7-Day Sicily Tour from Syracuse: Taormina, Noto, Palermo

Seven days moving through Sicily's villages, craters and baroque squares with a local guide

A 7-day semi-private tour of Sicily based in Taormina, Syracuse and Palermo, with daily pickups from your accommodation and guided visits to Mount Etna, the Greek Theatre, Noto, Ortigia, the Temple Valley and Palermo's old town. A licensed local guide leads the walks. You book your own hotels and the operator arranges the day tours and transfers between cities. Meals, wine tastings and transport in a Mercedes minivan are included throughout.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Evening Taormina Food & Wine Tour

• Meet at Porta Messina gate
• Visit first venue with seafood and white wine
• Visit second venue with landfood and red wine
• Visit third venue for pastries and liquors

Day 2: Taormina Walking & Godfather Tour with Lunch

• Meet guide at accommodation lobby
• Drive to Forza D’Agrò village
• Walking tour of Forza D’Agrò and Godfather sites
• Drive to Savoca village
• Visit Bar Vitelli and Saint Lucy Church
• Learn about Sicilian Mafia history
• Enjoy pasta lunch with red wine
• Walking tour of Taormina and Greek Theatre visit

Day 3: Etna Craters Trip with Lunch and Wine Tasting

• Visit Mt. Etna base camp at 1900 meters
• Walk on old lava flows
• Ascend to 3000 meters by cable car and Jeep
• Visit main craters with Alpine Guide
• Lunch and wine tasting at Etna Winery
• Return to hotel in Taormina

Day 4: Noto Tour, Seafood Lunch & Transfer to Syracuse

• Drive to Noto and walking tour
• Taste Modica chocolate
• Drive to Marzamemi fishing village
• Enjoy traditional fresh fish lunch
• Transfer to hotel in Syracuse
• Evening at leisure in Syracuse

Day 5: Ortigia Walking Tour

• Meet local guide at hotel
• Walking tour of Ortigia old town
• Visit Apollo Temple and Via Cavour
• See Archimede Fountain and Jewish district
• Visit Duomo Square and churches
• Free afternoon to explore Syracuse

Day 6: Temple Valley Visit, Lunch & Transfer to Palermo

• Check out from Syracuse hotel
• Drive to Temple Valley
• Guided visit of Temple Valley
• Enjoy fresh seasonal lunch
• Drive to hotel in Palermo
• Free evening in Palermo

Day 7: Palermo Walking Tour

• Meet local guide at hotel
• Walking tour of Palermo old town
• Visit Martorana Church, Piazza Pretoria, Quattro Canti, Cathedral
• Listen to guide’s stories
• Free evening in Palermo

The experience

The tour runs seven days across three bases: three nights in Taormina, two in Syracuse, two in Palermo. Each morning a driver picks you up at your accommodation and takes you out in a small air-conditioned minivan with a licensed guide who speaks English. The itinerary moves you through everyday Sicilian life (food markets, village streets where films were shot, working wineries on volcanic slopes) rather than rushing between famous sites. You choose which day to start your activities once you book, so the schedule fits around your arrival.

In Taormina, the first evening is a food and wine tour through the old town where you stop at three venues: a seafood bar with Prosecco and white wine, a wine bar with land food and red wine, and a pastry shop with Sicilian sweets and liquors. The next days include a walking tour of Taormina itself and the Greek Theatre, a full-day trip to Mount Etna where you reach the Silvestri craters at 1,900 meters and ride a cable car and jeep higher to 3,000 meters, then lunch and wine tasting at a winery on Etna's slopes. On day four you transfer to Syracuse, stopping in Noto (a UNESCO baroque town where you walk with a guide and taste Modica chocolate), then eat fresh fish lunch in the fishing village of Marzamemi before arriving in Syracuse for the night.

In Syracuse, a guide leads a walking tour of Ortigia, the old town built on an island, showing you the Apollo Temple, the Jewish district, and the Duomo Square. On day six you leave for Palermo, spending two hours with a guide in the Temple Valley near Agrigento (another UNESCO site), then eating lunch before the drive to Palermo. The final day is a two-hour walking tour of Palermo's old town (the Martorana Church, Piazza Pretoria, the Cathedral) leaving the rest of the day free. All meals mentioned in the itinerary, wine tastings, and transport between your hotels and each day's activities are included. You arrange and pay for your accommodation separately.

What’s included

• Daily pickups from your accommodation in a Mercedes minivan.
• a licensed English-speaking guide for all walks and activities.
• entry to the Greek Theatre of Taormina.
• Mount Etna craters visit with Alpine guide and cable car and jeep rides to 3,000 meters.
• wine tastings at an Etna winery with appetizers and lunch.
• a walking tour and Modica chocolate tasting in Noto.
• fresh seafood lunch in Marzamemi.
• transfers to Syracuse and Palermo.
• a guided walk of Ortigia with its temples and squares.
• a guided visit to the Temple Valley near Agrigento with lunch.
• a walking tour of Palermo's old town.
• the evening food and wine tour in Taormina with three tastings.
• one dinner.
• and transport between cities on days four and six.

Before you book

Days and timesWednesday and FridayDeparts at 10:00Last departure this season: 30 Oct

Book up to2d before

AgesAdult (13 and older) · Child (3 to 12 years) · Infant (under 3)

GroupUp to 8

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 2 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Sicily Activities

Is this one for you?The semi-private format means you travel with other small groups rather than alone, which keeps costs lower than a private guide but gives you a fixed schedule and the same guide throughout. Choose this if you want a local who knows the villages and food traditions and can explain what you're seeing, but prefer not to arrange each day's logistics yourself or hire a guide just for your group.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 12 years); Infant (under 3).

What's included in the meals on this 7-day tour?

The tour includes a home-made Sicilian pasta plate with red wine during the Godfather village walk, fresh seafood lunch in Marzamemi, wine and food pairings at the Etna winery, and seasonal lunch in the Temple Valley. The first evening in Taormina is a food and wine tour with tastings at three venues. One dinner is also included.

Can I choose which activities to do on which days?

Yes. After you book, the local supplier contacts you to arrange which day you'd like to do each activity, so the schedule fits your arrival and preferences in Taormina.

Do I need to book my own hotel, or is accommodation included?

You book your own accommodation for the three nights in Taormina, two in Syracuse and two in Palermo. The tour operator arranges the daily activities, meals, guide and transport between your hotels and each day's destinations.

What is the Godfather tour actually about?

On day two in Taormina, you visit two small villages (Forza D'Agrò and Savoca), where scenes from The Godfather were filmed. Your guide walks you through the old towns, shows you the Bar Vitelli and the church where Michael Corleone's wedding scene was shot, and explains the real history of Sicilian Mafia: its structure, leadership and territorial wars.

How high do you go on Mount Etna?

You start at Refuge Sapienza at 1,900 meters, where you see the extinct Silvestri craters and can walk on old lava flows. From there, a cable car and jeep take you up to 3,000 meters to reach the main authorized crater area, where an Alpine guide leads a 45-minute walk through the landscape.

Is the tour private or shared with other travelers?

It's semi-private, meaning you travel in a small group in the minivan with other travelers, but the daily activities and meals are organized as part of this fixed itinerary, not as a large tour bus.