Sicilian adventures

Upon arrival at Palermo airport meet your driver for your transfer to “Rocco Forte Verdura Resort”. Enjoy some leisure time and relax at the Resort’s spa or beach. For the evening, we suggest dinner at “Amaré”, the beachfront seafood restaurant on property.

Enjoy the extensive facilities of the resort during your morning at leisure. In the afternoon, travel to Sambuca di Sicilia for a wine tasting and aperitif at “Planeta’s Winery”, one of the best Sicilian wine’s producers. Your driver will then take you to dine at the  “Da Vittorio” restaurants, the locals’ favorite and an institution in Sicily, famous for serving the fresh-caught seafood sourced from local fishermen of Porto Palo, Sciacca and Mazara del Vallo. Return to the hotel and rest for the evening.

After breakfast, leave Sciacca with your private driver and head to East Sicily, with a stop in Agrigento to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Valley of the Temples. Once you get there, meet your guide, an expert and passionate archaeologist, and visit the eight Greek Temples built between 510BC and 430BC. In the afternoon get welcomed by Ada and Guido in their fabulous retreat on the slopes of Mt Etna, a 19th-century villa, spectacularly situated on a 60-acre organic farm where they grow different varieties of fruit and have beautiful vineyards. Dine on the gorgeous terrace on proudly farmed “ 0 km away” produce , reflecting the owner’s dedication to Eco-Bio identity.

Mount Etna (3,340m.) is the most active stratovolcano in the world. Its eruptive history goes back 500,000 years. Today after breakfast get picked up by our driver-guide on board of a 4WD vehicle that will get you far enough off the beaten track to give you a unique experience through the lava fields and the craters of ancient and recent eruptions. During the Body Rafting excursion, experience the Alcantara Gorges, a unique canyon comprised of basaltic lava and shaped by the waters of the Alcantara river. As the trail becomes more difficult, test your physical ability and spirit of adventure to overcome natural obstacles (waterfalls, rapids and rock faces) and reach the gorgeous Venus’ Waterfall. At the end of the trail,  enjoy a well-deserved lunch and wine tasting at the fabulous Tenuta di Fessina winery and learn why Etna’s are considered some of Italy’s most intriguing wines.

Have breakfast at the hotel and get ready to explore Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe. Pass through spectacular landscapes as you make your way to Mount Etna, through the lava fields and the craters of ancient and recent eruptions. Upon arrival at the spectacularly old craters, the “Crateri Silvestri” , take the cable car to reach the station at the top. Once there, board a special 4WD Vehicle with your expert volcano guide for a twenty minutes drive to “Torre del Filosofo” . From there (2900m), climb to the craters at the summit  (3315m, ca. 1-1.5 hours climbing, 300-400mm difference). The exact route of the trek and which of the summit craters can be visited are subject to the weather, volcano activity etc. You will need to be in good health (no asthma or respiratory problems, no heart problems, no blood pressure problems). Once back at the “rifugio” have lunch at the chalet before heading back to the hotel.

After breakfast and saying farewell to your hosts, get settled for a transfer to Milazzo’s port and catch the hydrofoil to the Aeolian Islands. The Aeolian islands are ancient creatures with a volcanic origin. Arrive on Vulcano Island and get settled at “Therasia Resort” where you’ll be staying 3 nights. The ancients believed Vulcano was the chimney of the fire god Vulcan’s workshop; take a breathtaking guided hike to the Gran Cratere to see for yourself why that is. The crater is at an altitude of 391 meters  and the path towards the peak is an easy pleasant walk of 45 minutes. Once reached the peak the view is breathtaking and encompasses all the Aeolian Islands and Mount Etna looking South. Learn about  the “fumarole” (mostly compound of sulphur, whose bacterial action is the cause of a yellow-ochre and red colored patina which covers the soil and the stones) from your expert guide. After returning to the hotel, our suggestion is to have dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant of the hotel, “Il Cappero”.

This day will be entirely dedicated to the sea and the remote island of Filicudi. After breakfast, meet your charming captain and amazing chef, who will take you on board of his delightful wooden craft to the western-most edge of the Aeolian Islands where life has a rythm of its own. A rocky island, peppered with prickly pears, whitewashed houses and flowering capers growing out of every crag. Go fishing with your captain, snorkel and drop anchor at the tiny village of Pecorini a Mare to savour his famous “Spaghetti alla “Eoliana”. If you feel like adding  an experience more deeply connected to the endemic wildlife, meet the marine biologists of the Filicudi WildLife Conservation centre involved in the study and conservation of the marine resources of the Aeolian Archipelago, mainly dolphin and sea turtles, and who also run a First Aid Centre for Sea Turtles. You could also visit the small local centre, go snorkeling with a marine biologist and learn about endemic rare fauna. Return to the hotel and relax for the evening.

After breakfast, enjoy a boat ride that will take you firstly to the glamourous yet wild Panarea, where you can disembark for a stroll and take a seat at “Bar del Porto” on the Marina; jump back on your boat and continue on to the breathtaking Stromboli to admire the unique show of fire streams crawling down the side of the volcano into the dark sea, called the “Sciara di Fuoco”. Enjoy dinner on board or disembark in Stromboli’s main village for a pizza before cruising back to Vulcano. Expect to be back around midnight.

After breakfast transfer back by hydrofoil to Sicily’s mainland and on to Taormina where you’ll spend the last day of this trip. Enjoy the town at leisure, we’ll be happy to suggest you plenty of restaurants for you to dine at.

After breakfast, meet your driver for a private transfer to Catania airport. Arrivederci Sicilia!