It’s time for you to rediscover your family’s heritage like never before as we take our signature tour – the Small Group Heritage Tour – on the road to Sicily!
Celebrate in the wonders of Sicily, feast on specially selected menus, taste local wines, and enjoy hands-on excursions that bring you closer to your Sicilian heritage. You can either end the tour on Day 7, or you can choose to cap the week with a private heritage tour in your family’s Sicilian village.
(Still considering your travel options? Why not explore our Food and Wine Tour of Calabria and Basilicata – world-class cuisine enjoyed amidst some of Europe’s most picture-perfect scenery.)
Accommodations and Transportation:
Meals:
** There is a lot of food included in this itinerary; travelers rarely have the appetite for dinners or “on their own” meals.
Group Excursions and Experiences:
You will arrive to Catania Airport and transfer to your centrally-located 4-star hotel on Catania’s main street. You will check in and have time to unpack and relax before meeting the group for your Welcome to Sicily dinner, a multiple course meal, complete with local appetizers, homemade pasta, robust wine, and more.
Overnight Catania.
This morning you will have a guided tour of the famous Catania Fish Market.
This market is lively, boisterous, colorful, and gritty with an exhilarating atmosphere. If anything sums up the beating heart and soul of Catania, then it’s this place – full of life and as down-to-earth as the locals themselves.
A trip to Sicily is a journey through history, from the occupation by the Greeks and Romans, and later the Arabs, Normans, and Catalans. The mix of influences over the years have changed the way Sicilians eat, so you’ll find ingredients and dishes you’d expect to see in Greece, Spain, and North Africa.
You’ll sample these flavors, and more, as you stroll through the market with your local expert who will introduce you to their favorite local fishmongers who invite you to sample their daily catch.
This tasting is robust and for most people, is more than enough for “lunch.” However, if you find yourself in need of nibbles, your tour will end in the center of the market, where you can choose to dine on your own.
You’ll have the rest of the day on your own, with our ideas of things you can do, see, and experience.
Evening on your own. Overnight Catania.
Today, we will pile into jeeps to visit the famous Mt. Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano. Standing at 10,810 feet tall, there is a history of Mount Etna erupting as far back as 3,500 years ago, with observations reaching back even further.
Coming from the Greek word Aitne, Etna’s name can be translated to mean “I burn.” In Greek mythology, Aitna, daughter of Ouranos (Heaven) and Ge (Earth) was the goddess of the volcano. It was believed that Zeus buried a hundred-headed monster named Typhon underneath it and his restlessness is the cause of any eruptions.
You’ll have a leisurely walk on the mountain, visit an antique ice cave, and have lunch, with wine, of course, on the volcano.
Return to Catania. Evening on your own. Overnight Catania.
You’ll bid farewell to Catania and prepare for a full day as we transfer to Ragusa.
Along the way, we’ll stop in Caltagirone. Swirling patterns, vibrant colors, and painstakingly detailed designs define Caltagirone, a town renowned for its ceramics. This charming destination offers a unique cultural experience, with virtually every building in the old town decorated with ceramic tiles. Caltagirone’s history is marked by the influence of Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and French, each leaving their indelible mark. The town’s architecture is a testament to this rich heritage, brimming with palaces and churches, and the iconic Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte – a staircase adorned with beautiful ceramic tiles.
Following your hands-on artistic artisan adventure, you’ll have lunch, then will stop in Piazza Armerina to visit the Roman Villa del Casale.
Prepare to be fascinated by this monumental complex, which is of great historical and artistic importance. Dating back to the late imperial Roman period, this villa is one of the most luxurious of its kind. It is especially noteworthy for the richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost every room; they are the finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world.
Following your tour, we will continue to Ragusa, where we’ll feel like we’ve walked through time as we enter our boutique 4-star Villa. We will be greeted with a welcome aperitivo (that will likely sub your dinner!) before having the rest of the night on our own.
Overnight Ragusa.
You’ll have time to sleep in this morning or you can choose to venture into the center of Ragusa.
Mid-morning, the group will reconvene and head to Scicli where you’ll meet Enrico, who will guide you through a sensory exploration of local, Sicilian herbs. His wife will prepare have lunch, then we’ll head to nearby Modica for dessert.
Here, we will have a tasting of the local chocolate that is famous in Sicily and is made according to an ancient recipe, of Aztec origins no less. If you’re wondering what the Aztecs have to do with Sicily, think of the Spanish Conquistadors of South America: it will occur to you that the Spanish themselves ruled this island for a couple of centuries.
Modica chocolate, processed in the same way as the Aztecs did at the time of the Spanish Conquistadors, can technically be described as “cold chocolate” and it is grainy and crumbly.
Return to Ragusa and have the rest of the day on your own. Evening on your own. Overnight Ragusa.
This morning, we’ll depart for Palazzolo Acreide where we will meet a local craftsman, lovingly referred to as “the crazy basket maker.” You will have the opportunity to make your own Sicilian basket in his jovial company, then will have lunch.
We will return to the Villa for a break to rest or pack, then will meet for a guided walk through Ragusa Ibla, followed by a “Farewell for Now” dinner.
You’ll have breakfast, then will either depart for the airport or if you choose to add-on your private Sicilian heritage tour, your driver will meet you to begin your three-day extension.
Ciao for now, beloved Sicily!
***
Travelers who have heritage in Sicily will depart with their private heritage specialist to a location near their ancestral town. All details will be determined based on travelers’ ancestral locations. Overnight in Sicily.
Today is your day – you will visit the town you’ve heard about all of your life!
Along with your Heritage Specialist, you will visit your ancestral town, learn what we discovered during during our on-the-ground research, and will learn more about your family in the village. Exact details vary, but you can expect to visit the city hall, meet the locals we met during our research time, and talk to people who grew up in your town.
You will have lunch in or near your town, then will continue your day.
In the late afternoon, you will return to your hotel. Overnight.
Today you will depart either for the nearest airport or to continue your vacation.
Ciao Sicily!
Group airport transfers are included at the scheduled times. Travelers arriving outside these times should inquire about private transfers.
We love private tours and can often include extra fun elements that aren’t available to individual travelers. If you’d like a bilingual escort or driver, just let us know. We’ll be happy to plan your custom vacation accordingly.
This is a great question because there is sometimes overlap amongst the three which leads to confusion. To keep it quick though, a travel consultant is a local expert, meaning she only focuses on a specific part of the world, in some cases one country, in other cases (like mine) part of one country. This person usually lives (or has lived for an extended amount of time) in the place she consults on and has an intimate knowledge of the area.
A travel agent is similar in that she helps her clients put their trips together. A travel agent can specialize in a country but oftentimes hasn’t lived there and/or may not have traveled to all of the places her clients are going. A travel agent can search for and book flights and cruises that travel consultants can’t or choose not to book.
I often work with travel agents who want to ensure they are offering the best service to their clients. The travel agent will contact me and together we’ll put the Calabria/southern Italy section of their client’s vacation together.
A tour operator packages trip elements into travel packages that they either sell directly or through travel agents. Some travel consultants (like me) are registered as a tour operator for legal business purposes.
When you book a custom vacation, there is more going into your trip than simply recommending a hotel or a cooking class. I am invested in my clients’ trips and I work with them to choose the right base locations, to map out their ideal route and to ensure the hotels, guides, excursions and activities are right for them.
It’s been estimated the average person spends 100 hours researching, planning and booking a vacation. My clients either don’t have this kind of time to devote to planning their trip or they want to ensure they are making the right decisions for their vacation.
Besides the fact that I’m being paid by my clients to plan their trips, I choose not to accept commissions from hotels, car companies, chefs or other vendors because I don’t like the potential conflict of interest. If I don’t accept commission from anyone, then my clients know I always have their best interest in mind.
I don’t – but I can either coordinate with your travel agent, recommend an agent to you for group travel or tell you about the airlines I personally choose when I’m traveling.
