Accomodations near Selinuente

I visited Selinunte in the fall of 2019. We used Mazara del Vallo as our base, which is not too far away and is a wonderful little fishing town to explore with its mixture of Arab, Jewish and Catholic influences, narrow alleyways of the casbah, filled with tile murals depicting the history of the town. I had seen Mazara del Vallo featured on a documentary on youtube , titled Sicily Unpacked, and I knew I wanted to see the “Dancing Satyr” that was recovered from the sea not too long ago. (That documentary will give you lots of good ideas.). We were dependent on public transportation. We stayed at a pleasant and reasonably priced B&B called il Cortile Sant'Agostino. It was a five minute walk from the Mazara del Vallo train station over flat terrain. (We arrived by train from Palermo.). We explored Mazara and the next day did a daytrip to Selinunte; took the train from Mazara del Vallo to nearby Castelvetrano ( I think the train ride was about twenty minutes.) There we caught a bus directly in front of the train station that took us to the bus stop right by the ruins of Selinunte. It is about a 5 minute walk from the bus stop to the entrance to the ruins. Selinunte is very impressive. Its location is beautiful, right next to the sea. There are little trams that take you from one area to another (for a fee-the area is expansive) or you can walk and explore all you want. I actually liked Selinunte better than Agrigento. Agrigento was absolutely packed. Selinunte was almost empty. Prior to our visit to Selinunte, we had visited the Regional Archaeological Museum Antonio Salinas in Palermo, and they have a good Selinunte exhibit. So if you are in Palermo you might want to stop there. Hope this helps. Take a look at some of the online photos from Mazara del Vallo and see if that appeals to you.

We don’t like staying in BnBs but did stay in one in Marinella de Selinunte, Villa Sogno. It was very nice but we didn’t like the town or the waterfront area. This BnB is not on the waterfront but set back behind large gates inland a short distance. Nice pool and breakfast.
However, we did have one of our best meals in Sicily there along the waterfront at Ristorante Pizzeria Baffo’s. We had a regional dish reflecting it’s proximity to North Africa, Fish Couscous. Out of this world!
The Selinunte Archeological Park is along the sea and quite large. I highly recommend taking a golf cart to cover this large property. They have many drop off and pick up points. You buy tickets for them once inside the park.
Another option for lodging, set in a winery,is La Planeta Estate Foresteria in Menfi , a four star resort, about 25 min drive to Selinunte.

Thanks for the fabulous suggestions, Suki and Pat, and thanks for asking a great question, dv_norman!

I have bookmarked this post (and i love Planeta’s wines).

Ditto Kim's post- Thank you dv_norman, Pat & Suki. Now I want to add the small towns to our itinerary. We had to cancel Sicily last fall. Bookmarked!

We regretted that we didn’t stay at La Planeta Foresteria, more to our liking.

Grazie Pat, for your referral to the Sicily Unpacked series on You Tube. I watched it this weekend, and it was great. Dual focus on cuisine and art/culture, and explored various locations that are not so well known or visited by most tourists. I really loved it, and will watch it again.

Larry, I have to thank Becky, a frequent poster here, for the Sicily Unpacked recommendation. Prior to my last trip to Sicily she had replied to a question I asked and made the suggestion.

Thank you Pat for the detailed information and suggestions - VERY helpful. Did a little internet research regarding Mazara del Vallo and it looks intriguing - certainly worth spending time exploring the kasbah. Great to find a small town or village to explore besides the major cities and sights.

Thank you Suki for your B&B and ristorante recommendations too

David

My DH and I visited the archaeological site at Selinunte in May of 2019 and absolutely loved it. Like others, we much preferred it over Agrigento; one was overrun with people, the other was quiet and tranquil. And the part that took our breath away: the ruins of Selinunte were surrounded by fields of wildflowers. It was heavenly! Sheer luck of course, but absolutely magical.

Regarding accommodations: we considered Planeta, but decided against it since we had already booked our one "splurge" hotel of the trip: one night at the Villa Athena in Agrigento. For Selinunte, we decided to look for a more budget friendly option and opted to stay at the Momentum Wellness Resort for two nights. Formerly a B&B housed in an old "baglio" farmhouse with an internal courtyard, the property had recently been sold and completely updated. All 24 rooms were renovated with new bathrooms, but the historic charm of the building was kept intact. The new owners also built a small pool and terrace overlooking the olive groves. Our room had a lovely view, was kept immaculately clean, and the bed was the most comfortable of our entire trip. Moreover, the entire staff was incredibly kind and helpful; not at all pretentious. In addition to the lovely breakfast served each morning (included in our room rate), they also offered a short lunch and dinner menu. We had lunch in the courtyard one afternoon and absolutely loved their caponata, so much so that on our day of departure, we asked if two servings could be packed up to take with us for a picnic. The manager was so pleased with our request that he took our order straight to the kitchen and made sure to include cutlery and extra napkins. While it was being prepared, he helped us with our bags and offered to answer any questions we had regarding our driving route. We couldn't have been more pleased with the genuine warmth and hospitality we experienced. Of course, while Momentum doesn't offer the same experiences as Planeta, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. For us, the quiet location, proximity to the ruins, comfortable rooms, helpful staff and reasonable prices made us more than happy.

Regarding location: Momentum is situated between Selinunte and Castelvetrano, surrounded by olive groves. During our stay, we visited the town of Castelvetrano and encourage you to do the same; it is completely overlooked by most visitors, yet home to one of the most acclaimed bakeries in Sicily - La Bottega del Pane Rizzo - renowned for their "Pane Nero di Castelvetrano" - a delicious dark bread made with natural yeast and locally grown Tumminia wheat that they grind themselves. Moreover, Rizzo Bakery uses brick ovens fired with trimmings from local olive groves and is a member of Slow Food Presidia (Castelvetrano "Black Bread" is part of the Slow Food Ark of Taste). Upon seeing our interest, the young man behind the counter (the founders' son) immediately offered to answer questions. In between helping local customers, he happily explained the unique attributes of the local wheat and starter, and gave us tastes of various house specialties. In addition to the famous black bread (made in multiple sizes - large loaves for big families or gathering, as well as small loaves just the right size for a small picnic - and utterly delicious with caponata), we especially loved their scrumptious "Quaresimali Nocciola" & "Quaresimali Mandorle" (hazelnut & almond biscotti), "Baci di Dama" (tiny almond cookies sandwiched together with a layer of "Crema di Pistacchio"), and "Dolci di Fichi" (fig cookies made with his grandmother's recipe), and purchased several bags of each to bring home. In addition to offering a glimpse of a non-touristy Sicilian town, our visit allowed us to meet artisans like the Rizzo family, who view their life work as a "poem" that they live and breathe, rather than merely a "job" to be performed. All in all, our visit was a memorable, delicious and meaningful experience - and one I highly recommend.