After checking in at Auckland Airport late this afternoon, we board our Emirates flight to Dubai.
On arrival in Dubai early this morning, we clear customs and immigration and transfer to our hotel.
We can check in straight away because we have booked an early check-in.
The rest of the day is at leisure.
This morning we transfer to Dubai airport for our flight to Rome.
We arrive at Rome airport early this afternoon and transit through to our ITA Airways flight to Palermo.
Palermo, the capital of Sicily is pressed between the mountains and the sea, a striking setting for what must be one of the most exotic cities in Europe. Its architecture and culture reflect the extraordinarily rich fabric of its past. Our accommodation for the first two nights is in an elegant 4-star hotel in the lively commercial centre of Palermo. After pre-dinner drinks, we’ll have a light dinner in a neighbouring restaurant.
We start the day with a morning walking tour of the hidden treasures in the centre of Palermo before exploring the winding lanes of Palermo’s celebrated markets. We finish our tour with a visit to the famous Norman Palace and its spectacular mosaics and then have lunch in a traditional osteria.
The rest of the afternoon and the evening is free.
From the bustle and intensity of Sicily’s largest city, we drive into the mountainous interior to the green tranquillity of the island’s second largest national park. On the way we will visit the dazzling medieval cathedral of Monreale, perched high above Palermo and stop at a lovely seaside resort along the way.
Our base for the next four nights will be in a restored patrician palazzo with all the mod-cons, tucked away in the centre of probably the most interesting and best-preserved village of the area, in the shadow of the national park.
Dinner will be at a nearby restaurant.
The first walk of the tour takes us into the heart of the Madonie National Park for a beautiful high mountain walk (13 kms, 4 hrs) finishing in a small fortified town, perched on the edge of the park, that was the original seat of the area’s feudal lords.
After a light lunch, we’ll explore this beautifully situated town before returning to our base.
With an early start, we will visit Enna, an ancient city perched on a plug of rock high above the surrounding plains.
After lunch, we’ll visit Piazza Armerina, the extraordinary villa at Casale; the most important relic of the Roman era in Sicily, unique for both the size and the richness of the polychrome floor mosaics. After the visit, we’ll drive back to our base.
Today we walk through rolling green hills covered with wildflowers and dotted with farmhouses and hamlets; up to a tiny hilltop village, dominated by an awesome medieval Norman castle, where we’ll have a picnic lunch before visiting the castle (12 kms, 4 hrs).
In the afternoon we’ll drive back to our accommodation, stopping to visit possibly the most spectacularly sited town in the area, which has breath-taking views and a very good gelateria.
After breakfast, we drive through the Nebrodie Mountains to the coast, where we take a hydrofoil one hour north to the Aeolian Islands; to the island of Lipari, where we’ll stay for the next four nights in a lovely hotel near the port.
Later in the afternoon we visit the Archaeological Museum, in a palazzo on the ancient citadel, considered one of the finest in Europe.
The evening is free.
This morning we go for a walk, starting at the furthest tip of Lipari; where, with views over neighbouring islands, we take an ancient path that dips down to follow cliffs along the coast before climbing up to thermal springs scattered with Roman and Greek ruins, then continue along a paved stretch of Roman road to lunch (10 kms, 4 hours).
After lunch, the willing can continue the walk down to Lipari town (1 hour), or you can take a taxi back to town.
The afternoon and evening are free.
This morning we will be taken by private boat (a very comfortable converted fishing boat) to explore the smallest and most picturesque island of the archipelago. We go for a walk (5 kms 1.5 hrs) to visit a spectacularly positioned pre-historic site before returning to the port for lunch.
After lunch we get back on the boat and continue our exploration of the island, having a swim in the blue Mediterranean Sea before returning to Lipari.
The evening is free.
This morning we are driven to the north end of the island. From here we walk south, back towards town, visiting the famous pumice quarries along the way. (6 kms, 3 hours). After lunch in Canneto, we get a taxi ride back to our base, where the afternoon is free.
At 5.30pm, we regroup at the old port and take the private boat south to explore the coastline around the island of Vulcano. We have dinner on board the boat and return to our base.
In the morning, we take the hydrofoil back to the mainland and drive around the north-eastern tip of Sicily to the marvellous town of Taormina. Probably Sicily’s most picturesque and elegant town, Taormina is perched high above the sea, with views westward to Mount Etna.
On arriving at our lovely 4-star hotel on the edge of the old town, the afternoon is free.
As the sun sets, we will meet again to visit Taormina’s famous Greek theatre, which dates from the 3rd century BC.
The evening is free.
Today we drive around the northern side of Mt Etna and then up into the Etna National Park, taking a beautiful walk through forests of oak, beech and birch trees, crossing countryside modelled by centuries of lava flows with the peak of snow-capped Mount Etna looming above (11 kms, 4 hrs).
At the end of the walk, we drive down the mountain for a wine tasting and lunch at a small family-run vineyard that has been operating since 1788.
After a stroll around the vineyard, we’ll drive back to Taormina where the evening is free.
Today is a free day. You’ll have the chance to relax and enjoy the romance of Taormina, spending the day down by the sea and exploring the town.
If you’d like a bit more excitement, day trips are available (at extra cost) to take you up the southern side of Mt Etna to see one of the island’s most extraordinary sights: the lunar landscape and lava of the active crater at the top of the mountain. Alternately, you may choose to do a day trip to Syracuse, an hour and half’s drive south.
In the evening we’ll regroup and have our farewell dinner at one of Taormina’s finest restaurants, a small trattoria just outside the town walls.
Late this morning we transfer to Catania airport and fly to Rome airport.
We transit through to our Emirates flight to Dubai.
We arrive in Dubai airport early morning where we transit through to our flight to
Auckland..
We arrive home with wonderful memories of walking in spring in Sicily.