Tour Details
About the Tour
- Duration
- 3 or 3.5 hours
- Location
- Sicily
Photos & Highlights
- Get acquainted with Sicily's main sites, history, and neighborhoods
- Led by a family-friendly expert in history or local culture
- Neapolis, Piazza Duomo, Apollo Temple, Fountain of Arethusa, Valley of the Temples, Capo Market, Oratory of Santa Cita, Piazza Marina, and Your choice of sites
Tour Description
Explore the beauty of Sicily with your younger learners on this private Sicily for Families, discovering the main historical and cultural sites geared towards kids in this spectacular region of Italy. These tours, led by a scholar trained to work with children, are adaptable to your specific interests and needs. Choose between an adventure of Palermo, Agrigento or Syracuse (or a combination of all three!)
Whether you already have something in mind or want help crafting something entirely new, our dedicated planning specialists are on hand to make the most of your travels. Context planners, all travelers in their own right and experts in their dedicated territory, will partner with you to create an itinerary suited exactly to your needs and schedule.
Whether you already have something in mind or want help crafting something entirely new, our dedicated planning specialists are on hand to make the most of your travels. Context planners, all travelers in their own right and experts in their dedicated territory, will partner with you to create an itinerary suited exactly to your needs and schedule.
Important: Please let us know at checkout which tour option (Palermo, Agrigento or Syracuse) you would like to book. If you would like to book all 3, please let us know your preferred dates. We'd be happy to arrange 3+ days of family touring for you and your kids!
Sites Visited
- Palermo OR Agrigento OR Syracuse
Included
- 3 or 3.5 hours with a family-friendly expert guide
Itinerary Inspiration
For those unsure of exactly what they'd like to do, below are example itineraries to ignite your imagination. Another good place to start brainstorming is with a perusal of our other private and small-group Sicily tour options:
Palermo Tour for Kids: Playing with Art, Food and Tradition - 3 hours
This itinerary is designed for families who want to explore Palermo’s multifaceted historical center. We begin our stroll at the Capo market, one of the city’s four historic markets where children are given a “food buster” card, giving them a sense of adventure as they go about exploring the market. As they walk through the colorful stands, children need to identify the various products that are on their card. Your expert guide will then mark each product the children identify. With your guide, this part of the tour will expose children to a variety of typical foods from the Mediterranean, and to introduce them to culinary differences between countries. At the end, the children receive a prize when their foodbuster has been successfully completed.
After the market, we stop at one of the city’s most acclaimed gelateria to sample some local gelato. Afterward, we will visit a historic oratory decorated with stuccos designed by Giacomo Serpotta. Here the children can take part in another treasure hunt with the assistance of your guide. At the oratory, they’ll attempt to recognize some particularly fun stucco putti, and complete their putti drawings. For the last section, your expert guide takes you to Piazza Marina, which is mainly occupied by the Garibaldi garden with fine palms and gigantic ficus Magnolia with the imposing 14th century Palazzo Chiaramonte. After this morning of fun, the children have the opportunity to enjoy a picnic, sampling the various foods they will have picked up throughout their walk at the Capo Market.
Please note: The itinerary and activities in this walk are designed for families with children between the ages of 6 and 10 years old.
Agrigento Tour for Kids - 3 hours
The itinerary for our Agrigento for Families tour aims to raise kids' curiosity and perceptiveness towards archaeological sites. Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples boasts superb archaeological remains and an incredible landscape. The Greek colony of Akragas is a perfect archaeological experience for both children and adults. The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site from 1997 and hosts the ancient acropolis, filled with sacred buildings perfectly restored and surrounded by impressive defensive walls.
With your family-friendly guide, who has a background in archaeology, the children joining the walk will learn to reconstruct the past, looking for clues and artifacts within the Valley of the Temples. Provided with a map and a compass, children learn to orient themselves. Using flashcards, they identify key temples and collect information about the history of the site. Our young archaeologists also learn to recognize the architectonic pieces and the sculptures that used to be part of the same temple. Your expert guide will elaborate on the use of colors in Greek architecture, showing the kinds of natural pigments that were used. Lastly, the tour concludes near the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter, in the shade of centenary-old olive trees, where our young explorers will indulge in some delicious local ricotta sweets or granita.
Syracuse Tour for Kids: Archaeology, Myths, and Adventures in Syracuse - 3.5 hours
This tour is designed for children and their parents, who will equally benefit from the experience. Your guide, who will be an archaeologist or local historians with knowledge of the archaeological museums and parks will use various visual clues to make the ancient history of Syracuse and Greek mythology come to life.
The Greek theatre is carved right into the rocks and is surrounded by superb pine trees and their clicking cicada. The famous “Ear of Dionysus,” a prison used by the tyrant Dionysus, is a majestic cave that resembles an ear and has remarkable acoustics. While enjoying the spacious park, children learn about Greek and Roman theatres, pagan religion, fights between animals and gladiators, secret underground passages connecting the different areas of the ancient city, and much more. Following this visit, you will then move on with your expert guide to the nearby islet of Ortigia, which hosts some of Syracuse’s most representative and important buildings, including; Doric Temples, Gothic churches and baroque palazzi. Within those ancient streets and alleys ancient divinities, as well as legendary heroes and monsters, hide.
This family walk will expose your children to some of the myths and legends that inhabit the streets of Ortigia. The walk, with support from your expert guide, will enable them to become familiar with the most popular divinities of Olympia such as Apollo, Athena, and Artemis. Walking Ortigia’s streets, you will also discover Arethusa, the nymph of Syracuse, together with her eternal companion Alpheus, and fight off Medusa with the help of Pegasus and Perseus. By the end of the tour, you and your children will understand why Sicily was once known as “Trinacria”.
Fill out our CUSTOM SICILY FORM or email us at custom@contexttravel.com to get started.
FAQ
What is a private tour?
Our private tours are limited exclusively to travelers in your party. They are designed to provide a learning experience that is completely tailored to you and your traveling companions. Private tours give you more flexibility with scheduling (you decide when the walk best fits in your trip), the ability to tailor your itinerary (we'll work to match the itinerary to the interests and dynamics of your group), and more personalized time with your guide.
Where do we meet? Where does it end?
This will depend on which itinerary you choose. Your confirmation email will have the exact meeting point details along with a map, and 24-hour phone number for any last-minute issues.
What if it’s raining?
Tours operate rain or shine, but in the case of inclement weather, your expert will modify the tour so more time is spent indoors. It never hurts to be prepared; we encourage keeping an eye on the weather and bringing along an umbrella, sunscreen, water, or a hat as needed.
Who leads this tour?
We work with experts who are great with kids and younger learners.
Is this tour walking intensive, and/or wheelchair accessible?
We do cover quite a bit of ground on this tour and therefore we recommend contacting us with any mobility questions; we will be happy to advise if the itinerary will be appropriate for you or propose modifications where necessary. Please feel free to contact us.
Where You'll Start
Tour Experts
A native Palermitan, Enrica is an art historian specialized in contemporary art with a specific interest in Art Brut. She studied at the University of Palermo, and is a Researcher at the Observatory Outsider Art of Palermo. Enrica has developed a great appreciation for spontaneous and naïf art. She has spent a lot of time between Spain, Italy and England working in both the culture and tourism industry. Enrica brings her knowledge and passion for contemporary art to bear when leading itineraries in Palermo and other sites of interests in Sicily.
Rossella is an archaeologist who holds multiple advanced degrees in archaeology from the Universities of Catania and Syracuse. Her main field of scientific research is Sicilian Archaeology. She has been conducting fieldwork for years, and has published scientific papers on subjects ranging from archaeological contexts, to ancient topography and pottery. She is a research fellow at the University Kore in Enna. Rossella also serves on the Sicilian Board of Archaeological Heritage for excavations, surveys, research, and didactic activities. Rossella is devoted to the rehabilitation of her native land’s cultural heritage.
Milena is a Sicilian native and licensed tour guide since 2017. She secured a Master degree in archaeology and she did a three months stage at the Archaeological Museum of Florence, being involved in cataloguing and handling ancient relics. After the university, she got a 1 Level Master degree in management of cultural events, focusing on museum exhibits. Since 2018 she collaborates with the Festival Le Vie dei Tesori, creating and leading thematic and theatrical itineraries for the event set in Siracusa and she also takes part as an expert to school projects having the purpose of introducing children to the cultural heritage.As an insider, she will lead you behind the curtain of the main monuments and places to make you experience the truest soul of Sicily.
