Traveller Tips! Our ten day itinerary through Sicily (Trapani, Erice, Favagnana Island, Palermo, Siracusa)

 

 

 

 

 

Trapani (30th June - 1^st July)

Hotel: Ciuri Home

 

We flew into Trapani from Manchester with Ryan Air. The flight arrived at 8.30pm, we collected our luggage and made our way through the Exit and to the bus stops, which are just opposite the taxi waiting area. We had already read online about the Airport Buses, which depart every 30 minutes, up until 11.30pm and cost 5 Euros Per Person. The bus took around 25 minutes to get to Trapani centre.

 

We were dropped off opposite the marina, and walked to our hotel (10 minutes walk along the esplanade). We checked in and were very impressed with the organisation of the staff and comfortable room. The hotel is located right on the esplanade, so it was easy to get to the Marina and centre of Trapani. We chose a simple room with a shared bathroom, as we knew we were only staying here one night and checking out the next morning, early.

 

Once we had checked in (10.30pm) we wandered around the streets of Trapani and were amazed with the vibrancy of the city, being a Monday night. Many bars and cafe's were packed full of people – young and old. The streets were lit up with old style lanterns and music was playing, people were dancing and we felt 100% safe wandering around – even though it was past midnight when we returned to our hotel. We had a pizza from Cavolino Pizzeria, which is open until midnight. Pizza's were around 6 Euros each.

Trapani was just as beautiful to look around during the day, we enjoyed wandering the streets and down the marina. We booked our ferry tickets from the marina for the next day, to Favagnana island. We paid 18 Euros per person, return. We took the departing time of 9.10am and returning ferry at 4.10pm with Ustica Lines. Although we booked a day ahead – it didn’t seem like this was necessary, and it also cost us an extra 1.50 Euros to book in advance.

 

As we only stayed in Trapani for one night, we took a bus (from the Autostazione behind the hotel) to Erice. This cost 2.80 Euros per person, one way and the trip took around 45 minutes. Fantastic views of the coast and city can be seen on the drive up to Erice.

Erice (1^st and 2^nd July)

Hotel: San Giovanni Hotel

The cable car is a fun way of arriving into Erice, however costs 9 Euros per person return and the cable car is not in the tourist/centre area of Trapani, and a bus needs to be taken to get to the cable car station first. We chose to catch the bus which provides equally as good views as the cable car and is half the price.

The bus drops you off outside of the walls of Erice, and we walked to our hotel from there, which took around 15 minutes. Erice is very hilly and the cobblestone streets can make hauling luggage up hill quite difficult. Be careful also, as the stone can often be quite slippery.

 

Our hotel had an amazing view, similar to that of the lookout points in Erice. It was comfortable, however we found that staff were quite rude. Breakfast was included and was quite substantial and it was around 5 minutes walk to the main restaurants/shops etc...

 

Buses to and from Erice are not always frequent – ensure you check the times on the AST Bus website (http://www.aziendasicilianatrasporti.it/) or check with your hotel for info. Keep in mind that it works out cheaper to get a return bus ticket, rather than single trips.

We enjoyed our time in Erice, however would have preferred to base ourselves in Trapani and have a day trip to Erice, as we booked a day trip to Favagnana Island which departs from Trapani at 9am, which meant getting a 7.30am bus from Erice. One day in Erice would have definitely been enough to look around the town.

Favagnana Island (Day Trip from Erice)

We booked our ferry tickets to Favagnana from the marina in Trapani. We paid 18 Euros per person, return. We took the departing time of 9.10am and returning ferry at 4.10pm with Ustica Lines. Although we booked a day ahead – it didn’t seem like this was necessary, and it also cost us an extra 1.50 Euros to book in advance. The ferry was comfortable and had plenty of seating.

 

There are many shops you can hire bikes/scooters from, we walked into the town for a while and paid only 5 Euros per bike for the whole day (return by 7pm). We went to the supermarket in the town and got some bread, meat, cheese and pesto to make our own sandwiches and we are very happy we did – as we did not see many restaurants/cafe's while we were riding around, besides at Lido Burrone beach.

 

We had an amazing day on the island and would definitely recommend hiring bikes for the day as you are able to see a lot more this way, than on foot or with the bus/tourist train service. We found that the 9.10am ferry and 4.10pm ferry were good options for us and provided us with enough time to see the island.

Palermo (3^rd - 5^th July)

Hotel: Air BNB

 

We took a bus from the port in Trapani, however initially planned to take the bus from the Auto Stazione but we arrived to the port and there was a bus to Palermo waiting for us, which meant we could depart 2 hours earlier than we had originally planned. Tickets can be purchased from the AST Bus ticket shop opposite the ferry booths, or at the Auto Stazione. We paid 8 Euros Per person and the bus ride took 1.5 hours.

 

We arrived into Palermo at 11.30am and unfortunately couldn’t check into our Air BNB apartment until 1pm. The apartment was well equipped and a reasonable price, compared to booking websites in Palermo. Having our own kitchen also meant that we were able to cook and sample some of the local produce.

 

Palermo was a big city, and we walked for the majority of the time we were here, however buses can also be taken around the city – tickets are 1.40 Euros and are valid for 90 minutes from the first validation. These can be purchased from Tabacchi stores. Central station is where the majority of buses or trains to other major towns are taken from.

Cefalu (Day Trip from Palermo)

 

We took a day trip to Cefalu from Palermo by train. We purchased the tickets on the day from Central Station, using the self service machines. The trip cost 10 Euros per person return and it took 1 hour each way. Trains to Cefalu are quite regular and Cefalu is on the Messina Train line. We took the 11.08am train there and the 4.35pm train back. The trip offered lovely views of the coast. The train station in Cefalu was quite central and only a 5 minute walk away from the centre and the beach.

 

Cefalu was a nice little town with lots of souvenir shops, restaurants and cafe's. The beach was disappointing – the water clarity was poor and the beaches were absolutely packed with lounge chairs and umbrellas. We had a lovely lunch at one of the restaurants on the seafront, with our table and chairs directly over the water.

Siracusa (Ortigia) (6^th - 9^th July)

Hotel: Air BNB

 

We took a bus from Palermo to Siracusa at 8am (the next bus was at 11am) and it took 3 hours to get there and cost 12 Euros per person. We were dropped off at the end of Corso Umberto at the bus station, the train station is just around the corner.

 

We walked all the way down Corso Umberto, onto the island of Ortigia, where our Air BNB apartment was. We were very pleased we stayed in Ortigia, as it was a lot livelier and prettier than the main town of Siracusa. Our apartment was comfortable, central and equipped with kitchen facilities.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Ortigia and would definitely recommend this place to anyone travelling in Eastern Sicily. Beautiful buildings, lively markets, delicious restaurants and small beaches, all on the one compact island that can be walked around in a very short time.

 

We ate at the markets on two occasions – both times having an antipasti plate and we were thoroughly impressed – Caseificio Borderi had a delicious antipasti for just 10 Euros for two people and next door – Fratelli Burgio had a more elaborate antipasti filled with various vegetables, meats and cheeses for 24 Euros for two people. Both are highly recommended both by us and trip advisor.

 

 

 

 

We would definitely recommend Sicily to travellers who want to explore more of Italy.  Try to allow at least ten days here, we would have loved more time to explore and visit the other beautiful cities and towns.