We will be in Sicily for about 10 days in April We will land in Palermo spend two days and from there head to either Trapani or Marsala for a few days as a base to explore. We will rent a house or apartment so that we have a kitchen. We like the convenience of either eating out or grocery shopping. While in that area we hope to hike and see: Segesta,Erice, and Selinunte before heading to Siracusa. What would be a better base? Something that is historic, has restaurants and markets, safe and a good location. We have a car and like to drive. Thank you

My travel agent is suggesting we could save a bundle flying Air Italy? Anyone have experience with them?

Trapani, without any doubt. Marsala is a lot smaller than Trapani and there isn't a lot to see/do.
Trapani has many restaurants and good shopping. And it's an excellent base to visit Erice and Segesta. Selinunte is quite far from Trapani, but you could go there on the way to Siracusa.

What Myriam said.
I am done. The end.

I agree with MyriamC, definitively Trapani!

The Easter procession in Trapani was amazing and worth a fair bit of trouble to experience.
It's a convenient city for driving with easy entrances and exits
The Mozia salt pans were interesting to visit.

Oh yes, they were indeed very interesting.

So due to my indecision, I contacted a local travel agent. Because I dallied so long... I am not finding much left in Trapani. (We thought we would leave Palermo on the Saturday before Easter in order to get groceries and food in case things are closed. Also, we like to stock up on food to make sandwiches for hiking). This just leaves us two days in Palermo.

So now with Trapani pretty much booked up as far as apartments (we need an apartment as a family and with a diabetic kid); we need to rethink and are back to Marsala or another small town such as Mazara del Vallo OR my one son loves the sea and so a place that is on the shore would be great (prefer a town where we can walk to a bakery or grab an espresso but ...). Any ideas for a well-located town/beach villa. We will have a car.

• Palermo two days
• Hiking around Marsala/Trapani 3 days
• Siracusa area 4 days

Yo RT,
If I were you I would absolutely, positively consult the veteran traveler 'lucapal' over on the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum. He is a completely bilingual teacher (Brit ex-pat??) living in Palermo who gives lots of accurate and updated feedback about Sicilian travel. Although he is biased in suggesting Palermo as first choice, he is also in the habit of giving objective pros and cons for every other location on the isle. I believe that Luca is in Morocco again just now, but he still is participating in all the TT discussions as per usual for him.

Your 3 options all have merit. For me personally, the choice would be Siracusa, if only coz it has a 'je ne sais quoi' seaside atmosphere, being smaller than Palermo and more representative of the small Euro town vibe that many travelers seem to prefer (we do anyway).
Good luck.
I am done. The end.

Have you checked Airbnb? There's a lot of availability around Easter in and around Trapani.
Also villa's for rent in Marausa Lido, Trapani's largest beach resort, 15 min. drive from the city.