Macari – the BEST summer wild camping location in Europe

One day on our way from Trapani to San Vito Lo Capo, we spotted a big dirt parking lot with a row of campers parked with full Tyrrhenian sea view (google maps pin). This looked too good to be true, so we polled up with our car and I asked one Italian family in a camper if it’s possible to spend the night there, they laughed and said in Italian – “Free, safe, sleep, for as long as you want!”.
On the next day we brought our caravan as well, and saddled down for the next 2 weeks. When we arrived, we looked out our bedroom window – and this is what we saw:

So we thought to our self’s “It doesn’t get any better than this!” But we were wrong; it only got better and better.

On the next morning we were woken up by a honking car, and a lady yelling: “Pane” (Italian for “bread”).
Ashlee kicked me out of bed so I’ll go find out what does she has. I left the caravan in haste, as you’ll be able to see in the photo bellow and waved to come back. She pulled up in her little white car, opened the back door – and reviled the best smell you can ask for upon waking up in the morning. The smell you can only imagine, but the way it looked like – I can show you:

We bought fresh bread and Nutella donuts, and we told her to come back tomorrow as well. Since then, every morning she paid as a sweet visit (:

On the next day a fisherman came and yelled: “Pesce” (Italian for fish). So we bought a kilo of shrimps that ended up on our BBQ that night.

As for the beach itself, it is in fact a cluster of beaches each one with its own charm. There is a free shuttle “train” that takes you from the parking lot and stops at each one of the beaches – so you don’t even have to walk to the beach. This makes it ideal for hanging out at a different beach every day without even turning your engine on (see the map attached next to understand the layout of this amazing place).

 

 

An absolute paradise! If you still need more reasons to come to Macarai it is also very conveniently located, only 15 min from the amazing ZINGARO natural reserve (the next item on this list) and 10 min from San Vito Lo Capo – that is home to the 3rd beach on this list, but far more important – it is home to the best Cannolo (cannoli) in Italy. More about this amazing desert and the rest of our culinary tips for this area and all of Sicily, check out our post – Food in Sicily (_____post link).

Zingaro Natural reserve – Best snorkeling and cleanest water in Sicily.

 

The reserve is about 7km of a protected coast line, with numerous hiking trails, bird watching spots and of course more beaches than you could visit in one day there.
You can enter from the north entrance (google maps pin) , 10 min from San Vito Lo Capo, or from the south one (google maps pin), 45 min from San Vito Lo Capo. Notice that neither waze nor google maps navigation are familiar with the north entrance – so don’t use them. Follow the pin above, and you will find a good road all the way to the north entrance. It is recommended to arrive early in the morning for a closer parking option and so that you will have time to hop between at least 2 beaches. We went there twice, so don’t be too impressed by the amount of beaches we visited.
The entrance costs 5 euro a person to get in, and you will receive a map and an explanation of the trail’s duration from the guy at the counter. Everywhere you will read about this reserve it will say that there is no drinking water or food available past the entrance. Well, we found a great secret pit stop along the way. But will get to him later.
Beaches:

 

 

Keep in mind that if you enter from the south it is about 20 min of walking, with no shade, to get to the first beach and about 40 min more to get from there to the second one. We didn’t anticipated the duration of walking nor the extreme heat, and we didn’t have enough water with us. A little before arriving to the second beach Ashlee saw a sign (that is very easy to miss) saying “FRESH FRUIT” and a little path downhill. “If there is fruit there will be water!” I said and we went downhill. There we met Massimo, the only permanent resident of this reserve and a fascinating guy. (you will find him about 100-200m south of “Calla della Disa”).

Massimo offered us cold watermelon for a few euros and to refill our water for free. A true oasis in the desert!

After our refreshing fruit we chatted with him for a little while. Massimo is the only resident of the reserve since his father purchased the land there for agricultural porpoises 30 years ago (before it was a reserve). Hi produces sugar from palm trees and fish his own food. His house was build a 100 years ago, and it is surrounded with hammocks under fruit trees which he makes cakes and jams out of the fruit they grow.

He offers tourists to stay in his house in the most quiet place you will ever stay in. He will take you out fishing on his fishing boat, and he will cook you all meals in his wood fire oven. He charges 70€ a night per person for full room & board, but you are guaranteed a memorable experience.

 

 

San Vito Lo Capo
The beach here is very nice, crystal clear blue water, has allot of fish, but also has allot of people. This is the busiest beach on this list, perhaps because it is easily accessible or because of its proximity to a town full of restaurants and vendors.

We preferred Macari by far! But, if you listen to me and you are going to be camping at macari for a while, then it is definitely worth a visit.
If you came here, don’t forget to try the cannoli! Read about it in our blog post (_____ post link)
Spiaggia della Scala dei Turchi

This beach was the setting to one of the best sunsets that we ever saw, and it provides a great place to lie back on the beautiful white limestone cliff and gaze into the sunset.

It is located on the western coast, and takes about 2.5 hours to drive to from San Vito Lo Capo. The entrance is through a restaurant (google maps pin), and it’s about a 10 min walk from there to the cliff you came to see.  It’s a little tricky, so just go exactly to the pin listed above.

The water here are much more rough than the water in the northern part of the island, and they don’t make a great swim. Going here is more for the scenery which is well worth it.

 

 

Check out some of the local treasures and vintage jewelry we found in this region on our online store at: Gourmet Vintage