All Itineraries are tailor-made to suit the specific requirements of syllabus, budget and stamina. Please let us know Exam Board, options and modules – we can then discuss how best to incorporate prescribed Literary/Visual/Material Sources.
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Day 1

< Odeon, Taormina, photo courtesy of Giovanni Dall’Orto

 

Land in Catania, meet courier and depart for Catania, have a bit of free time to see the Terme Achilliane and Terme della Rotonda before visiting the Greco-Roman Theatre and Odeon, take a break for lunch and then move on to visit the Archaeological Museum at the Castello or the University of Catania. Make sure to walk past the Duomo to see the archaeological composite elephantine statue. Meet the coach and depart for your hotel at either Giardini Naxos or Letojanni. Check in and get ready for dinner.

Day 2

< Siracusa, Temple of Apollo

 

Have breakfast at your hotel and meet your coach to depart for Syracuse, one of the most important cities from antiquity, rivalling Athens in power. The first stop is the Archaeological Museum where you’ll find plenty of pieces from both the Greek and Roman periods of the city, including votive pieces, a large array of coins and a polychromatic terracotta statue of Persephone.

Once you have had your fill from the Museum, take the 15 minute walk to the Archaeological Park to see the amphitheatre, theatre and quarries (including the famous Ear of Dionysius). Meet your coach outside and you’ll be dropped off across the causeway to Ortygia. Grab yourself some lunch before exploring the narrow streets and Baroque squares. Make sure you stop off at the Temple of Apollo, pay the €2 in situ at the Duomo to go in and see the columns of The Temple of Athena.

Other optional visits include the Pythagorean Museum, the oldest European Jewish Mikvah (originally a Greek, then Punic cistern). There’s also the Fountain of Arethusa to check out, as well as the Temple of Artemis (across the street from the Duomo), which has recently reopened. Enjoy the free time in this wonderful part of the city, before heading back to the coach and returning to your hotel for dinner.

Day 3

< Mount Aetna

Once you’ve had breakfast at the hotel, meet your coach and depart for Mt. Etna, take the cable car (or if the weather is bad, the 4×4 cable car) to the first rest station on the volcano, to experience the weather and the views on this still active volcano. After this experience that a teacher once described as biblical, get back on the coach and depart for Taormina. You’ll be dropped at the coach parking and then have a 20 minute walk up to the Greco-Roman Theatre, this fantastic theatre still holds shows and performances in the summer, and has fantastic views down the Sicilian coast and over the strait of water towards mainland Italy.

Before you visit though make sure you grab some lunch on the way up. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and eateries. After you have visited the Theatre, spend a couple of hours of free time in the city to see the archaeological remains scattered through the city – the Odeon, blocks from the Temple of Isis and Serapis in the church, the Naumachia, Hellenistic Buildings and Roman Baths, and the Terme di Piazza San Pancrazio. Once you’ve had enough of this charming town, meet your coach at the coach parking and depart for your hotel. You’ll have some free time before you have dinner.

Day 4

Once you’ve had breakfast at the hotel, meet your coach and depart for Mt. Etna, take the cable car (or if the weather is bad, the 4×4 cable car) to the first rest station on the volcano, to experience the weather and the views on this still active volcano. After this experience that a teacher once described as biblical, get back on the coach and depart for Taormina. You’ll be dropped at the coach parking and then have a 20 minute walk up to the Greco-Roman Theatre, this fantastic theatre still holds shows and performances in the summer, and has fantastic views down the Sicilian coast and over the strait of water towards mainland Italy. Before you visit though make sure you grab some lunch on the way up.

There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and eateries. After you have visited the Theatre, spend a couple of hours of free time in the city to see the archaeological remains scattered through the city – the Odeon, blocks from the Temple of Isis and Serapis in the church, the Naumachia, Hellenistic Buildings and Roman Baths, and the Terme di Piazza San Pancrazio. Once you’ve had enough of this charming town, meet your coach at the coach parking and depart for your hotel. You’ll have some free time before you have dinner.

Day 5

< Telamon, Agrigento

A slightly later start given the proximity to Valley of the Temples, so have breakfast and checkout before meeting the coach for the short journey to Gate 3. This gate brings you into the site at Gate 3, a short walk from the Temple of Hera, so head up here first to admire the temple to the Queen of the Gods before following the path along to the Temple of Concordia before continuing down to the Temple of Hercules before crossing the bridge to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, where you can see the newly re-erected Telamon.

Continue onwards to the Temple of the Dioscuri, Sanctuary of the Chthonic Deities and the Archaic Sanctuary at the end. Make your way back to the Temple of Zeus with its large altar and then exit on to the main road to make your way up to the central area with the restaurant for lunch alternatively you can buy food from the snack bar between the Temples of Juno and Concordia). Once you’ve had lunch in the central area, take a look out over the Bouleuterion and the Ekklesiasterion before heading into the Museum.

The Museum is full of pieces from Agrigento, from votive pieces to sections of temple and frescoes to jewellery. The Hellenistic-Roman area of the site is large, but only accessible by tracking across the centre of the site, and the nearby gates through to the centre area are usually closed. Once you’ve finished, meet your coach and depart for Erice. Arrive in the lovely hilltop town, check in and get dinner at your hotel.

< Telamon Statue, Agrigento Archaeological Museum – Courtesy of Tiffin School

Erice is a medieval town perched on a 2,500ft hilltop, complete with Norman castle built atop Punic Temple to Astarte, fountains and cobbled streets. Originally an Elym village of Anatolian colonists, occupied in turn by Pyrrhus, Carthaginians and Romans – evidence of its chequered history still remains within its many churches and museums. Take the evening to explore the town free of day-trippers.

Day 6

< Segesta – Courtesy of Notting Hill and Ealing High-School

 

After having breakfast, checking out and meeting your coach depart for Palermo, stopping at Segesta where you will find the unfinished 5^th Century Doric Temple and classical Theatre. Continue onward to Palermo to visit the Archaeological Museum and the Regional Archaeological Museum and then spend time walking through the city, you’ll find Roman remains at Villa Bonnano and Piazza Sett’Angeli. Grab some lunch in Palermo and then head to the airport for your flight home.

Feel free to contact us to tailor your own tour. 01342 324727