A Serene Senior’s Tour of Southern Italy and Sicily

Explore the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, near Naples

What to expect on this itinerary

Discover the breathtaking towns, stunning landscapes, and the delicious cuisine of Southern Italy and Sicily during this amazing week-long vacation crafted especially for seniors. Exclusive experiences and private tours await at every destination as you uncover the history, culture, and ideal lifestyle of the area. Wander through the historic streets of Palermo, venture to the majestic island of Capri, and experience the fascinating city of Pompeii.

Countries Visited

Italy

Places Visited

Palermo (City), Taormina, Sorrento, Naples, Matera

Suggested Duration

7 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Palermo – The Historic Highlights

Your 7-day journey will lead you to the best locations across Sicily and Southern Italy. Upon your arrival in Palermo, a driver will greet and transfer you to your luxurious accommodation. After having some time to get acquainted with your new surroundings, your guide will lead you on a private tour of the city. Palermo is a historical city and has been influenced by the many nations and empires that ruled Sicily over the years. Your tour will include stops at the Palermo Cathedral and the Royal Palace.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Tour
Day 2

Taormina – Private Tour of Agrigento

Day 3

Taormina – The Beauty of Giardini Naxos

Day 4

Matera – Wine Tasting on the Mainland

Day 5

Sorrento – The Stunning Island of Capri

Day 6

Naples – Explore Pompeii and Naples

Day 7

Naples – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • Wander through the historic streets of Palermo and admire the Palermo Cathedral and Palace of the Normans
  • Explore the Valley of the Temples, which is Agrigento’s famous landmark that is full of fascinating ruins
  • Uncover the beauty of Giardini Naxos as you explore its charming roads and stunning landscapes
  • Venture to an authentic wine bar in Matera and savor the delicious wine varieties of Southern Italy
  • Journey to the unrivaled island of Capri and visit gorgeous gardens and villas
  • Experience the intriguing city of Pompeii, walk across the ancient grounds, and witness pieces of history frozen in time
  • Feel the vibrant culture and lifestyle come to life through the friendly locals and sumptuous cuisine in Naples

Detailed Description

Southern Italy and Sicily are filled with beautiful towns and villages, and each one provides a unique discovery of the distinct culture and rich lifestyle of the area. Designed with seniors in mind, this 7-day trip will begin when you land at Palermo International Airport. To begin your explorations of Italy, you will set out with a guide for a private tour of some of Palermo’s iconic attractions. The following day, you will travel to the idyllic town of Taormina. Along the way, you will stop in the ancient city of Agrigento for a tour of the Valley of the Temples.

After a leisurely morning in Taormina, you will be led to the nearby town of Giardini Naxos, where you will enjoy several hours to relax and explore this charming area at your leisure. After one more night in Taormina, your driver will transfer you to Messina, where you will board the ferry for a scenic ride to the mainland of Italy. You will arrive in Reggio Calabria, and after one more transfer, you will arrive in the lovely city of Matera. Here, you will head to a local wine bar for an exclusive tasting experience.

After a morning coffee in Matera, you will transfer to Sorrento. The afternoon will feature a wonderful excursion to the island of Capri, which is imbued with amazing views and unparalleled landscapes. Once back in Sorrento, you can continue to explore all the town has to offer. The next day, your journey will bring you to ancient Pompeii for a private tour before transferring you to your final destination of Naples. Once in Naples, you will be free to discover the city at your own pace. The next morning, you will transfer Naples International Airport for your flight home.

Starting Price

$2,600 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 1028 reviews

Italy Trip Review: Vietri sul Mare, Palermo, Taormina, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Ravello, Capri, Organic Farm Visit, Mt Etna Tour

We had a fantastic trip that exceeded our expectations. We had an excellent trip planned with Marilisa and she was open to our ideas and to our requested changes and implemented them quickly and got back to us with the confirmation that it was done. The travel arrangements at the airports and daily for tours and excursions were always on time and with great drivers who were helpful and had fun conversations about where we were going and in-depth history. Their skills in driving the vans along the Amalfi coast was amazing and we were all so glad that we were in the hands of expert drivers on these extremely tight and curvy congested roads. Each tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the area we went to. More commentary on the tour guides below.The hotels that were provided were great for the two groups. Each one had a good reason why they chose them. In Naples it was right in the center of the old town beaming with life and restaurants. The hotel had a fantastic breakfast room and a great bar service in the afternoon. The rooms were ok, nothing special.The hotel in Vietri sul Mare was a gem. Great location, great views of the ocean, friendly and helpful staff and had some great restaurants nearby. The hotel in Palermo was also right in the middle of the city center with great restaurants in walking distance, but the rooms were just ok, and the breakfast area was very tight to move around. The Resort in Taormina was fantastic also. Same owner as the hotel in Vietri sul Mare. Great location on the beach, easy to get to downtown Taormina. A great bar cafe on the beach and the breakfast area was overlooking the beach. A great place to spend our two free days at the end of the trip. The hotel in Naples was also beautiful for our last night, but we didn't get to use it much as it was the last night before flying home. Our only real disappointment was the first transportation of the trip from Naples airport to the hotel. The driver seemed to be in a hurry when getting us to the hotel. He didn't know the area very well and said he couldn't get any closer to the hotel due to the small roads. He pointed up the road and said it should be up there. We all had two bags to drag around while searching for the hotel. Luckily, we had our phones to use. He wasn't even on the right street, and we had to walk around to find it. The next morning our driver was right outside the hotel, so there was no problem with the road. 

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Italy Travel Review: Palermo, Trapani, Erice, Mazara del Vallo, Marsala, Taormina, Zingaro Reserve, Historic Sites, Wine Tasting
The trip planning and organization done by the travel agency were amazing. They helped us put together an itinerary to visit most of Sicily starting in the west (Palermo) and making our way around the island ending up in Taormina. We chose to have drivers assist us getting around as train service between small towns is not great and we have driven there before. We managed to see almost all of the sites we were interested in but were in most hotels at least 2 nights and some 3 or 4. It was a somewhat aggressive agenda but with the drivers it was much less tiring. We had time for the outdoors, saw some spectacular Phoenician, Greek and Roman ruins and stayed in some very unique hotels.The tours and events they organized were also very well done. We had professional guides in all of the archeological sites and in general very informative and friendly guides and drivers. We also had downtime which was much appreciated. The great thing about working with them is you could design your own itinerary with their help and make it as active or restful as you want.Our trip started in Palermo and we made our way to the Zingaro Reserve - we were able to see Trapani, Erice, Mazara del Vallo and Marsala as well as the Phoenician settlement of Mozia. We saw the archeological parks of Selinunte, Valley of the Temples, Villa Casale and Siracusa. We ended our trip in Taormina which was perfect.Along the way we had farm lunches, olive grove visits and tours, wine tastings and several other interesting excursions.Veronica and the customer service team were always there for us if needed.

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Italy Travel Review: Custom Italy Vacation, Sicily, Palermo, Monreale, Gambino winery

We recently returned from a 7 day trip to Sicily planned by two travel companies. Everything was planned perfectly with our wonderful driver, Vincent, and excellent guides as we went along.  The hotel in Taormina, Hotel Panoramic was excellent and had a great view.  Also, the Hotel Felice in Palermo located in the historic district was small, modern and had the best restaurant upstairs on the roof overlooking the city.  We would give a five star report to both these agencies for wonderful service.  I would rate both travel companies with five stars.

Lynne S.

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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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Luxury Italy Travel Review: Sicily, Palermo, Catania, Ortigia, Taormina, Mount Etna

Matteo provided exactly the trip we wanted, which was a 12-day tour of Sicily, starting in Palermo and ending in Catania. We spent 3 nights in most hotels and approved of his choices, which gave us different experiences of hotels in Sicily. In Taormina we stayed at Hotel Calipso, Hotel Kore in Agrigento, and A Casa Di Anna in Palermo. He provided us with a cellphone upon arrival and checked in from time to time. His English is excellent. We sometimes had problems with internet, and he would call the hotel to try to get a solution, then report back. We used two guides provided by him for specific tours, but basically did things by ourselves. I would turn to him for my next trip to Italy.

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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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Customizable Itinerary

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

28,000+ Verified Traveler Reviews