Name: 16 Day Grand Tour Amalfi Coast and Sicily - Premium PRIVATE Guided Motorcycle Tour in Italy
Brand: Italy on Motorbike
Price: 5800 EUR
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Your accommodation will be in an en-suite room with buffet breakfast in hand-picked, classy, and charming first-class hotels (4 stars) that will satisfy even the most demanding guests, for it is emphasized to all the aspects that go into making a luxury holiday.

Wherever possible, Italy on Motorbike will choose high-rated hotels with top facilities and excellent food in historic and scenic settings, often in exquisitely beautiful villages offering inviting backdrops for a romantic dinner or evening walk.

On the ferry you will be accommodated in en-suite cabins with window.

Program

The Eternal City and the Roman castles, Sorrento, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, and a complete tour of beautiful Sicily with the Valley of the Temples and the Etna volcano, its hundreds of Baroque churches and its villages of white stone. A colorful trip to discover the sea, the coastal roads, the classic Roman and Greek civilizations through the archaeological sites of Pompeii and the Magna Graecia, and the extraordinary nature of the most peculiar island in Italy.

The awesome Amalfi Coast where mountains embrace the sea, with its colorful houses that paint the hills as tableaus and its lovely fishermen villages, represents one of the destinations most appreciated by visitors from all over the world coming to relax and enjoy the charm of the most beautiful, spectacular and typical Italy.

As for sunny Sicily, the biggest island of the Mediterranean Sea, it’s an astonishing place. Through the centuries it has endured every kind of invasion: from the Greeks to the Romans, the Arabians and the Normans, who all together made of it what it is now: a place with an incomparable, eclectic culture and a very peculiar allure. With its many architectural styles, its gorgeous landscapes, its strong personality and the amazing sight of the erupting Etna, Sicily is an island like no other.

Itinerary

Day 1: Meeting in Rome (Roma)

You will meet Italy on Motorbike team in the afternoon in the hotel in Rome and go together to pick up the rental bikes. All participants meet up before dinner for a short but important briefing, the time to explain a few simple rules for organizing and synchronizing things, thus ensuring that everyone has a safe holiday that is unforgettable for all the right reasons. Then you’ll break the ice and start forging some group spirit over a classic Italian pre-dinner aperitivo.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Rome; included meals: dinner.

Day 2: 240 kilometers / 149 miles

Today you’re touring southern Lazio. You’ll be meandering through the Colli and Castelli Romani, exploring the volcanic lakes at Nerni and Albano, overlooked by the Pope’s summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.

After a stop to admire the view from Rocca Massima, an exhilarating woodland route winds its way towards the Lazio coast, where you spend the night in the gorgeous little seaside town of Sperlonga. Also, the gastronomic aspect of the tour starts off lavishly with your first lunch of delicious Lazio cuisine in a typical trattoria, while you are free to dine where you like.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Sperlonga; included meals: Breakfast, lunch.

Day 3: 170 kilometers / 106 miles

Just a few miles further on, you come to one of the world’s most romantic areas: the splendid region of Campania. Today’s ride is all about the wonders of the Bay of Naples.

And there are quite a few that you’ll savor slowly, from the artistic marvels of the Campi Flegrei – like the Piscina Mirabilis, the spa at Baiae, and the Flavian amphitheatre with its remarkable underground passages – to natural gems like the spa at Agnano Terme and the famous Solfatara, the volcanic crater with its still active lava lake that you can see up close.

In the afternoon, you visit the legendary archaeological site of Pompeii (Unesco heritage site). A unique program all garnished with the colors and traditions of Posillipo and the Vomero area, with spectacular views of Naples and its bay.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Castellammare di Stabia; included meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 4: 150 kilometers / 93 miles

This is one amazing day, as you take it slow, to enjoy every nook and cranny of the legendary Amalfi coastline (another UNESCO World Heritage Site), including lunch with a view (and how!) in a traditional Amalfi coast restaurant. Then you venture on up the slopes of Vesuvius along more great biking roads to enjoy spectacular views from the top over Pompeii and the entire bay of Naples before reaching your hotel in that incomparable and legendary town.

Overnight in 4-star hotel in Naples; included meals: B, L, D.

Day 5: 200 kilometers / 124 miles

It’s time for your first day off, at your disposal to discover the beauties of Naples. You are free until 18:30 (6:30 p.m.). You leave the bikes in the hotel garage for the whole day to allow you having a relaxed explore around the old center. Italy on Motorbike staff and everyone at the hotel are on hand to help you make the most of your freedom.

Then, you meet others at the hotel around 19:00 (7 p.m.) to take the bikes and reach the port wherefrom you sail for Sicily at about 8 p.m.

Overnight stay on board in a double en-suite cabin. Included meals: Breakfast. Neither dinner, to be taken on board, nor breakfast on the next morning are included.

Day 6: 170 kilometers / 106 miles

After rolling back on to dry land in Palermo early in the morning, you make for Monreale for your first breakfast on Sicilian soil. You’ll visit the superb old town (founded by the Normans in the 11th century) and its beautiful UNESCO World Heritage-listed cathedral.

Then you head for the hills, on the trail of your first piece of ancient Magna Graecia (Great Greece) in this journey. Since a panoramic tour of the beauties of the coast is a must, you climb the eponymous mountain to visit splendid Erice which, besides being a splendid little town in itself, offers an unbeatable view from Zingaro nature reserve all the way to Marsala. You then ride down to the saltworks and their windmills by the sea for an aperitif before reaching the hotel in town.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Marsala; included meals: Dinner.

Day 7: 225 kilometers / 140 miles

You continue your journey along the coast where you will first visit the beautiful Greek archeological area of Selinunte. From there, on the most beautiful motorcycle routes of the region, winding between olive groves and vineyards you will discover the area of Belice with the surreal landscape of the ghost town of Poggioreale and from there the various sets of the film "Cinéma Paradiso" (Oscar and Golden Globe winner in 1990 as best foreign film). Last stop of the day, the splendid Valley of the Temples (Unesco heritage) before reaching the hotel in the surroundings of Agrigento.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Agrigento; included meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 8: 195 kilometers / 121 miles

Today promises another fascinating historical feast. You will visit the Villa Romana del Casale, an early-4th-century villa and UNESCO site with huge, exceptionally well-preserved mosaics that wouldn’t disgrace an imperial Roman palace, in Piazza Armerina. Then, hit the road again, bound for Val di Noto and its fine UNESCO-listed late-baroque towns (Noto, Scicli, Modica, Catania, Ragusa, Caltagirone, Palazzolo and Militello in Val di Catania).

Just why does this area have the finest crop of late-baroque townhouses in Europe? Although all these centers had existed since the Middle Ages, they were rebuilt to suit late 17th-century tenets of architecture, decoration and urban design after a catastrophic earthquake reduced them to rubble in 1693.

You start in Caltagirone, the hub of the island’s ceramics trade, before pottering up all 130 meters of the Santa Maria del Monte steps and then pushing southwards along roads steeped in the Sicilian atmosphere as far as beautiful Ragusa Ibla.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Ragusa; included meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 9: 170 kilometers / 106 miles

Today you explore the heart of Val di Noto, in a heady mix of art, cinema, natural beauty, roads hewn from the rock, and even chocolate. You will motor through canyons, towns, and villages that have set the scene for films like "Malena" and TV’s "Inspector Montalbano".

You will visit Modica, famed for its chocolate and its 100 churches, Val di Noto (a UNESCO gem) and the town of Noto itself, before thrumming into the charming city of Syracuse (Siracusa, UNESCO again) and its island Ortigia.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Syracuse; included meals: Breakfast, lunch.

Day 10: 170 kilometers / 106 miles

Today will be another day packed with emotions. Etna is a rarity in Europe – an active volcano – and this morning is all about its magnificent yet surreal lunar landscapes, which have earned it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

You start in the morning with a fantastic ride up and down its slopes on a road considered among the 10 best riders’ road of Italy that will take you to the refuge wherefrom you’ll have time enough to climb to the top of the volcano by cableway. A little expensive excursion, but in Italy on Motorbike's opinion absolutely worth a visit once in a lifetime.

Today's roamings will end in Taormina, that famous town of worldly delights, with its Greek theatre perched above the sea. Lunch in a typical Sicilian restaurant.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Etna area; included meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 11: 240 kilometers / 149 miles

Back in the saddle, a rollercoaster ride on some classic woodland roads whisks you from the Ionian Sea to the Tyrrhenian, via the beautiful town of Novara di Sicilia, and on the slopes of Mount Etna.

You then continue motoring up and down the byways of the Nebrodi Mountains national park before pressing on to see another Sicilian gem: Cefalù. This beautiful town with its magnificent Norman cathedral is your last stop before arriving in the beautiful resort where you will stay for two nights.

Overnight in four-star hotel in the area of Cefalù; included meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 12

Another day of well-earned rest in one of the most beautiful towns in Sicily! In addition to the opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved relax by the marvelous pool, you can visit the fascinating Cefalù calmly or enjoy the sun on one of the nearby beaches. The staff and everyone at the hotel is on-hand to help you enjoy your free day to the full, with or without wheels.

Overnight in four-star hotel in Cefalù; included meals: B. No main meal is included so this rest day is your oyster from early morning until late.

Day 13: 140 kilometers / 87 miles

Get ready for some serious riding in the mountains and by the sea. You’ll be motoring up and down the byways of the Madonie Mountains in the tracks of the historic Targa Florio motor race on your way to Palermo where you’ll leave your motorcycle in a secured parking place for the whole afternoon.

After, enjoy lunch in a friendly traditional restaurant. The afternoon will be dedicated to the visit of the Sicilian main town. In the evening, you take the ferry back to Naples.

Overnight on board in a double en-suite cabin; included meals: Breakfast, lunch. Neither dinner, to be taken on board, nor breakfast on the next morning are included.

Day 14: 250 kilometers / 155 miles

After disembarking and a swift breakfast in one of Italy’s finest bars-cum-cake shops, you start your journey back to Rome through the hinterland. You pay a visit to Caserta and its sumptuous Royal Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site built for King Charles of Naples, founder of the Italian branch of the Royal House of Bourbon.

He wanted it to vie in opulence with the Palace of Versailles in France, and he seems to have succeeded. Your journey continues in the Matese Park up to the enchanting town of Anagni.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Anagni; included meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 15: 200 kilometers / 124 miles

Your last full day rounds off the tour in style. Italy on Motorbike has a biker’s delight of a route for you – all bendy and scenic – with two stand-out stops: the first in Subiaco for the Monastery of St Benedict and St Scholastica’s Abbey, the second in Villa d’Este, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In between, there’s a visit to Castel di Tora and deep-blue Lake Turano to enjoy. In the late afternoon, you return to the hotel in Rome where you began, before taking the hire bikes back. A lavish lunch in the capital provides a fitting end to your adventure together.

Overnight in a four-star hotel in Rome; included meals: Breakfast, dinner.

Day 16: Farewells in Rome

You say goodbyes after breakfast, leaving you free to go home or explore further the magic of Italy on your own. If you’d like to see more of Italy, let Italy on Motorbike know, and they can organize a tailor-made extension to your holiday.

Included meals: Breakfast.

Bike rental

For this tour, you have the option to bring your own bike or rent one from Italy on Motorbike. On request, they have a vast choice of motorbikes for hire. The rent costs from 1,005 EUR for a BMW G310GS or F650GS, including 14 days rental, 2450 kilometers, top case, 2 side cases, tank bag, one helmet, full insurance and transfers hotel / rental point / hotel. For more information, please send an inquiry.

Additionally, on request, Italy on Motorcycle can help arrange the shipment of luggage via express forwarder. Your suitcase will wait for you at the hotel averagely every fourth day (no deliveries on Saturday and Sunday).

Skill level(s) required for this tour:

Intermediate:

can ride for 3-4 hours
average riding experience
little assistance required
comfortable with extreme curves and leans
average experience with unsurfaced roads
steep ascents and descents

Location

Lazio

Many people know nothing about Lazio except its main city, Rome, the most visited destination in Italy for “pedestrian” tourists. Yet Lazio has a strong identity that goes far beyond its capital. It is an ancient and bewitching land rich in tradition, the authentic nursery of Italian roots where the Etruscan, Roman, and Catholic civilizations arose.

A treasure trove of artworks and architectural gems, the whole region offers many and varied glimpses of the past, of inestimable beauty and appeal – Roman remains, castles, crypts, and monasteries – with such a choice that deciding what to see can be a real headache. All this against an impressive backdrop of majestic parks and lakes, such as Nemi, Bolsena, and Bracciano.

Lazio is still sprinkled with gorgeous noble villas, many now converted into first-class hotels, often nestling amid vineyards that offer visitors white wines as refreshing and cheerful as the region’s people.

Campania

Campania, a very peculiar, messed-up region with a strong identity, incomparable to any other place in Italy, that you will fall in love with or definitely hate but can no way remain indifferent to. Naples, the city most often depicted in the classic Italian post-war cinema – with its chaos, its theatricality, its immense contrasts, and its inhabitants’ unique characterization – is probably the Italian town that foreigners know best, even if they have never set foot in our country. Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Pompei, the Vesuvius are names everyone has heard and dreamt of. And Italy on Motorbike will bring you there!

Legendary Sicily

With more than 5 million inhabitants, Sicily is the only Italian region which counts two of the 10 most densely populated cities in the country: Palermo and Catania. Inhabited since the most ancient times, the first traces of human life found on the island go back to 12.000 B.C. Many cultures bloomed in the proto-historic era.

Many other populations settled in the island later on, among which the Sicels, the Sicanians, and the Elymians. Then came the Phoenicians and the Greeks above all, who for the subsequent 600 years made of Sicily a great battlefield for the Greek-Punic and Roman-Punic wars. Therefore it was easy for the Romans to subjugate the island that became part of their Empire until its fall during the 5th-century A.C.

So it was a land of conquest. During the Dark Ages the Vandals, the Ostrogoth, the Byzantines, the Arabs, and even the Normans took possession of the island; the latter founded the Kingdom of Sicily. Later it was conquered also by the Angevin family, then by the Aragon dynasty which later made of it a vice-kingdom of Spain.

It became the land of the Savoy family, of the Austrian crown and lastly of the house of Bourbon, who, by joining the Kingdom of Sicily with the Kingdom of Naples, created the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Sicily was reunited to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860 through a referendum proposed after the Expedition of the Thousand guided by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Risorgimento which brought to life first united Italy.

From 1946 Sicily, constituted as an independent region with a special administrative status has again its own parliament, that had been established even before the birth of the Italian Republic.

All these historical vicissitudes have obviously left a multitude of testimonies and monuments everywhere, which made of Sicily one of the most captivating areas of the country from both the historical and cultural point of view, in addition to being an island of undeniable panoramic appeal. And thus Italy on Motorbike disclosed the secret of its great popularity.

After many millenniums of invasions and changes of ruler, Sicilians were able to blend the blood that flows in their veins into a proud population with a strong identity which hardly bends its back before the instituted power. Nonetheless, with friend-visitors they are the most gentle, caring and welcoming housemasters and no one is exempted from a little heartache when leaving their homeland after having experienced all the good things and amazing places it offers.

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Food

Italy on Motorbike is happy to provide you with 13 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 10 dinners during the tour.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

Things to do (optional)

Here are just a few ideas of what you can do during your break on day 5:

Spend the day roaming the byways of Naples, the Bourbon capital with its baroque allure, its museums and fortresses, its piazzas and alleys of unforgettable charm
Go shopping and people-watching among the great Neapolitan public
Take a break from the heat by investigating the city’s underground catacombs
A Neapolitan cooking class
Explore the famous and fabulous islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida, the true home of the dolce vita.

What's included

With 1 to 4 bikes, the included staff is a tour leader on his own motorcycle who opens the motorcycle line
With 5 to 6 bikes, the included staff is tour leader on his own motorcycle who opens the motorcycle line and luggage van with chauffeur
With 7 to 12 bikes, the included staff is tour leader on his own motorcycle who opens the motorcycle line, rearguard steward on his own motorcycle who brings up the rear, luggage van with chauffeur
Registration fee, branded tee-shirt, pictures of the tour
Assistance, medical and luggage insurance that covers both rider and passenger for all medical expenses in Italy and repatriation assistance costs in case of accident or illness during the tour and luggage theft or loss
Typical Italian welcome aperitif
Overnight ferry crossing Naples - Palermo and return with accommodation in double en-suite cabin
13 nights en-suite accommodation and buffet breakfast in hand-picked, first-class hotels (mostly four stars) or prestigious locations picked up for their charms and position, with fantastic buffet breakfasts
10 delicious dinners the which menu is specifically chosen to guide you through a voyage into the authentic Italian cuisine, in hotel or external restaurant at walking distance
5 super lunches in typical restaurants or trattoria renowned for their local specialties
Luggage van (with the possibility of transport for two passengers) if the final number of participants is five bikes or more

What's not included

Lunches and dinners unless specifically mentioned and drinks at meals but water
Extras in hotels, room upgrade or suite accommodation – available on request
Fuel, any parking fees while touring, entrance tickets in monuments / natural sites, etc. - all visits are always optional
Transfer to the Rome hotel upon arrival and from the Rome hotel when departing - available on request
Anything not specified as "included"

How to get there

Recommended Airports

FCO

Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport

24 km

Transfer not provided

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO). Private airport transport via NCC can be organized upon request for the additional cost.

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 60% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.

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