HomeEuropean ToursItaly ToursSouthern Italy & Sicily ToursImmersive Southern Italy and Sicily Tour: Food, Culture, and History

Immersive Southern Italy and Sicily Tour: Food, Culture, and History

View of the Arc de Triomphe of Constantine and the Colosseum, Rome

What to expect on this itinerary

During this immersive 8-day vacation, you will discover the rich history, lively culture, and delicious cuisine of the area. Picturesque towns and stunning landscapes can be found throughout southern Italy and Sicily. Exclusive tours and private tastings will be enjoyed at every destination as you indulge in la dolce vita during this unforgettable vacation.

Countries Visited

Italy

Places Visited

Rome, Naples, Salerno, Palermo (City), Agrigento

Suggested Duration

8 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Rome – The Legendary Colosseum

Your 8-day trip will begin when you land at Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Upon your arrival, a driver will greet and transfer you to your accommodation, where you will have time to settle in and relax. When you are ready, your guide will lead you on an intriguing tour of the Colosseum. The ancient Colosseum is perhaps one of the most admired landmarks of Italy. The age-old amphitheater dates back to the first century, and you may find yourself imagining being a spectator at one of the epic battles of the gladiators. After your tour of the Colosseum concludes, you can explore more of the city at your own pace.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Tour
Day 2

Naples – Pizza-Making Course

Day 3

Salerno – Explore the Ruins of Pompeii

Day 4

Palermo – Ferry Ride to Sicily

Day 5

Palermo – Private Food Tour

Day 6

Palermo – Historical City Tour

Day 7

Agrigento – The Valley of the Temples

Day 8

Agrigento – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Discover the famous Colosseum, which will allow you to travel back in time to ancient Rome and bring the gladiator battles to life
  • Visit Montecassino Abbey, where you will learn about its intriguing history and marvel at its many preserved details
  • Indulge in the world-renowned pizza of Naples during a pizza-making class at an authentic pizzeria
  • Explore the city of Pompeii during an engaging walking tour around the remains
  • Immerse yourself in the cuisine of Sicily as you discover the delicious flavors of Palermo
  • Uncover the historic highlights of Palermo, including the stunning Palermo Cathedral and Palace of the Normans
  • Journey around the ruins of the Valley of the Temples as you stroll through the history of Agrigento

Detailed Description

An exploration of the food, culture, and history of Southern Italy and Sicily is an immersive experience. Your 8-day journey will begin when you land at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. Your introduction to the city will come when you embark on a private tour of the legendary Colosseum. The next morning, you will transfer to Naples. Along the way, you will stop in Cassino for a guided tour of the Montecassino Abbey, which dates back to the first century. An evening pizza-making class in Naples, which is the birthplace of pizza, will be a memorable and tasty way to explore the cuisine of the city.

The next morning, you will transfer to the coastal city of Salerno. The ancient city of Pompeii will be a great place to stop and explore to break up the journey. The endless excavations and preserved pieces of history will be awe-inspiring, and you will feel as though you have been transported back in time. The next day, you will ride the ferry to the island of Sicily. The ferry will have wonderful accommodations, and you will enjoy dinner onboard before arriving in the capital city of Palermo later that evening.

The following day, you will discover the city’s cuisine during a private food tour. As you stop at various culinary destinations with your guide, you will learn about traditional Sicilian dishes and sample multiple specialties. A discovery of the fascinating history of Palermo will be in store the following day, and you will tour the city’s historic highlights, including the Palermo Cathedral and Palace of the Normans. The next morning you will transfer to your final destination of Agrigento. Upon your arrival, you embark on a private tour of the Valley of the Temples, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After one last night, a private transfer will lead you to Palermo Airport the next morning for the flight home.

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 996 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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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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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: 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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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 Trip Review: Taormina, Agrigento, Palermo, 8 Nights

Our Zicasso travel specialist did a fantastic job planning our family vacation for five adults.

Each hotel was top-notch. At the villa in Taormina, the rooms were luxurious, with unbelievable views of the bay and Mount Etna from private verandas. The staff were gracious and the restaurant's breakfast buffet delicious. Lunch and dinner were top-notch. The hotel in Agrigento was modern and the grounds were exceptional. It was close to the Valley of the Temples, with amazing views of the ruins from each room and the beautiful infinity pool. The hotel in Palermo was old-fashioned luxury with up-to-date facilities and close to the old town.

Our tour guides and drivers were excellent.

My only regret is that we only had 10 days to explore Sicily as there was so much more to see!

Our agent did a yeoman's job helping us plan this trip.

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Customizable Itinerary

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

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