Experience package
Private tour in western Sicily
Categories
A private journey along the coast of western Sicily following one of the stories that for centuries has united sea, men and communities: that of the bluefin tuna and the tuna traps.
We will not simply visit places linked to fishing. We will enter the kitchen, meet those who still keep the memory of the sea, get to know the world of the tonnaroti and the rais, and cross fishing villages and natural landscapes as far as San Vito Lo Capo.
Three days to follow tuna from the sea to the nets, from the hands of men to the kitchen and finally to the table, discovering how much this ancient fishing has contributed to building the identity of the Trapani coast.
The journey is organised as a private tour, with dedicated transfers by car or minivan with driver and services scheduled exclusively for the participants, according to the configuration chosen.
Arrival in Trapani and check-in at the selected accommodation.
In the afternoon we will start from the historic centre and the sea, slowly entering a city that for centuries has built part of its identity on its relationship with the Mediterranean.
Then it will be time to put our hands in the kitchen.
We will meet a traditional chef or cook and take part in a cooking class devoted to the cuisine of tuna and the local catch. We will not simply watch: together we will prepare a recipe and discover how bottarga, ventresca, lattume and other cuts and preparations of tuna entered the gastronomic tradition of the Trapani coast.
At the end of the cooking class we will eat what we have helped to prepare, accompanied by other flavours of the territory.
It will be the first step of our journey: from the sea to the hands, from the hands to the table.
Overnight stay in the Trapani area.
Breakfast and departure by dedicated private vehicle to Custonaci.
We will meet a local producer and enter the world of the area's extra virgin olive oil, following its path from the olive tree to the tasting. Depending on the time of year, the experience may take different forms and bring us even closer to the gestures and rhythms of production.
We will continue to Monte Cofano and Grotta Mangiapane, entering one of the most unusual places in western Sicily.
Inside the large natural cavity we will discover a small world made of dwellings, stables and workspaces, testimony of a community that lived in close relationship with the land, livestock and the sea.
Then we will go down to Bonagia, an ancient fishing village overlooking the gulf.
Here we will enter the heart of the history of tuna fishing.
Through the spaces and testimonies linked to the tuna trap we will learn about the role of the rais, the organisation of the tonnaroti, the boats, the nets and the long wait that preceded the arrival of the tuna.
When availability allows, we will also seek the voice of those who still keep this memory: a fisherman, a local witness or someone tied to the history of the tuna traps.
A knot, a net, a cialoma, a word of the sea may turn from simple details into fragments of a story that continues to live.
The day will continue with a gastronomic experience devoted to the different preparations of tuna and to local products.
Return by private vehicle.
Dinner and overnight stay in the Trapani/Valderice area.
Breakfast and departure by private vehicle to San Vito Lo Capo.
We will follow the coast in search of the traces left by the relationship between man and sea: watchtowers, ancient sites tied to the tuna traps, small villages and landscapes in which tuna fishing was part of community life for centuries.
We will reach San Vito Lo Capo, where we will stop for a lunch devoted to the area's seafood cooking.
Here the story of tuna will also meet another great tradition of western Sicily: fish couscous, an expression of that Mediterranean made of fishing, encounters and cultural exchange that we will have followed throughout the journey.
In the afternoon we will reach Macari.
The landscape will almost be the final point of our story. In front of us we will see again Monte Cofano, the sea and that coast which over the three days we will have learned to read in a different way.
At the end of the visits, private transfer to Trapani or another agreed location and end of services.
Three days earlier we simply had tuna in front of us. Now, behind that product, we will recognise a sea, a rais, the tonnaroti, the nets, the boats, a cuisine and entire communities.
2 overnight stays in the Trapani/Valderice area in a hotel, B&B or selected boutique accommodation.
The tour is organised on request and is subject to the availability of the accommodation, producers and planned experiences. Some meetings with fishermen, witnesses of tuna-trap culture or other local protagonists depend on their actual availability. Experiences may vary in sequence or timing for operational, seasonal or weather reasons.
Tell us the dates of your trip and the number of travellers: we will check the availability of the experiences, the accommodation and the private services and prepare a proposal built around the needs of your trip.
Tuna and Tuna Traps