SICILY & MALTA
Ancient Wonders, Mediterranean Flavors & Coastal Beauty
April 12 – April 24, 2027 · 12 nights
TRAVEL STYLE & IDEAL FOR: This route will appeal most to travelers fascinated by the civilizations of the Mediterranean and comfortable with a steady, varied pace that alternates major archaeological sites with markets, coastal scenery and time at leisure.
SICILY & MALTA TOUR OVERVIEW
Two islands unfold as a single Mediterranean story, linking Palermo’s mosaic-lined monuments and Agrigento’s Greek temples with Siracusa’s waterfront, Mount Etna and Malta’s fortified cities. Market cooking, wine tastings, salt pans and local traditions bring the past into the present.
Tour Price: €7,990
Tour price includes:
- Private airport transfers on arrival in Palermo and departure from Valletta*
- 12 nights in elegant accommodations of regional character, primarily 4-star: Palermo (2), Marsala (2), Agrigento (1), Siracusa (2), Taormina (2), Valletta (3)
- All breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners, including welcome and farewell dinners and regional meals
- Professional English-speaking Tour Leader throughout the journey, accommodated at the same hotels as the group
- Private coach transportation in Sicily and Malta, plus the included flight from Catania to Malta with one carry-on bag and one small personal item per person
- Professional local guides, specialist archaeological guides, and audio headsets for the included visits
- Guided visits to Palermo, Monreale Cathedral and cloister, Segesta, the Valley of the Temples, Villa Romana del Casale, Siracusa and Ortigia, Valletta, Vittoriosa, Mdina, Rabat, and Ħaġar Qim
- Palermo market tour and hands-on cooking class with lunch and wine, followed by an exploration of the city’s civil resistance to organized crime and a visit to a historic palace
- Winery visits and tastings in Sicily and Malta, a guided visit to the Marsala salt pans with aperitif, and an extra virgin olive-oil tasting
- Private Mount Etna excursion by 4×4 with a mountain guide
- Boat excursion around the Ortigia Peninsula and its sea caves
- Distinctive cultural encounters including the Opera dei Pupi, pastizzi tasting, a behind-the-scenes visit to St. Lawrence Church
- All entrance fees, porterage, city taxes, VAT, and gratuities for the included services, visits, and meals
Tour price is per person based on a minimum of 6 participants and double occupancy. A single supplement of EUR 1,620 is available for those traveling alone who would like their own room.
*International airfare is not included, but Olde Ipswich Tours can assist with booking flights.
Depart the US, flying overnight to Palermo.
BEGINS: Palermo, Italy | ENDS: La Valletta, Malta *
DAYS 1-2, PALERMO: Palermo opens the journey with a guided walk through its Norman, Gothic and Baroque layers, including the Cathedral, the Palatine Chapel and Piazza Pretoria. Taste a classic cannolo and gather for a welcome dinner. The following day begins in a historic market before a hands-on Sicilian cooking class and lunch, then turns to the city’s civil resistance to organized crime and a visit to a historic palace.
DAYS 3-4, MONREALE, SEGESTA, ERICE & MARSALA: See the golden Byzantine mosaics of Monreale Cathedral and the carved columns of its Benedictine cloister, then explore Segesta’s remarkably preserved Doric temple with an archaeologist. From the medieval streets of hilltop Erice, continue to the Marsala salt pans to learn how sea salt is produced and enjoy an aperitif over the lagoon landscape.
DAY 5, MARSALA & AGRIGENTO: Discover Marsala’s historic center before visiting a local winery for a guided tour, tasting and light lunch. Continue across western Sicily to Agrigento.
DAYS 6-7, AGRIGENTO, PIAZZA ARMERINA & SIRACUSA: Walk among the Greek temples of Agrigento with an expert guide, then continue to Villa Romana del Casale, celebrated for its vivid Roman mosaics. In Siracusa, explore Ortigia’s layered streets and the tradition of the Opera dei Pupi before seeing the peninsula, historic waterfront and coastal caves from the water with a boat excursion.
DAYS 8-9, VAL DI NOTO, TAORMINA & MOUNT ETNA: Taste the wines of the Val di Noto before settling into Taormina, with time to enjoy the hill town at your own pace. The next day reaches Mount Etna by 4×4 and on foot, taking in lava flows, extinct craters, the Valle del Bove and a lava-tube cave. A visit to an olive grove concludes with a technical tasting of Sicilian extra virgin olive oils.
DAYS 10-11, VALLETTA, VITTORIOSA & MARSAXLOKK: Fly from Catania to Malta and become acquainted with Valletta’s Baroque streets, sea views and grand piazzas. An exclusive visit and aperitif inside a private 16th-century residence offer a more intimate view of the capital. In Vittoriosa, follow the lanes of the Knights, taste freshly baked pastizzi and visit the Collegiate Church of St. Lawrence, then discover the colorful fishing village of Marsaxlokk.
DAY 12, MDINA, RABAT & SOUTHERN MALTA: Enter the hushed streets of Mdina, then visit St. Paul’s Grotto and the World War II shelters beneath Rabat. After a photo stop at the Blue Grotto, conclude at the megalithic temples of Ħaġar Qim, among the world’s oldest free-standing structures. Farewell dinner.
DAY 13: Transfer to Malta International Airport for your flight home.
*Transfers to major airports can be arranged at an additional cost.
