Rome & Sicily Explore the Eternal City of Rome over 3 nights visiting major sights and hidden treasures followed by 7 nights in Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean
Rome & Sicily Explore the Eternal City of Rome over 3 nights visiting major sights and hidden treasures followed by 7 nights in Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean just off the toe of Italy s boot where nature seems to have endowed all its wonders to this land: mountains, hills and above all the sea, with its incredible colours, crystal-clear water and the beauty of its sea-beds are in no way inferior to those of other seas. Here, the Mediterranean Sea, with its many little islands scattered around the coasts of Sicily offers unique and the intense sceneries, scents and flavours of uncontaminated nature. Last but not least, its great volcanoes are symbols of the irresistible beauty and vitality of this incredibly charming region. Price From: $5,940 Inclusions 10 nights hotel accommodation in a Double room for Single use in 4 Star quality hotels Flight in Economy Class from Rome to Palermo Dates From: 15/08/2016 29/08/2016 12/09/2016 26/09/2016 13/03/2017 27/03/2017 10/04/2017 24/04/2017 08/05/2017 22/05/2017 3 x dinners with house wine, beer, soft drinks included 2 x wine tasting and lunch, 1 x Local produce tastings, Breakfast daily English speaking Tour guide throughout Transfers as shown Valle dei Templi entrance fee Greek Theatre entrance fee Hotel bar is open daily between 5.30pm - 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers Porterage water on vehicles 24 hour assistance during your trip 05/06/2017 19/06/2017 07/08/2017 21/08/2017 04/09/2017 18/09/2017 02/10/2017 16/10/2017
Day 1 Private transfer available upon request Upon arrival into Rome check into your hotel where you have a Double Room for Single Use reserved for 3 nights. Very prestigious and elegant structure located inside an historic residence of the end of the 19th century, realized in a splendid liberty style, Hotel Artemide represents the excellent destination for your travel in the Italian capital. City Tax to be paid directly upon check out. This evening enjoy Welcome Aperitif at Hotel s Bar included followed by dinner at Tre Scalini 3 course dinner with water, wine and coffee or tea included Rome Hotel Dei Mellini (or similar) Dinner Day 2 Enjoy an amazing introduction to the Vatican City, its history, highlights and hidden treasures with our local expert guide and driver Duration: 4 Hours Our Vatican experience will take us on an amazing journey through the Vatican Museum and into the most beautiful and famous chapel of the world, the Sistine Chapel. During our visit, our guide will have much to share about the way of life of the locals and the amazing power that this tiny state holds and it s with neighbouring Italy. After the Sistine Chapel, we will continue our journey through the Vatican and into the Basilica of St. Peters where we will admire one of Michelangelo s most famous masterpieces La Pieta. After our visit, we will head out into the amazing Piazza which will definitely leave you breathless! Afternoon at leisure to enjoy The Eternal City. ROME: The eternal city, it has endured for over 2,700 years, with an ambiance like no other. Embedded in centuries of history and culture, it is Italy s capital and largest city, offering far too much to see in one visit. In this city a phenomenal concentration of history, legend, and monuments coexists with an equally phenomenal concentration of people busily going about their everyday life. A breathtaking city that will leave you with the urge to return! Rome Hotel Dei Mellini (or similar) Breakfast
Day 3 Today we will have the opportunity to experience a unique introduction to the amazing highlights of the Roman Empire with our local expert guide and driver Duration 4 hours One of the best ways to see and enjoy the highlights of the times of the Roman Empire. During our tour today, our first visit will be to the valley of the Roman Forum, considered the biggest archaeological area in the world. We will then make our way to the inside of the Senate and the Basilica of Constantine. From the outside, we will have the opportunity to admire other ruins such as temples, basilicas and the Reggia. We will enjoy a stroll through the Via Sacra to the Arch of Tito and enjoy the Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, both outside and inside. With our guide, we will then head to the Basilica of St. Peter in Chains to see the Holy Chains of St. Peter and the Moses carved by Michelangelo. We will then continue our drive to admire the Vittoriano known as the Wedding Cake in Piazza Venezia, we suggest a stop for a photo to then continue on past the Circus Maximus, Aventino Hill and the Palatino Hill before returning to your hotel. Rome Hotel Dei Mellini (or similar) Breakfast Day 4 Check out of your Hotel and settle all extras direct. You will take a Private Minibus transfer with your Tour Manager from your Hotel to Rome Airport. Following your economy class flight from Rome to Palermo (included) you will transferred with your Tour Manager from the airport to your hotel. Check into your Hotel where you a Double Room for Single Use reserved for 3 nights. This afternoon enjoy an amazing introduction to the beautiful town of Palermo with our local expert guide Duration 4 hours Departing from our hotel we will begin our stroll through the medieval area where we will discover some of the main sites from the Baroque and Arabian-Norman times including its beautiful gardens and villas. We will make our way to Piazza Pretoria where we will admire its beautiful Renaissance fountain, the Quattro Canti which is the heart of the city and the cathedral. Our stroll will continue to San Giovanni degli Eremiti one of the best known Norman monuments and then on to the magnificent cathedral San Cataldo built in 1160. Our last stop of the day will be the Palazzo dei Normanni the most important monument of Palermo where we will discover the most obvious traces of the Norman period such as the are Torre Pisana, Roger s Room in the Joaria and the Palatine Chapel. During our stroll, our guide will be delighted to give us some heads up on the best place to stop for a taste of some of the delicious local pastries. This evening enjoy Dinner at Trattorio Biondo 3 course dinner with water, wine and coffee or tea included. Palermo Hotel Eurostars Centrale Palace (or similar) Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 Enjoy Breakfast at the Hotel. Enjoy an amazing day exploring one of the most interesting sites in all of Italy, the Valley of the Temples Duration 8 hours (Time with guide 3 hours) Departing from our hotel with our private driver we will head south west taking in the beautiful scenery along the way up to the beautiful town of Agrigento and its Valley of the Temples. During our journey our driver will give us the details on what the day has in store for us, the town, its wine, food, culture and people. Upon arrival, we will meet our private local expert guide and begin our journey through the amazing Valley. She will guide us through the amazing story of the temples, ruins and tombs of this unique Site and we will also enjoy a visit to the museum of Greek artifact, another must see on today s list. Afterwards enjoy a stop for lunch at your own expense in one of the area s restaurants; your driver will have some wonderful suggestions. Palermo Hotel Eurostars Centrale Palace (or similar) Breakfast Day 6 Enjoy Breakfast at the Hotel. Day at Leisure to relax in your hotel or enjoy Palermo on your own. Palermo Hotel Eurostars Centrale Palace (or similar) Breakfast Day 7 Check out of your Hotel and settle all extras direct. Meet your Tour Manager in the hotel lobby to enjoy a Minibus transfer from Palermo to Taormina stopping in Castelbuono to enjoy a wonderful experience. Transfer from Palermo to Taormina: 2 hours 54 minutes Wine tasting & lunch for 2 hours. Departing from Palermo, we will head east towards Castelbuono where we will meet our Somellier (wine steward) to enjoy a wine tasting which consists of a short tour of the property accompanied by your private Sommelier where you will also enjoy a visit of the small cellar where you will have the opportunity to taste some delicious olive oils accompanied by three different kinds of wine with some local cold cuts and cheeses. Afterwards time to enjoy light lunch included! Check into your hotel where you a Double Room for Single Use reserved for 4 nights. A short walk from the centre of Taormina, the Grand Hotel Miramare combines the fascination of the old patrician villa of the Lo Turco family with the breath-taking view over the Messina Straits and Isolabella Bay. Taormina Hotel Miramare (or similar) Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8 Breakfast at the Hotel. Today we will enjoy an amazing introduction to the town of Taormina with our local expert guide Duration 3 hours Our private guide will meet us in our hotel lobby where we will begin our stroll through Taormina, situated on a lofty hill where the site of the old town is about 300 meters above the sea. The down-town area represents a vast range of historical periods from the early Greek settlements and Roman Age to the remains of Byzantine and Medieval constructions up to the 15th century buildings and 17th Century Baroque churches and palaces. With our guide we will visit the most important sites of this area, the must do on the list The Greek Theatre, built in the 3rd Century by the Greeks and later on remodelled by the Romans. The theatre is the second largest in Sicily and is frequently used for operas and concerts. We will also enjoy a visit to the court yard of Palazzo Corvaja, a medieval Sicilian palace, dating back to the 10th century. This magnificent palace was originally built by the Arabs and takes its name from the Corvaja family, who were among Taormina s most important aristocrats. After our visit of the palace, we will enjoy some time to wander through the public gardens before returning to our hotel. Rest of the day at your leisure to relax in the beautiful Taormina. Taormina Hotel Miramare (or similar) Breakfast Day 9 Experience Etna and it s specialities with your local expert guide and driver Duration 5 hours Today you will enjoy exploring one of the greatest, most beautiful and active volcanoes in the world, considering that it has been erupting for several million years. With our guide we will discover so much about this volcano and its secrets This volcano has more than 400 craters! During our drive to Mt Etna we will admire quite a few Sicilian towns and visit some old lava flows. We will reach 2.000 meters (7.000 ft.) where we will walk together to visit the Silvestri craters (1986) and the latest new lava flows and craters from dated between 2001 and 2003. After our walk we will visit a local farm where we will enjoy a delicious tasting of some of the local products, Etna wine, almond pastries, olives, extra virgin olive oil and different flavours of honey. After our visit here we will continue to another Estate where we will enjoy some local wines before heading down the mountain and stopping for a visit of the village of Giardini Naxos famous for its beaches, panoramic view of the bay and surrounding hills. It is possible to continue the tour reaching the highest point, 2.000 metres by car, to then proceed with a cable car up to 2.500 metres and then a 4 X 4 Jeep vehicle and walk up to 2.900/3.000 metres to discover the main smouldering craters. This will take about 3 hours extra time and costs Euro 80,00 per person payable direct and your personal guide will escort you giving you heads up along the way regarding all the different craters. Taormina Hotel Miramare (or similar) Breakfast
Day 10 Day at Leisure to enjoy & explore Taormina on your own. Enjoy a wonderful Farewell Dinner at Al Saraceno restaurant. A 3 course dinner with water, wine and coffee or tea included. Transportation to/from the restaurant is included. The restaurant Al Saraceno is located above the charming town of Taormina, just before the ancient church built into the rock Madonna della Rocca and below the medieval castle Castello Saraceno The breath-taking view from the restaurant looks out onto Naxos Bay and Sicily s famous volcano, Mount Etna. The restaurant has a main dining room furnished in a typical Sicilian style with a cosy open fire for those winter months. The experienced Chef prepares traditional Sicilian cuisine using fresh fish, top quality meat and locally grown vegetables. Al Saraceno also offers excellent Italian Pizza baked in our firewood oven and an extensive choice of Sicilian Wines to accompany your meal. Taormina Hotel Miramare (or similar) Breakfast, Dinner Day 11 Check out of your Hotel and settle all extras direct. Private transfer to Catania Airport upon request Arriverderci! Breakfast