Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Sicily: Palermo, the Valley of the Temples, Etna and Taormina
9 days from Palermo to Taormina: Monreale and Palermo street food, the Valley of the Temples at opening, two nights in baroque Ragusa, two on Ortigia, Etna by cable car and Taormina's Greek theatre.
9 days · Palermo to Catania · up to 12 guests
Ragusa Ibla, the lower old town of Ragusa, rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake Photo: Chris Down, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ragusa_Ibla,_Sicily.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Palermo to Catania
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 3 h on day 8No drive day is longer than 4 hours.
- Activity level
Moderate
Walking of 3 to 6 km most days on cobbles, polished stone, stairs and gravel paths, often in full sun; Ragusa and Modica are built on steep slopes with long staircases. On Etna you ride a cable car and an off-road vehicle to about 2,900 m, then walk for 1 to 2 hours on loose volcanic ground in thin, cold air; you can stay at about 1,900 m and walk the Silvestri craters instead. Drives are 1 to 2.5 hours on most days and about 3 hours on the Etna day, broken by the volcano and lunch.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,170 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to June and September to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Monreale's gold mosaics at opening, before the coaches, then a Ballaro street-food walk that doubles as lunch
- Shopping the Capo market with a local cook and a hands-on Sicilian cooking lesson in Palermo
- The Valley of the Temples from 8:30, while the stone is cool and the paths are quiet
- Two nights in Ragusa: Ibla in the late light, Modica chocolate and a long lunch at a cheese farm
- Two nights on Ortigia, with the Greek theatre at opening and a market tasting lunch
- Mount Etna to about 2,900 m by cable car and off-road vehicle, with lunch and a tasting at a volcano winery
- Taormina's Greek theatre at 9 am, before the day visitors arrive
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day, and none is longer than 4 hours.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,170 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 3 h, on day 8.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Palermo
Palermo Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO) to your hotel in central Palermo
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Palermo
- Drive about 45 min
Evening
Fly into Palermo's Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO), about 35 km west of the city on the coast, in time for the early-evening briefing: plan to land by about 4 pm (the latest arrival time is confirmed with your final itinerary). A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive of about 40 minutes along the coast and past the bulk of Monte Pellegrino into the old centre. Our hotel is central, within walking distance of the Quattro Canti crossroads, so the city is on the doorstep. If you land early, walk Via Maqueda to Piazza Pretoria and its marble fountain, or sit with a coffee and a cannolo and watch the evening passeggiata begin. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the days ahead: the pace, the few early starts and what to wear on Etna. Then we walk to dinner together, a welcome meal of Sicilian dishes at a local trattoria.
Included
- Pick-up at Palermo Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Monreale at opening, Palermo by street food
Palermo to Monreale and back, then the Ballaro market and the Norman Palace
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Palermo
- Drive about 45 min
We drive the few kilometres up to Monreale for opening, ahead of the tour coaches, because its cathedral is the high point of Arab-Norman Sicily and is best seen quietly. Begun in 1174 under King William II, its walls carry thousands of square metres of gold-ground mosaic, with Christ Pantocrator filling the apse; the cloister beside it has more than two hundred paired columns, no two pairs carved alike.
Afternoon
Back in Palermo a local guide leads a street-food walk through the Ballaro market: panelle (chickpea fritters), arancine, sfincione and whatever is in season, eaten standing up as Palermitans do, and enough of it to count as lunch. On the way we pass Quattro Canti, Piazza Pretoria and the cathedral. Mid-afternoon we visit the Palazzo dei Normanni and its Cappella Palatina, where Byzantine mosaics sit under a carved Islamic wooden ceiling; with Monreale they belong to a UNESCO World Heritage site listed in 2015.
Evening
The evening is free: the steps of the Teatro Massimo, an aperitivo, or dinner wherever you like.
Included
- Monreale Cathedral and its cloister at opening, with a licensed local guide
- Street-food walk through the Ballaro market with a local guide (lunch)
- Quattro Canti, Piazza Pretoria and Palermo Cathedral on foot
- The Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cappella Palatina
Optional experiences
- Guided visit inside the Teatro Massimo (extra, price shown at booking)
- The Capuchin Catacombs (extra, price shown at booking)
Easier option: Skip the cloister and rest in the square at Monreale, and go back to the hotel by van between the market and the palace.
More active option: Climb to the cathedral roof terraces at Monreale for the view over the Conca d'Oro, when they are open.
Free time: Evening free in Palermo
Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot, on market streets and stone floors. Shoulders and knees covered in the churches.
A cooking lesson, then south to Agrigento
Palermo to Agrigento
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Agrigento
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
A slower morning. We walk to the Capo market with a local cook to buy whatever is good that day, then cook it together in a kitchen in the old town: typically caponata, pasta con le sarde with wild fennel and sardines, and cannoli filled to order, with the story behind each dish and its Arab, Spanish or Norman roots.
Afternoon
We eat what we make for lunch. Early in the afternoon we leave Palermo and drive about two hours south across the island's interior, through rolling wheat country that is green in spring and gold by June, to Agrigento on its ridge above the sea. We check in by about 5 pm. The rest of the day is free: walk Via Atenea, the main street of the old town, and after dark look down from the terraces at the edge of town to the temples, floodlit in the valley below. Get to bed early if you can, because tomorrow we are at the temples when the gates open.
Included
- Shopping the Capo market with a local cook
- Hands-on Sicilian cooking lesson in Palermo, with lunch
- Drive across the interior to Agrigento
Easier option: Watch the cooking rather than taking a station; the lunch is the same.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Agrigento
Activity: An easy day: about 1 hour on foot in the market and the rest standing at the stove or in the van.
The Valley of the Temples at opening, then Ragusa
Agrigento to the Valley of the Temples, then along the south coast to Ragusa
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Ragusa
- Drive about 2.5 h
We are at the gate of the Valley of the Temples when it opens at 8:30, with a licensed local guide, while the stone is cool and the paths are still quiet. The park is the UNESCO-listed Archaeological Area of Agrigento, the site of the Greek city of Akragas, and we walk it along the ridge: the Temple of Juno (Hera) at the eastern end, then the Temple of Concordia, built around 440 to 430 BC and one of the most complete Doric temples standing, then the columns of the Temple of Hercules and the fallen blocks and stone giant of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Morning
By late morning the heat and the coaches build, and we leave.
Afternoon
Lunch is sit-down at a country restaurant on the way east. Then about two and a half hours along the south coast and up onto the limestone plateau of the Hyblaean hills to Ragusa, our base for two nights. In the late afternoon we walk down into Ragusa Ibla with our guide as the light turns the stone gold: the Duomo di San Giorgio, the lanes behind it and the Giardino Ibleo at the far end.
Included
- The Valley of the Temples at 8:30 opening, with a licensed local guide and entry
- Sit-down lunch at a country restaurant on the way
- Guided walk in Ragusa Ibla: the Duomo di San Giorgio and the Giardino Ibleo
Optional experiences
- The Kolymbethra Garden, a walled citrus garden in the valley (extra, price shown at booking). It opens at 10:00 and needs the Valley ticket, so it is only possible if the group agrees to stay later and reach Ragusa later.
Easier option: Walk only the central stretch from the Temple of Concordia to the Temple of Juno and meet the van at the eastern gate.
More active option: Walk the stepped lanes from Ragusa's upper town down to Ibla, about 300 steps, instead of riding.
Free time: Evening free in Ragusa
Activity: About 3 km on gravel and stone paths in the valley with little shade: bring a hat and water.
Modica chocolate and a cheese-farm lunch
Ragusa to Modica, then a farm in the Ragusa countryside and back to Ragusa
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Ragusa
- Drive about 1 h
Modica is about half an hour away, built down both sides of a gorge and rebuilt, like Ragusa, after the earthquake of 1693; the two belong to the eight Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto, listed by UNESCO in 2002. We start at the church of San Giorgio, its tall facade at the top of a long staircase, then visit a working chocolate maker. Modica chocolate is ground cold, so the sugar never melts and the bar stays grainy: you taste it plain, with chilli and with citrus, and hear why it has its own protected status.
Morning
Late in the morning we drive out between dry-stone walls and carob trees to a family farm where Ragusano cheese is still made by hand.
Afternoon
Watch the curd being stretched and shaped, taste ricotta while it is warm, then sit down to a long farm lunch of the farm's own produce. We are back in Ragusa by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours: a rest, the steps down to Ibla, or an early aperitivo in the square below the Duomo.
Included
- Modica old town and the church of San Giorgio with your guide
- Chocolate tasting at a Modica chocolate maker
- Cheese-making visit and lunch at a farm near Ragusa
Easier option: Skip the San Giorgio staircase: the van drops you at the top of the old town.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Ragusa
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Modica, with steep streets and steps.
Baroque Noto, then Ortigia
Ragusa to Noto, then Syracuse (Ortigia)
- Breakfast
- Stay in Syracuse
- Drive about 2 h
An hour east through the Hyblaean hills to Noto, laid out new on a gentler slope after the 1693 earthquake destroyed the old town further up the valley.
Morning
By mid-morning the pale local limestone glows. A local guide walks us along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, past the Cathedral of San Nicolo, whose dome collapsed in 1996 and was rebuilt and reopened in 2007, and up Via Corrado Nicolaci, where the balconies of Palazzo Nicolaci rest on carved horses, lions, sirens and cherubs. Then a granita, almond or lemon, with a warm brioche, which is breakfast for many Sicilians.
Afternoon
Lunch is your choice in Noto. In the early afternoon we drive forty minutes on to Syracuse and over the bridge onto Ortigia, the island old town, where we stay two nights in a hotel inside the old centre.
Evening
The late afternoon and evening are free: walk the promenade on the island's western side as the sun drops over the Great Harbour, and find a table in one of the lanes for dinner.
Included
- Guided walk in Noto: Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the Cathedral of San Nicolo and the Palazzo Nicolaci balconies
- Granita and brioche in Noto
Free time: Lunch, late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 2 hours on foot in Noto, with broad stairs between the terraces of the town.
Syracuse: the Greek theatre early, Ortigia by day
Ortigia to the Neapolis Archaeological Park and back, then Ortigia on foot
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Syracuse
- Drive about 15 min
Morning
We are at the Neapolis Archaeological Park when it opens, a short drive from Ortigia, because the great Greek theatre faces the sun and has no shade by mid-morning. Cut into the hillside in the 5th century BC and enlarged later, it still stages classical plays in late spring and early summer. Next to it, in the old limestone quarries, is the Ear of Dionysius, a cave about 23 m high whose echo carries a whisper, and then the Roman amphitheatre.
Afternoon
Back on Ortigia a local guide walks us through the morning market for a tasting lunch of olives, cheeses, fish and bread from the stalls, then on to the Temple of Apollo, the Fountain of Arethusa with its papyrus plants, and Piazza Duomo. There the cathedral is the Greek Temple of Athena under a baroque front: its Doric columns still stand in the walls. Syracuse is part of a UNESCO site listed in 2005. The afternoon is free: take the optional boat around the island and into the sea caves, swim in summer, or simply rest.
Included
- Neapolis Archaeological Park at opening with a licensed local guide: the Greek theatre, the Ear of Dionysius and the Roman amphitheatre
- Ortigia market walk with a tasting lunch (on a Sunday, lunch at a trattoria instead)
- The Temple of Apollo, the Fountain of Arethusa and Syracuse Cathedral
Optional experiences
- Boat trip around Ortigia and into the sea caves (extra, price shown at booking)
- The Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum (extra, price shown at booking)
Easier option: Skip the amphitheatre and wait in the shade at the park entrance.
More active option: Walk the full circuit of Ortigia's sea walls in the late afternoon, about 4 km.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free on Ortigia
Activity: About 3 to 4 hours on foot in the morning, partly in full sun at Neapolis.
Mount Etna, then Taormina
Syracuse to Rifugio Sapienza on Mount Etna, the upper station and an Etna winery, then Taormina
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Taormina
- Drive about 3 h
Afternoon
We leave Ortigia at 8 am, because cloud tends to build on Etna by early afternoon. About an hour and a half north, the road climbs through old lava flows and pine to Rifugio Sapienza on the south side, at about 1,900 m. A cable car lifts us to about 2,500 m, and off-road vehicles carry us on to about 2,900 m, where an authorised volcano guide walks us among recent craters and warm, steaming ground. How close we go to the summit area depends on the day's volcanic activity and the official access rules. Etna rises to about 3,300 m, a height that changes with its eruptions, and was listed by UNESCO in 2013. If wind shuts the cable car, we walk the rims of the Silvestri craters near the refuge instead. Lunch is at a winery on the volcano's slopes, with a tasting of Etna wines grown in black volcanic soil.
Evening
Then about an hour to Taormina, about three hours of driving in all, arriving by about 5 pm, and a farewell dinner together in the evening.
Included
- Cable car from Rifugio Sapienza to about 2,500 m
- Off-road vehicles to about 2,900 m and a walk with an authorised volcano guide
- The Silvestri craters
- Lunch and wine tasting at an Etna winery
- Farewell dinner in Taormina
Easier option: Stay at about 1,900 m: walk the rim of the Silvestri craters near the refuge, then wait in the refuge cafe while the group goes up.
More active option: With the volcano guide's agreement, walk down the last stretch from about 2,900 m to the upper cable car station instead of riding.
Free time: Free time in Taormina before the farewell dinner
Activity: At about 2,900 m it can be near freezing and windy even in June: bring a warm layer, a windproof jacket, long trousers and closed shoes with grip. The thin air makes walking slower.
Taormina's Greek theatre, and home
Taormina to Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA)
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
The Greek theatre opens at 9 am and we are there at opening, before the day visitors arrive from the cruise ships and coaches.
Morning
Built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC and rebuilt by the Romans, it is set into the hill so that the broken stage wall frames the coast and, on a clear morning, Etna, where you stood yesterday. A local guide explains how it worked and how it is still used for summer concerts and festivals. Afterwards walk the Corso Umberto past Piazza Duomo and its fountain to the terrace of Piazza IX Aprile, with its view down the coast, then back to the hotel to collect your bags. At about 11:30 we drive an hour south to Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), with Etna on the right most of the way. Your guide sees you to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 2:30 pm. If you would rather stay on in Taormina or Catania, we can book extra nights.
Included
- Taormina's Greek theatre at opening, with a licensed local guide
- Drop-off at Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA)
Easier option: If your flight leaves before about 2:30 pm, we arrange an earlier transfer from the hotel.
Free time: Late morning free in Taormina
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 2:30 pm.
- Palermo2 nights
- Agrigento1 night
- Ragusa2 nights
- Syracuse2 nights
- Taormina1 night
- Cataniaend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Spring brings wildflowers and green wheat fields, with days of about 18 to 26 C; September and October stay warm and the sea is at its warmest. July and August often pass 35 C inland, so we do not run then. Etna's upper slopes are cold and windy in every month and can hold snow into May.
Want this plan in your inbox?
Get the day-by-day itinerary by email, or ask us anything about this trip. A trip planner replies the same or next business day.
Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Sicily's Greek temples, Norman mosaics and baroque towns in one trip, at an unhurried pace
- Food lovers: street food, a cooking lesson, a cheese farm and an Etna winery are part of the plan
- Anyone who prefers two-night stays and early starts only where they beat the crowds
- Solo travellers who want a small group and a published single supplement
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: the old towns are steep, with long staircases, cobbles and polished stone
- A beach holiday: you can swim on some afternoons, but there is no beach day
- Travellers who want Erice, Cefalu or the Aeolian Islands on this trip (ask about a longer private version)
- July and August travel in the heat
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Palermo2 nights
- Agrigento1 night
- Ragusa2 nights
- Syracuse2 nights
- Taormina1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights: 2 in Palermo, 1 in Agrigento, 2 in Ragusa, 2 on Ortigia in Syracuse and 1 in Taormina
- Central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard with private bathrooms, within walking distance of each old town; we name each hotel when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
- City tourist taxes
Transport
- Pick-up at Palermo Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO) on day 1
- A private air-conditioned minivan and professional driver for the group from day 2 to day 9
- The Etna cable car and off-road vehicles to about 2,900 m
- Drop-off at Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA) on day 9
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from the day 1 briefing to the airport on day 9
- Licensed local guides at Monreale, in Palermo, at the Valley of the Temples, in Noto, at Neapolis and in Taormina, and an authorised volcano guide on Etna
Activities
- Palermo: Monreale Cathedral and cloister, the Ballaro street-food walk, the Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cappella Palatina
- Palermo: Capo market and a hands-on cooking lesson
- Agrigento: the Valley of the Temples at opening
- Ragusa: guided walk in Ragusa Ibla
- Modica: the old town and a chocolate tasting
- Near Ragusa: cheese-making visit at a family farm
- Noto: guided walk, with granita and brioche
- Syracuse: the Neapolis Archaeological Park, the Ortigia market, the Temple of Apollo and the cathedral
- Mount Etna: cable car, off-road vehicles, volcano guide and the Silvestri craters
- Etna: winery visit and wine tasting
- Taormina: the Greek theatre at opening
Meals
- 8 breakfasts
- 6 lunches: the Ballaro street-food walk, the cooking lesson, a country restaurant on day 4, the farm near Ragusa, the Ortigia market tasting and the Etna winery
- 2 dinners: a welcome dinner in Palermo and a farewell dinner in Taormina
Not included
- International flights to Palermo and from Catania
- Travel insurance
- The ETIAS fee, if it applies to your dates
- Lunch on days 1, 6 and 9, and dinners other than the welcome and farewell dinners
- Drinks, except at the included tastings
- Optional activities, such as the Ortigia boat trip
- Tips for your guide and driver
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,170 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Eight nights in central hotels, 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 2 dinners, a private minivan and driver, airport transfers at Palermo and Catania, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, local guides at the main sites, and every visit in the day plan, including the Etna cable car and off-road vehicles, the cooking lesson, all entries and city taxes.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in one minivan, so everyone can hear the guide in Monreale's cathedral, fits round one table at the farm lunch, and moves through Ortigia's narrow lanes without blocking them.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the welcome briefing in Palermo to the airport in Catania. At Monreale, the Valley of the Temples, Neapolis, Noto and Taormina, licensed local guides join us, as Italian rules require, and on Etna an authorised volcano guide takes us above the cable car.
How fit do I need to be?
You should be comfortable walking 3 to 6 km a day on cobbles, steps and gravel, often in sun. Ragusa, Modica and Taormina are steep. On Etna you walk for 1 to 2 hours at about 2,900 m in thin, cold air, but you can stay at 1,900 m and walk the Silvestri craters instead.
I am travelling solo. Do I pay a single supplement?
Only if you want your own room. The single supplement is CAD 1,170, published up front, about 17 percent of the price, with no surprise at checkout. If you would rather share, ask us and we will try to match you with a roommate of the same gender for the whole trip, with no rotating.
When is the best time to go to Sicily?
April to June and September to October. Spring has wildflowers, green fields and days of about 18 to 26 C; autumn is warm with the sea at its warmest. We do not run in July and August, when inland Sicily often passes 35 C and the temple sites have little shade.
How does booking work?
Choose a date and send a request to book. No payment is taken at that point. We confirm availability, your room and the final price within 24 hours, then send the booking terms and the payment schedule for you to accept before anything is charged.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, transfers and local guides.
Do Canadians need a visa for Italy?
No. Canadians can visit the Schengen area, including Italy, for up to 90 days without a visa, with a passport valid at least three months after you leave. The EU takes fingerprints and a photo at the border, ETIAS, the planned travel authorisation, is not yet in force and has no confirmed start date; we confirm requirements when you book.
Will we get to the top of Etna?
We go as high as the day allows: the cable car to about 2,500 m, then off-road vehicles to about 2,900 m with an authorised volcano guide. The summit craters, at about 3,300 m, are often closed by the authorities during activity. If wind stops the cable car, we walk the Silvestri craters at 1,900 m.
Why are Erice, Cefalu, Piazza Armerina and the Aeolian Islands not on this trip?
To keep drives short and stays at two nights where it matters, we focus on the south east, the temples and Etna. Erice or Cefalu would mean a 4-hour day or another one-night stop, and the Villa Romana del Casale mosaics at Piazza Armerina add about 1.5 hours to day 4. A private version can include any of them; ask us for a quote.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
Book your Tour
Get in Touch
- Toll Free1-888-961-6584
- Local1-289-271-9767
© 2026 See Sight Tours. All rights reserved.