Small Group Tour of Sicily – 8 days

Welcome to the warm, beautiful and pleasant island of Sicily! Upon arrival at Palermo Airport please proceed through Passport Control and collect your luggage inside the customs area.

Then, independent transfer to the town or Optional Airport Transfer.

The balance of the day is at leisure.

English Speaking Team Included half day from h 10AM
Meeting Point: h 10AM at the Palermo Opera House
Taxi Fee to Monreale: included (round trip service)


Today h 10AM meet our team at the Palermo Opera House to start our Street Food Walking Tour!


We start the tour admiring the Massimo Theatre-Palermo Opera House (external view), then we explore a suggestive and lively open-air market, a place with strong Arab influences, resembling a souk, with picturesque stands of fresh fish, cheeses, fruits and vegetables. During the tour we will have the opportunity to observe local people in their daily activities and to savor foods that a real Sicilian people love to eat! Tasting of typical street food is included. The walking tour through the ancient center of Palermo is around 3-4 hours, and we will visit several monuments including Piazza Pretoria, the Four Corners and a short visit to the Cathedral.

At the Cathedral we meet the taxi to move to Monreale for an independent visit the Dome (tips: not included), a wonderful example of the Arab-Norman art and architecture. Founded in 1174 by William II, the Dome represents scenes from the Old and New Testaments all in golden mosaics.

Later the taxi will transfer us back to Palermo.

Vehicle and English speaking driver Disposal: full day
Meeting Point: h 8.30AM at your hotel

Meet our Team at your hotel. Later we travel to Marsala region along the Salt Way Road. While travelling we will be fascinated by this unusual landscape: panels of mirror-like water, held by thin strips of earth and white windmills. In Summer now as then in some areas between Trapani and Marsala it is possible to admire piles of salt just harvested.

Lunch in a very local farmhouse to taste local delicious dishes.

This afternoon departure for Erice, a wonderfully preserved Mediaeval town offering the most breathtaking views and a palpable sense of history. 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. Almond marzipan probably came to Sicily from Spain, where the Arabs may have introduced it during the Middle Ages. Whether they also brought it to Sicily, which was home to several emirates before 1071, is a matter of debate. However, there is no doubt that it was the Arabs who introduced sugar cane in both Sicily and Spain, and without this key ingredient marzipan could not exist.

Then we drive back to Palermo.

Vehicle and English speaking driver Disposal: full day
Meeting Point: h 8.00AM at your hotel
Agrigento, English Speaking Guide NOT included
Piazza Armerina, English Speaking Guide NOT included  

Today meet our team and departure for Agrigento. to visit the finest of all ancient Greek sites—the complete Doric Temples (Admission fee: not included), one of Sicily’s most famous historical attractions. This is one of the most outstanding examples of Greater Greece art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as well as a national monument of Italy. The area was included in the UNESCO Heritage Site list in 1997. Founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C., Agrigento became one of the leading cities in the Mediterranean world. Its supremacy and pride are demonstrated by the remains of the magnificent Doric temples that dominate the ancient town, much of which still lies intact under today’s fields and orchards. This splendid archaeological park consists of eight temples (and various other remains) built between about 510 BC and 430 BC: the Temple of Hera, the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of Heracles, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Hephaestos, the Temple of Demeter, and the Temple of Asclepius (the God of Medicine). Apart from this latter, which is to be found on the banks of the Akragas river, all are situated in the same area on rocky crests south of modern day Agrigento (not really in a Valley at all!).

Departure for Piazza Armerina situated deep in the Sicilian hinterland, at 721 metres above sea level, one of Sicily’s most frequented tourist spots. However, it is not the town that most people come to see, but the famous Villa Romana del Casale (Admission fee: not included). Built in the middle of the 4th Century AD as a hunting lodge by a Roman patrician (it is not known for sure who the owner was) the Villa is home to some of the best preserved and extensive examples of Roman mosaics spread over around 3500mt. The villa is one of the most luxurious of its kind. It is especially noteworthy for the richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost every room; they are the finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world. These extraordinarily vivid mosaics, probably produced by North African artisans, deal with numerous subjects, ranging from Homeric escapades and mythological scenes to portrayals of daily life, including the famous tableau of girls exercising in their “bikinis”.

Later onto Syracusa and transfer at your hotel.

Meeting Point: h 8:30-8:45AM at your hotel
Syracusa, English Speaking Guide included
Taxi service included, round trip 

Today is dedicated to Syracusa. Our first stop today is the visit to the Archaeological area of the Neapolis and get a glimpse of Siracusa as it was in ancient times with its Greek theater, the remains of Roman Amphitheater, and the "Ear of Dionysius," an awe-inspiring artificial limestone cave renowned for its outstanding acoustics. Then onto the "Old City-Città Vecchia”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located on the island of Ortigia.

The balance of the day is at leisure.

Vehicle and English speaking driver Disposal: full day
Meeting Point: h 8.30AM at your hotel

Today meet our staff and departure for Ragusa to visit one of the most fascinating towns in Sicily, Ragusa has caused many a visitor’s jaw to drop as they first set eyes on the lower part of the town. Essentially Baroque, the Ragusa you will see today dates almost entirely from 1693. Indeed, it was in this year that Ragusa, along with its neighbours, Noto, Modica, Scicli and Catania, was razed to the ground by a terrible earthquake that hit most of the eastern side of Sicily. Public opinion on where to rebuild the town was divided, and so a compromise was made. The wealthier, more aristocratic citizens built a new town in a different site, now Ragusa “Superiore”, while the other half of the population decided to rebuild on the original site, on a ridge at the bottom of a gorge, now Ragusa Ibla. The two towns remained separated until 1926 when they were merged to become the chief town of the province, taking the place of Modica. While the upper part has its fair share of architectural delights, it is the smaller Ragusa Ibla down below that really draws visitors. Whether you approach it from Modica to the south or from Ragusa Superiore, the sight of the jumble of houses, churches and civic palazzi piled on top of each other, clinging to the walls of the gorge, is really quite breathtaking. Although seemingly Mediaeval from a distance, once you enter the town’s heart, the Baroque logic of its plan becomes more obvious.

Then onto Modica. Like the other towns in the Val di Noto, was badly damaged in the 1693 earthquake and largely rebuilt in Sicilian Baroque style. It is divided into two parts, “higher” Modica and “lower” Modica, which are connected by numerous flights of steps. Palazzi and houses rise from the bottom of the gorge seemingly stacked one on top of the other. Magnificent churches, with their inspiring domes, bell towers and intricate facades, punctuate the red-tiled roofs and one is struck by the uniform beauty of the whole. Modica has a long and varied history, complete with the usual toing and froing of successions of invaders. It came to real prominence in 1296, when Frederick II of Aragon (not to be confused with Frederick II “Stupor Mundi”) formed the “County of Modica”, a kind of “state within a state” that was initially governed by Mandfredi I Chiaramonte. Modica is custodian of a 400 year tradition of Sicilian chocolate-making. Being part of the Spanish kingdom for so many years meant that Sicily was often one of the first recipients of the new foodstuffs being brought back from South America. Cacao was one of these and today Modica still specialises in making granulous chocolate, often flavoured with chilli pepper, cinnamon or vanilla, that is based on Aztec methods and recipes. Chocolate shops abound and, for the real chocoholic, it is sometimes possible to watch the “chocolatiers” at work. Tasting of Modica chocolate is a must.

We then continue to Noto. In the Arab period the town was the capital of one of the three districts of Sicily (the Val di Noto) and once defeated by the Christians, Noto became a rich Norman city. Unfortunately it was totally destroyed by the 1693 Sicilian earthquake and rebuilt in a new position nearer to the Ionian Sea. But the new Noto is a masterpiece of Sicilian Baroque! Most of the buildings, including churches and noble palaces, follow one another along the main street and are characterized by the honey tonality of tufa stone. Facades and balconies are all skillfully decorated by grinning masks, lion heads, putti and other embellishments. Unmissable is Noto Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Nicholas and built in perfect Sicilian Baroque style.

Later we then continue to Taormina, the world famous resort town of Sicily.

Jeep and English speaking driver Disposal: full day
Meeting Point:  8:30/9:00am at your hotel

The pick-up will be arranged between 8:30am and 9:00am (please be ready from 8:15am in the hotel lobby).

A lovely drive along the Northern slopes of the Volcano (regular road) will give you the opportunity to visit different lava flows and to observe geological and botanical treasures. Lava flow of 1923 reached the town of Linguaglossa, while the near village of Catena was partially destroyed. Driving through pines, oaks and brooms we will continue the Etna ascent and after an off-road itinerary you will visit the lava front of 2002 and a natural cave created from the lava flow.

We will then proceed to an area called Piano Provenzana located at 1800 meters above sea level, where we will see the effect of the great eruption of 2002. This eruption lasted almost three months and it is considered one of the most explosive eruptions from the twentieth century. At Piano Provenzana you will find a ski resort.

In accordance with your Driver, it is possible to do a medium hiking and see some of the side craters characterized by seven small, aligned eruptive cones (or “buttonholes”). Along the way we will stop to enjoy a breathtaking view of the North-East Crater, the eruptive mouths and 2002 lava flow, and down to the sea you will admire part of the Ionian and Calabrian coast.

Then, proceed to have lunch in a typical rustic restaurant where you will be served a 3 courses menu which includes a rich selection of starter (salami, cheese, vegetables of the season), a taste of pasta and dessert. Lunch will also include local wine and mineral water.

After lunch the tour will get back to your hotel in Taormina.

Time to say Arrivederci Sicilia. Independent transfer to Catania airport or Optional Airport Transfer.