May 2022.
I booked a £22.00 return Ryan Air flights from Stansted to Sicily in early May, it was Ryanair flight 3918 leaving Stansted at 17.20 and arriving into Palermo 21.15.
There were nightly reports on the TV about the chaos at UK airports, showing images of long queue at check in and security so we set off early and arrived 4 hours before the flight. Parking was easy and close to the terminal. There were no other passengers at the Ryan Air check in / bag drop, it literally took two minutes.
The security check was busy but swift moving, and we were air side within 30 minutes of leaving the car. No long queues, no problems, the fastest experience ever. This left us plenty of time to get a meal and a drink in the Weatherspoon's and enjoy the start of our spring break to the Italian Island of Sicily.
The flight was uneventful and Italian passport control slow but productive. We got a shared Taxi into Palermo for 12 Euros each, this dropped us off at the square where the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi is. Having looked on Google Maps I hoped the apartment I had booked was opposite this landmark.
Palermo.
The Apartments Politeama were exactly as show on Google maps and the owner was waiting to check us in. The apartment was located in a large old building, it looked like a bank; but the one bedroom apartment was modern, clean, quiet and gorgeous.
As it was late, we dumped our small bag and set off to look for a something to eat. We didn't have far to go, the apartments were perfectly situated and we found a pizza place serving delicious pizza by the slice and perfect Aperol Spritz.
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| Pizza in Sicily |
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| Pizza by the slice in Sicily |
It was a great introduction to Palermo, we had three days to explore the city. The next morning, we set off on foot, it was a very short walk into the old town. It was so easy to get around on foot, we spent the full day exploring Palermo. I didn't know what The Quattro Canti was and its hard to describe it, and it does not photograph very well! Its the most fascinating crossroads I have ever seen.
I have heard people say you either love or hate Palermo, I loved it.
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| Palermo |
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| Cattedrale, Palermo |
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| Palermo street food |
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| Palermo street food |
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| Quattro Canti, Palermo |
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| Palermo |
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Palermo.
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Soon it was time to return to the airport, to collect a hire car. I had forgotten to 'insure the excess', so we reluctantly took the car hire extra cover. Trapani
We set off from Palermo airport towards the town of Trapani via the remains of the ancient city of Segesta. The temple is amazing and has a majestic position, looking out over fields down to the sea.
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| Temple at Segesta, Sicily |
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| Temple at Segesta, Sicily |
The roads were in good condition and the driving was easy and we arrived in Trapani late afternoon. The hotel was located in the old town, so did not have parking. The town square had plenty of parking and it was really cheap. so we left the car there and walked through the narrow, maze like streets to the hotel, The Hotel San Domenico Residence by Badia Nuova. The room was great, like a small apartment with a fully equipped kitchen. not that was needed it as all the restaurants in Trapani were serving wonderful food, cakes, cannoli, wines and beers.  |
| Trapani, Sicily. |
Erice
The next day we planned to get the cable car up to the walled mountain town of Erice. Using the sat nav it was easy to find the cable car, and there was lots of parking. But we we not allowed to get on as we did not have the correct face masks. We just has FFP3 blue ones and you had to have FFP3 white, well fitting, duck type masks to be allowed on the cable car. So we drove up the mountain on the winding road, and easily found a parking space.
I am really glad we made the effort and drove up as walking around the walls of Erice, then exploring the winding alleys and taking in the breath-taking views, were all unexpected pleasures.
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| Erice, Sicily |
The Egadi Islands; Favignana.
We were up early the next day and walked to the new port area in Trapani to get the first hydrofoil ferry to the island of Favignana. The ferries were operated by Ferryhopper. It took about 40 minutes to get to the island and the ferry was packed.
There were lots of bicycle rental shops in the small port area of Favignana Town, and we rented the bikes for 10 Euros each.  |
| Ferry to Favignana |
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| Ferry ticket office in Trapani |
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| Hire bikes on the island of Favignana |
The bikes were in good condition and the island was very flat. The island was full of large holes in the ground! I found out that they are where stone or Tuff was quarried. The holes are now often used as gardens and we saw a lot of vegetable being cultivated in them. We had a great day, stopping off at rocks above the sea and some sandy beaches. The water was crystal clear and we cycle around the whole island before returning on the last ferry to Trapani and a fish couscous dinner.  |
| Favignana, Sicily |
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| Favignana, Sicily |
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| Favignana, Sicily |
On our last day in Trapani we drove towards Marsala. I had seen on the map there was a cycle path in the Mozia saltpan area. I did find the cycle path, but we did not cycle it, as it was very close to a busy road and did not look very safe. It was also very windy. Instead we explored the historic salt pans and took a boat trip on the lagoon around Mozia.  |
| Mozia and the saltpans |
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| Mozia and the saltpans |
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| Mozia and the saltpans |
The next day we were driving to San Vito Lo Capo. When we got to the car, we were glad we had taken the extra insurance as someone had hit the wing of the car. San Vito Lo Capo
The apartment we had rented in the beach resort of San Vito Lo Capo was called Appartmento Daniela. we followed the address as shown on Google maps, but that took us to a complex of apartments called the Blumare residence.
It turned out this was the correct location. The apartment was a studio, very clean and fully equipped, perfect for our 5 day stay. San Vito Lo Capo is a holiday resort, with bars, hotels and trattorias and a fabulous beach that is perfect for family holidays. It is also close to a nature reserve, Riserva Orientata Dello Zingaro. we walked through this reserve with it fabulous coves and beaches to the town of Scopello. Another beautiful town or hamlet, located on the top of a hill with an old tuna cannery below.
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