A Gastronomic Tour of Sicily

“Embark on the Gastronomic Tour of Sicily for a mouth-watering vacation”. USA Today

A new Sicily tour taking in the highlights of the island’s varied cuisine and historical sites. Led by cultural specialist Marcello Baglioni and archaeologist Dr. Michael Metcalfe, there are cooking classes, opportunities to visit local producers of cheeses, olives, honey and wines, numerous tastings including a demonstration and tasting of traditional Modicano chocolate. Other highlights include exploring historic Syracuse, the beautiful town of Noto, renowned for its Baroque architecture and a walk on Mt. Etna with an expert volcanologist.

Eastern Sicily is home to a vibrant culinary tradition that mixes delicious local produce with cooking styles drawn from its many foreign rulers, from the Byzantines to the Arabs, and from the Normans to the Spanish. The rolling hills and fertile plains produce seemingly unlimited quantities of fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables, while the abundant flocks and herds produce delicious cheeses and meats. Not forgetting the rich fishing grounds fill the market stalls with an enormous range of marine delicacies. To top it all, Sicily has begun producing some of the most highly regarded new wines in Europe to accompany its long-renowned ices, fruit drinks and digestifs. This veritable cornucopia of delights provides all the ingredients for magnificent cultural tours in Sicily.

Marcello (named Sicily’s top travel specialist by Condé Nast Traveller magazine) and Michael, the guides who will accompany you on this brand new food tour in Sicily, have lived and worked in this region for many years, and have drawn deeply on their experience to craft an itinerary that combines practical cooking experience with expert-led tours exploring the key highpoints of the area’s gastronomic corpus and rich history.

As this Sicily tour relies so closely on seasonal produce, the itinerary may change slightly to take advantage of the best culinary delights on offer. We are certain that any food and wine lover will be in raptures over the week long cultural feast that we lay on. We look forward to welcoming you on to this brand new food holiday, the first of many Sicily tours for Peter Sommer Travels.

Request a brochure or to book your place, please contact our office.

Day 1: Our hotel is on Ortigia, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the island at the heart of Syracuse, about 45 minutes away from Catania airport. Our escorted gastronomic tour in Sicily begins with a welcome dinner at a local Trattoria.

Day 2: We stroll through the bustling food market on Ortigia identifying and sampling the local produce in preparation for our first cooking class. In the afternoon we explore the long history of this city, visiting the Syracuse Archaeological Park, Greek Theatre and the eerie “Ear of Dionysus”. After an early evening stroll around the historical centre of Syracuse the rest of the evening is free for you to dine at a restaurant of your choice.

Day 3: We set sail out of the Grand Harbour of Syracuse where we will spend the day swimming in the azure sea, sightseeing and learning about the local fish and seafood.  A free late afternoon and evening to relax and unwind.

Day 4: The day begins with a tour of the beautiful town of Noto, renowned for its Baroque architecture. From Noto we visit a local olive farm for a tasting session followed by a traditional rustic Sicilian lunch. After lunch we take a slow-paced tour of the near-by fishing village of Marzamemi and complete the day with a Tasting Demo Dinner at the Country Farmhouse Agriturismo we will be staying at for the next two days.

Day 5: A day to delight the senses. We begin with a demonstration and tasting of the traditional methods of making Modicano chocolate followed by a visit to a local herb farm.  After lunch we take a tour of the historical town of Ragusa and tantalise our tastebuds with a traditional Sicilian cheese tasting.

Day 6: The day begins with a honey tasting and a walk to the Pantalica Valley Necropolis. One of Sicily’s UNESCO Heritage Sites and of considerable archaeological interest, it is a place of great natural beauty where a myriad of rock cut tombs are carved into the cliff faces. We lunch on local delicacies and taste olive oil, honey and preserves all produced on site at the Pantalica Ranch farmhouse in this flourishing and fertile valley. In the afternoon we set out for Taormina where we take in the stupendous views from its Roman theatre.  An evening free in Taormina to dine at a restaurant of your choice.

Day 7: We spend the morning walking on Mt Etna in the company of an expert volcanologist, before visiting a local winery to enjoy a rustic lunch and sample the robust local wines that thrive on Etna’s slopes. A last chance to shop in Taormina followed by a sumptuous farewell dinner to mark the end of this glorious Sicily tour.

Day 8: Transfer to Catania airport, about 1 hour away.

Arrival and Departure Information for our Gastronomic tour of Sicily

Arrival Airport - Catania (Fontanarossa)
Departure Airport - Catania (Fontanarossa)

Check in time at your hotel in Syracuse, Sicily is after 14:00 so we recommend choosing a flight that arrives mid to late afternoon on October 6th.  Check out time from your hotel in Taormina, Sicily on October 13th is 11:00am. We will arrange local transfers from Catania airport on the 6th and to Catania airport on the 13th.

Booking Flights
The cheapest way to book flights to join this food tour in Sicily is directly with the airline online.

If you prefer to book with a travel agent, we are happy to recommend specialists in a number of countries around the world, please contact our office for more details.

Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is a requirement of our booking conditions and we recommend you investigate the options thoroughly to make sure that your trip is properly covered.

In the UK we work with specialist travel insurers Milsom Howard Ltd. 22 Highfield Drive, Ickenham, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB10 8AN, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1895 234 919 • Fax: +44 (0) 1895 231 864 • Email: globetrotter@milsomhoward.com.

Our travel insurance specialist in the US is Julie Gorny, Email: juliannegorny@yahoo.com • Tel: +1 773 445 7537 • Mob: +1 773 972 8849.

Alternatively you might like to look at an online travel insurance company like World Nomads to give you a comparison in terms of price and coverage.

If you would prefer not to take out travel insurance you will need to complete a travel insurance waiver form.