Sicily, Etna & The Aeolian Islands

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.

• Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Dinner

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.

• Breakfast, Dinner

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

• Breakfast