The Egadi Islands (Isole Egadi in Italian, also called Aegadian Islands in English) are three islands off the western coast of Sicily, close to Trapani and Marsala, and conveniently located for Trapani Airport (a Ryanair base). The islands make an attractive holiday destination.
The Egadi Islands are not as dramatic as the volcanic Aeolian Islands, nor breathtakingly beautiful and exclusive like Capri. Their appeal is more low-key, but this, along with their accessibility, gives them their own brand of charm. Visitors can relax in a picturesque island piazza on Favignana with a cheap glass of wine, see prehistoric cave-paintings on the little picture-postcard island of Levanzo, or step further from the hectic world on Marettimo, for a leisurely holiday based around swimming and diving in the clear water around the coast, or hill-walking in the island's interior. There is a protected marine reserve around the islands, whose coastal waters contain caves, shipwrecks and rich marine life.
The Egadi Islands aren't much known to non-Italians, and outside the peak Italian holiday period of July-August, tourism isn't too intrusive. There are services for tourists - good places to stay, restaurants, cafes, shops, bike hire and boat trips - but you'll still encounter a very authentic and welcoming local atmosphere. It is really quite remarkable how easily and quickly you find yourself in a different world: pottering past the rickety fish stalls where Favignana's fishermen sell their catch, or sipping wine at a cafe table as a local wedding spills out from the Chiesa Madrice into the wide piazza, where small children play on their bicycles.
You could visit one, or even two, of the islands as a day trip from Trapani, but it would be a pity to rush your visit and miss the chance to sit and relax on the islands as the sun goes down
