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Country Roads of Southern Italy & Sicily
14 Days from $3885 Tour Code: CRS

 

Day 1 USA – Rome

VIP Door-to-Door Transfer to your local airport for your overnight flight to Rome.

Day 2 Arrive Rome

Welcome to Rome! On arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport, your airport shuttle service leaves for the tour hotel at 09:30, 12:30 & 15:30. Settle in, relax or start exploring your hotel’s facilities. Early arrivals can spend some time wandering through the vast parklands of the Villa Borghese or just relax at a café in the Piazza Navona. Later, join your Tour Director and fellow guests for a Welcome Drink.

Day 3 Rome – Alberobello

Head south past the brooding hilltop monastery of Cassino to Caserta, and take the scenic route across the Apennines to the Adriatic coast. Your destination is the small town of Alberobello, in the heart of the unique Trulli region. Sunday evenings are popular for the traditional ritual of passeggiata, a pre-dinner promenade, to ‘see and be seen’. After working up an appetite, why not dine out? The region of Puglia is a food and wine lovers’ paradise.
Buffet Breakfast Included

Day 4 Alberobello (Matera & Castellaneta Excursion Included)

Take time to explore Alberobello, with its strange white Trulli buildings spread out over the hillside. Trulli are circular structures with conical roofs and domed within, built with local limestone and stacked without using mortar. This afternoon continue along the small local roads to Matera to see the extraordinary ‘Sassi’, or cave-dwellings that were once home to more than 15,000 people. Walk along the time worn stone streets to the simple white houses and churches dug out of the rock. Return via Castellaneta, birthplace of Rudolph Valentino, for a photo stop at his statue and at the “Gravina Grande” (Great Ravine).
Buffet Breakfast and Dinner Included

Day 5 Alberobello – Giardini Naxos

This morning, follow the shores of the Gulf of Taranto to the gorgeous mountainous region of Calabria – favorite holiday destination for the Italians. Continue around the Purple Coast, which takes its name from the color of its rocky mountain slopes. At the very toe of Italy make the short ferry crossing over to Sicily. Spend three relaxing nights in the beautiful seaside resort of Giardini Naxos.
Buffet Breakfast and Dinner Included

Day 6 Giardini Naxos (Taormina Excursion Included)

Visit Taormina, founded in 400BC, and beautifully located overlooking the sea and the peak of Mount Etna. Visit the Greek Theater (3rd century BC) and the glorious sub-tropical terraced gardens before strolling along elegant Corso Umberto to Piazza 9 Aprile for splendid panoramic views across the bay to the Ionian Sea. The rest of the day is yours to relax and enjoy at your own pace.
Buffet Breakfast and Dinner Included

Day 7 Giardini Naxos

Enjoy a full day at leisure or perhaps take an optional excursion through the Sicilian vineyards to Mt. Etna, Europe’s largest volcano to see the Silvestre Crater and walk through the lava domes!
Buffet Breakfast Included

Day 8 Giardini Naxos – Palermo

Drive to the attractive hillside town of Agrigento on the southern coast of Sicily. Explore the Valley of the Temples, the finest Greek sanctuary in Sicily. Especially impressive is the massive Temple of Concord and the cliff top Temple of Juno which overlooks the sea. In the afternoon, continue to the historic capital of Sicily, Palermo.
Buffet Breakfast and Dinner Included

Day 9 Palermo

Sightseeing with a local guide includes Quattro Canti Square, the Cathedral and the mosaics in the Palatine Chapel of the Palace of the Normans. Also visit Monreale with its fi nely decorated cathedral. In the afternoon there is free time to explore or shop in Palermo or to take one of the local excursions offered by your Tour Director.
Buffet Breakfast Included

Day 10 Palermo – Overnight Ferry

Drive eastwards along the coast to the charming fi shing town of Cefalu. Visit the cathedral, erected to fulfill a vow made by the Norman King Roger II and spend some time at leisure. Later, return to Palermo, taking time to relax before boarding the overnight ferry to Naples in the early evening.
Buffet Breakfast Included

Day 11 Ferry – Pompeii – Bay of Naples

Arrive in Naples in time for breakfast and an orientation tour of the city. Afterwards, continue to Pompeii, buried in 79 AD by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Walk with a local guide through the cobbled streets to the Forum and inspect some of the shops and villas before continuing to your hotel.
Buffet Breakfast and Dinner Included

Day 12 Bay of Naples (Capri Excursion Included)

Take the cliff-top road to Sorrento to witness a demonstration of inlaid ‘intarsio’ woodwork before continuing across the Bay of Naples to the delightful Isle of Capri. Take a funicular train up to Capri Town to spend some time wandering the narrow alleyways and exploring the exclusive boutiques before returning to your hotel.
Buffet Breakfast and Dinner Included

Day 13 Bay of Naples – Rome

Travel north to return to Rome. On arrival, visit the Colosseum and see the Forum – once the religious, political and commercial heart of the Roman Empire. Tour St. Peter’s Basilica, housing works of art by Michelangelo and Bernini. Tonight join your fellow passengers for a last night celebration dinner at a local restaurant. Enjoy a short group tutorial on the wines that compliment your evening meal.
Buffet Breakfast and Highlight Dinner Included

Day 14 Rome – USA

Arrivederci Roma! Sadly, your tour comes to an end after breakfast. Departure transfers arrive at Rome’s Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport at
07:00 & 09:30.
Buffet Breakfast Included