Siciclando » cooking

Sicily: Bike and Cooking Short Tour

mark — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:44:35 +0000

Cost: € 635 (self-guided) $
Duration: 5 days/4 nights
Start/End: Santa Margherita Belice/Marsala

Take your time cycling through the gentle hills and Greek relics of western Sicily and learn to prepare a Sicilian meal! This self-guided bike tour takes you through the ancient relics of Selinunte and continues to the villages of Contessa Entellina and Corleone.

Bike across a lesser known Sicily. Relax in the thermal waters at a comfortable spa, and enjoy the magnificence of Selinunte’s Greek temples. Ride through famous and less famous towns such as Corleone and Giuliana with its medieval castle. Learn how to prepare a perfect Sicilian meal.

Itinerary
Accommodations
Photos
Maps
Notes
Pricing

Day 1 – Welcome to Sicily!

Arrival at Palermo Airport with a private transfer to an “agriturismo” very special: it’s located in one of the several ancient quarries the Greeks used for their temples. A place out of the time! A faboulus dinner with a very rich local food is included tonight.

Day 2 – Bike loop to Selinunte (14 miles/22 km)

Bike loop to Selinunte, the ancient Greek settlement with stunning temples. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in southern of Italy. A longer option is available for the day. Sty overnight in the same hotel with dinner included tonight.

Day 3 – Selinunte/Contessa Entellina (33 miles/55 km)

Bike ride to the bio-farm where you will stay the night. Pass through the villages of Giuliana and Santa Maria del Bosco. The Castle of Giuliana, near Palermo, overlooks the Sosio volcanic valley. It is not far to the monastery of Santa Maria del Bosco.

You’ll spend the night in the country near Contessa Entellina and the archaeological site of Entella. Overnight in the farm, dinner not included tonight.

Day 4 – Cooking class or loop to Corleone (35 miles/60km)

Relax at the country house learning to prepare a delicious Sicilian meal or enjoy an optional ride to Corleone, the famous town of the Corleone “family!” Overnight at the farm with dinner included.

Day 5 – Departure Day

End of tour with a transfer to Palermo Airport. Ciao!

Actual tour itinerary may vary slightly due to unforeseen circumstances.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Siciclando carefully chooses every aspect of a tour, including the accommodations.

Our choices are based on comfort and quality. We often choose hotels that are family-owned and operated because they provide a richer experience and because it is important to us to support the efforts of these individuals. We have developed relationships with many wonderful hotel operators. Here is a sample of the hotel on this tour.

Selinunte

Tour accommodations will be based on availability and the time of year. Once you have made your final payment for the tour, we will send you a confirmation letter that includes daily accommodations and contact information.

Coming soon.

Travel notes

The reference airport for this tour is Palermo, served by both Italian and international airlines.

Books

Salvatore Quasimodo, poet and writer: Ed è subito sera, Giorno dopo giorno, Dare e avere. Modica
Gesualdo Bufalino, novelist Diceria dell’untore (the plague sower), Le menzogne della notte (Night’s lies). Comiso
Jacopo da Lentini (sec XIII), poet. Lentini
Vitaliano Brancati, novelist: Don Giovanni in Sicilia, Il Bell’Antonio, Paolo il caldo. Pachino

Movies

Divorce, italian style 1961, film director: Pietro Germi. This movie It won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.
Anni difficili 1948, film director Luigi Zampa, from the novel of Vitaliano Brancati, “II vecchio con gli stivali”
Gente di rispetto 1975, film director Luigi Zampa, from the homonymous novel of Giuseppe Fava
Kaos 1984, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, from several novels of Luigi Pirandello
The star maker or best known as L’Uomo delle stelle 1995, Giuseppe Tornatore

Self-guided tour price

€ 635 – currency converter

Additional options and fees

Single traveler surcharge – € 110
Private room – € 70

Included

Transfer from Palermo Airport to hotel and back again
Four nights, based on double occupancy
Four breakfasts and three dinners
Bike rental – which includes one bike pannier per bike, helmets and a cycle computer.
One cooking class at the 3 star bio-country house
Detailed route information and maps

Not included

Admission to museums and archaeological sites
Tickets for trains or any public transportation
Wine or beverages
Airfare
Transfers to the starting point or from the finishing point unless specified; we can assist you in planning and arranging for any necessary shuttles
Transport of bike case (for guests who bring their own bike)
Personal expenses (laundry, personal supplies, phone calls, etc.)
Gratuity

Tour code

BICO

Sicily: Bike and History Short Tour

mark — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:41:40 +0000

Cost: € 635 (self-guided) $
Duration: 5 days/4 nights
Start/End: Erice/Marsala

Consider this great self-guided bike tour as an addition to your plans. It combines great biking around western Sicily and an interesting historical adventure. Cycle between the charming, medieval town of Erice, through vineyards, past windmills and salt mines. Enjoy a Sicilian wine tasting in Marsala! You’ll have the option of preparing a perfect Sicilian meal or an excursion to one of the little islands of the protected area of the Egadi Archipelago.

You’ll spend four nights in comfortable hotels: two nights in the medieval town of Erice and two nights in the heart of Marsala, famous for its wine.

Itinerary
Accommodations
Photos
Maps
Notes
Pricing

Day 1 – Welcome to Sicily!

Arrival at Trapani Birgi Airport with a transfer by public transportation (public bus or taxi) to Trapani and from Trapani to Erice (by taxi, public bus or cable way). Arrangements can also be made for private transfer. Overnight in Erice at a 3-star hotel. Dinner is on your own.

Erice is located on the top of a hill that towers above Trapani. The town has a very

pleasant medieval atmosphere. In ancient times it was an important religious center for the Elymians, a population that lived in western Sicily before Greek colonization. Here they built a temple to the goddess of fertility where the Phoenicians worshiped Astarte, the Greeks Aphrodite and the Romans Venus. Erice was contended by the Syracusans and the Carthaginians until the Roman conquest in 244 BC. During the Arabian invasion it was called Gebel Hamed (Mount of Hamed). In the Twelfth Century it again gained some of the lost importance and then followed the political fate of the Island.

Day 2 – Bike loop ride to San Vito Lo Capo (42 miles/70 km)

Bike a moderate loop to San Vito Lo Capo, spend time at the protected Egadi Islands of Favignana or Levanzo or enjoy a Sicilian cooking class at the hotel. The cooking class option begins in the morning as the guests go to the market with the cook to buy what is in season. There is an additional charge for the cooking class. Overnight in the same hotel.

Day 3 – Erice/Marsala (36 miles/60 km)

Enjoy an almost flat bike ride to Marsala. The route begins with a panoramic descent from Erice and follows an interior route to me Marsala Salt Mining Reserve where you will discover the process of salt cultivation. You will then take an excursion to the island of Mozia with an archeological site of a considerable ancient civilization. The nearby museum shows some of the finds from the site which have a distinctive Egyptian influence. Other items are more Hellinic in detail.

Continue biking to Marsala where you will visit a winery. Enjoy a taste or two. Overnight in Marsala at a 3-star hotel. Dinner is on your own.

The origin of Marsala, the most populated town in the province of Trapani, dates back to 397 BC when the Greeks of Siracusa defeated Mozia. The Phoenicians, inhabitants of Mozia, found shelter in this level coastal district. They founded a city called Lilibeo with a strategic role in the area of the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, it became a joining point for the exchange of goods between East and West.

Day 4 – Rest day in Marsala or optional ride to Mothia – (15 miles/20km.)

Rest day with a wine tasting at one of the largest and most famous wine producers of Sicily or a short bike ride to Mothia. Overnight in the same hotel with dinner on your own.

Day 5 – Departure Day

End of tour and departure. Ciao!

Actual tour itinerary may vary slightly due to unforeseen circumstances.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Siciclando carefully chooses every aspect of a tour, including the accommodations.

Coming soon.

Level of difficulty: Easy

This is an easy tour because the ride from Erice to Marsala is mostly downhill and you can really ride enjoing the view and taking a break along the way or get the hotel in Marsala and its swimming pool where speding the afternoon.

Highlights include Erice, a medieval town so suggestive! A wonderful downhill to Marsala, a spectacular ride through the salt mines of Trapani, the Marsala dessert wine, bike, food, wine… only 3 days! Do you want more?