Highlights of Ancient Sicily - 8 days from £1089

Accommodation

Giardini-Naxos - Sant’Alphio Garden Hotel & Spa (4-star)
3 nights' half board. This appealing hotel has a lovely flower-filled garden and offers an outdoor pool, attractive restaurant, bar, lounge and beauty spa with indoor pool. The welcoming resort is just seven kilometres from Taormina. All rooms have satellite TV, radio, air-conditioning, telephone, hairdryer and minibar.

Cefalu - Hotel Baia del Capitano (4-star)
4 nights' half board. Situated on a promontory just five kilometres from the pretty coastal village of Cefalu, this small and friendly hotel has an attractive garden, swimming pool, bar and restaurant. Surrounded by olive groves, it offers stunning views of the coastline. All rooms have satellite TV, fridge, safe, air-conditioning and laundry service.

Please note: Outdoor swimming pools are typically open between May and September, but this is dependent on weather conditions.

Itinerary

Day 1: UK/Catania

Your Tour Manager waits for you in Catania, before you transfer to Giardini-Naxos, your home for the next three nights. Unwind in your hotel, where meals will be enjoyed on a half-board basis. Close to the town of Taormina, the snow-capped peak of Mount Etna provides an impressive backdrop to this charming resort.

Meals: Dinner

Day 2: Siracusa

Don’t miss an optional full-day excursion to Siracusa, the local dialect and remnants of ancient Greece insure a truly authentic experience. This ancient city was once a key authority in the Mediterranean world, the magnificent Greek theatre, carved into the hillside acts as a reminder.

Continue to Ortigia where great beauty is waiting to be discovered in the network of narrow medieval back streets. You will visit the town’s most celebrated site, the Duomo, where the cool, shady interior awaits your discovery.

Meals: Breakfast / dinner

Day 3: Giardini-Naxos, Mount Etna

Fashion the day as you see fit; relax by the pool or venture into the heart of neighbouring Taormina. Discover manicured public gardens and admire skilfully preserved medieval architecture as you stroll through the streets. Ponder over a rustic menu embellished with local swordfish, ricotta, chillies and olives; the appetising aromas from the well presented restaurants are truly hypnotic. Take the opportunity to visit impressive Mount Etna to gaze in awe at the spectacular views across stunning Sicily, they will take your breath away.

Meals: Breakfast / dinner

Day 4: Piazza Armerina & Cefalu

Your journey adopts a new narrative today as you head inland to Piazza Armerina. En route you will visit Villa del Casale, the many beautifully decorated rooms of this archaeological site indicate it was once the home of a key Roman figure, today what is left of the crumbling walls provide shelter to a large collection of fascinating Roman mosaics.

Your day ends in Cefalu, your home for the next four nights. The curvaceous stretch of golden sandy beach that surrounds Cefalu has been enticing holidaymakers to its shores for many years. The neatly stacked leather bags that poke out of shaded shop doorways, the butcheries teeming with locals of all ages and the street vendors that sell fresh seafood from the baskets on their bicycles are just a few reasons why this seaside town is so charming. Take a stroll past the picturesque plazas and find the twin-towered Norman cathedral, just one example of the many medieval buildings in this district.

Meals: Breakfast / dinner

Day 5: Monreale, Segesta

Situated on top of a hill, the cathedral of Monreale watches over Palermo below. Encounter majestic Romanesque cloisters and an interior glittering with magnificent Byzantine mosaics. You’ll also explore picturesque Segesta, where the unfinished acropolis stands proudly on a remote hillside before reaching the ancient theatre.

Meals: Breakfast / dinner

Day 6: Agrigento

Connect with Sicily’s Grecian past on an optional excursion to Agrigento, an ancient town dating back to the 6th century. Discover the Valley of the Temples, dramatically situated on a high ridge overlooking the sea. Clusters of trees and chunky rocks line the path of Sacred Way, distracted by the crunching sound of gravel below your feet you look up to notice the ruins in the distance. You will stop at the Temple of Concord, famed for its surprisingly well-preserved columns, and the Temple of Zeus, the largest temple built by the Greeks.

Meals: Breakfast / dinner

Day 7: Palermo

Discover Palermo, the capital city of Sicily, whose origins extend as far back as the 8th century BC when Phoenicians transformed the area into a port. Enclosed in the walls of the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), the Cappella Palatine is waiting to be explored. The walls of this chapel emit a wondrous glow as natural light bounces off marble and gold mosaics. Your tour continues to La Martorana, a 12th century church. Hues of gold, pale blue and dusty pink dominate the intricate murals and mosaics; a truly captivating sight.

Meals: Breakfast / dinner

Day 8: Catania/UK

Time to reflect as you return home from Catania.

Meals: Breakfast