SWIM & EXPLORE
You will be swimming daily around the rocky coastline of Marettimo. This amazing Sicilian island can be described as the sea Dolomites, with impressive granite cliffs and beautiful scenarios. Best spots along the island will be chosen trying always to be sheltered by the prevalent winds. Coastal swims will have a length of approximately 5 km per day. Itineraries will be decided by the Swimtrekking instructors that will be guiding and swimming with the group to the final destinations. Swimtrekking will provide you 3 full days of coastal swims and 1 half day of specific coaching before the start of the expedition. During the swims as part of our contribution for the protection of the environment we rescue any plastics we found in the sea.
Equipment
Swimtrekking involves the use of specifically designed equipment.
Each Swimtrekker will tow a light weight, water tight barkino during swims. This is attached to the swimmer by a harness worn around the waist. Barkinos allow swimmers to carry drinking water, aqua shoes, lunch, spare equipment and anything else you will find useful for the days adventure as well as being a visible piece of safety equipment.
In addition to this, Swimtrekking will provide all guests with snorkel, fins and wetsuit. These items allow you to freely explore your underwater environment whilst giving you the personal protection required. Guests are free to bring along their own equipment. Because of the COVID19 mask and snorkel are not provided by the Club.
About Marettimo
is one of the Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily, Italy. It forms a part of the municipality (comune) of Favignana in the Province of Trapani. It takes about an hour to reach the island from Trapani…. (continue)
Dates of trip
20-23 June
Please note: for group bookings Swimtrekking can tailor the trip to the group specific needs/requirements/dates.
About the trip
Start point: Scalo Vecchio (Pippo & Maria House), Marettimo.
Start time: 20 June @ 3 pm meet your Swimtrekking Instructors at Scalo Vecchio (Pippo & Maria House). Check in, packed lunch, briefing and first swim in the afternoon.
Finish point: Scalo Vecchio (Pippo & Maria House), Marettimo.
Finish time: 23 June @ 12.00.
Typical day Swimtrekking
Breakfast and briefing.
Pack up your essentials for the day before heading out for the morning swim.
Short walk or shuttle transport to our start point for the day.
Once on the shoreline we kit up before beginning our morning adventure.
We’ll stop off in a cove for lunch, after which you have time to spend exploring the inland of Marettimo.
Once lunch has settled and everyone is ready to cool off in the water again, we continue our sea adventure off in search of groupers, sting rays, barracudas, sea bass, morays, pinna nobilis (the largest shell in the Mediterranean sea) and much more…
We work up a final appetite with a short walk in Marettimo before having dinner.
After dinner we stay in town for a drink or an ice cream.
Getting to Marettimo
Best way to reach Marettimo is to fly into Palermo from, Rome and other European destinations with: Ita Airways, Ryanair, Volotea, Vueling, Easyjet, Jetairfly, Lufthansa, Air Dolomiti, Swiss, Eurowings and then take the airport shuttle Autolinee Segesta to the port of Trapani. The shuttle will stop right in front at the ticket office of the ferry companies and with a half hour hydrofoil ride you can reach the island of Marettimo. Ferry companies that provide this service are Siremar and Liberty Lines .
Accommodation
In Marettimo we stay at traditional fisherman houses in comfortable apartments that accommodates 2-4 persons each. Fisherman houses are located in a central position in Marettimo, approximately a couple of minutes walking distance from the 2 main harbors of Marettimo. 
Food
Typical Italian breakfast is served each morning at 8:30 at central bar in the main square of Marettimo. Lunches will be a selection of sandwiches, fruit and snacks. Traditional Sicilian dinners e.g. pasta’s, fish etc. will be served each evening at local restaurants. The kitchen can cater for vegetarian and gluten free diets but please ensure you inform us of your dietary requirements on booking.
Temperatures and conditions
June – Average air temperature is 25°; Average sea temperature is 24° (degrees Celsius).
Sea conditions will vary according to the weather and currents. This all adds to the experience being in open water.
What to bring
On top of your normal clothes you should bring with you: a waterproof jacket, warm sweatshirt, walking shoes/sandals, sun hat and sun glasses. There are no cash points on the island so be sure that you bring some money for snacks, ice creams alcohol etc. all of which can be purchased from one of the two kiosks on the island.
Points of Interest
Punta Troia Castle
The Punta Troia Castle is one of the oldest monuments of the island of Marettimo…(continue)
The Roman Houses
Another face of the “archaeological” Marettimo is located at 250 meters above sea level and offers a unique panorama…(continue)
The Egadi islands
are intimately connected with the sea which surrounds them, and touring by boat is an obvious and attractive option. It’s possible to hire your own boat, or to take part in an excursion. At weekends and in the summer you are likely to be propositioned by boatmen around the harbour, offering trips around the island or to beaches. Otherwise, ask at one of the offices in town advertising boat excursions. Scuba-diving and snorkelling are popular activities around all of the Egadi Islands; the clear, clean waters are protected by a marine reserve. There are diving centres in Favignana town which organise excursions and lessons. If you are keen on fishing, or are interested in local traditions, you could consider joining a fisherman on a fishing trip – look out for signs advertising pescaturismo.
Favignana’s flat landscape
and scarcity of traffic make the island an ideal place to go cycling. There are many competing shops at the port and in town offering bicycle rental (noleggio bici) at cheap prices – when we visited, before the peak summer season, we paid just €2 per day for bike hire. You should take a passport or similar document as a guarantee. Get hold of a simple map, or follow the coastline, and you can sail along empty roads, and bump along scenic tracks to discover the remoter parts of the island and reach secluded coves. Within the eastern half of the island, within half a day you can visit dramatic tufa quarries, several beaches and rocky coves, the bizarre excavated landscape caused by tufa quarrying and a picturesque fishermen’s hamlet. It’s also possible to join guided tours by bike.
Favignana’s tufa quarries
are remarkable feature of the island. Some – such as the one which can be visited on the north-eastern coast, are caverns with vast, cathedral-like interiors. Others consist simply of pits where short-term cottage industry has eaten away the surface of the island – in some places the road and a house are left standing alone with the land around them all dug away to a depth of several metres. Some of these subterranean spaces are now cultivated and used for gardens or allotments; with their stone columns and stairways these are truly bizarre and memorable sights. One such garden, Villa Margherita, is open to the public, and can be toured by appointment.
The distances on Favignana
are small enough that walking is a possible way of seeing the island, though a bicycle is definitely more fun and more efficient on the long, flat stretches of road. The best walking excursion from Favignana town – and the most obvious – is up to the castle dominating the island’s hill. The route is straightforward – past the beach and out along a straight road from town, then zig-zagging up a paved stepped path. It is quite a climb, but nevertheless a popular outing in the late afternoon, once the heat of the day has passed. The castle, called the Forte di Santa Caterina, is officially closed to the public, but when I visited it was easy to enter the decrepit building and explore its extensive interior and terraces, all crumbling away in a state of abandonment. Dating from Norman times, and extended under the Spanish in the seventeenth century, the fortress is in a breathtaking location. The views from up here, on the ridge separating the island’s two halves, are worth the walk alone.
Important informations
Approximately daily swimming distance: 5 kilometers.
Program will be supervised by qualified Swimtrekking Instructors/Guides.
Swimtrekking Instructors/Guides will be responsible for all the camp organization and logistics.
Timing and itineraries can be modified according to the sea and weather conditions and may be cancelled.
