From Palermo: Erice & Marsala Salt, Olive Oil, and Wine Tour

About This Experience

This is the day trip that takes Palermo-based visitors to Marsala without a hire car: a driver collects you in the city at 8:15 and returns around 4 pm after Erice, an olive-oil farm lunch, the salt road and a Marsala winery. It is a small-group day with a minimum of two guests to run.

The morning is Erice, the medieval hill town above Trapani, where you walk the old streets independently and the driver points you to the pastry shops the town is known for, famous for marzipan and almond and pistachio sweets. Lunch follows at a Sicilian olive-oil producer's farmhouse: a light meal with a tasting of local products.

In the afternoon the route follows the Salt Way along the coast, past the salt pans where sea salt is still harvested in the old way, and ends at a Marsala winery for a guided visit and wine tasting. Marsala is Italy's oldest fortified wine and the town's name is the reason the whole world knows it.

Guests rate the day 4.9 from 25 reviews and the recurring theme is the driver-guide: enthusiastic, well informed about the region and its history, and relaxed about the pace. Note that the driver is an escort, not a licensed guide, so cannot accompany you inside monuments, and admission fees are not included.

Highlights

• Erice's medieval streets and pastry shops, with an independent walk of the hill town
• Light lunch and tasting at a Sicilian olive-oil producer's farmhouse
• The Salt Way coast road past the working salt pans of Trapani and Marsala
• Guided visit and wine tasting at a Marsala winery
• Air-conditioned vehicle with a driver-escort from central Palermo; back by about 4 pm

What's Included

• ✓ Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
• ✓ Driver-escort
• ✓ Lunch at an olive-oil farmhouse with a tasting of local products
• ✓ Marsala winery visit with wine tastings

Not Included

• Licensed tourist guide
• Admission fees to attractions
• Tips

What to Bring

• Comfortable shoes

Good to Know & Caveats

• Departure is 8:15 am from Piazza Giuseppe Verdi in Palermo; be there ten minutes early, and allow about fifteen minutes of pick-up flexibility for traffic.
• The driver is an escort, not a licensed tourist guide, so cannot take you inside monuments under Italian law; a licensed guide is not included.
• The tour needs at least two participants; if it is cancelled for numbers you are offered another date or a full refund.
• Erice is a hill town with steep cobbled streets: comfortable shoes are essential, and the day is not suitable for guests with mobility impairments.
• Return to Palermo is around 4 pm depending on traffic.

Meeting Point

Piazza Giuseppe Verdi 59, Palermo, outside the entrance of the restaurant Al 59, ten minutes before the 8:15 departure.