Starboard Sea in Sicily By Bike

Sicily by Bike: discover this land by bike with this 5-days Tour

Visit Marsala, Trapani and Selinunte during a bike tur of Sicily.

Starboard Sea in Sicily By Bike

Cultural cycling, Nature cycling, Self Guided Bike Tour
Tour duration: 5 days / 4 nights
Bike difficulty
Easy
Middle-Easy
Middle-Difficult
Difficult
Challenging

Description

Discover Sicily by bike with this natural and scenic charming tour that will immerse you in the typically mediterranean atmospheres of Sicily west coast at the slow pace of the bike. It is also adviced for families with children since the route is easy and mainly plain. The area you will explore, rich of wonderful architectural remains, will amaze you for its vivid and contrasting colours, especially at sunset, for its food delicacies and for the warmth and the hospitality of its local communities.


Tour Map


Tour Plan

DAY 1: MARSALA

Independent arrival in Marsala and check-in at selected hotel. Brochures, gps tracks, and hotel voucher collection, bike test. Optional free time to visit Marsala independently.

 

DAY 2: MARSALA – TRAPANI AND PACECO’S NATURAL RESERVE – STAGNONE’S SALTERNS AND MOTYA

Total km by bike: approx. 60 – Total ascent: negligible, approx. 200 m –  Route characteristics: 100% plain, approx. 90% asphalt + 10 % gravel road – Level of difficulty: easy

 

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure by bike for a full day excursion with free lunch. You will start cycling from Marsala towards Trapani and Paceco’s Salterns Natural Reserve, where you can enjoy the stunning colours of the surrounding landscape, marked by gathered salt mountains, sea, and typically Mediterranean greenery, as well as the windmills used for salt processing. If you are lucky, you can even ride into some species of mediterranean migratory birds living in the Reserve (inside it you can visit the Nubia Salt Museum, included in the official guide of European Union Mediterranean museums, collecting the ancient wotking tools used to process the salt). You will keep riding through the Trapani coast enjoying the stunning views on the Egadi islands until the Stagnone, the largest Sicilian lagoon included in a great natural environment with a breathtaking landscape. You will reach Mamma Caura and the pier to Motya Island, which you can reach (without bikes) with a small ferry. The island is an ancient Phoenician colony, one of the greatest archaelogical site in the world. Founded around the VIII century BC, it became one of the most thriving and popular colonies in the ancient Mediterranean, due to its convenient position. You will enjoy a two-hour visit of the Island, including the local archaeological museum. Back on dry land, you will ride along the coast back to Marsala, where you can visit a historical wine cellar and taste local wines. Once in the old town of Marsala, you can both admire important baroque architectures and visit the Baglio Anselmo Museum, where an ancient punic ship is preserved. Late in the afternoon, back to the hotel.

DAY 3: MARSALA – MAZARA

Total km by bike: approx. 27 – Total ascent: negligible –  Route characteristics: plain – 100% asphalt – Level of difficulty: easy

Very easy and short stopover. After breakfast at the hotel, you will pick up your bikes and leave towards Mazara del Vallo along a coast road enjoying stunning views on the beaches ansd the sea of West Sicily. Once in Mazara del Vallo, after visiting the harbour and its seafaring (third in Europe by number of boats), you can reach your hotel. After a break to get settled, you can enjoy some free time to visit independently the old town, its Arab alleys (you will feel immersed into an Arabian kasbah), its Norman Churches and the “Dancing Satyr” (a unique Hellenistic artwork fished out in the Strait of Sicily by Mazara fishermen).

 

DAY 4: MAZARA DEL VALLO – SELINUNTE

Total Km by bike: about 49 – Total ascent stage: 230 – Route characteristics: 60% flat, 40% hilly (up and down) – 100% asphalt – Level difficulty stage: medium – easy

Last day on the bike with a stage of about 49 kilometers, reassembled on the bicycle and after a coffee stop on the promontory of Capo Granitola, we will reach, crossing secondary roads with olive groves at the edge of the road, before Cave di Cusa, used for the construction of columns for the temples of the contiguous archaeological area, and subsequently Selinunte famous for its archaeological area, its wild beaches and its clear sea waters, immersed in the Natural Reserve of the mouth of the Belice river where the hotel selected for room accommodation will welcome you .

DAY 5 SELINUNTE AND END OF TOUR

Breakfast at the hotel, bicycle delivery at the end of the services. Time available for relaxation along the beaches of the beautiful seaside resort. On request it is possible to extend the stay in Selinunte.

 


Point of Interest (POI)

  • Marsala: old town and historical wine cellars
  • Trapani and Paceco’s Salterns Natural Reserve
  • Marsala’s Stagnone Salterns and Motya Island
  • Mazara and its old town alleys, typical of North-African cities
  • Cusa’s quarries
  • Selinunte’s archaeological area
  • Belice’s river mouth Natural Reserve


Book info







    € 420,00* per person

    Conditions

    ×

    NOTICE:

    The participation fee refers to a minimum of 2 participants, in the case of a single participant there is a supplement (see “excluded and / or extra services”)

    Departures are guaranteed from 1st March to 30th November every Tuesday, other dates on request and with payment of any supplement

     

    THE PRICE INCLUDES:

    4 nights in B&B formula in 3 or 4 star hotels and / or agritourism structures
    Medical baggage insurance
    Maps and information booklet with description of the routes and places of interest of the Tour (1 kit per room)
    Luggage transport between selected accommodation facilities
    Gps tracks routes
    Telephone assistance from 9.00 to 20.00

    THE FEE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

    Transfers from / to airports or from / to railway stations, except those included in the “the price includes” package
    Lunches and dinners
    Entrance fees to museums and tips
    Tips and tourist taxes to be paid, where required, directly at the selected accommodation facilities
    Anything not specified under “the fee includes”

    EXTRA SERVICES:

    Supplement n. 4 dinners including drinks (water and wine) in accommodation or restaurants with special agreements: € 120.00
    high season supplement (July and August) € 80.00
    extra night (B&B formula) in Marsala and / or Selinunte in double room per person € 50.00
    extra night (B&B formula) in Marsala and / or Selinunte in a single room € 75.00
    rental of 1 Trekking Bike (equipped with rear side bags, protective helmet and safety chain) € 70.00
    rental of 1 pedal assisted bicycle (equipped with rear side bags, protective helmet, repair kit, pump and safety chain, battery charger) € 140.00
    rear / front seat rental € 15.00
    trailer rental for children (max. 40 kg) € 30.00
    single participant fee supplement € 120.00
    Garmin Edge 820 rental € 15.00
    authorized escort cycle assistance for the entire duration of the bike tour € 800.00
    transfer from Palermo airport / Palermo city to Trapani (minimum 2 pax) fee per person € 40.00
    transfer from Trapani-Birgi Airport to Marsala (min. 2 pax) fee per person € 25.00
    transfer from Palermo airport / city to Marsala (min. 2 pax) fee per person € 40.00
    transfer from Selinunte to Trapani city or airport (min. 2 pax) fee per person € 40.00
    transfer from Selinunte to Palermo city or airport (min. 2 pax) fee per person € 40.00
    quotation for children (from 4 to 12 years) on request
    travel cancellation insurance due to illness (also COVID), conditions and fee per person on request
    supplementary accident insurance during the tour, conditions and fee per person on request
    RCT insurance in the event of an accident with the bicycle, conditions and fee per person on request
    bicycle theft insurance, conditions and fee per person on request
    other services quotation on request

    CANCELLATION CONDITIONS:

    from 28 to 14 days before the start of the tour, 50% of the total amount paid
    from 13 to 5 days before the start of the tour, 70% of the total amount paid
    from 4 days before the tour start date or no show 100% of the total amount paid

     

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    It is advisable to wear comfortable shoes, sportswear and to bring a helmet and a water bottle with you.

    Individual tour for people and also families with children with a minimum of athletic preparation. The pedal assisted bike is recommended for those who do not regularly use the bicycle and do not have a minimum of athletic preparation.

    For organizational, climatic reasons or related to provisions of local authorities beyond our control, the itinerary may undergo more or less considerable changes before and / or during the holiday. Along the route, for example, there may be temporary deviations due to road construction sites that are impossible to predict and which are normally reported on site.

    Departure date
    Each tuesday

    Place of departure
    Marsala

    Place of arrival
    Selinunte

    Total Km by bike
    136 km - 84.5 miles

    Total ascent
    450 m - 1476 ft

    Useful information
    It is advisable to wear comfortable shoes, sportswear and to bring a helmet and a water bottle with you.