mediterranean island hopping day-by-day itinerary
november 2027 ~ exact dates TBD
Sicily ~ mt. Etna
01
We can kick this tour off in Catania, on Sicily’s fantastic east coast and spend our first day tooling around Mt. Etna.
Catania is serviced by most major European airports, and especially all the key ones in Italy. It would be a nice place in which to arrive a day or two early in order to ease into the time change and explore on your own.
I can collect you from the airport, or from wherever you decide to lodge. Let’s say we’ll officially start at 10am, have a coffee, then go find a seaside lunch?
A full day on Mt. Etna will follow, including a winery visit, and then we’ll drive south to find two nights of lodging near or in Siracusa.
sicily ~ siracusa
02
We work with a great winery just outside Siracusa that will demand a visit. The good folks there will also join us for a lovely lunch, and maybe point us to a visit with an olive oil producer.
From there we’ll give you some free time in the city of Siracusa, and for dinner we’ll knock out a fantastic seafood feast in the city’s old center.
We’ll lodge somewhere in Siracusa for two nights, certainly with a view of the sea!
sicily ~ Noto, cerasuolo
03
We’ll visit a Cerasuolo vineyard in the morning and then get lunch at a dynamite place on the water in Marzamelo at one of the best restaurants I’ve ever ruined.
Our late afternoon/early evening target will be to board a ferry for Malta that departs from the port city of Pozzallo. Crossing time is about 100 minutes.
Upon arrival in Valletta we’ll check in to either a really nice private home, or a very nicely located hotel. Which would you prefer? Either one will require a late evening dinner/snack.
Hint hint…if we do a private home, maybe we’ll all cook together one night! Or, have a private chef come to us and cook some Maltese specialties.
malta ~ First day
04
We’ll have 2 full days and 3 nights on Malta to explore around and see what’s going on. I’ll have to spend some time fleshing this out, but here are some ideas:
Morning History: Walk through the old capital of Valletta to see St. John’s Co-Cathedral and its gold and art.
Lunch & Wine: Eat local rabbit stew or fish pie at a small cafe, and drink a glass of sweet local Girgentina white wine.
Afternoon Views: Take a short boat ride across the water to the Three Cities (Birgu, Senglea, and Cospicua) to see old stone forts.
Dinner: Have a modern Maltese dinner with local red wine - made from the Gellewza grape - near the harbor.
malta ~ second day
05
Again, with some advance prospecting we’ll be able to dial in a really great itinerary, but for now, let’s continue in the mode of Day One.
Morning History: Go to the quiet old city of Mdina, walk the narrow stone streets, and look at the big view from the high walls.
Midday Snack: Stop in Rabat to eat a warm pastizzi (a flaky pastry with ricotta or peas) from a tiny local bakery. (pictured)
Afternoon Coast: Drive south to Marsaxlokk, a bright fishing village with colorful painted boats called luzzu.
Dinner: Feast on fresh grilled catch of the day paired with a dry Maltese rosé wine right by the water.
sicily ~ marsala & trapani
06
Following our third night in Malta we’ll need to arise early and head back to Sicily on the ferry. Following the short 100 minute ride what we’ll do is drive along the entire southern coast of the island en route to Marsala.
Along the way we’ll find a lunch with a view, and try to find an olive oil producer to crash in on.
For just one evening we’ll find a hotel near Trapani, and by this time we might be ready for some really great pizza while we wander around this lovely old port town. Or maybe see if chicken marsala is actually a thing—outside the United States?
Go to bed early. We’ll need to board the ferry between 8-9am the next morning!
sardinia ~ Cagliari
07
The goal is to program this day for a Sunday, and the reason is that this will be our longest ferry ride, a 12-hour crossing from Trapani to Cagliari on Sardinia’s south coast. It will be your day to pass on the ship in any way you’d like.
We’ll arrive in Cagliari in the early evening, with enough time to check into our lodging and find a good Sunday dinner somewhere.
sardinia ~ day one
08
Look, there’s a lot to do here, and like Malta, I’ll spend the next 15 months fleshing out a fantastic 2-day jaunt.
Included will of course be wine and olive oil, but also pasta, seafood, and lots more.
I’d like us all to go up into the mountains for a grandma-led cooking class. That will be a. priority.
Coast drive. Scenery. Beaches.
and then continue it all on day two….
sardinia ~ day two
09
No matter what we find on day two—lots more wine and olive oil, more seafood and pasta, some old churches, a history lesson…we’ll finish it up in the port of Golfe d’Aranci on the east coast.
Why? Because at the end of our two journey across Sardinia we’ll depart on an overnight ferry back to the Italian mainland, disembarking in Livorno.
was that not enough?
10?
On the final day we’ll arrive in Livorno around 8am and we’ll get everyone on to where the want to go, or…we can spend the morning in Lucca, all have one last lunch together and then go onward from Pisa airport.
Or…
I could probably be talked into another day or so by extending one or two elements of the trip, and playing around with the dates. Maybe an Extra day in Malta? Maybe an Extra day in Sardinia?
Add on another island somehwere in there? Elba (a day trip from Livorno)?
I’m all ears.
If we keep this to a nine-day trip, and can use ferries to hop inter-island, instead of airlines, we can keep this tour at the original stated price of 6,000€ per person. It will be a monumental tour!