Segesta Erice and Salt Pans Full-Day Trip from Palermo

The Greek Temple and Theatre of Segesta

Segesta is the reason many travellers look for a Segesta day trip from Palermo. Its Doric temple, built around 430 BC by the Elymians, the ancient people of western Sicily, has 36 columns and was never finished: there is no roof, and the columns were never fluted, which gives it a stark, timeless look against the open hills. The park lies on Monte Barbaro.

Most visitors also take the shuttle or the uphill path to the theatre cut into the summit, where stone seats face the Gulf of Castellammare. Allow about an hour and a half, as on this trip. Is Segesta worth visiting? Yes, especially in spring and autumn when the light is soft. The best time to visit Segesta is early, which suits this morning departure. Park entrance is paid separately on site.

The Trapani Salt Pans at Nubia

South of Trapani, the flat lagoons of the salt pans have produced sea salt since Phoenician times. The shallow rectangular basins change colour with the season, from pale grey to pink, and old windmills once used to move seawater between the ponds still stand beside the water. The area around Nubia belongs to a protected nature reserve, and in some months flamingos and other migratory birds feed in the lagoons.

A stop of around half an hour is enough to walk along the edge of the pans, photograph the windmills and see the salt piled in white heaps under terracotta tiles, especially in summer when the harvest is under way. A Trapani salt pans visit works best in the bright afternoon light, and the mirror-like water makes it a photogenic stop. Any museum entry here is optional and paid on the spot.

Erice, the Medieval Town on Monte Erice

Erice clings to the top of Monte Erice at about 750 metres, often wrapped in cloud, with cobbled lanes, stone courtyards and small churches. The hill was sacred to the Elymians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, who honoured a goddess of love here, and the Norman Castello di Venere later rose on the site of her temple. From the castle gardens you look down over Trapani and, on clear days, the Egadi Islands.

With about two and a quarter hours in the town there is time to walk the walls, step into the Chiesa Madre, browse the ceramic shops and have lunch. If you are searching for how to get to Erice from Palermo, public transport means a bus to Trapani and then the cable car or a local bus, so a day trip to Erice from Palermo saves the logistics. Bring a light jacket, as it is cooler up there.

The Scenic Drive Across Western Sicily

The route leaves Palermo and crosses the green hills of the interior before dropping towards the western coast, with views of vineyards, wheat fields and distant mountains. The whole itinerary follows the lands of the Elymians, one of the earliest peoples of this corner of Sicily, and each stop shows a different side of their world: a temple, a salt coast and a mountain sanctuary.

Distances between the stops are short, roughly 40 minutes between Segesta and the salt pans and about half an hour on to Erice, so most of the day is spent on your feet rather than in the van. The driver looks after the road, and the English booklet gives background while you travel.