Day By Day
ITINERARY:
Etna Volcano in Jeep ride (Maximum 6 hours)
Today you are greeted at Catania port by an Off-road’s driver and transferred to Etna Volcano. You will enjoy a lovely Jeep experience through Etna area: Mount Fontana (view of Bove Valley), the Thieves Cave (grotta dei ladroni), extinct craters of Sartorius Mounts, lava flow from 2002 eruption. Independent lunch (rate are available on request) at Farmhouse or Winery to taste typical Sicilian dishes. During afternoon off-road drive along the Linguaglossa-Castiglione and Alcantara Gorges. Short visit to Canyon entrance. Later back to Catania port.
INFORMATION:
For our Jeep Ride excursions the vehicle is for a maximum 4+2 seats. We strictly recommend using the Jeep Ride bracket for a maximum of 4 people for each Jeep because the last 2 seats are uncomfortable.
Cruise Schedule:
We will customize this excursion based on your Cruise Schedule.
Details
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 mountain walking, wear comfortable shoes or hiking shoes. Please be so kind as to keep in mind that during winter season in the Etna Volcano we will find SNOW.
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.
