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 SIT Package Highlights include:
• First class hotels for 7 nights (3 nights Taormina + 4 nights Palermo)
• 14 included meals - 7 buffet breakfasts + 3 dinners at hotels + 1 dinner at local restaurant in Taormina area; 1 lunch at local restaurant in Marsala area; 1 dinner at local in Palermo; 1 lunch at local restaurant in Corleone area (after cooking lesson)
• ¼ wine + ½ mineral water + coffee or cappuccino served with lunch and dinner at hotels & restaurants
• 1 wine tasting at a local cellar in Marsala
• 1 cooking lesson
• 1 special lecture on the Sicilian Mafia in the Corleone area
• Touring by air-conditioned motorcoach or minivan accordingly to the number of participants
• Professional tour director
• Sightseeing as indicated, including local guides where necessary (Taormina, Siracusa, Agrigento, Palermo)
• Excursion to Mount Etna up to 1800 metres
• Porterage in/out in hotels
The price does not include • Transfers in/out; Entrance fees; Beverages
• Everything which is not clearly specified under 'Highlights include'
Our HotelsHotels may be substituted with similar category
Palermo
Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa ****
Taormina
Hotel Villa Diodoro ****
Price per person fromDouble $1334, Single $1676, Triple $1312 *supplement for Easter departure $143 per person
Departure DatesDeparting Fridays from Taormina
March 30*;
April 6*, 13, 20, 27;
May 4, 11, 18, 25;
June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29;
July 6, 13;
August 3, 24, 31;
September 7, 14, 21, 28;
October 5, 12, 19, 26;
November 9, 16
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A comprehensive tour combining Eastern and Western Sicily. Visiting the
main tourist attraction, as well as smaller towns such as Erice, Segesta
and Marsala. The opportunity to sample local wines, see how the locals
live and indulge in the Sicilian cuisine.
Day 1 Friday - Catania, TaorminaIndependent arrival at your hotel. Meeting with the group. Dinner and overnight.
Day 2 Saturday - Taormina, Mt Etna, Taormina
 Buffet breakfast at hotel and morning walking tour of Taormina’s charming city center includes the Greek/Roman amphitheatre, with its spectacular view of Giardini Naxos and Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. Enjoy the excursion to Mount Etna, till 1800 meters and visit the Sylvester Craters where you can enjoy the best views, as you drive through the fertile slopes and villages that sit on ancient volcanic eruptions. Tonight you may experience dinner on your own in one of the many colourful restaurants of Taormina.
Day 3 Sunday - Taormina, Siracusa, (Savoca - optional), Taormina
Buffet breakfast at your hotel and experience an included excursion to Syracuse. A guided tour of this venerable city highlights the Archaeological Park, Greek Theater, Latomia del Paradiso and Cave of Dyonisius’ Ear. On the way back to Taormina, we offer a once in a lifetime experience. You may take an optional “Godfather” tour featuring the authentic villages chosen by Francis Coppola for most of the scenes in the Godfather movies. This is a good way to explore the real untouched Sicilian countryside, local lifestyle and culture. This evening savor a special Sicilian dinner with wine in a restaurant characteristic of this region.
Day 4 Monday - Taormina, Agrigento, Palermo
Buffet breakfast at your hotel and depart for Agrigento, a hillside town famous for its magnificent Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy a guided tour of the valley, dating back to the 5th century B.C. The poet Pindar described the site “as the most beautiful city built by mortal men”, The Doric style temples, all constructed within a century, face east, a standard criteria for both Greek and Roman temples so the statue of the god housed in each temple faced the rising sun. The best temple is that of Concordia (similar in design to the Partenon in Athens) which is an almost perfectly preserved condition. Your local guide will highlight the history and architecture of Concordia and of the other temples that are part of this archaeological treasure-trove. After visiting the Valley of the Temples, resume travel to Palermo, where you arrive in the evening in time for an enjoyable and relaxing dinner at your hotel.
Day 5 Tuesday - Palermo, Segesta, Marsala, Trapani, PalermoBuffet breakfast at your hotel and journey to Segesta, a large archaeological zone, with a magnificent Doric Temple, 420 B.C to 430 B.C., located within a beautiful and natural setting that ranks as one of the best-preserved Greek architectural sites. Continue to the sea town of Marsala, re-discovered in the 18th century by English merchant John Woodhouse and known for its sweet wines. Visit a wine cellar and sample some Marsala during a special wine tasting session. Drive along Trapani’s coastline and stop for a special Sicilian lunch in a restaurant and return to Palermo. Your tour director can suggest many interesting quality restaurants that offer ambiance and traditional local cuisine for dinner on your own.
Day 6 Wednesday - Palermo, Monreale, (Cefalù - optional), Palermo
 Buffet breakfast at enjoy a morning tour of Palermo, a city full of character, features Quattro Canti – a splendid example of Spanish Baroque architecture, the Palace of the Normans and its superb Palatine Chapel, the Cathedral, and the famous Benedictine Abbey of Monreale. Here you will admire a 12th century cathedral, housing very fine mosaics representing a complete cycle of the Old and New Testaments. Balance of the day is at leisure to relax or take an optional tour with your tour director to the picturesque fishing village of Cefalù. In the evening, bid arrivederci to your travel companions during a festive farewell dinner with delectable cuisine and sparkling in a fashionable restaurant.
Day 7 Thursday - Palermo, Corleone, Ficuzza, Palermo
Buffet breakfast at your hotel and enjoy this special day dedicated to one of the famoust social phenomena in Sicily. We will depart in the morning to the inland of Sicily and specifically to the area of Corleone, known for being the place where Mafia phenomena was born but also know nowadays for being the place where Mafia is firmely fought. We will firstly participate to an interesting and accurate cooking lesson: we will be able to prepare some of the most genuine and traditional Sicilian dishes (only for who desires to participate to the cooking lesson). After the cooking lesson, enjoy this special lunch. After lunch, we will experience an interesting LECTURE on Mafia. One of the inhabitants of Corleone, born in the UK, will present a fascinating discussion on the topic of the Sicilian Mafia but also explaining the origins and the way how Corleone inhabitants has taken to eliminate organized crime. Back to Palermo. Enjoy an arrivederci to your travel companions during a festive farewell dinner at your hotel. Accommodation.
Day 8 Friday - Palermo
After buffet breakfast, end of tour.
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