There isn’t much that compares to the experience of luxuriantly lowering oneself into a pleasingly warm body of water is there? Especially when that water contains supposedly healing minerals, is located in the Sicilian countryside, and is completely free? Hot Springs. Find me someone who doesn’t love them. We stumbled upon the Hot Springs of Segesta the other day and wrote this guide so that you can find them too!

TERME SEGESTA

**WHERE**: Near Segesta, province of Trapina, Sicily
**WHY**: You’ll feel better. A lot better.
**TIME**: 2-3 hours

The springs are located in Segesta, which is a tiny rural village located in the province of Trapani, which is due west of Palermo. While I didn’t visit the town of Trapani for very long, the thermal baths are located about forty minutes from them by car. I visited en route the west coast of Sicily from Palermo, and spent a luxuriant couple of hours floating about in the hot water, surrounded by a couple of guys who looked like the cast of The Sopranos, whom were actually lovely, and very happy to be spending their day in the baths. The hot springs of Segesta can be visited in one of two ways: free or paid. The springs are probably better known for the health resort and spa that lies just off the road in, Terme Segestane. I’m not here to tell you that you shouldn’t totally visit the official pools at the Terme Segestane spa, pay for the experience, and get a mud scrub or something. But, just behind the private pools of the paid Spa, there are a series of free, thermal baths, known only to locals. They are tucked away by the foot of a hill, covered on all sides by dense bamboo (in Sicily, of all places) and are very, very warm, salty, and lovely to float about in.

HOW TO GET THERE

QUICK GUIDE

Take E90 highway from Palermo for 50 minutes.
Take exit at Alcamo Ovest.
Drive along SS733 road, turn onto SS113 road until you turn right onto Strada Provinciale 2
Turn right at next intersection, follow road until you see sign for ‘Terme Segestane.’
Turn right here, and take immediate right at fork in the road.
Follow road downhill until you reach carpark
Leave car and follow path through bamboo until you reach a stream, cross this and walk up the other side of the stream.
Follow path through bamboo, turning right at the fork.
Turn right when you reach the edge of the bamboo, the pools should now be in front of you.

detailed guide

To get to the pools, you’ll need a car. If you’re driving from Palermo you’ll want to take the main highway heading west out of town, the E90, and stay on that until you reach the turn off for ‘Alcamo Ovest.’ Take the exit to your left and follow the SS733 road until you get to a small intersection. Here, you’ll want to right onto the SS113 road and follow that. It will take you under a bridge and past a few vineyards on low rolling hills, you’ll need to follow the road for about 1.5 km, until you reach Strada Provinciale 2, turn right onto this road. The road should start to ascend, keep driving until you come to an intersection - turn right here, and follow the road for a few hundred metres. You should then be able to see the sign for the ‘Terme Segestane.’

Take the road down, but take the road that immediately forks to the left, not the steep one that descends downhill - that goes to the paid spa. This is where the road gets a bit tricky - follow the road for a few hundred metres - it will get really steep, extremely bumpy, and there will be potholes. After you reach the bottom of the hill you’ll see a carpark - if you’re lucky it’ll be empty, however, the spot is popular with locals, so that’s fairly unlikely.

After you park up, I’d recommend that you pack some food, water and a towel. Walk towards the two rocky hills that you can see over the top of the bamboo. You should be able to see a narrow path leading through the bamboo to your left. Leave the carpark through this path and follow it downhill until you come to a stream. depending on how much rain there has been, the stream might be ankle deep, or nearly up to your knee - when we visited it was somewhere in between. Cross the stream, ignoring the cold water, and take the path up the small embankment on the other side.

Hopefully you’ll be able to smell the sulphur of the baths by now, but if following your nose isn’t your thing, take the path as it forks to the left until you see this little marker on a clump of bamboo (shown below). Once you reach this, turn right at the clearing and the baths should be in front of you!

As I mentioned above, the baths are hugely popular with locals. When we visited, there were about 10 other people, luxuriating and soaking in the water. As this is Sicily, you’ll be expected to say ‘Buongiorno,’ and ‘Ciao’ at the very least. If you don’t speak Italian, at least smile at the locals. This place was a well-kept secret for many years, so we definitely don’t want to kill their vibe. My suspicion is that people have probably been coming here since Roman times, so, you know, don’t screw it up. Don’t be that guy with the speaker, the loud voice, the open wound in the pool - just be cool, don’t wreck it for everybody.

I don’t want to get too Freudian here, but there is something wonderfully… safe, about floating in these baths. The water is a gorgeous 47ºC, the smell of sulphur isn’t too strong, and there is a constant stream of fresh hot water trickling into the pools. The water reaching this pool is entirely natural, and feels extremely good. Without deviating into any pseudo-science, or chat of ‘healing properties’ too much, I can confirm that my previously sore legs felt wonderfully loose and limbre after the baths, and I certainly felt relaxed. If you have any spare time in your travels around Italy, I’d strong recommend that you check them out!

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