Sicily road trip: what to see around Trapani in 7 days

Are you flying to Trapani and still wondering how to plan your trip to Sicily?

Here is a 7-day itinerary to relax and enjoy this corner of Italy.

7-day road trip in Western Sicily

Day 1 – Arrival

Off to a great start… Car rental troubles

How naive of me!

I had booked a rental car with Europcar directly on their website 4 months in advance:

• I preferred to book directly with them because the price was very similar and I thought it would mean fewer hassles.
• I paid the full price online in advance using a debit card.
• And when we arrived at the airport… they wouldn't give us the car!

Why? Here is a quick summary of the conversation:

— Because the card you used to book and pay is a debit card, not a credit card. And now we need a credit card to hold the deposit.
— Well, here is my credit card. Take the deposit on this one— I said.
— I can't, it has to be the exact same card used for the payment.
— Then why do you allow online payments with a debit card?
— I don't know. That's not my responsibility.
— Alright, can you cancel the booking and redo it with the credit card at the same price?
— We can cancel and issue a refund, but the new booking will cost twice as much or more.
— 😤🤬☠️…
— I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do.
— 😤🤬☠️…

Can you imagine how pissed off we were?

We even talked to the airport police, and they told us it happened all the time but there was nothing they could do.

Result:

• They refunded our money several days later (the bare minimum they could do).
• We ended up renting one from another company at the airport after wasting 3 hours arguing for nothing.
• I have never booked a car with Europcar again.
• Now, whenever I rent a car online, I always use a credit card.

Wise people learn from other people's mistakes. 😉

Arrival at B&B Villa delle Palme Delfina

Villa delle Palme Delfina was where we stayed for the entire week we spent around Trapani.

After our experience with the car rental company, it was a breath of fresh air to arrive at that house surrounded by gardens and be welcomed with so much care:

• A complimentary bottle of Sicilian red wine.
• The private terrace all to ourselves.
• A complimentary photo guide of Trapani and the surrounding area.
• The sun setting behind Mount Erice.

We paid 541€ for 7 nights in a double room (77€/night, 39€ per person).

Day 2 – Zingaro Reserve + Erice

Breakfast at the B&B

The breakfast included in the price was amazing. Not a single detail was missing. 

The only downside (if any) was that in the morning, the kitchen noises woke us up earlier than we would have liked, and that breakfast took place (every day) at a huge round table, with the other guests and Antonio, our host.

We prefer waking up slowly without much chit-chat, so after a couple of "hectic" mornings, we decided to head to the dining room later, once everyone else had finished eating, so we could enjoy some peace and quiet.

Zingaro Reserve

The sun was out, so we decided to make the most of it by visiting one of the spots in Sicily that had caught our eye the most:

The Zingaro Nature Reserve.

It turned out to be the perfect mix of hiking, scenic views, nature, and dreamy coves.

Don't believe it?

Check out the post where I tell you in full detail why the Zingaro Reserve is a must-see stop in Sicily. 😉

Erice

That medieval village perched high above our B&B was simply too tempting to resist.

So after a couple of swims at the Zingaro beaches, we decided to drive up the winding road leading to Erice.

The views get more and more spectacular as you go up. But a picture is worth a thousand words:

Take a look at the article on what to do in Erice.

We took the opportunity to have dinner at La Prima Dea with a plate of pasta with pistachio pesto, got happily lost in its lit alleyways, and drove back (carefully navigating the bends) to the B&B.

That airport argument seemed to have happened years ago. 😉

Day 3 – Segesta + Castellammare del Golfo

Segesta

After breakfast, we headed to the Temple of Segesta.

Could it be any more photogenic?

If you're interested, here's more info and photos of Segesta »

Castellammare del Golfo

From the theatre of Segesta, there is a stunning view of the northern coast, so we decided to head down to check out Castellammare del Golfo and its picturesque fishing port.

We took the chance to enjoy a hearty plate of pasta «frutti di mare» at La Timpa pizzeria and tried to visit the Tonnara di Scopello, but paying €4 per person just to step onto it for a few minutes seemed a bit steep (the weather wasn't really calling for a dip in the sea).

So we bought some takeaway for dinner (bread, tomato, and cold cuts) and headed back to the B&B.

Day 4 – Trapani + sunset at the salt flats

Trapani

The fourth day also dawned very cloudy and, on top of that, it threatened to rain. So we spent it wandering the streets of Trapani.

This city has a nostalgic vibe straight out of another era. Or maybe the light filtering through those grey clouds had something to do with the way I felt…

While I didn't find it particularly gorgeous, I did enjoy strolling past palaces along Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle (part of which is 100% pedestrianised) and heading towards Ligny Tower along the promenade.

The salt flats

Although there are others closer to Trapani, we had plenty of time and decided to head over to the salt flats opposite San Pantaleo Island to catch the sunset from there.

I've marked the bar with views where we sat down to wait for nightfall on the map at the bottom of the page.

Day 5 – Favignana + Erice

Favignana

Visiting the largest of the Aegadian Islands was a last-minute call… and am I glad we did!

As I mention in the post dedicated to Favignana, our only mistake was not buying the ferry tickets the day before (even though we had just been wandering around Trapani). Ouch!

So we had to settle for spending just over half a day on the island, but not much more.

That said, we had an absolute blast exploring it by bike.

The blue of the sea on this island is out of this world. Seriously, you only need to check out the rest of the Favignana photos here. 😉

Erice

And what do you do when you have to head back from Favignana earlier than you'd like because you bought your ferry tickets way too late right in the middle of Holy Week?

Well, you comfort yourself with a sunset floating above the clouds from Erice.

Not bad at all, right?

Day 6 – Mount Cofano trekking

Mount Cofano

The night before, we had caught sight of that huge, isolated mountain on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea again from Erice.

Were we going to leave Sicily without getting up close to it? No way. 🙂

So on our last day, we set off for the southern access of Mount Cofano.

And you know what?

We found a gorgeous hiking trail with flowers everywhere and beaches made of stones carved like razor blades by the force of the sea.

Check out the details in the full post about Mount Cofano »

Day 7 – Departure

Our flight left in the middle of the morning, so we had a leisurely breakfast at B&B Villa delle Palme Delfina and headed back to the airport.

This time there were no surprises with the car rental company. 😉

Still haven't booked your plane tickets to Sicily?

I like starting my flight search on Trabber because the price it shows is final (it includes card fees and other taxes). That said, I always check the deals on eDreams and Momondo too.

You never know who will have the best deals! 😉

When to buy your flights

For international flights, it's worth searching across the 4 search engines above 6-8 months in advance.

However, for domestic flights or flights within Europe, I recommend waiting until about 2-4 months before your trip to buy (unless you spot deals that are too good to pass up).

Vueling, for instance, often launches budget promotions every now and then.

Useful links

• B&B Villa delle Palme Delfina.
• Other hotel deals near Trapani.
• 5% discount when booking your adventure travel insurance with IATI.
• Flights to Italy: Trabber, eDreams, Momondo, and Vueling. 

And here are all the posts so you can find more details about this 7-day Sicily itinerary:

• Hiking through the Zingaro Nature Reserve.
• Discover Erice: a medieval village high up in Sicily.
• Discover the Segesta temple and a Greek theater with sea views in Sicily.
• Biking around the island of Favignana.
• Hiking in Sicily: circling Mount Cofano.

Map

Want to ask me about any details on this Sicily route? Drop me a comment below and I'll be thrilled to share everything I remember with you. 😉