Sicily Between Sea and Stone

ADDITIONAL COST (as per tour description)

Gratuity fund: Please bring EUR 50 in cash for the local service and gratuity fund. Alessandra will take care of distributing the gratuities to the local staff throughout the week. If you need to stop at an ATM after arriving, no problem, just let us know. Sam will collect the fund.

Meals: Drinks are not included unless specified in the itinerary. They can be paid upon consumption

Some meals are included, the estimated total food expenses for meals that are not included in the tour is approximately EUR 200 per person for the week, depending on individual choices.

Day 1. Sat Sept 5 – Arrival in Sicily

DRIVER CONTACT:   Alessandro  +39 339 695 7990

• NOTE: PICK UP TIMES ARE APPROXIMATE AND THEY DEPEND ON FLIGHT / TRAINS ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIME and possible delays. Use WhatsApp to communicate with your driver.

11:20 am Mondello pick up by Driver Alessandro  +39 339 695 7990

• Lisa (+1 610 389-1586)-pickup in Mondello, Viale Regina Elena, 53c, 90151 Mondello, Italy

• Patricia and Shannon (+1 610 389-1586) -pickup in Mondello, Al Baglio Via Gallo 19 Mondello

11:50 am PMO airport pick up by Driver Alessandro  +39 339 695 7990

• Sam (+1 256 682-1454) , Cissy and Jacquie-pickup at PMO. Flight XZ2711 from FCO lands at 11:20am

12:30 pm Driver will drop off the 6 ladies at villa Amira or other nearby location depending if the villa is ready to for us or not. Their normal check in is between 3 to 4:00 pm. You will meet Alessandra in Trappeto. 

4:00 to 5:00 pm Denise, Alessandra and Naheed will provide pick up/transfer at the PMO airport

We will coordinate via WhatsApp, please advise the group as soon as you arrive. We will all meet at the HERTZ RENT A CAR office in Palermo Airport Arrivals Hall. Denise and I will be there at 3:30 pm. There are chairs where you can rest and wait around.

• Denise-pick up rental car at 3:30pm

• Michelle-lands at 2:25pm flight AZ1781 from FCO. By the time you get your luggage and come out it will be 3:30 or so. You will need to wait at the airport for Denise and other arrivals.

• Wendy-lands at 3:35pm flight FR4902 from FCO

• Tina, Marcie, Carmen-land at PMO at 3:50pm flight DL8269 from CDG

• Karen-lands  at 3:50pm flight Af1008 from CDG

• Naheed-lands at 3:25pm flight ITA # AZ1779.  Pick up rental car at 4:00pm (Alessandra will take you there, then we will pick up the rest of the ladies). ECH Rental +393515238910   Contrada Pozzillo, 90045 Pozzillo PA, Italy

• Short transfer to Villa and settle in. Check in is at 3:00 pm or 4:00 pm.  Hopefully we may be able to drop the luggage early, use the patio and go to the beach while waiting for the rest of the ladies to arrive.

• 7:30 PM - Welcome dinner at Le Bistro  -  +393209176417

Meals included: welcome dinner (excluding drinks).

Note

the itinerary below may be executed in a different order depending on local conditions.

Breakfast help: +393208234978 Mina, 

Day 2, Sun Sept 6 – Segesta and Erice

• 10:30 AM After breakfast we will drive from Trappeto to the lower Funivia Trapani-Erice valley station and go up to Erice. (Cableway tickets included).

• Take a flat, gentle stroll through Erice's medieval lanes. Wear comfortable shoes (best if they are closed, in any case very stable, as there are some slippery stones on the streets.

• We will have a lunch in Erice possibly near the main gate

• After lunch we will explore more of Erice and for those interested grab a pastry or gelato at Pasticceria Maria Grammatico next to the cable way station.

• 4:45 After descending the cable way back to the car we will head out to visit the Greek Temple Segesta, one of the most powerful and atmospheric Greek temples in Sicily. Entrance tickets included.

  • • 5:00 pm  Travel from Funicular to Free Parking Segesta  (30 min drive) and take the parking lot's transfer shuttle directly to the park gate.

• 5:30 Segesta Tickets: Booking Code: H1TTKHU7 

  • • See site brochure here

    • walk 300m to the Doric Temple. Then transfer using the  internal shuttle bus up and down to the Theater of Segesta.

• 7:30 PM: Take the transfer shuttle back to our pqarked car and transfer to Villa.

• Evening at leisure at or near the Villa. 

Meals included-breakfast

Day 3. Mon Sept 7 – Egadi Islands Boat Day

• 9:00 am Right after breakfast we will head to Trapani where we will board our private boat for a day tour to the islands of Favignana and Levanzo. Private boat tour with lunch is included.

• 10:00 am -  6:00 pm: multi stop Egadi Island private tour will start at 

  • • Priscilla +39 327 855 7893 Egadi Island S.N.C.

    • Departure from Port of Trapani, via Ammiraglio Staiti box n.1 - M/n Gaia.  See on google maps, park there on the blue lines or at Piazale Ilio free parking 

• Evening at leisure at or near the Villa. 

Meals included-breakfast.

Bonus experience: lunch on our private boat tour.

Day 4. Tue Sept 8 – Marsala and Salt Flats

• 10:30 am After a relaxed breakfast, we will head to Marsala.

• 11:30 - 12:40 As a special added experience, we will visit the Pellegrino Winery,  for a guided tour and tasting of the famous Marsala wine. The winery tour and tasting are included and last 1 hour. +39 0923 719911  Located at Overtour pellegrino,  Lungomare Battaglia delle Egadi, 10, 91025 Marsala

• 4:45 pm Visit the celebrated Marsala Salt Flats for a guided tour and a visit to the historic windmill. +393456958528  The guided tour and admission are included.

• 6:30 pm As another special bonus, shortly before sunset we will board a boat for a scenic sunset cruise through the Stagnone Lagoon, enjoying a glass of wine as the sun sets over the salt flats. The sunset cruise and glass of wine are included. 

  • • Barca Clivamar (right at the salines) - Ivana +393387860474 OR

    • Imbarcadero Storico G. Whitaker Tel: +393473430329     Email: info@ariniepugliese.com 

• We will then return to the villa for a well-deserved rest.

Meals included-breakfast.

Bonus experience: Florio Winery tour and Marsala wine tasting. Included at no additional cost.

Bonus experience: Sunset cruise through the Stagnone Lagoon with a glass of wine. Included at no additional cost.

Almond Wine producers:  Interesting alternatives (would give us more rest time in the morning). 

• Cantine Lombardo (+39) 0923 72 16 66 / (+39) 0923 98 10 03  - Via Vincenzo Florio, 17  Marsala (TP)

• Wine tasting in Marsala at the Vinci Vini Experience  +39 393 876 58 94  info@siciliadascoprire.it 

Day 5. Wed Sep 9 – Slow Villa Morning, Cooking Together and San Vito lo Capo visit.

• After breakfast we will enjoy a relaxed morning at the villa, the jacuzzi, the beach, or just a nice late wake up time.  

• For lunch we will have our hands on cooking experience together at the villa.

• After lunch, we will head to San Vito Lo Capo, home to one of Sicily’s most beautiful beaches, where we can enjoy some shopping followed by dinner overlooking the stunning coastline. Cost of dinner not included. Estimated €15–€30 per person plus drinks.

Meals included-breakfast, and the meal we prepared together at the villa

Day 6. Thur Sep 10 – Monreale and Palermo

• After Breakfast we will head to Monreale to visit the Cathedral, famous for its breathtaking golden mosaics.  Entrance to Cathedral included.

• We will then continue to Palermo for a guided walking tour of the historic center with a true Sicilian street food experience. Cost of guided tour with food is included.

• Return to the villa in the evening. We will likely explore having dinner at the nearby town of Terrasini.

Meals included-breakfast, and street food during our guide tour

Day 7. Fri Sep 11 – Private boat tour to Zingaro Nature Reserve and Villa Time

• after breakfast we will head to Private boat excursion day to San Vito lo Capo and the Zingaro Nature Reserve.

• 9:30 (tour starting time) After Breakfast we will head to Castellammare del Golfo where we we will enjoy a private boat tour along the spectacular Zingaro Nature Reserve, with a stop in Scopello with it's famous Tonnara and Faraglioni. Friuit, drinks and snacks included.

  • • Blue Marine private boat tour: +39 327 233 1555

    • Here is a map of what we will see: Zingaro Nature Reserve: Cala Capreria, Cala del Varo, Cala Disa, Cala Beretta, Cala Marinella, Cala dell'Uzzo

    • Cala Leone

    • Grotto of the Madonna

    • Cave of the Doves

    • Vucciria Caves

    • Cala Bianca and Cala Rossa

    • Guidaloca Bay

    • Scopello Sea Stacks

• Or at 10:00 Booking N°1452501 clickandboat.com  +393349341953  marinayachtingsicily@gmail.com 

• The rest of the day we will relax at the at the villa and get ready for our farewell dinner. Cost of dinner not included. 

Meals included-breakfast

Day 8. Sat Sept 12 – Departure Day

Breakfast

Morning group transfer to Palermo Airport PMO for our departure flights. (about 30 min driving time)

Arrive at PMO before 11:00 am

Meals included-breakfast

Departure schedule:

All cars to be dropped off at the airport at 11:00 am

• Patricia and Wendy flights depart at 9:45am

• Sam, Cissy and Jacquie's flight departs at 11:50am

• Alessandra, Shannon, Naheed, Tina, Marcie, Karen will take the following flight:

Ryanair FR49  @ 12:10 PM Palermo (PMO) arrives NAP (Napoli) at @ 1:10 PM 

• Michelle's flight departs at 2:25pm

• Carmen's flight departs at 4:45pm via Delta DL8362

• Lisa stays extra night in Palermo and flies out on 9/13 at 7:20am via AZ 1774

• Denise flight TBD