2019 European hiking adventure in Sicily, plus other exciting activities

Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy.

Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently 3,329 m (or 10,922 ft) high. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate.

We could spend two months in Sicily and not run out of unique and exciting adventures. As we have only two weeks to explore Sicily, we will be picking out the best highlights that this historical island has to offer and connecting them together, one day after the other.

The details are being worked on at the moment for backpacking and/or hiking the most interesting mountains and trails in Sicily, possibly including the infamous Mount Etna (if it is dormant!). We will be visiting the following towns during our adventure: Palermo, Monreale, Saline di Trapani, the temple valley in Agrigento, Scala dei turchi Agrigento, Modica, Scicli, Catania and Taormina.

Some highlights are represented here:

Hiking (5 - 7 days)
Biking (2 or more days)
Sailing (1 or more days)
River trekking (TBD)
Rafting (TBD)
Scooters (TBD)

A few details are itemized here:

• We will not be camping; we will be staying in B&B's and small hotels. We may rent an entire home in some towns. All overnight stays will be reserved and paid for in advance after we all agree on a hotel budget.

• During the hiking portion of the adventure, we may be backpacking some days, carrying all our possessions from one town to the next. Other days we will be doing day hikes, ending the day more or less where we started in the morning.

• We will charter a sailboat the first day(s) in order to get over jet lag and visit some of the port cities that are not easily accessible by road. We may bike or hike right from the sailboat!

• We will have some days off (from hiking) when we rent scooters, bikes, kayaks, or go canyoning, river rafting, etc. These details will be finalized before the end of March.

This adventure will be limited to eight hikers. Once we are confirmed, we will meet again to agree on the small details: to perhaps all fly overseas on the same flight(s); to agree on a lodging budget; to decide on roommates, etc. Of course, anybody can fly earlier and meet us on our first official day, Day 1 in Palermo.

A few more details:

• The airfare is between $900 and $1,000 round trip, including all taxes and fees. I expect that there may be some airfare sales in March and April.

• "Day 1" will be 06 June 2018; we will leave Montreal the day before (at the latest).

• The organized portion of this adventure will be 14 days.

• The weather will be sunny every day, blue skies and 25C at noon.

This adventure will prove to be the adventure of a lifetime for all who join us!

Once you RSVP, I will be asking for a non-refundable $250 deposit (toward your fees) to secure your spot. The first eight members to forward the deposit to me will be going to Sicily, hiking through this fantastic island, cycling through historic villages and eating fresh Italian home-cooked food three meals a day! We have a strict limit of eight hikers on this adventure.

Note: In the first five editions of this unique and exciting European hiking adventure (the Amalfi coast in 2014, the Dalmatian coast in 2015, Andalucia in 2016, the Greek Peloponnese in 2017 and the Algarve in Portugal in 2018), the total cost has been around $3,100, or slightly more per person, including airfare and ALL costs, except alcohol.