A Daytrip To The Egadi Islands, Italy – Tips For Ferry, Attractions And Food april 29, 2022 – Posted in: Italy, Travel – Tags: Attractions, Egadi Islands, Favignana, Food, Holiday, Italy, Sicily, Trapani, Travel

What to see on the Egadi Islands?

The Egadi Islands are located just off the coast of Trapani and are an obvious destination for a day trip. The largest is Favignana, and Levanzo the smallest but still inhabited and with hotels and restaurants, while Marettimo only has a single hotel. Favignana is the island that most tourists visit – and that also applies to us. However, we were so captivated by the beautiful islands that we must return, also to Levanzo and the popular Ristorante dell’Albergo Paradiso with the stunning views.

However, this article is primarily about Favignana, which we visited in April 2022. Here you can read about how to get to the island by ferry from Trapani, and what to see, eat and experience.

How to get to Favignana and the other Egadi Islands by ferry

You get to Favignana and the other two Aegadian Islands by taking the ferry from Trapani. You can find time tables and book your tickets here: Direct Ferries. There is room for quite a lot of passengers on the ferry, but there are also many tourists and locals who would like to go, so it is really a good idea to book a ticket in advance.

But how much time can you spend on Favignana? We had a whole day on the island, embarking from Trapani at 10 am and going back with the last ferry at 8 pm. A large part of the day was spent at the beach bar on the other side of the island but it was nice to have a full day on the island. The next time, however, we would like to have a couple of nights, because Favignana is absolutely wonderful. Here on the island, you can spend many hours just sipping a drink at Favignana Plaza, the city center square.

The ferry departs from the port of Trapani just south of Porta Oscura, and it takes about 50 minutes to get to Favignana. The ferry sails to the main town on the north side of the island, where you will find most sights and restaurants.

What to see on Favignana?

Most tourists rush to rent a bike, right when they get off the ferry, and head for one of the many beaches and beach bars that lie like pearls on a string, especially on the south side of the island.

However, you can also easily walk around, and it takes 20 minutes to walk across the island in the narrowest place. Along the way you will pass some of the many quarries on the island where the soft tuff has been mined for centuries. If you look up, you can glimpse the Norman castle Castello di Santa Caterina on the highest of the four mountain peaks .

When you arrive at Favignana, you also can’t fail to notice the large building that lies at the waterfront on the other side of the harbor. It is the former tuna factory, Florio delle Tonnare, which today has been transformed into a tuna museum. Tuna has always been of great importance to the area, and if you visit Favignana in May and June, you can see the large flocks of tuna swimming past.

The sights mentioned above are more or less what you’ll have time for on a day trip to Favignana. If you have several days available, also visit the Impossible Garden in Villa Margherita and see the 8,000 year old cave paintings in the Grotta del Genovese.

What to eat at Favignana?

In relation to the size of the island, Favignana offers surprisingly many and really good places to eat. Favignana’s probably best restaurant, Scaliddre Ristorante Siciliano, is located in one of the small, cozy streets in the center. It’s expensive, but here you get completely unique taste experiences that you can’t get elsewhere. Among other things, we tried their shrimp tartare and seafood carbonara. Remember to book a table well in advance if you want to be sure to get a seat.

As something very unique – and because of the traditions of the island – you can also get yourself a tuna kebab around the town square. Yes, a kebab with salad and pita bread and then tuna, caught by the local fishermen just off the coast. It tastes absolutely heavenly and can only be recommended.

More tips for your holiday in Trapani

Find a great hotel in Trapani

There are three areas you can choose to stay in when you visit Trapani: the old town, the new town and then in the medieval town of Erice. The old town is where it all happens with the shopping street Corso Vittorio Emanuele as a lively center. The new district is where the locals live in the smaller roads going in all directions from the long shopping street. Here you are also close to the best beaches. Erice is located on a mountain, making you dependent on the cable car, but in return yo have an amazing view over Trapani and the Egadi Islands.

On Booking.com you can see the hotels and holiday apartments in Trapani, and below you can also read our recommendations for Trapani. Please do your own search on Booking.com for a good hotel in Trapani right here:

Booking.com

Recommendations for an apartment and a hotel in Trapani

Hotel Punta Tipa in Trapani – click on the picture and read more!

Being in Trapani for a week, whe had the time to have both a city break and a beach holiday at our time in Trapani. The first days we stayed in an apartment in the center of the old town right by Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The restaurants, harbor and sights were right below our window, and it was nice to have your own kitchen.

During the week we moved to the relatively new and really nice beach hotel Punta Tipa, where the photo is from. Trapani is not (yet) patched up with beach hotels, and in fact Punta Tipa is one of the only ones. It is located just before the best beach in Trapani (at the university) and with the most beautiful view over the city.

From the hotel there are about 10 minutes walk up to the new town and 30 minutes to Torre dell’Orologio in the old town. Trapani is an expensive city to park in, with prices from 1 euro per hour inside the city center, but Punta Tipa is with its free parking spaces a good hotel for you who is renting a car and want to use Trapani as a base to get out and see a lot of sights in the area. Read more about the hotel by clicking on the links or photo.

See more great hotel in Trapani on Booking.com – click here!