Palermo Botanic Gardens in the region of Sicily, Italy

Beautiful Landscapes and Gardens of Sicily Tour

Ratings of Zicasso's Service
Customizable Itinerary

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

Countries Visited

Italy

Places Visited

Taormina, Catania, Mount Etna, Barone di Villagrande...

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Suggested Duration

10 Days

Discover your private secret garden in Sicily, lush with decorative vines, orange groves and olive orchards; explore the rich soil that creates the incredible fertile landscape. Chefs create unique and widely sought dishes using traditional ingredients grown in personalized private plots. Noble families decorate their estates with blossoming white trees and towering palm fronds. Vineyards comb the fertile foothills of Mount Etna. Baroque palaces frame elegant squares and verdant gardens hide behind...

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Stroll through the segmented walkways and elaborately designated landscape of the Garden of Sangiuliano on a private tour
  • Enjoy a unique welcome to Sicily with a tour of a celebrated winery outside of Syracuse, followed by a sensational tasting
  • Delight in the traditional cuisine during a private cooking class taught by a local chef, using ingredients easily found in a Sicilian garden
  • Explore the stunning differences in the landscape between the lower foothills of Mount Etna and the rugged qualities of the higher altitude hills
  • Discover the Baroque architecture of Catania shimmering along the bustling streets
  • Relish a hidden Eden-like garden on the fringes of the ancient ruins at the Valley of the Temples

Detailed Description

Immerse yourself in the unique 10-day tour of Sicily’s landscapes and gardens strung across the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Pine trees shade sandy beaches where cobalt blue water brushes against the shoreline. The aroma of fennel and citrus overtake the soft floral scent carried by the breeze. You arrive at Catania airport, where your private transfer is waiting to greet you. The image of Sicily comes to fruition when you stop at a celebrated winery to explore the vineyard and sample a traditional aperitif (an alcoholic drink that precedes a meal) produced on the island. You continue to Syracuse, where you settle into luxury at your hotel.

The next day, your guide meets you at the hotel and leads you on exceptional full day Sicily tours for groups, taking you on an ancient and medieval history exploration. Visit the incredible private Garden of Sangiuliano, located on an estate owned by Sicilian nobility. Continue to the quiet grounds of Il Biviere to witness the unique flora encompassing a global reach. You leave Syracuse behind and tour the grounds of Gli Aromi farm, where your guide presents you with a meal cooked using ingredients locally sourced from their grounds. Once in Modica, you discover the Baroque architecture and the charming chocolate traditions of the city.

Travel to Catania to explore the Baroque streets and experience the boisterous fish market. Outside the city is the fascinating Le Stanze in Fiore gardens, along with the Parco Paterno del Toscano. The latter is a manor house of consisting of garden terraces and marvelous exotic plants. In the evening, you settle into the charming seaside ambiance of Taormina. Your guide is a private chef who leads you on a marketing tour of Taormina before teaching you the local culinary traditions. The day continues at Casa Cuseni, a lovely mansion situated below the cliff of Taormina.

The following morning, you venture up the mountainside of Mount Etna on a guided tour before relishing the flavors of a boutique winery on a tasting tour of the hillside estate of Barone di Villagrande. Then, you make your way to the wondrous ancient ruins at the Valley of the Temples to see the Doric structures, along with the neighboring Eden, known as the Kolymbetra Garden. You follow your guide on a full day tour of Palermo to view the stunning history of the city and experience the culture along the streets, marketplaces, and botanical gardens. Your guide meets you in the hotel lobby on your final day and escorts you to Falcone-Borsellino Airport for your flight home.

Starting Price

$4,500 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

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

4.9 stars based on 5950 reviews.

Italy Tour Review: Wine Tour, Cooking Classes, Local Cuisine,...

Zicasso’s travel company was wonderful in planning our trip on short notice and in line with our requests and preferences. Their suggestions of what to do and where to stay were perfect. And when we accidentally got off on the wrong island, the travel company quickly got us new ferry tickets to get to the right place. It was all seamless.

Reviewed By Sherry G.

Italy Honeymoon Review: Rome, Sorrento, Cooking Class, Private...

This trip was the greatest week of our lives! Everything planned was better than I could have imagined. The private drivers being coordinated behind the scenes made the trip so easy and removed all the stress of trying to navigate a new country. Every driver and our tour guide was so nice and I feel like we made friends with all of them.

My favorite part of the trip was definitely the cooking classes and that every tour was private and intimate for my wife and I. The connections Zicasso’s travel agent hooked us up with made the trip the most memorable experience. Our travel agent and the travel company took special care of all the tiny details of the trip; our hotel knew it was my birthday and had a special surprise for me! I’m beyond thankful for the perfect honeymoon they provided my wife and I.

Reviewed By Branson S.

Italy Trip Review: Sorrento, Cooking Class, Local Cuisine,...

The accommodations and private tours were worth the extra money. Our drivers were professional and helpful.

Reviewed By Claudia R.

Italy, Greece Travel Review: Como, Bellagio, Wine Tour,...

The overall trip was great. The weather was terrific and the countries we visited had so much to see. Zicasso's tour company did a good job of balancing relaxation with fun. Each of the guides we had was so pleasant and shared so much information with us. They were very attentive to our needs.

Reviewed By Nisha V.

Italy Vacation Review: Florence, Rome, Truffle Hunt, Cooking...

Wow, where to begin. This trip was an absolute dream.

When I first spoke to Zicasso’s travel consultant, I told her my main travel concern: traveling with nine- and 15-year-old boys as a single mom in Italy. I was excited to take the trip with them, but I really needed something that was meticulously planned to take away the nerves of having to navigate alone with two kids. She listened and executed the most beautiful trip.

She planned activities that captured the attention and imagination of a fourth grader and a teenager. And the experiences were unique. Probably the highlight of the trip was a truffle hunt with the hunter and his dog in the countryside outside of Florence. My oldest wants to move to Florence and start hunting! We had a personalized cooking class, a private Vespa tour of Rome, and a delicious and informative art and food tour, among other amazing experiences. As we were sending photos back home, I got so many requests for our itinerary because it was so special and unique. Both boys were hard-pressed to choose which part they liked best.

The hotels she selected were beautiful, comfortable, and right in the heart of the cities and attractions we wanted to see. When we encountered a small hiccup (by our hotel, not our travel agent), I contacted her and she responded right away, getting us a free room upgrade and free dinner! We felt very taken care of.

Aside from the amazing activities and locations we saw, the trip was fantastic because everything was so seamless. We always had a private driver arranged, pre-booked train tickets, and even someone to make sure we made it on time for our flight home. I never had to worry about a thing. It was also telling that every tour guide we interacted with had only glowing things to say about our travel agent and her keen attention to detail and organization.

If you're planning on visiting Italy, this travel company is the travel agency you need to select. It takes any of the stress and guesswork out of the travel process, and all you have to do is show up and enjoy.

Thank you so much! You helped us make some amazing memories!

Stephanie

Reviewed By Stephanie S.

Italy 25th Anniversary Travel Review: Positano, Sorrento,...

This was possibly the best vacation we have ever taken. A fitting trip to mark our 25th anniversary, we will remember our days in Positano and Sorrento forever. Everything was perfect and the service and support were extraordinary.

Zicasso's travel specialist and the other people were always super-helpful and friendly. The hotels they chose for us in particular were exactly what we wanted. I can’t think of a single issue. Transport, transfers, etc., were perfect. The only bad part was that we had to return to normal life afterwards! We highly recommend our travel company to anyone! Grazie mille!

Reviewed By Mauro A.

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