Globus > HIGHLIGHTS OF SICILY and SOUTHERN ITALY (ZM2008)

HIGHLIGHTS OF SICILY and SOUTHERN ITALY (ZM2008)
14 Days starting from $CALL

Countries Visited:
Italy, Switzerland

Check Rates & Availability

Length: 14 Days
Type: First Class Tour
Category: REGIONAL TOUR ITALY
Operator: Globus
Tour Code: ZM-2008
   
 
About This Tour



Vacation Overview
This 14-day vacation is for those who wish to concentrate on Southern Italy. Included are visits to the St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and Roman Forum in Rome, splendid Reggia of Caserta, the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, the Isle of Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. Enjoy boat rides across the Bay of Naples and the Strait of Messina, and an overnight ferry crossing from Naples to Palermo, where guided sightseeing features visits to the Palatine Chapel and the Norman Cathedral in Monreale. Exciting included excursions to the Valley of the Temples, and the Archeaological Site of Syracuse, birthplace of Archimedes, complete your exploration of Roman history. Back on the continent, drive through Calabria and Apulia via pretty Matera to Alberobello with its unique trulli houses. Enjoy a full day at leisure here before returning to Rome.

 
  • What's Included
  • Itinerary
  • Dates & Prices
  • Sightseeing Highlights
  • Additional Details
  • SPECIALS

Meals
12 buffet breakfasts (BB); 5 three-course dinners (D), including a special welcome dinner with wine in Rome

Hotels
ROME Jolly Villa Carpegna (F), NAPLES Jolly (F), PALERMO Jolly Foro Italico (F), TAORMINA Corallo (F), ALBEROBELLO Astoria (F), ROME Holiday Inn Rome West (F)
Day 1:
Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2:
Arrival in Rome, Italy. Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (D)

Day 3:
Rome. Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. Then time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (BB)

Day 4:
Rome–Naples. This morning visit splendid REGGIA OF CASERTA, an impressive residence of 1,200 rooms with elegant GARDENS stretching two miles, reminiscent of the French Palace of Versailles. Next, enter lively and colorful Naples. A Local Guide takes you first to the NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, housing some of the world’s greatest Greco-Roman treasures; focus on the well-preserved objects found in Pompeii. Then on to the city center to admire the remarkable Triumphal Arch of the New Castle, St. Charles Theater, the Royal Palace, Galleria Umberto, and the semicircular Piazza Plebiscito. Drive up to Posillipo Hill for a sweeping view of the Bay of Naples. Afterwards, explore the city independently. (BB)

Day 5:
Naples. Excursion to Capri. Speed across the Bay of Naples to the Isle of Capri, an ancient retreat for Roman emperors. Sightseeing with a Local Guide includes a visit to VILLA SAN MICHELE in Anacapri. Time to explore pretty Capri town at your own pace before returning to Naples. (BB,D)

Day 6:
Naples–Sorrento–Pompeii–Overnight Cruise to Palermo. A beautiful drive along the Mediterranean Coast to the charming resort of Sorrento. Time to check out the local shops before continuing to POMPEII, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Your Local Guide will walk you past patrician homes, public baths, and commercial districts strikingly recalling day-to-day life when Rome was at the apex of her power. Tonight board your FERRY for the overnight cruise to Sicily, the great melting pot of the Mediterranean world: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Normans, French, and Spanish have left their marks and contributed to its rich heritage. (BB)

Day 7:
Palermo. Start sightseeing with a Local Guide. Visit the ornate Piazza Bellini, the CATHEDRAL, and the Arab-Norman PALATINE CHAPEL in the Royal Palace. Later, drive up to Monreale for a panoramic view of the Conca d’Oro and a visit to the 12th-century NORMAN CATHEDRAL, famous for its 50,000 square feet of precious Byzantine mosaics. End with a visit to the typical and picturesque village of Mondello. Back to Palermo over scenic, history-steeped Monte Pellegrino. Tonight you may wish to enjoy local specialties on an optional dinner outing. (BB)

Day 8:
Palermo. Excursion to Valley of Temples. A day devoted to the scenic beauty and ancient Greek treasures of southwest Sicily. Head south to Agrigento and enjoy a walk with your Local Guide through the breathtaking VALLEY OF TEMPLES. Even travelers who have visited Athens and Delphi are awed by the gigantic yet graceful Greek structures that miraculously survived 24 centuries of tormented history. In the afternoon visit the DORIAN TEMPLES and ACROPOLIS at Selinunte, built on a natural balcony overlooking the sparkling Mediterranean. (BB,D)

Day 9:
Palermo–Syracuse–Taormina. An easy morning drive through the heart of Sicily to Syracuse, birthplace of the mathematician Archimedes and once a powerful Greek port whose fleet was feared throughout the Mediterranean. It attracted visitors such as the philosopher Plato and later the Apostle Paul, who converted its citizens to Christianity. Enter the ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE with a Local Guide for a visit to the 5th-century B.C. sparkling white Greek Theater, the Garden of Paradise, the Ear of Dionysus, the Altar of Hieron II, the Roman Amphitheater, and the Cordmakers’ Cave. Evening arrival at your hotel in the Taormina area. (BB,D)

Day 10:
At Leisure in Taormina. In the morning you may want to sign up for an exciting optional excursion to Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. Afternoon at leisure. (BB)

Day 11:
Taormina–Matera–Alberobello. By FERRY across the Strait of Messina, land in Calabria; drive along the Ionian coast through Apulia, the richest region of the south. On to pretty Matera. After an orientation, continue to the picturesque town of Alberobello, famous for its unique trulli, whitewashed dry stone circular houses with pinnacled, conical roofs. (BB)

Day 12:
At Leisure in Alberobello. Full day at leisure with plenty to do. Ask your Tour Director for suggestions. (BB,D)

Day 13:
Alberobello–Rome. North to the Italian capital, passing through the hilly region of Irpinia. An optional festive dinner at one of Rome’s fine restaurants may be just the way to celebrate the success of your Italian vacation. (BB)

Day 14:
Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)


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to check rates and availability online, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Or, to speak to one of our live, experienced travel consultants, Call us now at 1-800-942-3301.

Airfare Disclaimer
A NOTE ABOUT AIRFARE: We encourage you to buy your airfare from the tour operator, because if your tour cancels then your airlines tickets will be covered. Purchasing flights separately at a lesser rate and incorporating it with a Non-Guaranteed Departure Date can result in loss of total cost of your flight investment. Depending on the fare rules, flights may be Non-Refundable and/or Non-Transferable. Neither the tour operator and/or Atlas Cruises & Tours will be held responsible for loss if a tour is cancelled for Lack of Participation. If you would like to check for discounted fares on Guaranteed Departures or for competitive pricing on air and hotel packages, we invite you to follow this link.

Documents
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: Necessary Travel Documents such as Passports and Visas is the responsibility of the traveler. Passports must be valid six months from your return travel date.

         
Touring Date
Land Only
Land + Air
Single
(Land Only)
Single
(Land + Air)


No Departure Date Information was found for this Tour. This could be due
to our website undergoing an update.

Please call a tour specialist at 1-800-942-3301 for personalized assistance.

 

         

Price Details US
Single room supplement:
$541

Triple room reduction per person:
$62

Extra nights per person in Rome:
Mar.-Apr.: in single room $212; in twin room $155; in triple room $123
May-Oct.: in single room $225; in twin room $165; in triple room $132

City Highlights
ROME
Welcome dinner at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing including headsets, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Colosseum and Roman Forum

REGGIA OF CASERTA
Visit the palace and gardens

NAPLES
Guided sightseeing, visit the National Archaeological Museum

NAPLES-CAPRI
By jet/hydrofoil

CAPRI
Guided sightseeing; visit Villa San Michele in Anacapri

SORRENTO
Orientation

POMPEII
Guided visit of the excavations including headsets

NAPLES-SICILY
Overnight cruise in two-berth cabins with private facilities

PALERMO
Guided sightseeing, visit the cathedral, the Royal Palace’s Palatine Chapel, the Norman Cathedral in Monreale, and Mondello

AGRIGENTO
Guided walking tour of the Valley of Temples

SELINUNTE
Visit the Dorian Temples and Acropolis

SYRACUSE
Guided visit of the archaeological site

STRAIT OF MESSINA
Ferry crossing

MATERA
Orientation

ALBEROBELLO
Orientation

Price Details US
Single room supplement:
$541

Triple room reduction per person:
$62

Extra nights per person in Rome:
Mar.-Apr.: in single room $212; in twin room $155; in triple room $123
May-Oct.: in single room $225; in twin room $165; in triple room $132

CURRENT SPECIALS:

Save $200 per couple on the air-inclusive price of 2009 Europe Vacations

*Book a 2009 Globus air-inclusive European vacation to receive the $100 per person discount. Booking must be made, under deposit and discount applied between October 8, 2008 and November 30, 2008 for travel commencing between January 1, 2009 and October 31, 2009. Offers not valid with any other offer and applies to new 2009 European bookings only. Offer reliant on space availability. Full cancellation penalties will apply. Additional restrictions may apply.


Standard Offers and Specials provided by Globus

Discount for young travelers

Share the pleasure of a Globus vacation with your children and grandchildren and take advantage of a 10-percent discount on the land-only price. For eligibility, children must be under 18 years of age on the departure date and must be accompanied by an adult. On escorted vacations we don’t accept children under eight years old because we have found that they are too young to enjoy these vacations.

Pay less for your second vacation

We charge you vacation price for your first vacation in 2008, but for every additional Globus vacation you take in the same year, you pay US$35 under list. Our vacations are designed and scheduled so you can combine them almost any way you want. It’s fun to play the add-a-vacation game yourself or talk to your travel agent.

Triple room reduction

On most Globus vacations you receive a reduction when three people travel together and share the same accommodations. Triple room reductions, when available, are listed on the itinerary pages. A word of caution: Triple rooms usually are no larger than twin rooms and the third bed, if there is one, is often a rollaway put in a twin-bedded room.

Avoid the single room supplement

We do not take reservations on a “share” basis because we have found that strangers rarely enjoy sharing a room for the duration of their vacation. Avoid the single room supplement by traveling with a friend. It’s less expensive and much more fun!


Right now when you book a 2009 vacation between 5 and 7 people before December 31, 2008, each passenger will save $75

Do you have a large party of friends or family that wants to travel? Right now when you book a 2009 vacation between 5 and 7 people before December 31, 2008, each passenger will save $75.* For example, book 5 passengers and receive a $375 discount, 6 passengers equals a $450 discount and 7 passengers will receive a $525 discount. With an offer like this, the world’s greatest destinations are now closer than ever!

*Book a 2009 Globus vacation for five, six or seven travelers to receive the $75 off per person offer. Booking must be made, under deposit, and discount applied between Jun 4 and Dec 31, 2008 for travel through December 31, 2009. Individuals must be traveling together from the same origination point to receive the discount. Not valid with any other offer and applies to new 2009 bookings only. Offer reliant on space availability. Full cancellation penalties will apply. Additional restrictions may apply.


   
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