Explore the best that Sicily has to offer in Palermo, Erice, Marsala, Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Modica, Noto, Ortigia, Acitrezza, Acireale, Taormina and Etna.
September 18 – September 27, 2022
Air departure tax, fuel & surcharges are subject to change until entire group is confirmed and ticketed.
Optional Travel Protection Insurance is available starting at $254 per person and is due at the time of booking.
HOTELS – 9 NIGHTS:
Depart on an overnight flight to Sicily. After your morning arrival into Palermo’s Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Balance of the day is at leisure. Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.
Overnight: Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa
This morning enjoy a tour of Palermo featuring the Massimo Theater, Quattro Canti, a splendid example of Spanish Baroque architecture, the Palace of the Normans, and the Cathedral housing the shrine of Santa Rosalia. The last stop will be at the Abbey of Monreale, an Arab-Norman Cathedral built in the12th century famous for its magnificent Byzantine mosaics and the adjacent Benedictine cloister. Balance of the day is at leisure to relax or take an optional tour of Cefalu, a picturesque fishing village outside of Palermo. (B)
Overnight: Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa
This morning, take a breathtaking scenic drive up to the medieval town of Erice. After the Elymians settled here, it became an important religious site associated with the goddess Venus. Wander through its ancient streets, each cobbled with rectangular stones, and take some time to stop by one of the famous homemade pastry shops selling delicacies such as marzipan candies and pistachio pastries. After enjoying a cooking lesson followed by lunch accompanied by Marsala wine at a local farmhouse, travel along a coastline mostly made up of salt pans built back in roman times. (B,L)
Overnight: Hotel Della Valle, Agrigento
This morning enjoy a guided tour of “The Valley of the Temples”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the main archaeological treasures of the Mediterranean, this site is immersed in a rural landscape of rare beauty characterized by the presence of century-old olive and almond trees. Your guided walking tour will cover about one mile in a mostly downhill direction, with stops along the “Via Sacra” (holy pathway)to admire the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of Herakles and ruins of the Temple of Zeus. This afternoon, enjoy a delicious Wine Tasting in a local winery. (B)
Overnight: Hotel Della Valle, Agrigento
On the way to Ragusa, stop in Piazza Armerina to visit the beautiful Mosaics at Villa del Casale. Free time for lunch. Then, in the afternoon, continue to Ragusa. Arrive in Ragusa and accommodation at the selected hotel. (B)
Overnight: Hotel Poggio del Sole, Ragusa
Ragusa | Modica | Noto | Ortigia (Syracuse)
Today’s first stop will be in Modica, a quaint historic town and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Boasting some very fine Baroque architecture, picturesque views and historic sites, Modica is also known for its chocolate. Rich, dark and crumbly, it is produced in a traditional method imported from the New World by Sicily’s Spanish overlords. After a chocolate tasting session at one of the most prestigious chocolate makers, resume your journey to Noto, part of the “Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Continue to the enchanting island of Ortigia, the old town center of Syracuse. Highlights of Ortigia are the cathedral square with its church built over an ancient Greek temple and the beautiful promenade with its panorama over the sea and the natural bay of the town. (B)
Overnight: Hotel Poggio Del Sole, Ragusa
Ragusa| | Taormina
This morning, drive to Taormina. Stop along the way in Aci Trezza & Acireale, two beautiful villages located along the seaside. Free time for lunch where you will taste delicious Arancini. Arrive in Taormina in the afternoon and enjoy your next hotel in Naxos on the beautiful Taormina beach side. (B)
Overnight: Giardini Naxos Hotel Diamond , Taormina
Etna & Taormina
Morning excursion to the slopes of Mt. Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. This afternoon, enjoy a walking tour of Taormina’s charming city center including the Greek/Roman amphitheater with breathtaking views looking over the bay of Naxos.(B)
Overnight: Giardini Naxos Hotel Diamond, Taormina
Savoca | D’Agro Valley
Today, enjoy a once in a lifetime experience: the “Godfather” tour. See the real Sicily while exploring Savoca and D’AgroValley, the towns and area that served as location when filming “The Godfather” trilogy. Afternoon at leisure. In the evening, bid arrivederci to your travel companions during a festive farewell dinner with delectable cuisine and sparkling wine in a fashionable restaurant.(B,D)
Overnight: Giardini Naxos Hotel Diamond, Taormina
