Scents of Italy and Sicily Escorted Vacation

Upon arrival transfer to your hotel. (Your arrival transfer is included only if you arrive on the actual day the tour commences. For customers arriving earlier an individual transfer can be organized at an additional cost.)

After breakfast, enjoy a unique guided sightseeing tour, including highlights of religious and ancient Rome: the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgment, monumental St. Peter's Square and the Basilica to admire Michelangelo's Pieta. Admire the amazing Coliseum (outside) and the Roman Forum (outside). (B)

After breakfast depart to the Sorrentine Peninsula. Visit a cameo factory before arriving in Pompeii where you will have time for lunch on your own. Enjoy a guided tour of the excavations of the ancient city destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. In the afternoon proceed to Sorrento. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

After breakfast, transfer to the harbor and cross to the Isle of Capri, famous since Roman times and a favorite vacation spot of the Emperor Tiberius. Arrive at the port of Marina Grande and take the funicular up to La Piazzetta. Time to explore the island on your own. Return to Sorrento where you’ll enjoy a tasting of “Limoncello”, the liquor made from the fragrant lemon of the Sorrentine Area. Dinner and overnight. (B, D)

This morning you will have free time in Sorrento. In the afternoon, depart for Naples and board your ferry to Sicily. Dinner and overnight on board. (B,D)

After disembarkation, enjoy your first Sicilian breakfast in a typical bar. Then enjoy a panoramic tour of Palermo which will include the Normans Palace (outside) and the Cathedral (outside). Drive up to Monreale and visit the 12th-century Moorish-Norman Cathedral, famous for its 50,000 square feet of precious byzantine mosaics. Proceed to Agrigento. Dinner and overnight. (B,D)

After breakfast, join a guided visit of the splendid Doric buildings of the Valley of the Temples, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Then depart for a farm nearby for a tasting of amazing Sicilian products. Proceed to the beautiful town of Taormina, a favorite of tourists worldwide. Free time for shopping or for a leisurely stroll. Check in at your hotel for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

After breakfast, depart to Siracusa for a guided visit of the Neapolis Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Ear of Dionysus, an ear-shaped grotto. Time at leisure in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. (B,D)

After breakfast, depart for an excursion to Mount Etna - the highest active volcano in Europe - up to the Rifugio Sapienza, 6,200 feet above sea level. You will have time to enjoy the spectacular view. Today a special farewell lunch, consisting of typical local products, will be served. Continue to Catania airport for your flight to Rome. Upon arrival in Rome, transfer to the hotel near the airport. Overnight. (B,L)

After breakfast you will be transferred to the Rome airport for your next destination. (Your departure transfer is included only if you depart on the actual day the tour concludes. For customers departing later an individual transfer can be organized at an additional cost.) (B)