Late beach life in the west of Sicily

Trapani (gro) The wildly romantic Zingaro Nature Park in the far west of Sicily has been experiencing a huge rush of vacationers from more northern latitudes of Europe since mid-October. It is mainly Englishmen and Germans who populate the natural park, which has existed since 1980 and is therefore the oldest in Sicily, writes Giuseppe Riggio in the “Repubblica“.   He says there are thousands who are taking advantage of the glorious late Sicilian summer to take advantage of the largely unspoiled beaches around Capo San Vito and Scopello in the province of Trapani. And the late summer continues into November.

Ryanair’s cheap flights are keeping the supply coming.

According to Giuseppe Riggio, one of the reasons that so many vacationers are still showing up at the end of October is the exceptionally low fares currently offered by Ryanair. He said Englishmen proudly showed him airline tickets for a whole 25 euros from Manchester to Trapani. Also from Germany Trapani is very favorable to reach. That’s why the Trapanese  have long since made friends with the designation of the Nature Park Zingarobehind  Castellammare del Golfo to San Vito Lo Capo, which was fiercely disputed for several years, not least because of the associated ban on building. Roads are also not allowed to be built in the Zingaro, where there is a strict ban on  motor vehicles. Only slopes on natural terrain are allowed.

More and more vacation apartment on the edge of the natural park.

While the ban on building in the Natural Park also applies to vacation homes, all the more have sprung up in the  outskirts beyond the boundaries of the protected area, especially in Capo San Vito, in Scopello and in Valderice, as well as in the beautifully preserved medieval mountain town of Erice, whose all-around fortification, according to legend, was built  by the Greek demigod Heracles. Also the number of attractive vacation homes and vacation villas in this region has risen sharply in recent years.