Gaggi Holidays

The small village of Gaggi sits in the Messina Province in Sicily’s north-east corner. Life around here’s just about as laidback as it comes, which makes it a top choice for relaxing breaks. Its closest big-name town is Taormina, which you can reach in 30 minutes by car. Beach-goers are covered by Giardini Naxos – it’s a 15-minute drive from the village, and it’s got a couple of sand-and-pebble stretches to its name.

Taormina’s trademarks can be split into two categories. On one side of the coin there’s it’s Medieval past, with an ancient theatre headlining things as its historical highlight. It’s the second largest theatre in Sicily – after the Greek Theatre of Syracuse – and it serves up wide-angle vistas of the Calabrian coast and Mount Etna. The switch is flipped to glamour on the town’s other front. It’s the place to go for high-end hotels and upmarket boutiques selling leather goods.

You’ve got a selection of some of the island’s best beach spots well within daytripping distance. San Marco Beach’s sand-and-pebble seafront offers up an untouched spot for peaceful beach days. Meanwhile, further along the coast there’s Letojanni Beach. It offers up watersports like windsurfing and snorkelling. And after dark, its beach clubs have been known to keep their doors open until the early hours.