Monte Cofano is reached on foot from the house. Segesta is twenty minutes away, Erice thirty, and boats leave for the Aegadian Islands from the port of Trapani. Western Sicily, all within half an hour.
These are the places we recommend to every guest, in order of how long it takes to get there.
For walkers, hikers and cyclists: a conservation park with rangers who hand out maps and advice for the day's walks. The main path runs along the coast at the foot of the mountain, with spectacular views and signs telling the story of the place. It is reached on foot from the villa.
A few minutes from the villa, a small cluster of dwellings carved into the rock, already inhabited in the Palaeolithic. It hosts the living nativity scene and several films have been shot here.
One of the most striking ancient sites in Sicily, just twenty minutes by car: the Doric temple and the Greek theatre on the hilltop, looking out over the whole valley.
Probably the best preserved historic town in Sicily — and in Italy. It is thirty minutes away by car, and you can already see it on its hilltop from Villa Etesia.
Daily trips and ferries leave the port of Trapani for Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo: clear water, coves and boat tours. Book the day before.
Sicily's oldest and best known nature reserve is thirty minutes away by car: it runs from San Vito Lo Capo to Scopello, in the gulf between Castellammare del Golfo and Trapani. Paths above the sea and coves you can only reach on foot.
Photographs of these places from Wikimedia Commons, cropped: Monte Cofano by Krisjanis Mezulis (CC0) · Mangiapane Cave by Berthold Werner (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Segesta by Ludvig14 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Erice by Berthold Werner (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Levanzo by Simonetta Viterbi (CC BY 2.0) · Zingaro Reserve by Filippo Piazza (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Advice from people who know the place: how to plan seven days without ever having to rush.
Settle in slowly, do the shopping and walk the hundred and fifty metres down to the beach at Cornino. In the evening, dinner on the terrace watching the sunset.
An early start and the coastal path at the foot of the mountain, which begins practically at the door. A swim in a cove and back before the hottest hours.
The town you can see from the villa, half an hour away by car: narrow lanes, Norman walls, the view over the whole gulf and almond pastries.
Ferry from the port of Trapani to Favignana or Levanzo, a tour of the coves and back in the late afternoon.
The temple in the morning, while there is still shade, and on the way back the houses inside the rock at the Mangiapane Cave.
Half an hour by car towards San Vito Lo Capo, then the coastal path and the coves you can only reach on foot. Comfortable shoes and water.
A long breakfast, a book under the pergola, a barbecue in the shade and one last swim before the suitcases go back in the car.
Tell us when you'd like to come: we'll send you availability, the price and a few more tips on what to see.