Highlights of Southern Italy and Sicily Tour

Palermo Cathedral in Sicily, Italy

What to expect on this itinerary

Bask in the splendor of Sicily during this luxurious 8-day getaway. A vacation to Southern Italy and Sicily is a discovery of the beauty, history, and culture of some of the premier regions of the country. Immerse yourself in la Dolce Vita, uncover the landscapes of Southern Italy, venture to the ancient city of Pompeii, venture to the island of Capri, and discover the splendor of the of the Amalfi Coast.

Countries Visited

Italy

Places Visited

Rome, Sorrento, Salerno, Palermo, Agrigento, Pompeii, Capri

Suggested Duration

8 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Rome – The Colosseum and Roman Forum

Your luxurious 8-day adventure will begin with one night in the capital city of Rome. Upon your arrival, you will be led to your opulent accommodation in the heart of the city. When you are ready, you will be greeted by an expert guide before being led on a private tour of the ancient Colosseum and Roman Forum. It will be easy to visualize the ancient gladiator battles as you tour the rows of seating and arena floor. Nearby, the Roman Forum will provide you with a glance back in time to ancient Roman life. Intriguing ruins and age-old structures can be found around every turn, and by the end of your tour, you will feel entirely immersed in the culture and history of Rome.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Tour
Day 2

Sorrento – The Ancient City of Pompeii

Day 3

Sorrento – Venture to Capri in Pure Luxury

Day 4

Salerno – Positano and the Amalfi Coast

Day 5

Palermo – Relaxing Day in Palermo

Day 6

Palermo – Exclusive Tour of Palermo

Day 7

Agrigento – Explore the Valley of the Temples

Day 8

Agrigento – Depart for Home

Trip Highlights

  • Explore the unrivaled Colosseum and Roman Forum during a private tour in Rome
  • Marvel at the fascinating artifacts in Pompeii, which is a city that was once buried under the ash of Mt. Vesuvius
  • Enjoy an excursion to the island of Capri, which is known for its beautiful landscape, during a two-night stay in Sorrento
  • Discover the splendor of Positano and the Amalfi Coast with its winding roads and spectacular views of the sea
  • Board an enjoyable ferry ride with meals and entertainment to the wonderful island of Sicily
  • Visit the historical attractions in Palermo, including the age-old Palermo Cathedral, during a private tour of the city
  • Venture around the Valley of the Temples, which a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to witness the fascinating ruins of an ancient city

Detailed Description

Southern Italy and Sicily are home to some of the most beautiful cities in all of Italy. Your luxurious 8-day getaway to this wonderful area will begin when you land at Fiumicino Airport in Rome. When you arrive, a private transfer will be waiting to greet and transfer you to your luxurious accommodation in the heart of the city. After you are provided with time to settle in, you will be led on a tour of the ancient Colosseum and Roman Forum. This immersive tour will offer you an in-depth view of the history and lifestyle of ancient Rome. The following day, you will board your private transfer and begin the journey to the beautiful town of Sorrento. Along the way, you will pause in the intriguing city of Pompeii for a private tour. The views of the fascinating ruins will still be on your mind when you reach Sorrento by the evening.

On the third day of your trip, you will enjoy an excursion to the gorgeous island of Capri. A private boat will lead you to this amazing destination, where an expert guide will lead you on a wonderful tour. From the scenic Gardens of Augustus to the stunning Villa San Michele in Anacapri, you will explore all that Capri has to offer before returning to Sorrento. The following day, your journey will continue along the coast to your next destination of Salerno. During your travels, you will stop for a visit to the remarkable village of Positano, where you can discover its wonderful views and fantastic shops. Your drive will then continue along the Amalfi Coast, and you will be amazed by every stunning landscape that you see as you are led around the winding roads. As the sun begins to set, you will arrive in Salerno for one night in the city.

The next morning, you will board the ferry that will carry you to the picturesque island of Sicily. By the evening, you will arrive in Palermo, which is Sicily’s capital. The following day, you will explore this historic city with a private guide. As you travel throughout the city, you will visit the beautiful Palermo Cathedral and be fascinated by the history of the Palace of the Normans. The next day, you will transfer to your final destination of Agrigento. Agrigento is filled with interesting attractions, and you will enjoy a tour of the Valley of the Temples. Every ruin that you see will allow the history of Agrigento to come to life. The next morning, a private transfer will lead you back to Palermo Airport for your return flight, signifying the conclusion to your idyllic vacation.

Starting Price

$2,900 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.

4.9

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 1576 reviews

Travel Review: Italy Tour, Sicily, Palermo, Agrigento, Catania, Ragusa, Syracuse, Modica, Chocolate Making, Olive Oil Factory
Trip was excellent.  All the arrangements made by the travel company worked flawlessly.  Although we have been traveling for more than 50 years this was the first time we have used a travel agency to both plan and arrange an overseas trip.  We were impressed with the agency because they listened to what we wanted to do and see.  There were discussions and a few iterations before the final itinerary. Take time and speak with them.  Furthermore they were able to accommodate our idiosyncrasies. We spent 10 nights in Sicily in Palermo, Agrigento, Ragusa Ibla, Siracusa and Catania.  All the hotels and B&B's were excellent and centrally located as we desired,  The drivers and guided tours were staffed with knowledgeable, professional and efficient people.  The agency kept in contact with us throughout the trip although this was not easy since we did have a mobile phone.  There were no problems at all.  Superb suggestions from the travel company that we had not thought about such as a chocolate making class in Modica, a market crawl/cooking class/lunch in Siracusa as well as a visit to a top quality olive oil production estate were some of the highlights of our trip.  The archeological visits also were magnificent. The agency even arranged for our attendance at a Bellini opera in the Teatro Bellini in Catania.  The overall trip was wonderful mostly due to the great travel arrangements.  It did not hurt that for the 10 day trip duration there was no rain, only a few rare clouds and moderate temperatures. We would not hesitate to work with this travel company again. 

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Sicily Italy Travel Review, Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa, Modica, Ragusa, Taormina, Locals, Food & Wine
My wife and I arranged a trip to Sicily with our trip planner at this tour company and we could not have had a better, more professionally planned trip to this wonderful country.  The history and even the culture in Sicily is very different from the rest of Italy we learned and every aspect of our pre-planned scheduled trip over 8 days was first class.  From the moment we arrived in Palermo and were picked up by a private driver to all the cities we visited, the hotels our trip planner booked us in, the drivers she arranged to transport us every day, to the pre-arranged professional tour guides, everything about this trip was simply exceptional.  The planner even helped us make reservations at highly rated local restaurants in the towns we stayed.  We visited and toured Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa, Monica, Ragusa, and Taormina.  We really saw a great deal of Italy and the beautiful historical sites in each city we visited were amazing and so interesting.  It was a trip we talked about doing for many years and we finally did it.  I would strongly recommend this tour company for any destination and we hope to be able to do another trip in the future.  We would definitely call our trip planner immediately when this can hopefully happen.  Thank you trip planner for being so responsive to all of our questions and requests during our trip as we made a few changes in the restaurant reservations during our trip as we became acquainted with the towns we visited.  I must add this about Sicily, the food and local wines are beyond good, it is almost impossible to have a bad meal anywhere you go.  Sicily is beautiful and the people there are so friendly and welcoming and surprisingly, many speak pretty good English.  Thanks again to our trip planner for planning such a wonderful trip for us.Bye for now.Tim and Bamie C.Chandler, Arizona   

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Review: Luxury Italy Tour, Rome, Sicily, Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina, Vatican, Private Art & Archaeological Tours

This Italy travel company planned and executed an excellent trip to Sicily and Rome for our party.  Our small group was primarily interested in art and archaeology and this agency did a very fine job in locating great guides and pairing them with art historians and archaeologists so that we received the in-depth information that we hoped to receive.  It was a fantastic immersion into many centuries of history and culture.

The agency also chose amazing accommodations for us. It was certainly helpful for traveling with a group. Highly recommend staying at Grande Albergo Alfeo in Siracusa and Corte dei Greci in Agrigento. These places were great hotels to stay at,

The restaurants in the cities were excellent as well. Loved the Sicilian cuisine.

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Italy Luxury Trip Review: Agrigento, Taormina, Marsala, Cooking Class, Wine Tasting, One-Week Tour
Except for a couple of snafus at the airport in Palermo and the wrong bed set-up in Palermo at the beginning of our trip, everything was excellent. We especially enjoyed our hotels in Agrigento and Taormina.

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Italy Family Trip Review: Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Capri, Tropea, Cosenza, Napoli, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Pertosa Caves
I asked Carmen and her team at the travel agency to help us with a special family vacation in south Italy.  My grandfather came from a small village in the hills of Calabria, well off of the beaten tourist path.  The travel agency arranged for a truly spectacular experience, customized to our needs.  We started with a few days in Sorrento, a driver to show us the Amalfi Coast, and a guides to help us experience Capri from the land and water, before venturing south to experience the Pertosa caves, and a small Calabrian community in which many residents share our last name.  The itinerary next brought us to stunning Tropea and its beaches, and then Cosenza and Napoli, including private guided tours of Pompeii and Herculaneum, with a wine-tasting lunch in the middle!  The mix of private, curated experiences and free time to explore my family's Calabrian roots was perfect.  The travel agency took care of all of our needs, from beautiful accommodations, to kind, knowledgeable guides and drivers.  The team was in frequent but unobtrusive contact, and always available, to make sure that we had everything that we needed, from driver and guide contact information to dinner reservation assistance, if desired. We were captivated by south Italy's beauty and its welcoming people.  Carmen's willingness to help us travel to a few areas infrequently visited by Americans provided my family and I with positive, unique interactions and experiences that will make us remember this trip forever.  I wholeheartedly recommend this travel company for anyone interested in a special visit to a really wonderful country. 

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Review: Sicily 2-Week Tour, Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina, Catania, Greek Temples, Sailing Tour, Vineyards
First & foremost, a big thank you to everyone that helped make this happen for us. Please know that the guides you recommended for us exceeded our expectations. Marilu was amazing to say the least, Claudio was cool, Frederica was an absolute doll, Salvatore was a hoot and Antonio was terrific. Please consider keeping them all on board. The hotel in Palermo was wonderful and was located perfectly. The staff was attentive and made some great restaurant recommendations. We had a lot of fun in Palermo. We wish the residents took better care of its wonderful city as the graffiti and garbage were somewhat disturbing. Thank you for not having us drive in Palermo. Our driver Paolo (Airport and to Agrigento) was a super nice young man with a magnetic personality. The tour of the Greek Temples was engaging and Claudio's format of making it a classroom session was wonderful. The town itself is somewhat sleepy but adorable and we enjoyed the food and vino. The Hotel was just okay as there was a lot of wasted space and the decor was very dated including the shower. Please consider another Hotel, perhaps closer to the center of town.The drive from Agrigento to Siracusa was mesmerizing as the countryside was gorgeous with the exception of the garbage at every rest stop. Siracusa was fantastic with something around every corner. We always found something to see and something to do in Ortiga. Two criticism's regarding Siracusa. 1. The Hotel was marginal at best, albeit the location was good. The breakfast was just okay as the wait staff was short and curt. The bed (if you can call it that) was horrible. Hard to understand why a "Couple" would be given two crappy little double beds to push together. The front desk was very nice and very helpful. 2. If you are going to advertise a luxury cruise to explore hidden coves and swim in isolated areas, please make sure the captain has a boat that is facilitated to do so. Please consider "stepping up" your game regarding this activity. Our captain was excellent with his skillset, but he did not have a dingy with a motor so we could not enjoy going to any public beach and he did not have life jackets on board and the seating was relatively uncomfortable. Frederica was absolutely wonderful with her amazing lunch and vino. We did have a great day overall but it did not live up to the adventurous aspect that we had anticipated. Please consider other vessels for this part of the itinerary.     Taormina was by far the best part of trip. No negatives here. We absolutely fell in love with Taormina and its surrounding towns (Castelmola and LetoJanni). Amazing Hotel...., etc.  Love, Love, Love Taormina!!! Catania was rich in history and food.  Overall, due to its lack of cleanliness, it wasn't our cup of tea. However, we took the liberty of spending an afternoon at the Gambino Vineyards and that was amazing. 

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

28,000+ Verified Traveler Reviews