Italy: Sicily
7 Days
Starting From
$5,845.00
10 Days
Starting From
$6,845.00
per person, double occupancy
Want more from your experience?
Add an ExtensionItaly: Sicily
You have veered off the hiking trails into an artisan studio that keeps the craft of Sicily’s brightly painted horse carts alive. These wagons with their delicately rendered pastoral scenes seduce you, much like the lava fields, vineyards, boutique hotel, and Michelin-starred restaurant on Mt. Etna’s slopes. Like the Baroque magnificence of Ragusa’s hillside Old Town. And like the ancient quarry pathway along the Cave of Mercy. There’s more to follow – more mouthwatering meals and local wines at welcoming agriturismi. More glimpses into a rich past in Syracuse, once a cultural capital of Magna Graecia, and at the haunting necropolis of Pantalica. More breathtaking nature preserves and their profusion of birdlife. Indeed, this walking tour of Sicily is painting an altogether new and sublime canvas for you.
Highlights
- Venture across the slopes of Mt. Etna – Europe’s largest active volcano–hiking trails through wildflowers, forests, and over a hardened lava flow.
- Dine on Michelin-starred Sicilian fare accompanied by local wines at your boutique hotel and spa on the slopes of Etna.
- Learn about the cherished tradition of the Carretti Siciliani, the island’s vibrant horse carts, while exploring Ragusa Ibla.
- Follow scenic pathways through the Oasi Vendicari Nature Reserve, home to 40 types of birds and the perfect place for a refreshing dip in the sea.
- Stroll amid the ancient walls and columns of the Syracuse Archaeological Park with an expert historian, visiting the park’s famed Roman amphitheater along the way.
Positive Impact
Country Walkers is proud to support Addiopizzo with a donation on behalf of each guest on this tour. Along with exceptional cuisine and ancient ruins, Sicily has a centuries-old reputation for corruption. But now, a grassroots coalition of over 850 shopkeepers in Palermo are standing up to institutional graft with the nonprofit “Addiopizzo” movement. This Fair Trade style certification—the name, roughly translated, means “Goodbye, Bribes!”—recognizes businesses that operate honestly, vetting them through a rigorous process that examines their tax records and reputation with local law enforcement. Their fields of action include anti-mafia critical consumption, free assistance to victims of extortion, and urban regeneration activities for families.
Accommodations
Linger Longer with a Tour Extension
2024 Pre-Trip Extension - Taormina
- Two nights at the Hotel Monte Tauro
- Airport car service for arrival
- Daily breakfast
- City information
2 Nights From $395
per person, double occupancy
Single Supplement: From $345
Your vacation is about to begin! Spend your first night aloft and arrive ready for an unforgettable trip.
A Country Walkers representative will greet you at the airport to start your adventure off right. Complimentary transportation will be provided to your Taormina hotel. From here, you are perfectly positioned to explore this vibrant city at your leisure.
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to explore on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to explore on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Hotel Monte Tauro
This tour is a must! We had wonderful group, fantastic guides, delicious meals with local families, or small wineries/farms and walking trails with landscape diversity. I've never learnt so much about the geology, history, cuisine, traditions and ornithology in one trip. Thank you!
Italy: Sicily
Best CW trip we have taken (#7). the 2 guides, Keegan and Ermes, were phenomenal. They lead us on beautiful hikes AND enriched our minds with Sicily's, history , geology, political environment, agricultural life, culture and so much more. The country came alive for us thanks to these guides and the experiences they created for the group. the food and the wine were fabulous too.
Italy: Sicily
Expert Local Guides
Experience your destination like an insider with people who call it home.
Dario Mangiafico
Dario Mangiafico is passionate about nature, travel, and community. Growing up in a small town on the island of Sicily, Dario developed a deep sense of empathy and social ethics which he brings to everything he does. With his university education in environmental and natural sciences, he has a wealth of knowledge about the natural environment-and he loves to share his knowledge while guiding people through the natural wonders of his native landscape. Dario’s cheerful and adventurous approach to exploring the natural world makes him a delight to travel with.
Christopher Wellington
Having lived in Italy for more than thirty years, Christopher Wellington combines a deep love of his adopted country with wide-ranging knowledge of its past and present. A history graduate of Cambridge, he taught English and religion before moving into guiding. He is fascinated by the art and architecture of Italy, and how it has grown out of the countryside and life of the people, the source, too, of his interest in the food and wine of each region.
Maurizio Musmeci
A native of the Sicilian town of Acireale, Maurizio Musmeci lives in Aci Castello, a small village built on hardened Mt. Etna lava. Having lived in several Italian cities, he eventually returned to Sicily, where he is proud to be part of an organization that publicly supports businesses and public officials who do not pay protection money to organized crime. He has a degree in environmental planning and has been working for years as a hiking and nature guide. Maurizio wants to share Sicily with all visitors so they can know it for what it is: a beautiful land, full of contradictions, with an amazing natural and human cultural heritage.
Keegan Alagna
With his American mother and Sicilian father, Keegan Alagna grew up in a bilingual home in the Umbrian countryside near Assisi. From his childhood on a working farm to post-graduate work in geology, he has always pursued his passion and curiosity for the outdoors, through teaching, guiding, and exploring. He brings his depth of knowledge of geology, nature, Italian history and culture to his walking tours and to his position as a key member on Italy’s premier outdoor group—the CAI, the Club Alpino Italiano.