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Sicily, Etna & The Aeolian Islands

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4.3 stars(23 reviews)
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Explore the unique island of Sicily, home to Mount Etna

8 days From £999 £899 per person
Save up to £100pp

Save up to £100pp on selected UK and European 2023 holidays when you book before 31st of March 2023.

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2023 Tour code: 23SCF

About the tour

Explore the enchanting Italian island of Sicily - a wonderful combination of scenic coastlines, historic cities and breathtaking landscapes. You also visit Mount Etna and the Aeolian Islands on this magnificent holiday.

Highlights

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London & Giardini Naxos

Your holiday begins with a flight from London Gatwick to Catania. From here, transfer to Giardini Naxos, a beautiful beach resort just outside the popular hilltop town of Taormina. On arrival, check in for your seven-night stay.

Includes
  • Dinner
Day 2 - Taormina

Today you enjoy a guided tour of Taormina, including a visit to the stunning Teatro Greco. This beautiful amphitheatre from the 3rd century BC is still used for performances today. Built during Roman times in a Greek style, it's the second largest of its kind in Sicily and is immaculately preserved. From the top of the auditorium, there are breathtaking views of Mount Etna and the peaks of Calabria.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3 - Ortigia

Head to Ortigia, a tiny island connected to Syracuse by a bridge. Here, there's a guided walking tour that takes in the superb cathedral, built from a former Pagan temple and reputedly Europe's oldest Christian church. Ortigia is also the home of the majestic Fountain of Arethusa, found on the seafront. This freshwater spring is surrounded by myth and legend and its gentle waters are dotted with pretty wild papyrus.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 - Giardini Naxos

Your day is free to spend at leisure. You may like to relax at your hotel and make the most of the lovely facilities including the swimming pools and private beach. Maybe revisit Taormina to explore its many attractions. You may enjoy a visit Villa Comunale and Taormina's impressive public gardens, full of gorgeous blooms and paths shaded by magnolia trees. Otherwise, there are many souvenir shops and glamorous boutiques along the Corso Umberto and its surrounding side alleys.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5 - Mount Etna

Today you take an excursion to mighty Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano. Travel by coach past the rugged lava plains along the higher slopes and see the impressive Silvestri Craters. From here, you're free to take in the views, or you could take the cable car to the top. The summit's active crater is visible, often casting out smoke accompanied by lumps of tiny red and grey lava - an incredible phenomena to see. Later, take the Circumetnea train around the mountain's base, taking in views of the surrounding villages. This narrow-gauge railway first opened in 1898 and the views of the volcanic landscapes from its carriages are spectacular.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 6 - The Aeolian Islands

Enjoy a boat cruise to the Aeolian Islands, a small volcanic archipelago boasting UNESCO World Heritage status. Moor at Lipari, the largest of the islands, where you spend time in the colourful seaport of Lipari Town. Beyond the pastel-coloured houses of the bustling harbour, the scenery turns wilder, with dense greenery and rugged hillsides rising away from the water. Continue to Vulcano, famed for its hot springs and smoky volcanic peaks. Believed by the Romans to be a by-product from the God of Fire's underground workshop, the island was named in his honour. Even today the black beaches, natural mud baths and rugged coastline have a touch of this fantastical mythology about them.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - Giardini Naxos

Enjoy another free day, maybe taking advantage of the hotel's two swimming pools. Otherwise, you might like to relax on the hotel's private beach. If you enter the water, there's plenty of sea life to admire amongst the fossilised lava flows from age-old Etna eruptions. For a more sedate way to pass the time, make your way to the pedestrianised seafront, lined with shops, restaurants, pizzerias and cafés.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8 - London

Today you bid farewell to Sicily as you transfer to Catania Airport for the flight back to London, where your holiday ends.

Includes
  • Breakfast

Additional information

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour features the same excursions, they may not necessarily be in the order listed above.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We will write to you around 10 weeks before your departure date with the precise meeting times for your tour group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotel

UNAhotel Naxos Beach, Sicily

UNAhotel Naxos Beach, Sicily

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Train

The Circumetnea Railway

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

Flight upgrades
UK rail connections
London hotels

Reviews

4.3 stars4.3 / 5 · 23 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (11)
  2. 4 stars
    (9)
  3. 3 stars
    (3)
  4. 2 stars
    (0)
  5. 1 star
    (0)

Frances Lawrence

3 stars

Submitted 31 Oct 2022

I would have given 4 stars but I was travelling on my own, which wasn't so much fun. Coach journeys were a bit long but otherwise, hotel amenities were first class as was the tour manager, Charles, and visiting Etna and the islands was good. Taormina is interesting and taking the bus up to Castelmola gives you a great view.

Collected by Trustpilot

harpy

4 stars

Submitted 31 Oct 2022

Charles was an excellent tour guide. Loved Sicily, lots to see and do. The boat trip was a bit long and too much time stuck on Vulcans - captive audience. Hotel was good if a little tired - especially the bathroom, but food was really good.

Collected by Trustpilot

Jan

5 stars

Submitted 31 Oct 2022

Value for money

Collected by Trustpilot

A. M. Rendle

5 stars

Submitted 29 Oct 2022

An excellent trip with a wonderful your guide

Collected by Trustpilot

Mr Gerald Cannon

4 stars

Submitted 27 Oct 2022

The hotel was fine, the country side fantsastic but the island was scruffy. The worst aspect was the toilet accommodation outwith the hotel. it was dirty and porely maintained. this aspect let the place down.

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Hilary Rock-Gormley

3 stars

Submitted 26 Oct 2022

The tour was good but the hotel was very poor. We were accommodated in woodland 10 minutes walk from dinner down a badly lit, uneven path. Mosquitos were everywhere - inside the rooms too - I had over 100 bites by the time I got home and nothing I could do deterred them. I was relieved to leave the place.

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Sicily, Etna & The Aeolian Islands

Explore the unique island of Sicily, home to Mount Etna

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