Before it was called Favignana, this island was known as Egusa, from the Greek Aigousa: “the one that has goats”, a name rooted in the reality of a place where animals outnumbered people. The Romans knew it as Aegusa, and in its waters in 241 BC the naval battle that ended the First Punic War was fought; a decisive Roman victory, in the same waters that today you cross by dinghy from one cove to the next.

Arab geographers called it Djazirat ar Rahib, “island of the monk”, after a Norman castle built on the island’s highest peak, the Castello di Santa Caterina, where a hermit is said to have withdrawn from the world. That castle is still there: 314 metres above sea level, with views over the entire Egadi archipelago and the Trapani coastline. The painter Salvatore Fiume described it as a “butterfly on the sea”, and anyone who flies over it or looks at it on a map immediately understands why. The current name comes from the Favonio, the warm, steady westerly wind that keeps the climate mild even out of season.

The island covers about 19 km² with 33 km of irregular coastline, full of caves, crevices and coves that open up without warning between the rocks. The vegetation is sparser today than in ancient times, stripped away over the centuries, but the landscape has a ruggedness that makes it unmistakable: pale rock, Mediterranean scrub, and a sea that changes colour every half hour.

Favignana’s beaches and coves

Favignana has little fine, continuous sand, plenty of rock shaped by millennia of water, and perfect coves for swimming and diving. It is precisely this that makes it unique in the eyes of those who visit.

Cala Rossa is the most photographed spot on the island, and the photographs do not lie: the limestone rock, streaked with red and white, drops into turquoise water with a sheer verticality that leaves an impression even on a third visit. This is not a beach for lying down; it is a setting. You can reach it by bike in fifteen minutes from the village, along a flat road that cuts through the tufa stone.

Cala Azzurra, on the opposite side of the island, is the destination for snorkelling: shallow seabed, crystal-clear water, fish visible to the naked eye right from the shore. It also has a small beach of smooth rocks where it is worth staying until sunset.

The two proper sandy beaches, Spiaggia Praia and Lido Burrone, are ideal for families with young children: a gently sloping seabed, shallow water and nearby facilities. Lido Burrone is the more organised of the two, with beach clubs and bars; Praia is quieter and more sheltered. Cala Rotonda has a natural arch in the rock that, at the right time of the afternoon, frames the setting sun perfectly. Cala San Nicola, less visited than the others, is worth the detour for the silence and for the nearby archaeological site.

There is more to discover along the coastline. The rocky shores of Bue Marino and Scalo Cavallo are popular with those who enjoy diving into deep water from a few metres up; for more experienced divers, Punta Fanfalo is the more demanding option. Calamoni, Punta Longa, Preveto with its pebbles and the small Marasolo beach complete a coastline that never stops surprising.

Finally, for those who want to explore by water, the Grotta degli Innamorati and the Grotta Perciata are accessible only by sea, and they are among the main reasons why hiring a dinghy or booking a boat trip is one of the most worthwhile things you can do on the island.

Things to do in Favignana beyond the sea

Favignana is small, but there is no shortage of things to see and do. The Museum of the former Florio Tuna Factory is where you begin to understand what made this island important for the better part of two centuries. The Florio family bought Favignana in 1874 and turned the industrial tuna processing plant into one of the most advanced facilities in the Mediterranean for the handling of bluefin tuna. The building itself is imposing, built in tufa stone, and the guided tours tell, without unnecessary rhetoric, the story of an economy that shaped every aspect of island life.

From there, it is worth visiting the tufa quarries and the hypogeal gardens, one of the most unusual sights on the island. For centuries, the pirriatori quarrymen extracted calcarenite blocks by hand, the same stone used to build palaces, churches and homes across Sicily and North Africa. What remains are large, geometrically precise cuts in the rock, deep and silent, where today lush plants and privately tended gardens have taken root in the recovered spaces.

The Castello di Santa Caterina rewards the effort of the climb with views over the archipelago that are hard to forget. If walking up is not appealing, local tours offer the option of reaching the summit by donkey, one of the more unusual activities the island has to offer. For those who prefer to go on foot, the Monte Santa Caterina has trails through the scrubland that look different in every season.

Punta Sottile, on the western tip of the island, is the place to wait for sunset: the lighthouse, the open sea, the sun going down. No planning required; you just need to get there in time. For photographers, the island offers good light from early morning through to dusk, with the middle hours ideal for the colours of the sea and the low-angle hours better suited to the tufa stone architecture of the historic centre.

The village itself is easy to cover on foot: the two main squares and the small harbour take about twenty minutes at a relaxed pace. The seafront promenade looks out towards Levanzo and has a handful of bars where you can sit with a granita or a gelato and watch the ferries come and go. In the local pastry shops, cassatine, cassatelle and cannoli are still made to traditional recipes. Among the products worth bringing home, bottarga, ventresca and oil-packed tuna from the tonnara are the most authentic choices; the small tufa sculptures made by local craftsmen are the most original souvenir you will find.

Getting to Favignana

The starting point is almost always Trapani. The Liberty Lines hydrofoils run hourly from morning to evening, covering the crossing in 20 minutes on the direct service, or 30 minutes if the boat also stops at Levanzo. The ticket office is right in front of the departure pier. In summer, booking online in advance is recommended to avoid queues, especially on July and August weekends.

Ferries take just over an hour but allow you to bring bicycles, scooters and cars on board. The ticket office and boarding point are located at the maritime station of Trapani port. Here too, advance booking is advisable in high season. For tailored arrangements based on specific schedules or group sizes, local operators running boat excursions and maritime transfers can organise solutions on request.

Exploring the island by boat

Many of Favignana’s finest sights cannot be seen from land. The sea caves, the underwater scenery along the cliffs, the profile of the coastline seen from open water: all of this requires a boat. Day excursions run by local operators allow you to reach, in a single day, Bue Marino, Cala Azzurra, Cala Rossa and the Grotta degli Innamorati, with stops for swimming and snorkelling in the most sheltered coves. Some tours extend to Levanzo, the nearest island, with its prehistoric caves and still-intact seabeds. Those who prefer to move independently can hire a dinghy directly from Favignana harbour.