Exclusive: Small Group Tour with Maximum of 18
Note: While the tour is organized by a local tour operator, Tommaso Pantè will be the Tour Guide/Director. For additional information about this tour (including rates, dates, etc.), do not hesitate to contact him via E-mail: sunway.it@gmail.com.
Day 1 – Palermo
Independent arrival at the hotel in Palermo. Welcome drink. Meet Tommaso Pantè, an experienced guide and also a native of Sicily, and the other tour members. Enjoy dinner at the hotel. Overnight.
Day 2 – Palermo
After a buffet breakfast, free time for walking around or shopping. Lunch on your own. In the afternoon, meet Tommaso to start the guided walking tour of Palermo, the vibrant capital of Sicily. Visit Il Duomo di Palermo, one of the capital’s most important architectural monuments. Continue walking to the I Quattro Canti di Città, Piazza Pretoria, and Piazza Bellini. Next visit La Chiesa della Martorana, another spectacular church. Now head to the Ballarò Market, one of the most famous and historical markets of Palermo, to experience the authenticity of this lively and colorful city. The market tour will include tasting Palermo’s typical street food. Return to the hotel. Free time for shopping and for dining in one of Palermo’s many delicious restaurants. Overnight.
Day 3 – Palermo, Monreale, Cefalù, Messina, and Taormina
After a buffet breakfast, depart to Monreale, a town situated on a hill in a panoramic position and only a few kilometres from Palermo. First, visit the Duomo di Monreale, one of the most beautiful monuments in the world with its Moorish architecture and very fine mosaics representing a complete cycle of the Old and New Testaments in the Arab-Norman style.
Next head to Cefalù, a former fishing village but now a charming coastal town. Enjoy a walk to the city centre and down the main street to reach the Arab-Norman Cathedral and the medieval wash house, built in the rock. Free time to explore more of the town or to shop, with lunch on your own.
Now head to Taormina on a lovely coastal road. Passing through Messina will provide the chance to admire the impressive scenery of the Strait of Messina. Arrival at the hotel. Free time for dinner. Overnight.
Day 4 – Mount Etna (Wine Tasting) and Taormina
After a buffet breakfast, take an excursion to Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe. Weather conditions permitting, walk across a fascinating landscape with different kinds of vegetation, a mixture of citrus groves, vineyards, and fruit trees. Stop at the Silvestri Craters for a spectacular panorama of the Ionian Sea at a height of 1800 metres (6000 feet).
Next visit a local vineyard on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna and view the winery’s prestigious cellar. Enjoy the opportunity to taste local wines, accompanied with local cheeses and cold cuts. In the afternoon, return to Taormina, a charming city, often called “The Pearl of the Ionian Sea.”
Enjoy free time for shopping or walking around the tiny narrow streets of Taormina. Or visit the Greco-Roman Theatre (ticket cost), with its spectacular views of Giardini Naxos and Mount Etna. Free time for dinner. Overnight.
Day 5 – Taormina, Milazzo, and Lipari
After a buffet breakfast, depart to the Port of Milazzo to board a hydrofoil for Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian archipelago. After arrival, transfer to the hotel with free time to walk around the delightful village of Lipari, followed by free time for dinner. Overnight.
Day 6 – Lipari, Panarea, Stromboli, and Lipari
After a buffet breakfast, enjoy a free morning for walking around and for lunch. Later in the morning, depart by boat to Panarea, often called the “Jet-Set Island.” Here it will be possible to visit the small village and stroll through the streets to view the beautiful white Aeolian-style houses.
Then continue by boat to Stromboli, the island defined as the wildest island because of its bond with nature and, in particular, with its volcano, called Iddu by the locals. Free time to walk around the small village. Once back on the boat, continue to the Sciara del Fuoco, a ridge of the crater where the lava descends, to view the evocative volcanic eruptions in intervals of about 15 minutes. Return to Lipari in the evening, with dinner on your own. Overnight.
Day 7 – Lipari, Salina, and Lipari
After a buffet breakfast, depart by boat to Salina, one of the greenest of the Aeolian Islands. After a stop at the Port at Santa Marina, continue by boat to circumnavigate the island and stop at the small village of Pollara, which was used for some scenes in the award-winning film Il Postino. Free time for a swim at the beach and lunch. Continue by boat to the small village of Lingua, from which salt was extracted from its salt lake in ancient times. Hence, Salina, the name of the island. Return to Lipari in the afternoon. Free time for shopping and for dinner. Overnight.
Day 8 – Lipari and Catania
After a buffet breakfast, transfer to the Port of Lipari to board the hydrofoil to Milazzo. After a transfer to Catania, arrival at the hotel. Free time for lunch and an afternoon visit to the historic center of Catania and its main attractions: Piazza del Duomo, A Pescheria (fish market), Via Etnea, and Via Crociferi. Overnight.
Day 9 – Catania
After a buffet breakfast, the tour ends. Say Arrivederci to tour members and Tommaso, who hopes that everyone will return to see more of Bella Sicilia!