Treasures Of Sicily

This is a Grade 2 leisurely holiday which mixes active sightseeing with short countryside walks. Most of our walking will be visiting some of the finest archaeological sites in Europe. The pace will be slow with plenty of stops but some of the sites, notably at Agrigento, are built on hill sides so paths are not level. In various sites we have local guides so we will stop to take in all that we are told. The maximum altitude reached on this holiday is 931m.

The walking on this holiday will mostly be in conjunction with the sightseeing programme.  Sightseeing will be on foot in the towns, cities or immediate surroundings including archaeological sites and will be taken at a leisurely pace. 

All local transport costs in conjunction with the advertised activity programme are included in the holiday cost. There may be occasions where additional visits or excursions are added to enrich your experience, these will be paid for locally by you if you choose to participate. Local transport can be a mix of private hire coaches, taxis, local buses and ferries depending on the itinerary.

A range of local excursions and activities may be available to book at your destination through a local operator. We have no involvement in such activities or excursions which are not run, supervised or controlled in any way by us. Your contract will be with the local activity supplier and we accept no responsibility for their actions or omissions.

When budgeting for your holiday, you will need to consider drinks, any meals not included in the holiday price, non-included entrance fees, optional excursions you may choose to participate in locally and any souvenirs or additional services such as laundry. A general guideline for lunches and drinks is £10-£20 per person per day.

Entrance fees are not included and you will need to pay these locally.  

An example of some of the approximate entrance fee costs (based on Spring 2021) are as follows:

• Selinunte €8
• Valley of the Temples + museum €9.00-19.30 (depending on the day of the week)
• Eraclea Minoa €6
• Gardens of Kolybetra €6 - Free for NT members so please bring your National Trust Card
• Villa Casale €10
• Neapolis Syracuse €10
• Catacombs Syracuse €8
• Akrai €5
• Palermo, Archaeological Museum €10
• Syracuse Cathedral €2

The currency in Italy is the Euro.

There are banks with ATM machines in all four centres. All hotels accept most major credit cards.

Although entirely at your own discretion, tipping is an important aspect of tourism and hospitality life and expectations are fairly high. In order to simplify tipping, we strongly recommend that you allow your leader to take care of making sure tips are given to hotel and restaurant staff and to local guides and drivers. This will be done using some funds provided by us together with, if you wish, a contribution from you, which he/she will collect during the holiday.

Your tour leader makes the world of difference to your holiday and ours are as passionate about discovering the world on foot as you are. They're resourceful, organised and widely travelled. They will handle all the local administration and other needs that might arise to ensure that you don't have to worry about planning your days and you can enjoy your holiday. Although leading group holidays, they won't forget that every group is made up of individuals. Each tour leader has their own individual style, talents and professional backgrounds and all are trained, qualified, experienced and dedicated to making your holiday as enjoyable, interesting and inspiring as possible.

Each evening, your tour leader will discuss with you the programme for the following day. This will be your opportunity to discuss the details and ensure the planned activities suit your walking ability. If you have concerns on clothing or equipment, this can be discussed then also. If you do not wish to join the organised group programme, please let the leader know.

To enhance your experience, as well as your tour leader, each holiday will be accompanied in some centres by a well qualified and knowledgeable English-speaking local guide.

We fly from London to Palermo and return. 

A private coach transfers us Selinunte, taking approximately 2 hours. Travel during your holiday in Sicily will be by coach. 

If you intend joining and leaving the party in Sicily, we assume, unless you have advised us otherwise, that you will meet and leave the party at the firsthotel. If this is not your intention, please let us know in writing at least 5 weeks before departure.

If you wish to organise your own flights from a non-UK or provincial airport or travel by rail or car to your holiday destination, 'land only' reductions are often available. Please contact us for details.

Before finalising any independent travel arrangements, please check with us first - especially if doing so 12 weeks or more before your intended date of travel. If you do intend to join your holiday locally please do tell us at least 14 weeks in advance.

If you are joining and leaving your holiday overseas we assume, unless you advise us otherwise, that you will join and leave the holiday at your hotel.

Although airport transfers are not included for those making their own independent travel arrangements, if you wish to join the group at the overseas airport, depending on your flight arrival time, you may be able to be included on the group's transfer. Please contact us at least 5 weeks before departure for more details. 

Please note that your flight must arrive within 30 minutes of the group flight to be able to join the group transfer. We also need your flight number, arrival time and departure point so that the group leader is able to meet up with you.

For all those booking a flight or rail inclusive holiday, details of your travel arrangements and baggage allowance will be confirmed in your travel documents, sent to you approximately 10 days prior to departure.

To ensure that we can accurately administer your holiday arrangements, please confirm that the personal details we hold for you are up to date and that you have provided the information we need to secure your holiday travel and accommodation arrangements. Please check your passport details, date of birth and any other important details necessary for us to properly manage your holiday booking. You can view and update information already provided, and add details not yet asked for, by using the Manage My Booking facility on our website www.ramblersholidays.co.uk, or by calling our Sales and Reservations team on +44 (0)1707 331133. When you receive your booking confirmation please check the details as soon as possible.

It is a good idea to carry photocopies of the personal details pages of your passport. Should you lose your passport, this may assist with the issue of replacement documents and your return to your home country.

Passport and visa requirements can change at any time. It is your own responsibility to ensure that you inform yourself from a professionally qualified source on, and comply with, such requirements.

General passport advice for UK nationals on the UK Government website.

FCDO Travel Advice

You must ensure you check all entry requirements in good time by reviewing the official FCDO advice for your destination. Please take time to read and regularly check this website for changes to the entry requirements and any local restrictions.

Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination

You may be required to provide proof that you have been fully vaccinated when travelling or in your destination. Proof of vaccination can either be digital via the NHS app or a printed copy via NHS Hard Copy. We recommend allowing seven working days for your printed copy to arrive. Please note both the NHS app and printed copy are only valid for 30 days.

We anticipate that all travellers will need to be fully vaccinated including the booster jab and to carry proof of this with them at all times. Some indoor venues require, and may ask for proof of vaccination, as well as masks becoming mandatory for indoor public spaces, and we ask you to be prepared for this.

Face Masks

Some airlines or destinations are requiring the wearing of FFP2, FFP3, KN95 or N95 masks without a valve. You should check the FCDO advice for your destination and with your airline before you travel, although you may wish to have one of these masks on hand just in case.

If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must meet the Schengen area rules.

Your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:

• less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’)
• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

The guidance for Schengen border guards may not be updated until the spring of 2022. Until then, for some Schengen countries your passport may need to be less than 10 years old during your whole visit, and the 3 months at the end of your visit may need to be within 10 years of your passport’s issue date.

Check both the issue date and the expiry date in your passport. If you renewed your passport early, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. This could affect the requirement for your passport to be less than 10 years old.

Non British Passport holders should consult the host country’s embassy for applicable passport and visa entry requirements.

Breakfasts and dinners are included. Breakfasts are taken at our hotels and are usually continental buffet style with a hot and cold selection. 

We will dine in the hotel throughout our stay in Selinunte due to the hotels isolated location. Dinners here will usually be buffet style serving both traditional and international cuisine. During the rest of the holiday, we will have a mixture of dinners in hotels and restaurants. Usually we can expect a variety of international and local delicacies such as pasta, risotto, meat and fish! We can fully immerse ourselves in the culture and enjoy the delicious Italian cuisine.

In Italy, traditional meals usually have four courses, antipasto or antipasti, primo, il secondo, and dolce; but this varies depending on restaurants and the regions of Italy.

Antipasto and Antipasti are a traditional course in formal Italian meals and translate as 'before the meal' as they are usually before the primo course. Antipasto refers to one portion and Antipasti refers to more than one portion. This usually includes cured meats such as salami, pepperoni, prosciutto or mortadella. Rich cheeses such as fresh mozzarella, gouda, provolone or Parmigiana-Reggiano are also included. Seafood like shrimp, anchovies and salmon are sometimes included too. 

The first course, known as primo, is served as an appetiser and usually consists of rich pasta, soup or risotto. The main course is called il secondo and usually includes meat, fish or vegetarian. The dolce refers to the dessert and ends a traditional Italian meal. Coffee usually follows too. 

Lunches are not included and are usually taken as picnics or in local cafés.

Depending on late flight arrival times, dinner at the hotel on day 1 may be a light meal consisting of a cold platter selection.  

Good quality waterproof walking shoes or trail shoes with a thick, moulded sole with a good tread and a low heel are likely to be all that is required for these holidays. If you are a frequent walker and are comfortable in good quality hiking sandals, these may be adequate for some walks. You can wear lightweight walking boots if you prefer.

Outdoor activities are always safer and more enjoyable if you are prepared.

If you have not travelled with us before the following list might be of use:

• Waterproof jacket (Goretex or similar) and trousers
• Fleece or jumper
• Sun hat, sunglasses, lip salve and sun screen
• Swimwear (if appropriate)
• Day sack (this should be able to carry all you would need for the days activity)
• Water bottle - at least 1 litre capacity
• Basic first aid kit
• Reusable Lunchbox
• Walking poles (should you find them useful)

This list is not exhaustive and every walker is different and may have their own preference.

You should be able to lift and carry and handle your own luggage. At some hotels, the coach may have to stop some distance short of the hotel entrance. Also, within some of the hotels themselves, there may be some long walks between the rooms and entrance area which could include some steps.

Documents and Information to take with you:

• Passport (make sure it's yours and valid)
• Your travel tickets or e-ticket itinerary
• Any visa or electronic travel authorisation (if required)
• Holiday money
• Credit or debit cards (and separate details of who to call if lost)
• Car parking ticket and car park directions (if prebooked)
• Coach or rail travel tickets (if prebooked)
• Your holiday Booking Confirmation document
• Your travel insurance details
• Alternative form of identification (such as a driving licence)
• Photocopy of the personal details pages of your passport
• A valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) if relevant
• Details of any medical condition or allergy your holiday leader should know about

Electricity in Italy is supplied at 220 Volts. If you wish to use electrical equipment you will need a European two pin adaptor with round pins. More information can be found at https://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/

An alternative to bottled water from single-use sealed water bottles is filtered water from a refillable bottle containing its own water filter such as a Water-to-go bottle available from www.watertogo.eu. Just fill up from any water source and save the environment from disposable plastic bottles.

We have negotiated an exclusive 15% discount with our partners Water-to-Go for you as a thank you for helping the environment. Please go to their website at www.watertogo.eu and enter the code RWH17 when ordering. In addition, Water-to-Go will match the discount with a donation to our charity, Heart & Sole, which will allow us to continue to make a difference in the countries you visit on our holidays.

Many local libraries stock a selection of travel guides and books which may offer you more information. Apart from any books available in local libraries, the internet is now an excellent resource for information about holiday destinations. You may find the below websites, books and programmes useful. 

Maps of the areas we visit (1:200 000 scale) are available locally and at specialist map shops in the UK. 

Visit Sicily includes pictures and information about various areas of Sicily. 

In literature and film Sicily is closely associated with The Godfather books and films. Various locations were used in the filming of the original Godfather film.

Lonely Planet Sicily Travel Guide. 

The Rough Guide to Sicily.

Sicily: The Wonder of the Mediterranean on BBC2 player. Follow Michael Scott on his historical journey through Sicily.

Gino D'Acampo visits Sicily on Gino's Italian Escapes, available on ITV player.  

If you cannot find the maps or books locally we recommend:

The Map Shop
5 High Street
Upton upon Severn, Worcs
WR8 0HJ
England

Tel: 01684 593 146
Website: www.themapshop.co.uk
E-mail: themapshop@btinternet.com

If you key many of the local places mentioned in this holiday fact sheet into YouTube, you will find a vast array of spectacular footage of the area.

Visit the following websites for an idea of the climate in your destination:

• Weather2 - www.myweather2.com
• BBC Weather - www.bbc.co.uk/weather

Health requirements can change at any time. It is your own responsibility to ensure that you inform yourself from a professionally qualified source on, and comply with, such requirements at least 6 to 8 weeks before departure. Advice on vaccinations is available from your GP.

No compulsory immunisations are required for visits to Italy.

You should be up to date with the usual immunisations recommended in the UK. 

You may wish to consider immunisations against Tetanus and Tick-borne Encephalitis.

For further advice please visit:

• The National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) travel health website at www.travelhealthpro.org.uk
• The NHS 'Fit for travel' website at www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk
• The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
• Or a local travel health clinic

You might wish to take a small bottle of antibacterial hand gel with you for times when you're unable to wash your hands.

It is a condition of booking with Ramblers Walking Holidays that you have adequate valid travel insurance. It is your responsibility to arrange appropriate travel insurance and ensure you have read and understood the full terms and conditions of your travel insurance policy to ensure that you are covered for all activities you intend to undertake whilst on the trip, including all optional activities.

Your travel insurance policy must fully cover you for medical expenses and emergency repatriation. Please ensure your policy covers the entire duration of your holiday. If you are walking at altitude please ensure that there is no upper altitude limit which may limit or exclude cover for your trip. Medical and repatriation insurance cover are not mandatory for UK residents who are travelling on trips within the United Kingdom.

Whoever you insure with, please ensure that you take full details, and ideally the policy itself, with you on holiday and provide our tour leader with your insurer's name, the policy number and emergency assistance contact numbers.

Please note that it is very difficult to obtain travel insurance once your holiday arrangements have started.

Covid-19 Cover

If you should have symptoms and test positive for Covid-19 whilst abroad, you may need to stay where you are until you test negative and you may have to seek treatment. We strongly recommend that you take out an insurance policy that covers you for this eventuality.

Looking for travel insurance?

If you have not already arranged cover, please visit SunWorld who offer travel insurance.

SunWorld policies include cover for COVID-19, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

From January 1^st, 2021 UK travellers can continue to use their European Heath Insurance Card (EHIC) – which can last up to five years, until its expiry date, to gain access to medical assistance during your holiday. However, you will no longer be covered in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Travellers without a valid EHIC can apply for a new UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), which will replaces the EHIC once it has been phased out. Please note however that the EHIC/GHIC should not be considered a substitute for medical or travel insurance.

For more information, please visit www.nhs.uk/ehic

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office provides up to date information on security and local laws for travellers, together with current passport and visa information, at www.gov.uk/travelaware. Please take a few minutes to look at the current advice on your planned destination.

Please be aware of what's going on around you, take sensible precautions with your credit cards and passport and avoid displays of wealth such as wearing expensive jewellery or watches. Do not carry more cash on you than you will need for each day, and we recommend that a money belt is used.

In some Italian towns and cities you may be fined for dropping litter and in some towns or cities it’s an offence to sit on monument steps or to eat and drink in the immediate vicinity of main churches, historic monuments and public buildings. It’s also an offence to enter or bathe in public fountains.

In May 2019, the Municipality of Capri introduced a law forbidding the use of any disposable plastic objects such as bags, cutlery, plates, cups, food packaging, trays, straws on the island of Capri. Violations can incur a fine of up to 500 euros.

Illegal traders operate on the streets of all major Italian cities, particularly tourist cities like Florence, Venice and Rome. Don’t buy from illegal street traders. You could be stopped by the local police and fined.

It is illegal to remove sand, shells or pebbles from coastal areas in Italy. Doing so may result in heavy fines. It’s also forbidden to collect various species of flowers, plants and herbs from mountain and wooded areas. For more information, check with the regional authorities of the area you’re visiting.

We're committed to ethical tourism in all our destinations. Our holidays are designed for you to discover the essence of the country you are visiting. Travelling in small groups not only gives you an up close and personal experience of your destination, but minimises your impact on the immediate environment. We feel that the most important starting point to protect the environment is to be out in it. For more details visit our website.

Unlike many tour operators we have our own trust through which RWH Travel’s profits are channelled back into a variety of outdoor, walking-related or environmental conservation projects in the UK. The focus of the Trust’s financial support is Britain’s leading walking charity, The Ramblers, and their role in promoting the benefits and importance of walking to the British public. In addition the Trust welcomes applications for small grants from local organisations in the UK who need support for walking-orientated activities. This includes the establishment of footpaths and bridleways, funding for rebuilding bridges and renovating huts, as well as bursary funding for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for children who could not otherwise afford to do it. Please visit the ‘About Us’ section of our website and click on the Charitable Trust link for more details.

We appreciate that we are in a fortunate position to be able to use our profits to help make a difference to people's lives. Heart & Sole is a venture managed by our office staff, whose aim is to reach the heart of the communities in the countries we visit. Through Heart & Sole, we hope to make more of a long term, direct impact to these communities, particularly in less developed countries where even a small amount goes a long way. See our website for more information and details of some of the projects we support.

It is important to stress that Sicily is still in many ways a developing society and standards can vary throughout the island. Refuse bags and litter are a common sight in most towns and cities and some areas are visibly poorer than others. This does not, however, detract from the beauty of the island, its fascinating history or the warm hospitality of the Sicilians.

Please do provide us with a mobile phone contact number. We will only use this to contact you with important information relating to your holiday arrangements. 

Do keep your mobile phones switched on and readily available when travelling to the airport or if delayed in transit so that we can contact you with any last minute information relating to your travel arrangements.  

As a matter of courtesy, please switch off your mobile phone during walks, or endeavour to minimise its use. Please also try to minimise the use of mobile devices during group meals.