Scopello – a destination in our hearts

Readers of The Times may have noticed Scopello featuring in the travel supplement on Saturday.

Scopello is a place dear to the hearts of the Crusader Travel staff. Both Bruce, Hedda and Shona have visited this part of Sicily on a number of occasions. We also have over 20 fantastic properties here, many of them right by the sea, at very affordable prices. It is a beautiful destination with a national park on its doorstep, a great diving destination and somewhere laid back and quiet, boasting a village style way of life.

The picture on the front of The Times travel supplement on Saturday is of the Tonnara (an old Tuna Fishing Factory) there. “When I first worked with this village the Dive Centre (Cetaria) had an office in the village and a base at the Tonnara, which was derelict but had a jetty,” Explains Bruce. “Since that time, over 10 years ago, the Tonnara has been converted to beachside apartments but makes most of its money from being an idyllic photogenic sort of place and is used for film shoots and weddings etc.”

Bruce likens Scopello to a Cornish Village in the Sun – largely unspoilt, it is largely protected from commercialism by the fact that the road into the village is a bit of a dead end. Many years ago the local authority had built a road over the ‘mountain’ to join up San Vito lo Capo, a sandy bigger resort which lies today the other side of the Lo Zingaro National Park.

The Park was created and the road was scrapped when the village of Scopello petitioned for it not to open. The village is wonderful, the little National Park is a delight – rich in Flora and Fauna – and has a museum in it dedicated to the extinct Tuna Fishing trade and lots of little coves and, of course, no cars.

On the other side, San Vito is also an excellent, but busier, resort with big beaches, a marina and an excellent PADI (Dive) centre. There’s a good range of hotels all and the resort is now famous for the Cous Cous Festival which it created to extend the season from early September to the month’s end. They run the Festival in the last 10 days of September and chefs from all over Italy take over hotel and restaurant kitchens and also take stalls in the streets. The festival has become so popular that rooms are tricky to find and prices go up – even though it is after the summer season.

You can read more about Scopello and our accomodation choices there on this page of our website.

Such is our love for Scopello here at Crusader Travel, we are giving away a family holiday in Scopello as the first prize of the Twickenham Festival Raffle! This will be a self-catered villa for a family of 4 & includes flights and car hire. More people can also be added for a supplement.

The Festival Raffle is in aid of Street Invest and Together as One. Street Invest supports street children throughout the world who are often forced to fend for themselves and it provides adults they can trust, guide & support them. Together as One is a Charity run by volunteers to help local people experiencing mental health difficulties. They have a drop in Centre on Twickenham Green which is great resource for many people who find themselves isolated and lonely because of this condition.  Both are Twickenham charities.