Day 1
(Friday & Monday) Arrival
Palermo Airport > Town
Welcome to the warm, beautiful and pleasant island of Sicily!
Upon arrival at Catania Airport, please proceed through Passport Control and collect your luggage inside the customs area.
Our italian-speaking driver will be waiting for you at the arrival department.
Then transfer to your hotel.
Day 2
(Saturday & Tuesday) Taormina at leisure
Today is at Leisure to explore the town on your own.
Taormina has long since been Sicily’s most favourite resort town, perched on a coastal bluff that looks out to the Tyrrhenian Sea between Messina and Catania in the north east of the island. Its ancient narrow streets are full of little specialist shops, cafes and restaurants, which are an invitation to step into the spell cast by this intriguing town. The town’s history is vibrant and complicated and dates back to the Ancient Greek period. Taormina was settled in 395 BC by residents from the nearby city of Giardini- Naxos, Sicily’s oldest Greek established city dating back to 735 BC. Giardini Naxos was where the Greeks established their colony during their domination of Sicily.
Optional Tour Add-Ons
#1 - Cooking Class with lunch, half day AM
#2 - Boat Tour Experience, half day
#3 - Godfather village (independent visit: Savoca and Forza d'Agrò), half day
#4 - Godfather tour (visit: Castello degli Schiavi), half day
#5 - Taormina Walking Tour (guided visit: Greek Roman Theatre), half day
#6 - Etna Group WD4X4 Jeep with lunch in rustic trattoria
#7 - Etna WD4X4 Jeep with lunch in winery
#8 - Etna Ascent Experience up to 3.000 mt with snack
#9 - Etna Sunset Experience, half day PM
Day 3
(Sunday & Wednesday) Cefalù on the way to Palermo
Today departure from Taormina in direction of Cefalù on highway with suggestive sea view you will arrive in this gorgeous town located on the northern coast of Sicily and one of the major tourist attractions in the region.
Built on a promontory dominated by a sheer cliff, Cefalù, still keeping its ancient print, has grown around the Cathedral wanted by Ruggero II. The Cathedral, began in 1131, is one of the most interesting medieval monuments of the island and boasts outstanding mosaics and a wonderful cloister. A large part of the town is pedestrian. Stroll through the medieval narrow street and admire the picturesque houses on the sea and the long beach of finest sand.
Time at disposal for an independent visit and lunch on your own
Later departure for Palermo.
Day 4
(Monday & Thursday) Palermo and Monreale, half day
Today you are greeted at Palermo hotel and driven by taxi to Monreale to see with your expert Guide where the Arab-Norman art and architecture reached the pinnacle of its glory with the Dome (Admission fee: not included). Launched in 1174 by William II, it represents the scenes from the Old and New Testaments all in golden mosaics.
Later the taxi will drive you back to Palermo to continue your walking tour of the city center. Explore a large open air street market (Capo or Ballarò) that captures the flavor of Palermo’s Saracen Arab past. Enjoy a local street food tasting inside the market. Then continue by seeing “four corners” that converge Palermo at a quartet of baroque palaces left over from the heyday of Spanish rule dating from 1560, Piazza Pretoria and Via Maqueda.
The tour ends at Piazza Verdi (Massimo Opera Theatre square). Independent transfer to your hotel. This afternoon is at leisure.
Optional Tour Add-On
#1 - Cooking Class and dine with locals, half day PM
Day 5
(Tuesday & Friday) Marsala and Erice with lunch
Today departure for Erice uptown.
The Elymians settled in the medieval town of Erice, which was an important religious site associated with the goddess Venus. Wander through its ancient streets and visit some of the famous homemade pastry shops—world-famous for marzipan candies and other delicacies like almond and pistachio pastries. At arrival, independent walk along the city centre with recommended stop at local pastry shop to taste some Sicilian local sweet.
Enjoy a light lunch in a local Sicilian Olive Oil producer Farmhouse including tasting of mixed local products.
This afternoon, we drive along the scenic Salt Way Road to admire the beautiful Saltpans where the sea-salt is still produced following the old Phoenician tradition preserved during the century. We then continue onto Marsala, the Arab “Marsa Allah” –Harbor of God–, is known in the whole world for one thing: Wine!
The Marsala Wine comes from the western lands of Sicily and its name derives from the homonymous town. The Marsala is the oldest Italian DOC wine, with an average alcohol content of about 18 degrees.
Later we return to Palermo
Day 6
(Wednesday & Saturday) Valley of the Temples and Roman Villa on the way to Siracusa
Today we drive through the interior of Sicily to reach Agrigento to see the Valley of the Temples: two hours audio-guide independent walking tour on the Valley of the Temples an important Unesco World Heritage site covers the Temple of Hera, the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of Hercules and the Temple of Zeus.
Agrigento, according to legend, was founded by Daedalus and his son Icarus after they had fled from Crete “by air”. Historically, however, its origins date back to 582 B.C. when it was founded by Rhodian-Cretan colonist from the neighboring Gela who named their city Akragas after the nearby river. It rapidly increased in size, importance and military strength under Phalarides, the first tyrant, and later under Theron, who extended his way over northern Sicily as far as Himera.
This afternoon we then continue onto Piazza Armerina to enjoy an independent visit of the amazing Mosaics Floor at the Roman Villa of Casale, that belongs to the Unesco Heritage. Built on the 4th century AD, the Villa was later forgotten and only in the 20th century excavations revealed the whole building. It is the supreme example of a luxury Roman villa (about 3500 square meters of floor mosaics) and was probably the residence of a member of the upper class of the Roman Empire. The mosaics discovered here are celebrated among scholars of antiquity. The visit inside the Roman Villa will be done independently. Every room has information boards.
Later we continue to Siracusa
Day 7
(Thursday & Sunday) Siracusa and Ortigia, half day
Meet your Guide at your hotel --or directly in city center -- and transfer by taxi to the Archaeological Park that highlights the Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Paradise Quarry.
Mediterraneo’s gem and cultural capital of Magna Grecia, the city offers a great variety of choices and attractions. It stands on the shores of south-eastern Sicily and shows different types of coasts: from jagged cliffs to beautiful beaches. The urban territory develops itself on the island of Ortigia and on the mainland; because of its geographic conformation, Siracusa presents a natural spectacle made of river valleys, coloured latomie and beaches that – together with archeological elements of undoubtable historical relevance – give birth to the unique beauty of the place.
Later taxi back to the center to start your guided walking tour strolling through the streets of Ortigia Island, the heart of the city center connected to the mainland by Umbertino bridge.
Siracusa that belongs to the Unesco heritage, was founded by colonists from Cornith in 735 B.C. and once the most important competitor to Athens. Admire the Dome in Baroque style, the Arethusa Fontain, the Maniace Castle (external view), the Temple of Apollo and the beautiful palaces around Ortigia.
This afternoon is at leisure to explore Siracusa on your own.
Optional Tour Add-Ons - PM
#1 -Ortigia Sunset Boat Tour with aperitif
Day 8
(Friday & Monday) Departure
Time to say goodbye to Sicily.
Our italian-speaking driver will bring you from your hotel in Siracusa to Catania airport. Ready to take your flight.
Small Group Tour of Sicily, 8 days – up to 7 people
