This Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour includes spectacular scenery combined with fascinating architectural remains and ancient history. If you’re interested in Roman history, this tour is certainly for you. You’ll visit Matera, where you’ll see the Sassi Houses—prehistoric cave dwellings built into the rock—thought to be some of the first human settlements in Italy. On this Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour you’ll visit Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, known for its blue skies and rich heritage. Here, a Sicily tour highlight is Syracuse, the birthplace of Archimedes and a 2,700-year-old city that played a key role in ancient times when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. On this Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour enjoy sightseeing including the the 5th-century BC archaeological site with the Roman Amphitheater and much more. Also visit Agrigento and see ancient Greek structures that have survived for 2,400 years! Photos and words cannot adequately capture these sights. Submit form or call 800-227-1577 to book your Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour.
Southern Italy Tour and Sicily Tour Highlights:
Rome:
Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum
Reggia of Caserta:
Visit the palace and gardens
Naples:
Guided sightseeing, visit the National Archaeological Museum
Sorrento:
Orientation
Sorrento-Capri:
By jetfoil
Capri:
Guided visit of Capri village, including a funicular ride
Pompeii:
Guided walking tour of the excavations
Matera:
Guided walking tour, visit one of the Sassi houses
Reggio Calabria:
Guided visit of the Bronzi di Riace museum
Strait of Messina:
Ferry crossing
Syracuse:
Guided walking tour of the archaeological site
Agrigento:
Guided walking tour of the Valley of Temples
Selinunte:
Visit the Dorian Temples and Acropolis
Palermo:
Guided sightseeing, visit the cathedral, the Royal Palace’s Palatine Chapel, the Norman Cathedral in Monreale, and Mondello
Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour Hotels:
- Rome NH Leonardo Da Vinci (F),
- Sorrento La Residenza (F),
- Matera Hilton Garden Inn (F),
- Reggio Calabria Grand Hotel Excelsior (SF),
- Taormina Area Hilton (SF) at Giardini Naxos,
- Palermo NH Palermo (F)
Click below for other Sicily tours of Interest:
Submit form or call 800-227-1577 to book your Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour
Southern Italy Tour and Sicily Tour Vacation Itinerary:
DAY 1 Arrive in Rome, Italy
Time to rest or start exploring the “Eternal City.” At 6 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (Dinner)
DAY 2 Rome
Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. Then, time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (Breakfast)
DAY 3Rome-Naples pier-Capri-Sorrento
Drive to Naples pier, from where the JETFOIL speeds you across the bay to the Isle of Capri. Ride the FUNICULAR to Capri village for a guided visit of this pretty town. Free time to explore the little shops on the Piazzetta before continuing to Sorrento. (Breakfast)
DAY 4 Sorrento-Reggia of Caserta-Naples-Sorrento
This morning, visit splendid REGGIA OF CASERTA, an impressive residence of 1,200 rooms with elegant GARDENS stretching two miles, reminiscent of the French Palace of Versailles. Next, enter lively and colorful Naples. A Local Guide takes you first to the NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, housing some of the world’s greatest Greco-Roman treasures; focus on the well-preserved objects found in Pompeii. Then, on to the city center to admire the remarkable Triumphal Arch of the New Castle, St. Charles Theater, the Royal Palace, Galleria Umberto, and the semicircular Piazza Plebiscito. Drive up to Posillipo Hill for a sweeping view of the Bay of Naples. Afterwards, return to the charming resort of Sorrento.(Breakfast)
DAY 5 Sorrento–Pompeii–Matera
A short drive brings you to POMPEII, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Your Local Guide will walk you past patrician homes, public baths, and commercial districts strikingly recalling day-to-day life when Rome was at the apex of her power. Next, drive to Matera for a guided walking tour featuring a visit to one of the picturesque SASSI HOUSES. (Breakfast, Dinner)
DAY 6 At Leisure in Matera
Full day at leisure with plenty to do. Ask your Tour Director for suggestions. You may want to visit the picturesque town of Alberobello, famous for its unique trulli, whitewashed dry stone circular houses with pinnacled, conical roofs. (Breakfast)
DAY 7 Matera-Reggio Calabria
A spectacular drive south along the gulf of Taranto before heading inland to Reggio Calabria. This afternoon, enjoy a guided visit to the MUSEUM that houses the world-famous bronze warrior sculptures Bronzi di Riace. (Breakfast, Dinner)
DAY 8 Reggio Calabria-Taormina Area
Cross the Strait of Messina by FERRY to begin your Sicily tour, the great melting pot of the Mediterranean world: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Normans, French, and Spanish have left their marks and contributed to its rich heritage. Continue to your hotel in the Taormina area. You may want to sign up for an exciting optional excursion to Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. (Breakfast)
DAY 9 Taormina Area. Excursion to Syracuse
Today, enjoy an included excursion to Syracuse, birthplace of the mathematician Archimedes and once a powerful Greek port whose fleet was feared throughout the Mediterranean. It attracted visitors such as the philosopher Plato and, later, the Apostle Paul, who converted its citizens to Christianity. Enter the ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE with a Local Sicily tour Guide for a visit to the 5th-century BC sparkling white Greek Theater, the Garden of Paradise, the Ear of Dionysus, the Altar of Hieron II, the Roman Amphitheater, and the Cordmakers’ Cave. (Breakfast, Dinner)
DAY 10 Taormina Area–Agrigento–Selinunte–Palermo
Today your Sicily tour is devoted to the scenic beauty and ancient Greek treasures of southwest Sicily. Head south to Agrigento and enjoy a walk with your Local Sicily tour Guide through the breathtaking VALLEY OF TEMPLES. Even travelers who have visited Athens and Delphi are awed by the gigantic yet graceful Greek structures that miraculously survived 24 centuries of tormented history. Also visit the DORIAN TEMPLES and ACROPOLIS at Selinunte, built on a natural balcony overlooking the Mediterranean. his afternoon your Sicily tour arrives at your hotel in Palermo. (Breakfast)
DAY 11 Palermo
Start sightseeing with a Local Sicily tour Guide. Visit the ornate Piazza Bellini, the CATHEDRAL, and the Arab-Norman PALATINE CHAPEL in the Royal Palace. Later, drive up to Monreale for a panoramic view of the Conca d’Oro and a visit to the 12th-century NORMAN CATHEDRAL, famous for its 50,000 square feet of precious byzantine mosaics. End with a visit to the typical and picturesque village of Mondello. Back to Palermo. Tonight, you may wish to enjoy local specialties on an optional dinner outing. (Breakfast)
DAY 12 Palermo
Your escorted Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour ends with breakfast this morning. Extend your Italy vacation or transfer to Palermo airport to fly home with a great memories to enjoy for a lifetime.(Breakfast)
Submit form or call ItalianTourism.us today 800-227-1577
to book your Southern Italy tour and Sicily tour