Hidden Gems Sicily North Coast

After spending five days on a road trip through Sicily, I found two incredible hidden gems on the North Coast. They must be a secret because I saw a handful of people there compared to the thousands in other parts of the island.

On our Sicily Road Trip, we saw everything from the Western tip of Trapani to the Eastern end of Taormina. Both towns are beautiful in their own right. But they were a bit more crowded than expected since we visited after peak season.

Instead, during our Sicily road trip, we decided to make small stops all over the Northern coast, visiting lesser known spots with almost no tourists in sight. This included Spiaggia del Sarello, Mondello, and Favignana and Levanzo Islands just off of Trapani.

I found most places simply by scrolling the map until I found something worth visiting. When I found Punta Sant’Elia I immediately knew we had to go.

Punta Sant’Elia

Sant’Elia is a tiny town just under an hour drive east from the capital Palermo, Sicily. The town itself is tiny, with a handful of narrow, steep roads beside jagged cliffs. Even though it is small, we found free parking easily within a minute of arriving. We grabbed our bags and headed down.

Once the road ends, the streets become narrow walking paths with steep steps down to the water. At the bottom of the steps, the homes clear and there is a wide-open clearing to the sea. The views are incredible. Almost no where else in the world can you find turquoise waters a stone’s throw away from an entire town (see photo below).

Although the water is deep there is no current nor any waves. We found it easy to float and swim around. At certain shallow points, you can even stand on the boulders inside the water.

Spiaggia di Sarello

Just a ten minute drive from Punta Sant’Elia is Spiaggia di Sarello, a small fishing town with waterfront villas. Most of the water access is limited to private, gated roads. However, if you specifically search for “Spiaggia di Sarello” you will find a small public beach with a gorgeous view of the bay all the way to Palermo.

Both of these places are driving distance from Palermo, Sicily and Cefalù. Even if you don’t do a road trip through Sicily, you should take a day trip out to explore other parts of the North Coast.

These are other spots I recommend if you do have the time to explore more of Sicily.