Sicily Group Tour

A great value option staying in 4* hotels with a group size of around 30-42 guests.

With this 8 day tour you will be able to discover all the historic sights of Sicily, including Palermo, Mount Etna and the Ancient city of Syracuse. Sicily has been at the crossroads of almost every Mediterranean civilisation for thousands of years, leaving the island with traces of their culture, architecture, and history.

This tour departs between April & November from Manchester, Bristol, Gatwick & Luton Airports. Please contact us to discuss specific departure dates.

Itinerary 

Day 1 – Arrival in Sicily
Fly into the city of Catania on the east of the island, your first taste of Sicily. Relax on the coach journey to your hotel in Agrigento, either the Kaos Hotel or the Hotel Baia di Ulisse depending on your chosen departure date, which will be your home for three nights.

Day 2- Valley of the Temples
On your first morning in beautiful Sicily, you can visit one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world: the imposing Greek ruins in the Valley of the Temples. These six breathtaking temples stand high up on a ridge overlooking the sea, making them visible for miles around.

The most impressive is Concordia, similar in design to the famous Parthenon in Athens, and is incredibly well preserved, missing only its roof. You can enjoy a guided tour of the site, as well as visit the excellent museum to see artefacts from the temples and the surrounding area.

In the afternoon, you also have the chance to spend some time in Agrigento with its medieval streets and elegant piazzas overlooking the blue Mediterranean in the distance, before returning to the hotel in the afternoon to relax.

Day 3- Monreale and Palermo
Today you head to the north coast of the island, taking in some wonderfully rugged scenery along the way. First, you’ll see the magnificent Benedictine abbey at Monreale. Founded in the 12th century, and still in use today, the abbey boasts incredible medieval mosaics covering almost the entire interior.

If you want to tackle the steps to the roof, you’ll be rewarded with superb panoramic views over Palermo, the surrounding countryside, and the sea. The cloisters are a special highlight, where no two columns are alike.

During the afternoon you visit Sicily’s exciting capital, Palermo. This beautiful city grew up under Saracen and Norman rule to become one of the most important places in Europe, famous for its wealth of its court and as a great centre of learning. Today it rivals Rome as Italy’s most impressive and beautiful city, with its Norman palace, cathedrals, and elegant squares.

Day 3 -Piazza Armerina and Taormina
You leave Agrigento and drive to the small town of Piazza Armerina, site of one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century: a Roman villa dating from the 400s, possibly owned by one of the joint emperors in the waning years of the empire. Buried for centuries, you can still see the remains of beautiful pastel-coloured frescoes, and stunning mosaics, showing animals and hunting scenes, some of the finest anywhere in Europe. After a guided tour, you head to Taormina.

Taormina is one of Sicily’s most beautiful towns, perched high above a sweeping stretch of coastline. Here you have a choice of three different hotels, all offering something special, where you stay for four nights with breakfast and dinner included.

Day 5 – Taormina
Today is available for you to freely explore the beautiful town, relax on the beach, or take a swim in your hotel’s pool – whatever you wish.

Taormina retains much of its medieval charm, with incredible views out across the Mediterranean and Mount Etna. It’s renowned for its wonderful atmosphere and beautiful gardens, with a main street lined with smart, designer boutiques and jewellers, leading off to intimate piazzas and tiny side streets, some of which are so narrow you can touch both sides at once.

As you would expect in a country so famous for its cuisine, there are fantastic family-run restaurants and delicious speciality food shops everywhere, selling fresh pasta, olives, Sicilian wine, and the local Marsala.

Taormina’s biggest claim to fame is its amazing theatre, founded by the ancient Greeks and built upon by the Romans and still in use today. Wonderfully preserved with its panoramic view of Etna, it’s a magical place to watch one of the occasional classical music concerts or other performances. You have the whole day to wander as you wish.

Day 6- Siracusa
Today you drive to Siracusa (Syracuse), once one of the richest and most beautiful cities of the ancient world, even rivalling Athens. Its most famous resident was Archimedes, he who whilst in the bath discovered how to measure the volume of an irregular shape and immediately ran through the city streets shouting ‘eureka!’.

Today the city is still one of Italy’s most beautiful, with a wonderful collection of limestone buildings, mainly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, reflected in the blue-green of the sea. There’s an extraordinary baroque cathedral that incorporates an ancient temple opposite the beautiful Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco, itself a stunning medieval townhouse.

The old port area still retains much of its traditional look and is often full of small fishing boats unloading their daily catch. Here you’ll also be able to explore the oldest part of the city: the island known as Ortygia where the earliest settlement was founded. Hop on a boat for a trip around the bay before returning to the hotel.

Day 7- Mount Etna
Dominating eastern Sicily is Europe’s highest volcano, Mount Etna, and this morning you take the drive to as near the snow-capped summit as possible. Ascending the winding road, the landscape becomes increasingly eerie and alien, with razor-sharp black rocks in strange, contorted formations, with large areas completely devoid of vegetation. As you near the volcano’s cable car station you can enjoy extensive views over the whole area and get a vivid impression of the vast lava flows that previously erupted from the mountain.

Subject to certain regulation you will have the opportunity to take the cable car and jeep, along with a guide, to explore even higher levels of this mighty and iconic volcano.

During the afternoon you will return to the hotel, where you can relax and unwind after a day of thrilling discovery.

Day 8- Return to the UK 
Today a coach will return you to the airport in time for the flight home, where you can reflect on the joys and adventures of your holiday in Sicily.

Departure dates

This tour has lots of departure dates from various airports across the UK. Please contact us so we can find the closest one to your requirements.