SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• 4 stars Hotels offering high quality services, carefully selected in the most suggestive historical centres of the main Sicilian towns;
• Selected typical restaurants and especially chosen menus to have a taste of the Sicilian and Italian cuisine
• Discovery of the territory and of the wine and food tradition by: visit and wine/oil tasting in farmhouses in Selinunte and on the Etna Mount - tasting of typical Sicilian products (wine, chocolate, biscuits, etc) in one of the most enchanting square in Ragusa;
• Deluxe motorcoach offering the max comfort;
• Qualified multilingual tour escort;
• RETEVACANZE staff always at your disposal in helpline

Program:

DEC 30th THURSDAY
PALERMO
Independent arrival at Hotel Principe di Villafranca in Palermo. Enjoy a welcome cocktail. Dinner and overnight in your hotel.

DEC 31st FRIDAY
PALERMO - MONREALE - (MONTE PELLEGRINO/CATACOMBS/CAPO MARKET OPTIONAL) - PALERMO
After a buffet breakfast. morning visit of the Capital of Sicily, one of the richest towns in the island for history and art: the Cathedral, the “Palatina” Chapel, and panoramic tour of the town (the “Quattro Canti”, the Opera House, the Pretoria Square). Continue to Monreale to admire the Cathedral with its splendid 12th century mosaics and the cloister of the Benedictines monastery with Moorish architecture. Lunch in your Hotel. Afternoon at leisure or optional excursion to Monte Pellegrino to arrive at the shrine of Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of the city. From the viewpoint enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the Conca d’Oro. Visit the Catacombs of Cappuccini, a haunting experience, where in a maze of corridors are held about 8,000 bodies embalmed . End the afternoon with a walk to the discover of one of the most colorful historical markets of Palermo: “The Capo Market”. Dinner in Hotel. The remainder of the night is at leisure to enjoy the celebrations and performances that will take place in the nearby Piazza Politeama in Palermo, just a few steps’ away from your Hotel. Overnight.

JAN 1st SATURDAY
PALERMO - CEFALU’ - CAPO D’ORLANDO - TAORMINA - CATANIA
After a buffet breakfast, depart to Cefalù, a charming coastal town, a former fishing village, which is also home to a breathtaking Norman Cathedral with dazzling mosaics. Take a stroll to the city center and down main street to reach the Cathedral and the medieval wash-house built in the rock. Proceed to Capo d’Orlando along the Tyrrhenian coast and stop for lunch. Continue to Taormina called “the pearl of the Ionic Sea”, founded in 400 BC and beautifully located overlooking the sea and the peak of Mount Etna. Enjoy time at leisure to shop for handmade lace, coral jewels, ceramics, home-made sweets and preserves down “Corso Umberto” or simply walk through the tiny streets. Possibility to visit the fascinating Roman - Greek theatre. Proceed to Catania. Accommodation, dinner and overnight at the Excelsior Grand Hotel Catania.

JAN 2nd SUNDAY
CATANIA - MONTE ETNA with lunch in a farmhouse - CATANIA
After a buffet breakfast, weather conditions permitting, excursion to Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe. Across fascinating landscape, we will reach a height of 2000 metres, where we will enjoy a fantastic panorama of the Ionic Sea. Lunch in a farmhouse on the slopes of Etna and wine tasting of local production. Back to Catania, the town known for its original baroque style and for its streets built with black lava stone from mount Etna. Walking tour through Via Etnea, the Baroque street “Via Crociferi”, the Piazza Duomo with the Cathedral and the “Liotru” statue, symbol of the city, the roman Amphitheatre, the Opera House (external visit), the University, and the noble Palace of Biscari (external visit). Dinner and overnight in your Hotel.

JAN 3rd MONDAY
CATANIA - SIRACUSA - NOTO - RAGUSA with Sicilian typical products tasting
After a buffet breakfast, depart to Syracuse to visit the most beautiful Greek colony of Sicily. Visit of the archaeological area including the famous Latomie of the Paradise, the Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Dyonisios “Ear”. Visit the island of Ortigia, the small baroque old city centre of Siracusa, built by the Aragonians: here you can admire the Cathedral and the “Fontana Aretusa”. Lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, depart to Noto, one of the most beautiful cities in Sicily renowned for the harmony and unity of its Baroque style and today declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Proceed to Ragusa, a city that is divided into two parts: the upper part built after the earthquake in 1693 and the lower part that is called Ragusa Ibla, one of the most important testimony of the Baroque architecture. Enjoy a tasting of Sicilian typical products in a nice bar in the main square by the Dome, “Basilica di San Giorgio”. Accommodation, dinner and overnight at Hotel Mediterraneo Palace.

JAN 4th TUESDAY
RAGUSA - PIAZZA ARMERINA - AGRIGENTO
After a buffet breakfast, depart to Piazza Armerina and visit the worldwide known Villa Romana del Casale: it is the richest, largest and most complex collection of late Roman mosaics in the world. Continue to Agrigento. Lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit of the Valley of the Temples including the Temple of Juno, Concord, Heracles, Zeus, Castor & Pollux that represent the most beautiful example of the Greek Civilization in Sicily. Before reaching your Hotel, enjoy an unforgettable panoramic tour of the Valley of the Temples illuminated. Accommodation, dinner and overnight at Hotel Della Valle.

JAN 5th WEDNESDAY
AGRIGENTO - SELINUNTE with lunch in a farmhouse - SEGESTA - PALERMO
After a buffet breakfast, depart to the Archaeological park of Selinunte, the largest in the Mediterranean area with the impressive Temples and Acropolis. Proceed to Castelvetrano and stop in a local farmhouse (famous for olive oil production) where before lunch it will be possible to have a wine and oil tasting of local production. Continue to Segesta to visit the Doric Temple which keeps in its stones the weight of a long history, surrounded by a unique landscape. Proceed to Palermo. Accommodation, dinner and Overnight at Hotel Principe di Villafranca.

JAN 6th THURSDAY
PALERMO
After a buffet breakfast, end of the Tour.

Pdf:

Tour Jolly New Year’s Special Departure ita

Tour Jolly New Year’s Special Departure Eng

Tour Jolly New Year’s Special Departure Esp