Sicilian Showcase Tour | East to West Side
Tuesday from Taormina

7 days | 6 nights
 Taormina (3 nights) Palermo (3 nights)

English Only | Small Size: limited to maximum 25 people

Highlights: Taormina, Syracuse, Piazza Armerina, Erice, Olive Oil Factory, Segesta,
Winery, Palermo, Monreale & Cefalù

Introduction:
The best way to see Sicily, especially if for the first time is joining a semi escorted hosted tour: see the most important local highlights in a short time & save money.
Our Semi Escorted Hosted Tour has a host who will meet clients and advise where they need to meet for the next tour, but he won’t stay with them during all these activities.
This package is a great way to have all the organization and benefit of a bigger tour, but with a more personalized smaller group.
We can offer this tour with as few as 2 travelers.
Maximum number of participants is only 25 people on the tour. This tour is land only.

ITINERARY:
Day 1 (Tuesday) Catania/Taormina
Welcome to the warm, beautiful and pleasant island of Sicily! Upon arrival at Catania airport (CTA) please proceed through the Passport Control and collect your luggage inside the customs area. Then independent (Private Airport Transfer package is available on request) transfer to Taormina. The balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 2 (Wednesday) Taormina
Today is at leisure or Optional Excursion. (BB)
Taormina is a hill-village with a glossy sheen of glamour. A drink at the tables of Caffè Wunderbar (or similar) in Piazza IX Aprile may set you back a few euros, but you'll be basking where Tennessee Williams and Elizabeth Taylor basked before you. As well as the famed Greek-Roman Theatre (Admission Fee: not included), there are several minor sites to be discovered around Taormina. The attractive principal thoroughfare, Corso Umberto is pedestrian and ideal for strolling and window-shopping. Picturesque lanes above and below the Corso are interesting to explore, while if you want to stretch your legs further there are attractive walks up into the hills, or down to the sea. Given its compact size, Taormina has a huge range of bars, cafes and restaurants where you can while away pleasant hours while admiring the views.
Enjoy your stay at leisure in Taormina or inquiry us for Optional Excursion!
Tonight at 7.30PM we meet our staff at hotel for a short briefing. Then together we gather for dinner at a local restaurant. (D)
Day 3 (Thursday) Taormina/Syracuse/Taormina
Today we depart for Syracuse, founded by colonists from Cornith in 735 B.C. and once the most important competitor to Athens.  On arrival stroll through the streets of Ortygia Island, the heart of the city center. Light lunch at local restaurant. This afternoon visit through the Archaeological Park (Admission Fee: not included) highlights the Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Paradise Quarry.  Later we return to Taormina. (BB L)
Day 4 (Friday) Taormina/Piazza Armerina/Palermo
Today departure for Piazza Armerina to view the ruins of the Roman Villa of Casale (Admission Fee: not included). The mosaics discovered here are celebrated among scholars of antiquity. Light lunch in a local trattoria. This afternoon we continue to Palermo, the capital of Sicily. (BB L)
Day 5 (Saturday) Palermo/Erice, Olive Oil, Segesta & Winery/Palermo
Early departure to tour western Sicily where we reach Erice uptown. The Elymians settled 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. Later we travel to Trapani on the Salt Way Road.  We tour the historic salt flats works, where the ancient tradition of harvesting salt from the sea is still practiced. Then, to an olive oil factory-farmhouse to enjoy a light lunch. This afternoon we continue onto Segesta, one of the major cities of the ancient indigenous Elymian people, to visit the unfinished Doric temple (Admission Fee: not included), late 5th century BC, built on a hilltop just outside of the ancient city and has a commanding view of the surrounding area.  Then to a local winery to taste Sicilian wine. We then return to Palermo. (BB L)
Day 6 (Sunday) Palermo, Cefalù & Monreale
Today we explore the lively Capo Market, a large open air street market that captures the flavor of Palermo's Saracen Arab past. Capo is a blend of general confusion and a jumble of vendors' stalls, winding toward the old gate --Porta Carini-- of what used to be the city wall. Later we continue by seeing Piazza Pretoria and Via Maqueda, whose “four corners” converge Palermo at a quartet of baroque palaces left over from the heyday of Spanish rule dating from 1560. We then departure for Cefalù, a charming coastal town home to a massive Norman Cathedral with outstanding mosaics. Here we visit the city center and stroll down main street to reach the Cathedral. This afternoon onto Monreale to see where the Arab-Norman art and architecture reached the pinnacle of its glory with the Duomo (Admission Fee: not included), launched in 1174 by William II. It represents scenes from the Old and New Testaments all in golden mosaics. Later we return to Palermo (BB)
Day 7 (Monday) Palermo
Time to say goodbye to Sicily.  Today independent (Private Airport Transfer package is available on request) transfer to Palermo airport (PMO). (BB)


Meal Legend: BB Buffet Breakfast L Lunch or Light Lunch  D Dinner
 

2013 - DEPARTURE from Taormina 
6 nights / 7 days
Guaranteed (with a minimum of 2 clients)
Small size group: Limited to 25 people
Style of Accommodation: First Class

Meals:
-7 breakfasts;
-one dinner at local restaurant;
-one light lunch at olive oil factory-farmhouse;
-one wine tasting at winery;
-two light lunches at local trattoria.

28 Guaranteed Departure 2013 Dates:

Rate per person, land only:

Low Season
Eur 839,00 in triple
Eur 849,00 in double
Eur 1.120,00 in single
Peak Season
Eur 1.039,00 in triple
Eur 1.049,00 in double
Eur 1.569,00 in single

Surcharge, per person:
Round Trip airport transfers: Eur 70,00
 

FEATURED PROPERTIES USED:
Taormina: Hotel Villa Diodoro, first class
Palermo: Hotel Hilton Excelsior, first class
Hotel may be substituted with similar categories

HOW TO BOOK:
A deposit eur 250,00 per person is required to save the space.
You can pay this amount using the credit card through our secure payment system.

As soon as we receive the deposit we send you the confirmation by H24.

DOWNLOAD>>: ITINERARY | PDF

ADMISSION FEE:
The price of this tour does not include the Admission Fees, which are usually around Euros 10,00/12,00 per person payable directly on the spot. If you are over 65 or under 18 years old and you have EU or Commonwealth Passport,  the admission fees are free of charge for you showing your document (or copy of your document) on the spot.

OperateD with:
This tour is operated only with a Driver-Escort up to 7 people. 
-The Driver Escort is not a Licensed Tourist Guide --Licensed Tourist Guide: are the only professionals, with a Regional license, permitted to conduct visits and tours in all sites and museums within a city -- and he cannot escort people inside the monuments because this is not allowed by Italian Rules.
From 8 people, this tour is operated with a Tour Director.
Licensed Local Guide are provided on the spot as below specified:
-Syracuse: maximum 4 hours;
-Piazza Armerina: maximum 2 hours;
-Monreale: maximum 2 hours.