Residenza Biondo: A Budget-Friendly Accommodation For Sicily

Experience the Local life in Sicily

Those that have seen the wonderful photos I made during my stay in Sicily were probably expecting for this blog post. As I have already mentioned, I spent 10 days on this gorgeous Italian island and I never regretted that decision. 

My Sicily vacation is one of my all-time favorites. Sicily is one of the places I would love to visit again in the future.

I started my trip from New Jersey, USA, and  I flew to Palermo to meet Milena and there we rented a nice Nissan Micra for the rest of the trip . We were anxious to arrive in Trappeto,  a small seaside town far less known than top spots like Cefalu or San Vito Lo Capo, where our accommodation was located, Residenza Biondo.

First Impressions

We got in front of our accommodation, Residenza Biondo, around noon and there was next to nobody on the streets of Trappeto. I was a bit worried we arrived in the city of ghosts, but later we discovered that everyone was just relaxing during the hottest hours of the day.

We were welcomed by the amazing host Erina, who is a beautiful Italian lady and a very friendly person. She told us where to park the car, took us to our room and gave useful information about getting around. She also included a bottle of water, some fruit and I think a small bottle of wine in the fridge; everyone would agree that’s a great way to be welcomed somewhere.

We were happy.

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Building

The building is just a regular building, but in a better shape than the rest of the buildings in Trappeto. Inside it was very clean and nicely designed. It was obvious that Erina took good care of the place and that gave it a special charm. I noticed that the main door was locked and I felt secure knowing that outsiders can’t just randomly enter the premises.

Surroundings

Trappeto is a small town and all the streets, the one Biondo is located included, are pretty much the same. Narrow streets, generally old buildings and bags of rubbish hanging on hooks… later we discovered that that’s the way people throw away their garbage here; it is a usual view nonetheless. However, a few steps from the hotel you get to the seaside and are amazed by a wonderful dark blue horizon.

Parking

It wasn’t possible to park the car in front of the building and that made me anxious a bit. However, there are several large parking spots several streets away, plus tourists are allowed to park by some of the streets that are overlooked from the rooms; needless to say, you need to be really lucky to find a spot there.

Room

Our room, or more precisely apartment, was just great. It featured a small, yet functional kitchen, dining table, sofa, mini balcony, bathroom, a separate well-furnished bedroom and another mini balcony. It was clean, nicely designed and tastefully ornamented; I really can’t complain about anything regarding the accommodation.

Staff

Erina is the owner of Residenza Biondo, and she was absolutely amazing. Except for Erina we never met anyone else employed at the place.

During the Stay

During our stay, we spent our time mostly driving around Sicily. I would advise anyone going there to rent a car and just drive; literally, every town has something to offer, every spot is charming and attractive and there are so many things to see that 10 days were far from enough to explore everything. Below I will list the things and places we visited just so you have an idea what could you accomplish in ten days:

Cities to Visit in Sicily

Trappeto

Charming little town, quite cheap, with a few great places to enjoy Italian cuisine. Not that popular among tourists, thus it’s quiet at night, but also a bit boring. I wasn’t satisfied with the beach in Trappeto, which is not near, nor fantastic. But I must confess that we were unlucky and caught windy weather, so maybe that was partly the reason why the beach and the sea weren’t as clean as I would like them to be;

Balestrate

Neighboring town of Trappeto, the place we chose as our first stop. We liked the wide sandy beach there and the crystal clear sea (even during windy periods). There was a bar where you can eat or have a coffee. There were both organized beach bars with sunbeds and umbrellas as well as areas where you could place your own stuff;

Castellammare del Golfo

Nice for a quick stop, nothing special though. I expected more from this little town, with a nice tower and narrow authentic streets. It was close to empty, which I found very surprising;

San Vito Lo Capo

Possibly the biggest fail of our trip, San Vito Lo Capo took us hours to get to and then welcomed us with a crazy wind that made it impossible to enjoy the beach.

Without wind, this place is like a fairy-tale, but we got flying sand and 2-meter high waves instead. Nevertheless, this top destination is charming, expensive and popular i.e. a good choice for trendsetters;

Cefalu

Yup, the wind was there as well. Plus, we went to Cefalu after spending most of the day in Palermo, so it was around 5 PM when we got there; we were tired and hungry after we ate it was getting dark already so no beach again.

Anyway, we definitely fell in love with Cefalu, it is a great spot, with lots of shops, boutiques, restaurants, and a wonderful cathedral. A must-see I would say;

Palermo

I just didn’t like this city. We were driving around, walking around and I just didn’t fell for it. It’s big, it’s dirty, it’s crowded. Not my cup of tea.

Plus, Palermo is popular for the catacombs and I definitely didn’t want to go there; but if you’re into such things, Palermo is the place to go;

Erice 

Words and pictures can’t describe how captivating and mesmerizing Erice is. This medieval town is absolutely a must-see when in Sicily.

Advice for car renters

Before ending this post, I would like to mention a misfortunate event with the car. Namely, we didn’t want to pay an additional amount for insurance and somehow after 10 days the last morning, we woke to a damaged car. I can’t say what happened or even when that happened; however, when we got the airport we went to find the guy to return the car and when we got back to the car – boom – there was a huge scratch on the driver’s side.

Obviously, we couldn’t do anything about it because we had a plane to catch and after a week we were charged 500 USD for repair costs. We were provided with a shady invoice via our email and no options to complain; the money was just taken from the account.

So, be careful if you rent a car there, stick to reputable companies and probably the best advice is to pay for the insurance since many people afterwards told us that this was a common thing in Italy; supposedly, people were intentionally damaging uninsured cars the day of the departure and then ripping clients off once they’ve left the country.

Sad to Check Out

I was absolutely sad to check out; not only because I really liked Residenza Biondo, but because I fell in love with Trappeto and Sicily in general. This is a place that every traveler must visit at least once, it offers history, nature, and adventures of all kinds.

Residenza Biondo itself was clean, cheaper in comparison to accommodation in other popular destinations and safe. Plus, the place offers the wonderful host Erina, which is always a great thing regardless whether you need help, information or just a friendly chat.

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