Description
FIRST CLASS or BOUTIQUE HOTELS
3 overnights in Taormina at Hotel San Domenico 5*L – or similar
2 overnights in Sciacca at Hotel Verdura Resort 5*L – or similar
2 overnights in Palermo at Hotel Hilton 4*sup – or similar
The quote does include:
»First-class or Boutiques hotels for 7 nights
» Hotel taxes and service charge
» Hotel Porterage service
» Daily buffet breakfasts
» 2 Lunches
» 3 Dinners
» Wine Tasting in Marsala
» Honey tasting in Zafferana Etnea
» Touring by luxury minivan, minibus or motorcoach as per program
» Private arrival transfer from Catania airport to Hotel in Taormina
» Private departure transfer from Hotel in Palermo to the Palermo Airport
» Parking fees, Motorway tools, City permits fees, Fuel
» Local Guide where mentioned » Entrance fees
» Professional Tour Director/Assistant during your stay
» Sightseeing as indicated
SICILY, A MEDITERRANEAN JEWEL
Day 1 > Catania – Taormina [D]
Arriving at the airport of Catania, you are on the eastern side of Sicily, at the foot of Mount Etna. Your guide will be waiting to welcome you and escort you to your hotel in the heart of Taormina. Taormina is one of the best Mediterranean attraction, considered the pearl of the Ionian Coast for its beautiful views, surrounded by lush subtropical vegetation, such as colorful buganvillea, surrounded by medieval palaces of great value and by the imposing of the Greek- Roman Theatre. At this location must be added the extraordinary beauty of the turquoise sea and the breathtaking view of snow-capped Mount Etna in one direction, and Calabria, across the continent to the opposite direction. Afternoon free time.
Day 2 > Taormina – Etna [B]
After a hearly breakfast in the morning, we will do a tour of the historic center of Taormina, including the Greek-Roman theater with its spectacular view of Giardini Naxos and Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in the European continent. In the afternoon we will offer you an excursion to explore the slopes of Mount Etna, including a stop along the way for an interesting taste of honey in Zafferana Etnea. Continuing to the refuge Sapienza, located at 6.000 ft, you can enjoy the view over the east coast.
Day 3 > Taormina – Catania – Godfather’s Village [B, D]
Today a trip to the south, a stretch of coast characterized by lava flows of hundreds of years old, small fishing villages, and finally we will arrive in Catania, Sicily’s second largest city, considered the Milan of the South for its nightlife and for the shopping. A guided tour of the historic center dated back to the Baroque period, it will be the highlight being the most important artistic heritage of the city, as was declaired a World Heritage site by the Unesco program. On the way back, near Taormina, we will offer a visit, or better, a unique experience! The set of the famous Godfather movie, filmed in authentic villages chosen by Francis Ford Coppola for most of the scenes of the film, will make you understand and appreciate the country life in Sicilian society, lifestyle and local culture. A typical dinner of local products with wine, in a charming scene will be a special remembrance of this corner of Sicily.
Day 4 > Taormina – Agrigento -Sciacca [B,]
In the morning departure to explore the west of Sicily. A good starting point for a visit to this corner of Sicily is Agrigento, famous for its magnificent Valley of the Temples. The city of Akragras was founded by the Greeks, than has been conquered by the Romans in 210 BC, who gave it the name of Agrigentum. It has been ruled by the Byzantines and for some time by the Arabs, whose Dominion came to end with the Normans in 1087. The Valley of the Temples is the site of the main temples (dedicated to Olympian Zeus, Heracles, Concord, and Hera), minor shrines and the Archeological Museum. Continue to to the west, to Sciacca, seaside town, along the Mediterranean coast. Overnight.
Day 5 > Sciacca [B]
The whitewashed town of Sciacca is striking for its Arab feel. Thanks to the subsurface waters rich in sulfur, the city is famous for its thermal SPA. Of particular importance is the harbor with its fleet of fishing boats and the ancient village of fishermen, with its colorful houses, are evidence of ancient seafaring tradition which is linked still today to the city life. The main attraction in Sciacca is the ceramic tiled, maiolica, you can buy in the local pottery shops and into laboratories of the center.
Day 6 > Sciacca – Marsala – Trapani – Palermo [B, L]
Left Sciacca in the morning, continue north-west, we will stop in Marsala, situated at the western most point of the island. Famous worldwide for its famous wine, a wine of meditation, or what is best classified as a dessert wine, as Porto wine. We will visit a historic wine cellar, housed in a typical local structure called Baglio. Once you understand how this blended wine is made, produced for the first time in 1876 by an English nobleman named Sir. Woodhouse, you will taste it accompanied with some almond cookies. After a lunch based of fish, such as the prized bluefin tuna of Favignana, cous-cous and many other local products, we continue along the famous salt marshes of Trapani. In the late afternoon, reaching the city center of Palermo.
Day 7 > Palermo – Monreale [B, D]
This day will be dedicated to a guided tour of the capital of Sicily, Palermo. A cosmopolitan city, where they live in harmony a mosaic of cultures which make the town a mystical and exotic at the same time. Our tour begins in the center with a visit to the Palace of the Normans and its superb Palatine Chapel, the Cathedral of Palermo, the Quattro Canti.
We will move then to Monreale, for a visit of the famous Benedictine Abbey, dating from the twelfth century, which houses beautiful mosaics representing a complete cycle of the Old and New Testament, and the Cloister.We end our tour of Sicily on the beautiful beach of Mondello, a fishing town but also the location per excellence of the tourism resort, located just a few miles from Palermo. Seriously, Mondello is considered a Caribbean beach in Europe. Memorable dinner in one of the best restaurants with sea view.
Day 8 > Palermo – Airport [B]
Transfer to Palermo airport for a flight home. Goodbye Sicily!
Taormina
lush subtropical vegetation
medieval palaces
Greek-Roman Theatre
Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe
honey tasting session
Catania
Baroque district
The site of the famous Godfather movie, Forza d’Agro’ & Savoca
The magnificent Valley of the Temples
Sciacca
the city is famous for its thermal spa
ancient village of fishermen and colorful houses
the famous sicilian ceramic tiled majolica
Marsala
Famous dessert wine and tasting
salt marshes of Trapani
visit a old medieval windmill
Palermo
Visit to the Palace of the Normans
The Palatine Chapel
The Gothic Cathedral of Palermo
The Quattro Canti
Monreale
Benedictine Abbey
Mondello sea shore
