Sicilian Carousel & Aeolian Islands 2023

Independent arrival at the hotel in Palermo. Time at leisure and overnight.

After a buffet breakfast, free time to start discovering Palermo and to have lunch on your own. In the afternoon meet with the guide for a guided tour of the city starting at ‘I Quattro Canti di Città’ Piazza Pretoria, Piazza Bellini and internal visit of Martorana Church. Continue to reach one of the most famous markets in Palermo ‘La Vucciria’ where you will have the chance to taste the delights of typical Palermo street food. Rest of the day is at leisure for shopping and dinner. (B, T)

After a buffet breakfast, departure to visit the town of Monreale, situated on a hill few kilometres from Palermo at a panoramic spot. Visit the Cathedral, one of the most beautiful monuments in the world with its Moorish architecture, housing very fine mosaics representing a complete cycle of the Old and New Testaments in Arab-Norman style. Continue to Cefalu, a former fishing village, now a charming coastal town. Enjoy a walk to the town centre and down main street to reach the Arab-Norman Cathedral and the medieval wash-house built in the rock. Free time to explore the town, shopping and lunch on your own. Proceed to Taormina through the coastal road passing through Messina from where we’ll have the chance to admire the suggestive scenery of the Strait of Messina. Accommodation at your hotel and free time for dinner. (B)

After a buffet breakfast, excursion to Mount Etna, the highest, and only active Volcano in Europe. Weather conditions permitting, cross fascinating landscape with different kind of vegetation, a mixture of citrus groves, vineyards and fruit trees. You will reach a height of 1,800 metres to visit the Sylvester Craters where you’ll enjoy a spectacular panorama over the Ionian Sea. Stop at a local vineyard on the eastern slopes of Etna and visit a prestigious wine cellar. We will have the opportunity to taste different local wines accompanied by local cheese and cold cuts. In the afternoon, return back to Taormina, charming city called "The Pearl of the Ionian Sea". Enjoy time at leisure for shopping or walking through its tiny streets. Possibility to visit the Greek-Roman Theatre on your own, with its spectacular view of Giardini Naxos and Mount Etna. Free time for dinner and overnight. (B, T)

After a buffet breakfast, departure to Milazzo to board a hydrofoil for the Island of Lipari. Arrival on the island, the largest in the Aeolian archipelago. Transfer to the hotel and rest of the day at leisure to visit the delightful village of Lipari and dinner on your own. (B)

After a buffet breakfast, morning at leisure in Lipari. In the late morning, departure by boat to Panarea and Stromboli. First stop is Panarea where you can visit the small village with a pleasant walk along the streets with white Aeolian-style houses. Then continue by boat to Stromboli, the wildest of the Aeolian islands that seems to preserve its bond with nature and in particular with the volcano, called by the locals "Iddu". Free time on the island. Once back on the boat, you will continue until you reach the "Sciara del fuoco", a ridge of the crater from where the lava descends. From the boat it will also be possible to witness the evocative eruptions of the volcano that follow one another with intervals of approx fifteen minutes. Return to Lipari in the evening. (B)

After a buffet breakfast, departure by boat to Salina. After a stop in the centre of Santa Marina, continue by boat to circumnavigate the island and swim in Pollara, the beach in the famous film ‘Il Postino’. Free time for lunch. Continue to Lingua where there is a saltwater lake from where the salt was extracted in ancient times (hence the name of the island). Return to Lipari in the afternoon. Time at leisure for shopping and dinner. (B)

After a buffet breakfast, transfer to the port of Lipari for boarding the hydrofoil to Milazzo. Transfer to Catania on arrival. Check into the hotel and rest of the day at leisure. Perhaps visit the historic centre of Catania and its main attractions Piazza Duomo, Pescheria, Castello Ursino, Piazza San Francesco, via Teatro Greco, Piazza Dante, via Gesuiti, Alessi staircase, Piazza Università, Piazza Vincenzo Bellini and Piazza San Placido. Overnight in Catania. (B)

After buffet breakfast, end of the tour. (B)