Day By Day
ITINERARY:
Monreale & Segesta (Maximum 8 hours)
Today you are greeted at Trapani port and drive to Monreale to see where the Arab-Norman art and architecture reached the pinnacle of its glory with the Dome, launched in 1174 by William II and represent the scene from the Old and New Testaments all in golden mosaics. This afternoon we continue on to Segesta (admission fee: charge) who was one of the major cities of the Elymian people, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. On arrival visit to the Temple (admission fee: charge). Later back to Trapani port.
Cruise Schedule:
We will customize this excursion based on your Cruise Schedule.
Important to know:
We customized this excursion using a Driver-Guide (or Driver Escort). A Driver Guide is a chauffeurs (or driver) specialized to drive you around our amazing island. He is able to provide basic historical information, he can show you the main highlights ... he is knowledgeable and he has an umbrella of information. Our Driver Guide will take care to give adequate time at all stops and to accommodate special requests when possible, he will
assure that your experience in Sicily will be both memorable and enjoyable.
The Driver Guide is not a Licensed Tourist Guide (Licensed Tourist Guide: are the only professionals -- with a Regional license -- permitted to conduct visits and tours in all sites and museums within a city) and he cannot escort you inside the monuments because this is not allowed by Italian Rules. In case you need a Licensed Tourist Guide you must pay a surcharge and we will arrange for Licensed Guide to meet you directly on the spot.
LICENSED TOURIST GUIDE (Service is available on request)
This excursion doesn't include Licensed Tourist Guide.
We are able to book this service on request, subject to availability.
Details
ADMISSION FEE:
The price of this excursion does not include the Admission Fees, which are usually around Euros 8,00 per person payable directly on the spot. If you are over 65 or under 18 years old and you have EU or Commonwealth Passport, the admission fees are free of charge for you showing your document (or copy of your document) on the spot.GRATUITIES (We Suggest):
- The suggested amount for the Driver Guide have to be an average between EURO 30,00 to EURO 50,00 (for a full day excursion) per day based on the efficiency and service you receive.
-Gratuities to restaurants are never included in the bill. The restaurant cover charge is not a tip. If paying with credit cards in Italy & Sicily, please be so kind as to pay your tip separately in cash to the waiter. This should be 10% of the total bill.
-The use of public toilets requires a payment to the attendant of EURO 0,30 cents. Public toilet charge EURO 0,50 cents.
DISABLED TRAVELERS:
Please advise us in advance if you will arrive in Sicily with a folding wheelchair or with a cane. This is because we need to verify if our excursion fit you needs.
WHAT TO PACK?
The most important ingredient to a successful excursion is exploration. Please pack comfortable walking shoes. Sicily has a lot of steps and archaeological sites, so please pack accordingly. For city walking, wear comfortable shoes or athletic shoes.
CLOTHING:
Whole essays can be written about the Italians' relationships with clothes. Some observations:
1. Sometimes clothing rules are written. To visit a church or religious site you will need to cover yourself up; no bare backs, chests, shoulders and sometimes no bare knees. Sometimes museums and other attractions can also be strict; no bathing suits, for example. If you want to visit a church or religious site it's a good idea to carry a shawl or something with you so you can cover up. Even where there are no written rules, please use good judgement and respect the customs of the area....you're not at home and a little more "prudent" behavior is always appreciated by locals.
2. Italians are very conformist about clothing; everyone wears the same fashions, from teenagers to grannies, which can be shocking at times. And it's normal to be glared at if you are not wearing the latest customised jeans or super hip boots.
3. It's important not to judge people by their choice of clothing. Styles do not necessarily carry the same connotations in Italy that they would in other countries. A woman in fishnets, stilettos and miniskirt with caked-on makeup at eight in the morning is probably just going to work in a bank. Almost all youths lounge about in skin-tight t-shirts with their rear-ends squishing out of jeans.
ADVIcE FOR WOMEN:
"Sexual harassment" is not regarded in the same way in Sicily-Italy as in other countries. The general atmosphere is pretty unreconstructed, and women should be prepared for attention :-). However, the tone of this "attention" is generally less aggressive than you may be used to. Men will call out compliments such as "bona" (beautiful in Sicilian language) instead of muttering crude suggestions. And culturally, these comments are not seen as insults; if you respond angrily or insultingly everyone will be very surprised. Whereas women of other nationalities may be used to telling strangers (in no uncertain terms) to shut up and go away, in Sicily the norm is to ignore the attention. In any case, responding in English or in imperfect Italian will only encourage more attention. It's best to do as the Sicilian-Italian women do, and sail past with your head held high. If you avoid eye contact and don't respond, you are extremely unlikely to be pursued or hassled further.
SMOKING:
Since January 2005, smoking has been banned in all enclosed public places that do not offer sealed off rooms equipped with smoke extractors. The controversial new law covers i.e. bars, restaurants, offices, public buildings, public transports and cinemas. Smokers face fines is up to EURO 275, whilst businesses could be hit for EURO 2.000.
CURRENCY:
-The EURO is the currency accepted in Italy. The preferred method of payment is the EURO or a major credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express).
-Traveler’s checks are not welcomed by local merchants.
-Check with your bank to determine whether or not your ATM card will work overseas and find out what is the maximum amount of cash is that can be dispensed on a daily basis. (Note: The maximum amount available for withdrawl in Europe is usually less for “foreign” ATM cards. If you try to withdraw an amount and have problems, try again selecting a smaller amount to withdraw).
-If you do not have a cash card, you can go to the currency desk and they will exchange your currency into EURO. The other option is to go to your local bank BEFORE leaving your country and obtain EURO. Please do this well in advance of your trip as some local banks might need to order EURO from their main branch.
GENERAL SAFETY:
Sicily is a pretty safe island. You should take obvious precautions, as in any city around the world, such as keeping any bags and possessions under your control and being alert for bag-snatchers and pickpockets in crowded places.
Sicilian Dialect:
Sicilian (u sicilianu, Italian: lingua siciliana, also known as Siculu) is a Romance language. Its dialects comprise the Italiano Meridionale-estremo language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; Some assert that Sicilian represents the oldest Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin (Privitera, 2004), but this is not a widely-held view amongst linguists. For instance, Cipolla describes such a view as radical.
It is currently spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of Sicily and by immigrant populations around the world. The latter are to be found in the countries which attracted large numbers of Sicilian immigrants during the course of the past century or so, especially the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina. In the past two or three decades, large numbers of Sicilians were also attracted to the industrial zones of northern Italy and indeed the rest of the European Union, especially Germany. Sicilian is not recognized as an official language anywhere in the world, even within Italy. There is currently no central body, in Sicily or elsewhere, that regulates the language in any way. The autonomous regional parliament of Sicily has legislated to encourage the teaching of Sicilian at all schools, but inroads into the education system have been slow.
