Trapani Travel Guide

  Fishermen's procession in Trapani
by Ekaterinburg
 
  • Fishermen's procession in Trapani
      Fishermen's procession in Trapani
    by Ekaterinburg
  • In Trapani's lovely Old Town
      In Trapani's lovely Old Town
    by Ekaterinburg
  • Via Garibaldi
      Via Garibaldi
    by lotharscheer
  • Via Liberta
      Via Liberta
    by lotharscheer
  •   Trapani
    by Propermark
 

Pro

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 no tourist crowds, real local Italy, cheap prices, friendly people, landscape (sea and mountains) 


Con

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 not very lively on winter 


In a nutshell

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 a little town you might fall in love with 

 

Explore Trapani

Things to Do  

Place to buy some small things while travelling.

Place to buy some small things while travelling., Trapani

 elena_malta Says:  An assortment of staff that covers many needs related to everyday life and not only small hardware, stationery, household items, toys, cosmetics, beauty products, food, gifts .... pretty much everything, or almost. Latitudine : 38° 1' 8.25" N Longitudine : 12° 31' 7.21" E 

Salt Flats

Salt Flats, Trapani

 brendareed Says:  The salt flats is where the salt production occurs; extraction of salt from the sea water using the evaporation process has been going on here near Trapani for thousands of years.The way it works is the shallow flat “pans” in the earth are filled with salt water in February... 

Museo del Sale - Museum of the Salt Marshes

Museo del Sale - Museum of the Salt Marshes, Trapani

 brendareed Says:  In nearby Nubia located on the coast and just south of Trapani is the Museo del Sale, a museum situated in the heart of the salt pans nature preserve and dedicated to explaining the process of salt extraction. The museum was not easy to find but there were signs that got us... 

visit nearby Erice

visit nearby Erice, Trapani

 brendareed Says:  The idea of going to Erice intrigued us – it is situated high up on Monte San Giuliano some 721 meters (2,365 feet) high. It is a walled medieval city with a Norman castle. Beyond that, we didn’t know much more and were interested in visiting and learning about this town. We... 

Hotels  

Ai Lumi

 1 Review and 62 Opinions  We spent 5 nights in this B&B, we had a very good and big room, with a small balcony over the... 

Le Chiavi di San Francesco

 1 Review and 67 Opinions  We spent a long weekend at this hotel in February/March and found the staff to be very helpful.... 

Restaurants  

by Bettina (Basile Alberta): Sicilian food - eat where locals do!

by Bettina (Basile Alberta): Sicilian food - eat where locals do!, Trapani

 elena_malta Says:  First I liked the prices in the menu - then I liked the food and I was dining there almost every night during my stay in Trapani!http://www.elencoservizi24.com/elenco/SICILIA/Trapani/Trapani/++Altro/BASILE+ALBERTA.html Caponata alla Siciliana 

Cantina Siciliana: Not so good

Cantina Siciliana: Not so good, Trapani

 VittorioR Says:  It was a not-so-unforgettable experience in Trapani... Entry plate was very tiny, first course not so bad. After all, the bill was a little bit expensive. In Trapani there are some other restaurants offering a much better price to quality ratio. 

Antica Hosteria: Good food close to the harbour and the city centre

Antica Hosteria: Good food close to the harbour and the city centre, Trapani

 gmg61 Says:  This restaurant has a good location for tourists, because it's very close to the harbour and few hundred meters away from the city centre.Though it's not the most elegant restaurant we've ever visited, we've always had good food experiences. They serve local food and fresh... 

Pizzeria Mediterranea - Mario Aleci: Best Pizza EVER

Pizzeria Mediterranea -  Mario Aleci: Best Pizza EVER, Trapani

 MStars Says:  Originally we were supposed to go to some other pizza place that supposedly served the best pizza, but it was closed so we randomly found this place. The next day we went to the first pizza place, and decided that the place we found had ultimately the BEST pizza ever..... 

SERRISSO 47: wonderful gastronomic experience

SERRISSO 47: wonderful gastronomic experience, Trapani

 lforrro Says:  It's amazing how many of Trapani's best restaurants are disguised by unpretentious facades on the historical district’s side streets. This one, with its arched ceilings of stone, is hidden down a flight of steps behind the harbor (Siremar point).The cuisine based on... 

Transportation  

From the Airport

From the Airport, Trapani

 lotharscheer Says:  From the Airport is about every hour a bus (A.S.T.) to Trapani, €4,90.Salemi has a bus to Masala.Terravision (run by Salemi) to Palermo €13 and Trapani € 8, driver want´s to see somtimes your Ryanair ticket!Terravision to Trapani and Palermo.Taxi about € 32 to the train /... 

Trapani local Bus 

Trapani local Bus , Trapani

 lotharscheer Says:  Trapani welcome card for 3 day's unlimited city bus use, 1 return trip to Erice and 50% off different entrance fees € 9,50 is good value if you plan to go to Erice and stay at 2 day's, not if you go only to Erice. 

Trapani to Palermo

Trapani to Palermo, Trapani

 lotharscheer Says:  The busstation is next to the train station, the bus to Palermo is faster and more frequent then the train. The bus is also leaving from Trapani port. 

To and from Trapani Airport (Birgi)

To and from Trapani Airport (Birgi), Trapani

 Brit-a-broad Says:  On arrival at Trapani (Birgi) Airport, buy a ticket in the arrivals hall, the bus company is AST, and you will see a AST bus stop with a timetable right outside the the front of the arrivals hall. The tickets are 1euro70c (as at 30/10/2008). The bus stops at the train... 

Cable way to Erice

Cable way to Erice, Trapani

 juzz Says:  There is a cable way in the outskirt of Trapani, it's very comfortable, not crowded and it takes you just few meters from the entrance gate of the beautiful Erice. I really don't understand why people there fought for a place in the car park when the cable way is the most... 

Warnings and Dangers  

San Vito Lo Capo

San Vito Lo Capo, Trapani

 caputomaru Says:  If you ever go to San Vito keep very well in mind, as it is a very touristic place, at least among us locals and other italians, that in town is pratically impossible to park your car unless you show a ticket that proves you are a resident. so get organized well, easier if... 

Erice

Erice, Trapani

 caputomaru Says:  If you go on summer Erice is nearly all a pedestrain area , parking is only allowed all around the circular main road around the town.but many busses go up and down from Trapani regularly and since next summer the cable cab will be reactivated after 20 years cool !!!!!!! 

Tourist Traps  

Italians...
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3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

erikute3534 397 reviews

If you are not the person that knows a lot of languages (not perfect but..), you will find the problem comunicating.. Italians hardly speak other language apart from their mother language.. Is best you learn some important words (re directions, food etc..)

Unique Suggestions: Some words:
where is.... - Dov'e..? ( doaVAI)
how much.. - Quant'e? (kwahnTAI)
i dont understand - Non capisco ( non kahPEEskoa)
More you can find in most books for tourist.

Fun Alternatives: No alternatives... you have to know some Italian if you dont want to try 'funy' food , to get lost ect..

Written Jan 18, 2004

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Off The Beaten Path  

Egadi Islands

Egadi Islands, Trapani

 caputomaru Says:  Egadi islands are a set of three little island situated on the very west coast of Trapani, they are part of a maritime natural reserve.Favignana: Located about 17 kilometers southwest of Trapani, this is the largest of the Egadi, or Egidean, Islands. Still known for their... 

San Vito Lo Capo

San Vito Lo Capo, Trapani

 caputomaru Says:  San Vito Lo Capo is an amusing coastal little town, just 28 km. off to Trapani, with a great beach!Extending below Mount Cofano, a high pointed limestone cliff visible from a distance, San Vito is near the Zingaro Nature Reserve and the hamlet of Scopello, where some scenes... 

Favorites  

the good trapani
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2.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

extraweb 2 reviews

Favorite thing: The city is renowned for its Easter procession, I Misteri, when the town's guilds parade a groups of sculpted 17th century and 18th century religious statues through the streets in a procession lasting for 16 hours on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The 2007 is an year of big/little novelties in the Holy Week of Trapani. To begin with, the Corporation Union, the Holy See, and the Public Administration are again working together to give a new and deeper religious, social and cultural meaning to the Mysteries Procession. This year, as usual, we will try to tell about this novelties in this third edition of our publication. Another novelty is, indeed, in our publication that changed his name and content. After 2005 and 2006 Mysteries Procession Guide publications (in Italian language only), the 2007 edition introduces itself to the growing (in interests and in numbers) public as “PROCESSIONE DEI MISTERI.IT”.

In this new era of multimedia, we decided to extend our editorial efforts of producing maps, postcards and booklets for the multi-secular Mysteries Procession of Trapani and Erice to the entire World Wide Web. But we do not intend to limit our audience to people from Trapani or emigrated Sicilians only talking Italian or Sicilian languages. For this reason, this year, both the paper guide and the internet site are available in two languages: Italian and, most important novelty, in English. We really wish that this could be the very first step toward the direction of making the Holy Week of Trapani more known and appreciated in all the world.

This year, as usual, we also gave voice to the Holy Week in Trapani with interviews to the very protagonists of the procession organization. If you enter the site www.processionedeimisteri.it you can listen to these interviews (in italian).

Fondest memory: From 28 September to 9 October 2005 Trapani was the location of Acts 8 and 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup. This sailing race featured, among other entrants, all the boats that took part in the 2007 America's Cup.

Much of Trapani's economy still depends on the sea. Fishing and canning are an important local industries, with fishermen using the mattanza technique to catch tuna. Coral is also an important export, along with salt, marble and marsala wine. The nearby coast is lined with numerous salt-pans.

The city is also an important ferry port, with links to the Egadi Islands, Pantelleria, Sardinia and Tunisia.

Written Aug 28, 2007

Related to:
 Beaches
 Archeology
 Sailing and Boating

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Map of Trapani