What to do

 

On the first day, drive up via the coast road towards San Vito lo Capo. The scenery is very much of the 'Stooooop here, I want to take a photo' kind, with cloud-tipped cliffs crashing into the blue sea, interspered with little fishing villages and white sandy beaches creeping into impossibly clear waters.

 

Stop at Cornino beach, huddled under Monte Cofano, about 15 minutes north of Trapani. It is tiny but quiet at this time of year. Follow the directions to San Vito for more amazing coastal scenery. Stop in San Vito, a beach resort, for lunch: just plop into the first restaurant with a terrazza al fresco and enjoy a plate of linguini allo scoglio with the sea breeze on your face.

 

Drive east into the Zingaro Nature Reserve and more cliff-hugging twisting roads and keep going until the road fizzles out and you can admire the Golfo di Castellamare in all its glory.

 

Double back and drive to Scopello for a little chunk of paradise. Eat in one of the open-air restaurants on top of the little hill then walk down to the little private but freely-accessible beach (no photos allowed!) There is a lovely little hotel right on the water's edge for the more romantically inclined. Have a little swim between the Capri-like Faraglioni, then try and figure out how to take a photo of the bay without incurring the wrath of the photo-haters. Planetmona reporters are intrepid so I did. Here it is.

 

Your next stop is Segesta, site of the ancient Greek city. See the perfectly preserved temple, then take the navetta up to the top of the hill and explore the remains of the Greek theatre and the sweeping views across the Sicilian countryside. The best times are early evening, when the shadows make everything look more dramatic. If you are coming from the Castellamare side, ignore what your friendly GPS tells you, but go up from the eastern side via the S113. The GPS-approved road is closed off due to subsidence, which is pretty common in that area.

 

Back in Trapani itself make sure you take a stroll along the northern promenade to watch the sunset. Drink an aperitivo at any of the sea-facing little bars). Walk inside the Old town and either have a pizza around Viale Duca d'Aosta, or a nice dinner in the pedestrianised Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

 

On day two you can drive south towards Marsala. Half way down, stop near Mozia (where you see the sign for Saline e Muline a Vento) and go to se the famous salt pans and mills. It is very photogenic. Even better would be to go in the evening and watch sunset from the chilled out bar right next to the windmill.  You might want to drive all the way to Selinunte (about 75 mins) and see another important Greek settlement, right on the sea, with the usual cluster of preserved temples, broken columns and German tourists ooh-aahing along the way.

 

Have lunch in the little resort of Marinella right below the temple. Another 40 minutes’ drive through bucolic countryside brings you to Sciacca, a lovely fishing town perched on a hill with sweeping sea views. Mona has reviewed the restaurant of the same name here http://tinyurl.com/2ateguv. Have a coffee and cannolo in the bar on the edge of the main square, and watch the boats coming in and out of the little port. An hour's drive on the autostrada and you are back in Trapani.

 

The mountain just behind Trapani is crowned with a mediaeval jewel called Erice, a walled town with amazing 360 degree views of most of the North West of Sicily. You can go here on day three. If you don't feel like driving up the endless steep twisting road (and believe me, the South access road is a hair-raising drive), you can take the cable car from Trapani itself.

 

Spend a day roaming about this wonderful place, see the Romanesque cathedral and tower (do not waste €2 climbing it though: the view is not even worth that), walk up towards the Castello Pepoli (closed for, ahem, technical reasons) and spend time relaxing in the Balio Gardens, where the views are breath-taking, especially in the evenings. Trapani spreads out at your feet, and further out, the three Egadi islands shimmer in the evening sun.

 

Have a latte di mandorla and a humungous cannolo in Piazza Umberto, wait until about 6 or 7pm, then drive down to the airport where you can join the rest of the sweaty and smelly passengers waiting to board the flight back home.

 

How to get there

 

The Ryanair flight leaves Malta on a Friday evening and comes back Monday evening and gave us three full days to enjoy the north-western tip of Sicily.

 

Keep your hand-luggage to 10kg. They will make you weigh it and if you are overweight by as much as half a kilo they will make you pay €35 and store it in the luggage hold. It’s Ryanair and they will not let you forget it so you have been warned.

 

 

Rent a Car. Do.

 

It is the only way around if you want to explore the area. €110 got us an air-conditioned, diesel Lancia Musa from Hertz, via the Ryanair website. Tip: always fill in the Flight number, so that if your flight is delayed - which of course it will be - the agency will wait for you.

 

Remember to always refuel before you hand your rental car back. There is no petrol station in the immediate vicinity of the airport or on the highway leading to the airport, so plan ahead, and do not rely on your TomTom to get you to the nearest petrol station. It will take you to a tiny village 6km away where the only thing you'll find are a few bemused old men nodding knowingly at each other as yet another car screeches to a halt in front of a disused barn and a litany of swear words in various languages issues forth. Re-fuel in Trapani or just outside.

 

 

Where to Stay

 

There are a lot of accommodation possibilities in the area, depending on who you are (group, couple, teenage party animals) and what you like. We chose Hotel Vittoria  [http://www.hotelvittoriatrapani.it/] in Trapani itself (based on its ratings and value for money), a 3* old-style but spotlessly clean hotel with a large public car park just in front, a sea-view and location just outside the Old Town (where you can forget about parking if you have a car).

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