Classic Sicily, Etna & Taormina with Three-night Beach Extension

Classic Sicily, Etna & Taormina with Three-night Beach Extension

Lift the veil on Italy’s fascinating southern island outpost, its ancient treasures, natural wonders, sun-kissed beaches and elegant resorts.

Discover Sicily’s most memorable cities and their lesser-known highlights with an unforgettable two-centre holiday, taking in Palermo, Taormina and historic Syracuse. You’ll start the holiday with a flight to Catania and check into your four-star hotel base in nearby Mazzaforno. Your first included excursion will showcase Cefalù, with its exquisite Byzantine mosaics, ahead of a stop in Palermo. Explore the city’s rich cultural heritage with a guided tour of some of its most famous landmarks and continue to Giardini Naxos for your next hotel, enjoying a visit to Villa Romana del Casale en route.

After taking in the treasures of Sicily’s colourful past, you’ll witness its finest natural vistas, starting with an excursion to towering Mount Etna, one of the world’s tallest active volcanoes. The idyllic Aeolian Islands, a memorable highlight on the Tyrrhenian Sea, are next and you’ll have the chance to dock on Lipari for an afternoon’s exploration before heading back to the hotel. Your final included excursion sees Syracuse’s diverse history showcased with time spent in its city centre and ancient Greek temples. At the end of a week-long exploration of Sicily, you can enjoy the next three days however you see fit, perhaps unwinding on Giardini Naxos’ delightful seafront or continuing your exploration independently.

What's Included:

• 10 nights’ carefully chosen mixed-board accommodation at four-star hotels in Mazzaforno (3 nights) and Giardini Naxos (7)
• 10 breakfasts and 10 dinners
• Visit to Palermo
• Sightseeing in Taormina
• Visit to the mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale
• A Mount Etna cable-car ascent
• Guided tour of Syracuse
• Return flights to Sicily
• Coach travel and transfers throughout
• Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour manager, apart from three-night stay in Giardini Naxos

• All mandatory local taxes and charges

  Highlights:

• Discover the historic Sicilian capital, Palermo, on a fascinating walking tour
• Spend four nights in a charming hotel beneath fabled Taormina
• Visit Syracuse, rich in Greek and Roman history
• Unwind with three days at leisure in Giardini Naxos
• Marvel at the magnificent Byzantine mosaics of Cefalù’s 12th-century Cathedral and soak up its cultural landscape with under guidance
• Travel by cable-car to the top of Etna, one of the highest volcanoes in Europe
• Visit Monreale’s Benedictine monastery
• Discover Taormina, a beautiful hilltop town
• Unwind with three days at leisure in Giardini Naxos

Operator: Newmarket Holidays

Day 1: Fly to Catania

Travel to Sicily’s east coast this morning and meet your tour manager, before transferring to your first hotel in the resort of Mazzaforno.

Rest and relax after the journey and have dinner in the hotel.

Day 2: Included visit to Cefalù

The morning sees you in the nearby coastal city of Cefalù. Dominated by a mighty cathedral, which we visit, and the craggy outcrop of ‘La Rocca’, Cefalù is part fishing port, part holiday resort. The 12th-century cathedral is home to one of the world’s finest Byzantine mosaics, and the surrounding maze of medieval cobbled streets is a delight to wander through. The more energetic might even consider a climb to the Temple of Diana, on the slopes of La Rocca.

The town boasts a superb beach of fine sand, and there’s a good selection of shops, restaurants, and pavement cafés for you to explore and soak up the local atmosphere before you return to the hotel this afternoon.

Day 3: Included Palermo guided tour

Embark on this morning’s included tour, first calling at the Benedictine monastery at Monreale. Acknowledged as one of Sicily’s greatest architectural glories, this abbey cathedral is a mix of Romanesque, Byzantine and Arab design. Set off a guided walking tour of Palermo, the island capital that has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Founded by the Phoenicians, and later home to Carthaginian, Greek and Norman conquerors, Palermo, once Europe’s richest city, offers a glimpse of the entire history of Southern Italy in one place. Wander the streets of its four quarters, the Quattro Canti, watching the world go by from a seat in one of the city’s countless bars and cafés.

Return to the hotel later this afternoon, where you can spend some time before dinner by the pool or on the hotel’s private beach.

Day 4:Included Villa Romana del Casale excursion

Bidding farewell to Mazzaforno, travel deep into the Sicilian interior, to the medieval town of Piazza Armerina, set high in wooded hills, and close to the Roman villa at Casale, with its well-preserved mosaics, giving an insight into Imperial life. Continue to your second hotel, positioned in the resort of Giardini-Naxos.

Rest and relax and enjoy dinner in the hotel.

Day 5: Included Etna and Taormina tour

Today’s included tour first heads to the southern slopes of towering Mount Etna. Ascend by cable car to a height of 2,300 metres, to take in impressive views on clear days, and perhaps walk to the base of the volcano’s crater. Taormina is no less stunning, with its marbled squares and flower-decked streets lined with restaurants – perfect spots for lunch. The famous Greco-Roman theatre is cut into the mountainside. Once used for gladiatorial contests, it is now a setting for modern performances that compete for audiences’ attention with the vistas of Etna and the sea.

After a special day, return to the hotel for dinner.

Day 6: Day at leisure with optional Aeolian Island cruise

On yet another memorable day, you'll have the chance to join an optional excursion to the north coast port of Milazzo. Here, you’ll step aboard a ferry for a one-hour crossing to the glorious, volcanic Aeolian Isles, which rise out of the blue waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Arrive on the largest island Lípari, passing Vulcano with its brooding crater, and after docking in Marina Lunga, it is a short transfer to Lípari Town to spend a couple of hours, before returning to the mainland and back to the hotel for dinner.

Day 7: Included Syracuse city tour

Unearth the treasures of one of Sicily’s most important cities today, as you make the short journey to discover Syracuse. The former centre of the Greek empire, the ancient heart of the city is on Ortigia island, upon which great temples of Apollo and Athena were built.

Day 8: Day at leisure

After a busy week’s exploration in Sicily, you’ll be free to spend the next three days under your own steam, perhaps relaxing on one of Giardini Naxos’ idyllic beaches or setting out to explore more of the island at leisure.

Those in favour of a more active day’s exploration can find ample points of interest along Sicily’s east coast, only a short bus ride from Giardini Naxos.

Day 9: Day at leisure

Spend another laid-back day in Naxos, perhaps relaxing by the poolside with a cocktail or soaking up views of the Sicilian coast from the hotel’s manicured gardens.

Day 10: Day at leisure

Your final full day in Sicily can be spent however you see fit. If you haven’t already, make sure to tick any remaining wish-list experiences off before enjoying one last Italian dinner.

Day 11: Return to the UK

This morning, after a final breakfast at the hotel, bid farewell to Sicily as you head back to the airport for your return flight to the UK.