5 Days in Sicily: Itinerary and Must-Sees

This summer, we decided to personally introduce you to some of the locations and operators in Europe that we frequently feature on the CheckYeti website. So we planned some amazing trips to get to know the most beautiful destinations, and meet some operators along the way, while making sure to capture everything for our social media channels.

This trip’s destination: Sicily. We had an amazing time, so I want to share some insider tips, must-sees, and the best itinerary for 5 days to explore the northern part of the island with you.

But before we start, let me give you an overview of our itinerary. The places we visit throughout this trip are:

  • Trapani
  • San Vito Lo Capo
  • Zingaro Nature Reserve
  • Palermo

After Matteo and Sofia have showed you around Sardinia, it is time for me (Sophie) and Jonas, to get to know another amazing Italian island; Sicily. Since we both do not speak Italian, we are quite curious about how this will go and let me tell you… there will be some funny situations, but  using our hands and feet (and the translator on our phone), we will be fine.

After checking for a fifth time if all the equipment is packed, we both have our passports, and we are sufficiently caffeinated, our journey begins with a flight from Vienna Airport to Palermo.


DAY 1

After landing at the airport in Palermo in the afternoon, we immediately head to get our rental car, since we still have to make our way to Trapani, where our official route starts. After deciding on a music genre we both enjoy (this process took way longer than it should have), we are ready to hit the road. The very bumpy road. So when booking your rental car, maybe go for something more… robust. Thank me later.

However, after about a 1.5 hours drive, we arrive at Trapani, where we quickly check into the hotel, and make our way to the centre, to explore this charming city and soak in the last rays of sun. And of course get pizza. Because what would be a day in Italy without pizza. We decide to get take-away and eat our pizza at the beach, as the sun sets exactly over the ocean, and creates an unbelievably beautiful atmosphere, with all sorts of pink, orange and blue filling the sky.

The sky around Trapani during sunset

Happy, well-fed and a bit tired from the journey, we return to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep, before we start our adventure to the Egadi Islands the next day.


DAY 2

Bright and early, we get up, have breakfast and then drive to the port of Trapani for our first boat trip. Today’s destination: Egadi Islands including Favignana and Levanzo.

We are welcomed by the crew of Egadi Escursioni, the first operator we meet on this trip. We have a full day of exploration ahead of us, and after enjoying the morning breeze on the boat, we already reach our first destination; the island of Favignana, likely the most famous one of the islands. We wander through the charming streets, treat us to some ice cream (because it is very sunny and hot), and do some sightseeing. You can either explore the island by yourself, or join one of the guided tours. We go for the first option to have more flexibility. The island is beautiful, and we are in awe as we board the boat again after about two hours to continue our journey.

Spiaggia Praia at Favignana Island

On the boat, we pass some beautiful caves and bays, and before we head to the next stop, the boat anchors in the crystal-clear, turquoise water for a swim stop. Of course, Jonas and I came prepared, so we brought our swimsuits and took a plunge in the (according to me refreshing, according to Jonas too cold) water. After drying off, the crew is serving pasta and fruit, and combined with the homemade wine and the sun on our skin, we are super happy and excited for the next (and sadly last) stop; Levanzo.

The island of Levanzo is less known than Favignana, but it is our personal favourite. This hidden gem is surrounded by turquoise water, and the little shops give it a unique charm with a Mediterranean touch. After an hour of exploring, it is time for us to say goodbye to the Egadi Islands, and eventually to the crew of Egadi Escursioni, who made sure to provide us with the best service and knowledge about the area.

The view on the turquoise water of the Island Favignana

Back at the car, we are ready to start our journey to San Vito Lo Capo. However, since the weather is still so nice, we decided to make a detour and take a break in Erice, where we enjoy the sunset from the top of a hill, offering us incredible views. If you are in the area, definitely add this to your itinerary!

The view from the top of the hill in Erice


We continue our journey and arrive at our accommodation in San Vito Lo Capo, and after pretending to understand anything the Italian host tells us (nodding, smiling, and hoping it was not a question), we go straight to bed.


DAY 3

The weather today is not as good as the days before, but we are still in a good mood and excited for the day. After having breakfast (which was cake, why do Italians love cake for breakfast so much?), we make our way to meet another provider, San Vito Coast Charter. Unfortunately, the weather remains gloomy, so we can not embark on a boat trip. However, the skippers are so nice and give us a tour of the boat, and give us some insights in their passion for their job and the love for the area. 

After a nice morning with San Vito Coast Charter, we make our way to Palermo, exploring the coast by car, and making some extra stops to enjoy the beautiful scenery. One of these stops (which we could not do by boat, so we drove there), is the Zingaro Nature Reserve. Paying a small entry fee, you can walk through the reserve, either enjoying a swim or sunbathing in one of the beautiful bays, or go for a scenic hike. Since we didn’t have so much time, we only walked to Cala Tonnarella dell’Uzzo, which offers crystal clear water and beautiful views.

The view from the top of the trail on Cala Tonnarella dell’Uzzo

After a small lunch on the road, we continued our way to meet Giorgio, a skipper from Mini Crociere in Barca, who shows us the coastline of Palermo on a historical motorboat. We really enjoy Giorgio’s company, as he shares his knowledge about the area and shows us the most beautiful spots like Mondello, Capo Gallo and Isola delle Femmine. My personal highlight is seeing how much the skippers love their “office view”, how Giorgio likes to call it, spending the day on the sea and doing what they are most passionate about.

Giorgio talking about his passion for the job as a skipper at Mini Crociere in Barca Palermo

We enjoy a typical Italian apéritif, and spend the rest of the tour chatting with Giorgio and enjoying the views, as this day also slowly comes to an end.


DAY 4

For today, we head back to the port of Palermo, because we meet with the last operator of this trip; Seica Boat Palermo. After being greeted by the crew, we get on the boat, and enjoy another day exploring Palermo’s coast. We visit beautiful hidden caves, see some tuna jumping out of the water, enjoy some sun on the sun deck, and take a plunge in the blue water. Once again, we indulge in some Italian apéritif (because at this point Jonas has already had 3 pizzas throughout the trip, so mixing it up a bit was very welcomed) and then the last boat trip of this trip comes to an end. We are super happy and grateful for this experience, and would highly recommend going on a boat trip to also discover the hidden gems surrounding Palermo, like Monte Pellegrino, which you can admire from the water.

The aperitif during the boat trip with Seica Boat Palermo

Since we still have some time on our hands, we decide to explore the city of Palermo. It offers diverse history, shaped by civilizations from ancient settlements around 8000 BC to Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Arabs, which is reflected in its unique buildings and bustling markets. A must-see is definitely Via Roma, an important street in Palermo, which is an amazing place to do some souvenir shopping or treating yourself to some Italian delicacies.


The beautiful Palermo Cathedral

We have dinner at a restaurant a bit outside the city, enjoying the views over the ocean, while enjoying our well deserved pizza (at this point, we gave up on counting), before heading back to the hotel.


DAY 5

On our last day, we want to explore some spots outside the city centre. So we have breakfast, check out of the hotel, and go straight to the car to head to Cattedrale di Monreale, one of the 12 UNESCO world heritage sites in Palermo. The way there is very bumpy (by now we are already used to the streets in Sicily), but the amazing views definitely make up for it. Taking in the architecture, discovering the hidden alleys, and admiring the view over Palermo city and the ocean, it is really hard for us to move on to our last stop: Santuario di Santa Rosalia. The way there leads us to another hill, so we can still soak in more of the scenery, knowing we have to leave in the evening and take the plane back to Vienna. The Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, a church and pilgrimage site, is located on Via Bonanno just outside the urban neighborhoods of Palermo. Nestled against a stone cliff on Mount Pellegrino, it overlooks the Sicilian city from the north. It really offers an incredible sight, so we would also recommend going here if you have some extra time during your Sicily trip.

The beautiful view over Palermo as we make our way back from visiting the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia

And then it’s time to say goodbye to this beautiful island. Okay, not yet, because we need to make a stop at a certain fast food restaurant to check out the Italian offers (this is crucial during every trip), and actually we were not disappointed. It’s nothing like a traditional, Italian restaurant, of course, but there still were some special offers, inspired by the Italian cuisine.

Okay, so now that our stomachs are full, the camera storage used up, and the rental car is returned, we make our way back to Vienna, rich with lasting memories, tons of footage and lightly sunburnt faces. 

See you on our next adventures!

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