July 2023
Boat Tour of Egadi Islands Favignana and Levanzo with Mare and More – Trapani, Sicily
One of the best parts of last year’s Sardinia trip was spending so much time exploring the crystal clear waters of the La Maddalena Archipelago. Sicily shares the same gorgeous sea waters so we were definitely going to incorporate this into our itinerary and this piece was one of the drivers for splitting our trip into the east and west.
The Egadi Islands sit in the northwest shores of Sicily and is composed of three main islands – Favignana, Levanzo, and Marettimo – and is the largest protected marine area in Europe. Favignana is the largest island and boasts a gorgeous coastline and has an active scene on land.
There are many companies that offer boat tours of the Egadi Islands for the opportunity to snorkel and experience the islands. We picked Mare and More due to their overwhelming amount of 5 star reviews, boats that had a max of 12 people, and an itinerary to explore both Favignana and Levanzo islands.
Once we checked in for the morning, we boarded our boat with two families with kids – both from Australia – who were so pleasant to enjoy the day with. We had a half hour ride to our first stops of the day.
The first part of the day included several stops around Favignana full of crystal clear water and beautiful beaches where we got to swim and enjoy the sea. The stops included Cala Rossa, Blue Marino, and Cala Azzurra. Cala Rossa is definitely one of the more famous spots on the trip and it showed as it was quite crowded. The water was wonderful and there were plenty of fish to enjoy while snorkeling. The only issue we had was the sea was also full of jellyfish so it was a bit of navigating and making sure to avoid getting stung. The boat also had fresh fruit and beverages, including wine, for the group to enjoy.
For lunch we docked at Favignana and had an hour and a half to eat and explore. Our guide recommended Tuna Fish City and it did not disappoint – these giant sandwiches are full of seafood goodness. We ordered Sandwich with fried squid with lettuce, tomato and an arancini with cuttlefish ink. While it is certainly a spot catered to tourists, we enjoyed our food a lot. We did a lap around the main square and found ourselves with an awkward amount of time left. There was too much time to go back to the boat and then not enough time to truly explore the rest of the island without a mode of transportation. We probably could have done a bit more with our time there but it was so hot! We hung in the shade and got a mediocre granita before heading back to the boat for the rest of the day.
We had one final stop on Favignana at Lovers ‘Cave (Grotta degli Innamorati) before heading to Levanzo about a twenty minute ride away. Our journey to Levanzo included stops at Faraglione, Cala Fredda, and Cala Minnola.
We loved our day exploring the Egadi Islands with Mare and More. Most importantly, our guide had safety as his number one priority. It was most notable that between the two Mare and More boats, we rescued three people from other boats that were left behind or struggling in the water. The sea current here was much stronger than snorkeling in other areas so I kept near the boat as swimming longer distances was more tiring and exhausting than in other waters. This time of year, jelly fish are common but since the water is so clear, you are able to swim around them to avoid being stung.
I would highly recommend Mare and More for exploring the Egadi Islands. It makes for a perfect day on your Trapani itinerary and really should not be missed when visiting.
