8 Days Sunny Sicily Tour Package

Duration: 8 Days / 7 Nights
Priced From: $2,800 ppdo

• Welcome wine tasting and dinner with traditional Sicilian food and regional wines.
  
• Orientation and private city tour of Palermo. The city is an exotic mixture of Moorish, Norman and Spanish Baroque styles makes this a special city.
  
• Personal Sicilian cooking class and lunch paired to perfection with the wine of the vineyard.
  
• Olive oil factory tour including lesson in how olive oil is made. Sample a variety of blends, flavored and extra virgin olive oils as well as fresh olives.
  
• Wine tasting in Marsala, Italy’s largest contiguous grape growing region.
  
• Private tours of Catania and Taormina. Shop for treasures and trinkets such as pottery, lava stone works and the Napoli family puppets in Catania.
  
• Mount Etna tour at approximately 3350 meters; Europe's highest active volcano. The height of its summit changes with each eruption, and over the centuries a few lava flows have reached the coast.

Day 1 Arrive Palermo

Welcome to the warm, beautiful, and pleasant island of Sicily! Start your orientation with a two-hour city tour of Palermo. The exotic mixture of Moorish, Norman and Spanish Baroque styles makes this city special. Your guide will point out tucked-away churches and lively street markets, where innumerable reminders of history are woven within the modern city splendor. Your hotel will welcome you with a wine tasting and dinner.

Day 2 Wine Tasting Palermo

Today you will taste the wines of Palermo. You will stay within the city limits today, in order to visit the best wineries Palermo has to offer, including a private tour and cave tasting. Then you will depart for Tasca D’ Almerita for a special reserve tasting and cooking class hosted by Anna Tasca Lanza. The afternoon continues at the wine estate of Fatascia for a private vineyard tour and tasting. Conclude the day with a stop at an olive oil factory for a lesson in how olive oil is made. This evening, Wine Tours of the World has made a dinner reservation for you at Cin-Cin, one of Palermo’s best restaurants. Hidden down a flight of steps behind a gate on Via Manin, the setting is serene.

Day 3 Wine Tasting Marsala

The beautiful Marsala wine region is Italy’s largest continuous grape growing region. Vineyard visits and tastings today include Donnafugata, lunch at Marco De Bartoli and Pellegrino and Planeta wineries later in the day.

Day 4 Catania and Taormina

Tour the historical and modern city of Catania before arriving into Taormina for the evening. Catania is famous for pottery, lava stone works and the Napoli family puppets. In the afternoon, you will take in the breathtaking sites of Taormina, built 200 meters above sea level that overlooks the Ionian Sea like a terrace. It is truly one of the prettiest places on earth. Your hotel for the evening has scheduled a special wine and food pairing in the garden. Enjoy!

Day 5 Mount Etna Excursion

Sicily's greatest natural attraction is also its highest mountain. To the ancient Greeks, Mount Etna was the realm of Vulcan, God of Fire, and the home of the one-eyed monster known as the Cyclopse. Be sure to dress in layers today, due to the elevation of the volcano. There are many different levels of hikes and nature walks avail-able while visiting the park. Bird watching tours and other botanical tours are also recommended. Your guide will help you find the perfect way to spend the day here. Lunch, wine, and snacks are all included.

Day 6 Agrigento & Eraclea Minoa

Today you will visit Agrigento, which is on Sicily's southwestern coast. Agrigento was once an important center of Greek learning and culture. Built on a cliff above the beautiful bay of Capo Bianco, the city today is largely collapsed into the sea. An extravagant wine lunch will be served at a historic site for full archeological enjoyment. Finally as the sun begins to fade, you will walk among the Valley of the Temples near the modern city of Agrigento, described by the Greek poet Pindar, as "the most beautiful city of mortals."

Day 7 Taormina

Explore beautiful Taormina by yourself or with your guide. In the late afternoon, you will be expected back at the hotel for a Marsala wine treatment at the hotel spa. This evening a dinner reservation will be waiting for you at A’ Zammara. When you step into this restaurant, you might think that you have had too much wine because of the ancient Roman artifacts on display at your feet in the glass floor. Order the meatballs grilled in lemon leaves, a favorite house specialty.

Day 8

Time to transfer to the Palermo airport, where you will board your flight home.

12/09