San Vito Lo Capo / Sicily

Sicily is a much bigger island than one would expect. There are two airports on either side of the island, so most people would explore just that part of the island. It’s an interesting part of Italy, vastly different in many respects to the north and one could easily spend two weeks exploring the island at Italian pace. 

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Day 1

After our introduction to Sicily in Palermo we made our way west towards San Vito Lo Copa. A small beach town on a northern tip of the island. Our base for three nights was a small bed & breakfast run by a young Sicilian family that had called San Vito home since birth. 

We unpacked and a had a quick look around the town before grabbing essential snacks. I loved San Vito almost immediately, it was just a different vibe to anywhere we’d stayed. I put it down to a combination of the shoulder season and that it’s a destination that isn’t on everyones radar. 

I made the most of the afternoon sun with snacks, beer and sleep while Monita prepped for her Skype interview later that night (she got the job). Before said interview we headed just out of town to Azzurra Makari for views, food and a sunset. The great thing about travelling as a couple who don’t require mass portions of food, is that a starter and a main is usually enough to keep our stomachs happy, and our wallets even happier!

Day 2

The previous day we had wondered upon a small take away shop near the beach selling tasty deli food, and of course Aracini. Unfortunately he had ran out of vegetarian ones so he said come back the next day and he’ll have some ready for us. As we waited for them, we explored more of the streets. And it was so quiet, I feel like we must have been the only tourists around! The main stop for the day was Parcheggio Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro. As we arrived the clouds parted and the sun arrived like clock work. We proceeded to chill and relax all cool. 

The next stop after a refuel at the BnB was Tonnara di Scopello. A walled medieval tuna-fishing estate which is now a museum & inn. I thought it was open to the public but as we started walking down the road we were stopped saying the area was closed to visitors. Annoyed because we had driven an hour to get there, I climbed across the hill to peak into the place. There is even signs saying no photos allowed when you go down to the beach. We drove back to San Vito and had dinner at a local hotel restaurant, making the most of the fresh seafood and Italian pasta. 

Day 3

With no plans for our last day in Sicily we walked back into town for some lunch at Tasty (which was in fact very tasty) and gelato. Another afternoon of chilling out we decided to head to Monte Cofano nature reserve. The late afternoon sun got me super excited as the weather had cleared and the light was beautiful. We started following the track that hugged the coast line. It was so cool, like so cool. And during the two hours we walked we saw three other people. It was incredible. There is a loop track around the national park but we walked about half way and came back the same way. The sun quickly dipped below the horizon as we got back to the carpark. We drove back to the BnB, grabbed dinner on the way and felt absolute relaxation.