WCBU Travel

Group Photo

Travelers on WCBU's first trip to Italy pause for a photo at their hotel in Rome

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Exclusive Tour Features

• Round trip motorcoach transportation from Peoria to
O’Hare Airport.
• Air transportation from Chicago to Catania, and Rome to Chicago.
• 9 nights of First Class hotel accommodations with private facilities.
• Buffet Breakfast daily.
• 6 Dinners wine included with the welcome and farewell.
• Half day guided tour in Taormina with entrance fees to the Greek Theater.
• Excursion to Syracuse with orange tasting and snacks en route.
• Wine tasting in Taormina
• Visit of Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Calabria.
• Panoramic tour of the Amalfi Coast.
• Pizza Making Cooking Class
• Limoncello and Mozzarella cheese tasting.
• Panoramic tour of Naples.
• Excursion to Pompeii with entrance fees and local guide.
• Full day tour to the Isle of Capri with round trip hydrofoil transportation.
• Half day Panoramic Tour of Rome with a local guide.
• Full time English-speaking tour director while in Sicily and Italy.
• Round trip transfers and luggage handling of one suitcase per person.

Not included: US and foreign departure taxes and fuel surcharges in the
amount of $357.00 subject to change, and tips to guides and driver.

Optional travel insurance package will be offered to you with your final invoice at the cost of $299.00 per person.

Itinerary

April 17 – Peoria to Chicago en route
Depart Chicago on your Lufthansa German Airlines flight to Munich. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.

April 18 - Munich/Catania/ Taormina
This morning you arrive Munich where you continue by a connecting flight to Catania, Sicily. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your tour director who will escort to your hotel in Taormina. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful and well known town in Sicily. It offers numerous spectacular views: over the coastline, over the Mt. Etna volcano, over Calabria, on the other shore of the strait, over the green countryside west and north of the cliff. Enjoy the afternoon at leisure before your Welcome Dinner with wine. (D)

April 19 - Taormina (Syracuse Excursion)
Down along the coast, past Catania, you'll drive through the orange groves land. Thousands of orange and tangerine trees will be on both sides of the road. There is almost nothing else in sight. You will be in Syracuse in an hour and a half. A guided tour will lead you through the archeological park. This was the capital of the Magna Grecia, the Great Greece, the land where the Greeks chose to re-found their country, a place that soon became the center of the Ancient World's art and sciences. More important and powerful than Athens itself! At the end of the tour, enjoy a walk with your tour escort visiting
Ortigia, the medieval settlement that for centuries was a stronghold against the Arab pirates attacking Christian communities in Europe. In the afternoon head back to Taormina and stop at one of the many orange groves for a special afternoon treat: freshly squeezed orange juice, olive and orange salad with bread, simply delicious. Dinner is included at the hotel. (B&D)

April 20 - Taormina
This morning, after breakfast, enjoy a half-day guided tour of Taormina, featuring a visit to the Greek Amphitheater, with its spectacular view over the Mediterranean Sea. Walk down to the exotic villa and the local cathedral. In the afternoon learn the art of pizza making with your fellow travelers. Tonight, enjoy a wine tasting and dinner. (B&D)

April 21 - Taormina / Calabria
Depart from Taormina by coach for a short distance to Messina. Here, you will cross the Strait by ferry to the mainland. Upon arrival in Reggio di Calabria, located at the toe of the boot of Italy, you will have the opportunity to admire two larger than-life-size 5th century Greek bronze statues, which are exhibited in the excellent Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia. Known as the Riace bronzes, the statues were found by accident by an amateur deep-sea diver off the coast of Calabria in 1972. After time for the visit, enjoy a relaxing drive through this unique region of unspoiled beauty, until reaching your final destination for the day. After check-in at your hotel, the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure.
Dinner is included this evening at the hotel. (B&D)

April 22 – Calabria/Amalfi Coast/Sorrento
Depart early for Sorrento, the next destination of your Holiday and your base for the next 3 nights. Your drive will take you into the region of Campania, a compelling and diverse region that evokes vision of cliff-shaded coves, sun-dappled waters, and mighty ruins. Enjoy a half-day escorted excursion along the famed Amalfi Coast. With its white villages, dripping with flowers, climbing like vines along steep, terraced hills, turquoise air and ice blue waters. Visit Le Sorgente family farm in the countryside and enjoy a tasting of the farm’s wonderful limoncello (lemon liquor), delectable mozzarella cheese, and delicious crusty bread. In the late afternoon, arrive at the hotel in Sorrento. Dinner is included this evening. (B&D)

April 23 - Sorrento / Capri / Sorrento
Today you’re in for a real treat. After breakfast, board a hydrofoil and enjoy a refreshing ride on the bay to the legendary and exotic isle of Capri in all its beauty. Visit the mystical Blue Grotto by small boats, weather permitting. Experience a scenic funicular ride, then tour the village of Capri built around the world famous Piazzetta. The afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the exquisite shops and chic boutiques (where the famous Jackie O. was known to shop during her visits to the island). In the late afternoon, the hydrofoil takes you back to Sorrento for overnight. (B)

April 24 - Sorrento / Naples/Pompeii / Sorrento
This morning, depart early for a full-day excursion. First visit Pompeii, the ancient Roman resort on the Bay of Naples, buried in 79AD beneath the ashes spewed by the still active volcano of Mt. Vesuvius. Nearly twenty centuries later you are able to get an unrivalled look at ancient life-styles as you pass by remarkably preserved temples, houses, and public buildings. After your tour, enjoy lunch on your own in Pompeii. Then, after lunch, enjoy a panoramic tour of the port city Naples before you return to Sorrento for overnight. (B)

April 25 – Sorrento/Rome
Depart Sorrento this morning for Rome, the Eternal City, enjoy a panoramic drive around Rome before you check-in at your hotel. Enjoy your farewell dinner at a local restaurant with wine. (B&D)

April 26 – Rome
Enjoy a panoramic tour, which will introduce you to the most important landmarks and monuments of ancient Rome. Drive by the Roman Forum, the Baths of Caracalla, Circus Maximus, and other impressive sites, with a visit to the imposing Colosseum, which you will surely recognize from the hit film “Gladiator”. Then drive by some of the city’s most prominent churches, among them Santa Maria Maggiore, and through the Renaissance grace of Piazza Venezia, where you will witness the solemn Monument of Victor Emmanuele, and the balcony from which “Il Duce” (Mussolini) once addressed the populace. You will stop for a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, the showpiece of the Vatican. You will enter this bastion of Catholicism and marvel at the sheer enormity of the space, while enjoying a brief description of the history and important features of the Basilica. This afternoon is at leisure or you may join an optional tour of the Vatican Museums. There you will pass through the art galleries, round hall, the gallery of tapestries and geographical maps, to the magnificent Sistine Chapel. There you will have the opportunity to admire Michelangelo’s stunning frescoes, now glowing and vibrant from the recent renovation. (B)

April 27 – Rome/Chicago
Depart Rome by Lufthansa German Airlines to Chicago arriving the same afternoon, with unforgettable memories of your trip to “Sicily and Italy”.

Call Norma Joseph at (309) 677-4907 for information and reservations.

Mt Etna