 26 | 19 | 33 |
| Jul | 25 | 29 | 22 | 6 |
| Aug | 25 | 28 | 21 | 30 |
| Sep | 21 | 24 | 18 | 45 |
| Oct | 17 | 19 | 15 | 81 |
| Nov | 12 | 14 | 11 | 77 |
| Dec | 8 | 10 | 7 | 54 |
The band shows mean daytime to nighttime temperature. Precipitation shown as monthly total (mm). Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
How sunny?
How much sun a typical day delivers, month by month, expressed as hours of full midday sun.
Very sunny
≈ 4.8 h of full midday sun per day, annual average
Jul
Sunniest month
| Month | ≈ h of full midday sun per day |
|---|---|
| Jan | 2.5 |
| Feb | 3.4 |
| Mar | 4.6 |
| Apr | 6.0 |
| May | 6.6 |
| Jun | 7.4 |
| Jul | 7.6 |
| Aug | 6.5 |
| Sep | 5.0 |
| Oct | 3.7 |
| Nov | 2.5 |
| Dec | 2.2 |
Basis: mean daily solar irradiance in kWh/m²/day; 1 kWh/m² is roughly one hour of full midday sun (1,000 W/m²). Not the same as measured sunshine duration. Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
Directly reachable from
Destination airports of Sizilien and every European departure airport with a direct connection to them.
Destination airports
Select a destination airport to see the direct departure airports.
“Directly reachable” means a direct connection exists according to our sources. We do not show a live timetable. Availability and flight days can vary by season and airline.
Ski areas in Sizilien
Mapped ski areas in this region with slope kilometres, lifts and elevation, plus the long-term snow average from our climate data.
- Ski areas
- 3
- Slopes in total
- 18 km
- Lifts
- 12
- Highest point
- 2,597 m
| Ski area | Slopes | Lifts | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etna Nord | 8.91 km | 4 | 1,807–2,333 m526 m vertical drop |
| Etna Sud/Nicolosi | 6.08 km | 5 | 1,928–2,597 m669 m vertical drop |
| Piano Battaglia | 3.44 km | 3 | 1,564–1,833 m269 m vertical drop |
Slope, lift and elevation figures come from open mapping and are complete to varying degrees. “Not available” means not mapped, not “does not exist”. Opening hours and season are not included. Snow figures are long-term averages for the whole region, not snow depth on the mountain and not a forecast.
Sizilien in detail
Location and shape
Sicily lies southwest of Calabria, the toe of Italy's boot, and forms the Autonomous Region of Sicily together with smaller islands lying off its coast. Its near-triangular shape gave the island its older name Trinacria; the three corners are Capo Boeo at Marsala, Capo Peloro at Messina and Capo Passero in the southeast. The Strait of Messina, about three kilometres wide at its narrowest, separates it from the Italian mainland; Malta lies 95 kilometres away, and Tunisia 145 kilometres away across the Strait of Sicily.
Etna and the mountains
Etna, at 3,403 metres, is the highest mountain in Sicily and at the same time Europe's largest and most active volcano; other active volcanoes are Stromboli and Vulcano on the Aeolian Islands offshore. The highest non-volcanic peak is the Pizzo Carbonara, at 1,979 metres in the Monti Madonie. Over 80 percent of the area is mountain or hill country; on the north coast the Monti Peloritani, Monti Nebrodi and Monti Madonie continue the Apennines, and the Monti Iblei rise in the southeast.
Water, volcanoes and variety
The Imera Meridionale, at 144 kilometres, is the island's longest river; the Simeto has the largest catchment area, at over 4,000 square kilometres. Sicily sits on the contact zone between the African and Eurasian continental plates, which runs right across the island; the eastern part belongs to a volcanic zone that runs from the Aeolian Islands via Etna and the Monti Iblei towards Malta. Off its coasts lie the Aeolian Islands to the north, among them the active volcanoes Stromboli and Vulcano, the Egadi Islands to the west, and Pantelleria and the Pelagie Islands to the south. With around 3,000 recorded plant species, Sicily counts as the most vegetation-rich island of the Mediterranean.
From the Greeks to the Normans
From around 800 BC, colonisation by Phoenicians began, chiefly from Carthage, followed a little later by Greek colonisation, through which Sicily became a core area of Magna Graecia; after the victory over Carthage at the Battle of Himera in 480 BC, Greek culture on the island flourished through the 5th century BC, when grain cultivation made cities such as Selinunte and Akragas rich. In 241 BC, after the First Punic War, Sicily became the first province of the Roman Empire; with the fall of Syracuse in 212 BC the city lost its independence, and the island became Rome's chief supplier of grain. The Arab conquest began in 827; Muslim rule lasted around 250 years in total. Palermo became the island's Arab capital in 831. The Norman conquest, begun in 1061, was complete by 1091; in 1130 Sicily became an independent kingdom, under which a fusion of Byzantine, Arab and Norman art arose.
Baroque, unification and autonomy
The Val di Noto earthquake of 1693 destroyed large parts of southeastern Sicily; towns such as Noto, Modica and Ragusa, with its old town of Ibla, were rebuilt in the style of Sicilian baroque. In 1861 Giuseppe Garibaldi landed at Marsala with his Expedition of the Thousand, and in the same year Sicily became part of the new Kingdom of Italy. In 1943 the Allied landing on the south coast between Gela and Syracuse, Operation Husky, opened the Italian campaign of the Second World War. Since 1946 Sicily has been an autonomous region with its own parliament and Palermo as its capital; it is administered in six provinces and three metropolitan cities.
Archaeological sites
The Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, a UNESCO World Heritage site, holds among others the Temple of Concordia and the Temple of Zeus. Larger theatres from Greek and Roman times stand in Syracuse, Taormina and Tindari, with amphitheatres in Syracuse and Catania. Near the town of Piazza Armerina lies the Villa Romana del Casale, a late-antique building with Roman mosaics. The necropolis of Pantalica, from the Bronze and Iron Ages, with its tombs cut into the rock, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Population and agriculture
The largest cities are Palermo, Catania, Messina, Syracuse, Marsala and Ragusa. Vines and olives have been grown since Greek times, durum wheat since Roman times; the Arabs brought citrus fruit and almond trees, and the Spanish brought tomatoes, peppers and aubergines.
Literature
The Sicilian playwright Luigi Pirandello received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934. The poet Salvatore Quasimodo received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959 as well. Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa wrote the novel The Leopard about the decline of the Sicilian nobility.
Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Sizilien
Short answers on timing, weather and getting there, all from the data on this page.
When is the best time to visit Sizilien?
- The best time to visit Sizilien is October–November (Wk 43–45): it is the quietest stretch among the region's best weather weeks – crowd level around 25 out of 100, weather comfort about 70 out of 100.
When is Sizilien quietest?
- January (Wk 2–4) is the quietest time in Sizilien. Crowd levels there sit at 0 out of 100, the lowest across the year.
When is Sizilien busiest?
- Sizilien is busiest in August (Wk 32) with around 765,950 overnight stays in the peak week.
What is the weather like in Sizilien and when is it warmest?
- It is warmest in Sizilien in July with an average of 29 °C and around 6 mm of rain in the month.
How do you get to Sizilien?
- Sizilien is reachable via 6 destination airports with direct flights, including Falcone-Borsellino Airport (PMO), Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) and Trapani-Birgi Airport (TPS).
Quiet travel windows across Europe, once a month
The Crowd Report names the emptiest weeks of the coming months — for every region, not just this one. Free, unsubscribe any time.
Sources and data vintages
Every provenance note on this page, collected in one place.
- Cover video
- Video by Paulo Renato on Pexels
- Crowding figures
- Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026. v1 approximation, calculated from Eurostat overnight stays. Day tourism and cruises (Venice, Dubrovnik …) are still missing, so we show these destinations as quieter than they are. The crowd score is a model-based forecast, not a measurement.
- Climate data
- Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2025.
- Reachability
Data sources: direct connections from Wikipedia (“Airlines and destinations”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, aggregated and modified by us), cross-checked with Eurostat, Destatis and the UK Civil Aviation Authority; airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain). The derived connection data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Data as of: September 2026
- Ski areas
Data sources: ski areas from OpenSkiMap, based on OpenStreetMap, licensed under ODbL 1.0; snow depths from ERA5-Land (Copernicus Climate Change Service).
- Region text
- Text by HolidayHub, written from Wikivoyage „Sizilien“ (1792438) · Wikipedia „Sizilien“ (269430955) · Wikidata Q4951156. Wikivoyage and Wikipedia are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikidata CC0.
- Data basis
- All figures are approximations derived from open data (crowd level from Eurostat overnight stays, climate from Copernicus/ERA5-Land), not measurements.