Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The Roman villa mosaics

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rosario was excellent. He looked after every detail of the trip, was always available to assist with any question or problem that arose. Incredibly enthusiastic, and a native Sicilian, he acted as our entree to Sicily.

Advice for Potential Travellers

While classified as level 1, there was a great deal of walking on some days - up and down stairs in most locations, and while detail is provided under "Is this trip for you?", the word "leisurely" is a little misleading, and it would be worth reclassifying the trip to at least a 2! That said, in many places, there were options to do more or less strenuous activities. e.g. at Mount Etna, there were three grades of activity possible. While nothing more could have been included within the 8 days of the tour, travellers may consider adding two-three days on their own to visit Cefalu (including a trip to one or more of the Aeolian Islands) which is easily accessible by train from Palermo. The other locations visited relied on in-depth local knowledge, and some of the attractions are only accessible by private transport, so it would be impossible or impractical to visit most of the places we went to if you did your own thing in Sicily.

Most Inspirational Moment

trip to mount Etna was fabulous although quite expensive at 130 euros for a couple. Also the cookery and cheese making were excellent.

Thoughts on Group Leader

group leader w as excellent. very friendly and welcoming. enthusiastic, courteous and anxious to ensure our trip ran to plan and was enjoyable.

Advice for Potential Travellers

two of the hotels were of a poorer quality. The hotel Poste in Palmero was a bit shabby but not too bad. The worst hotel was the Jolly ... Palace Hotel for the last night. This was very shabby with stained and chipped furnishing, rusting air vent in bathroom, dirty walls and no air conditioning. This hotel should not be used as it spoils the quality of the trip as a whole. no need to bring a thick coat for Mount Etna as you can hire a thick coat for 4 euros at the ticket office. If you don't want to do four flights just to get to Sicily and back, book your own flights.

Most Inspirational Moment

The church in Monreale with the breathtaking mosaics. Also the Greek temples in Agrigento.

Thoughts on Group Leader

our guide Tiziano was energetic and good natured, and attentive to everyone's needs. He was very organized and everything went off as planned. He was also personally helpful to me on 2 occasions, with forgotten eyeglasses and arranging individual transport to the airport.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go a day earlier- but not on a Sunday like I did- and try to see the mosaics in the Palatine chapel in Palermo. Also taxis are very expensive in Sicily to/ from the airports, so if you do your own transport, be aware of this. You need to be pretty fit to do the Mt Etna excursion to the top, as air is thin and walking is precarious on the lava. Our guide did an easy walk at the bottom for those who did not want to go up.

Most Inspirational Moment

The great mixture of activities.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent. Very well organised, thoughtful and friendly.

Most Inspirational Moment

I was blown away by the mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale and the tastings of various marsala wines was fun!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rosario was one of the best group leaders we have met and we have met many over the years. He was a mine of information, his English was perfect and he made sure that we all had a wonderful holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The distances in Sicily were far greater than I appreciated so it takes longer than expected to get from place to place and the weather can be chilly, particularly on Mount Etna.

Most Inspirational Moment

Definitely the cable car/4WD/guided crater tour at Mount Etna. The combination of snow with lava showing through just made the scenario so beautiful, and we were lucky that the clouds parted and it was a beautiful sunny day. Awe-inspiring.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rosario was so lovely - he guided us with a gentle touch so that we felt like adults and not a school group, yet somehow we were always ready to go when needed! His passion for Sicily and delight in showing us everything just shone through and his attention to detail in organising our activities was amazing. He had time for all of us as individuals and regularly checked that we were happy. Superb!

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you go in April (and, I'm guessing, October) make sure you have plenty of layers, including a waterproof one, so that you can add/take away as needed. Our temperatures, in early April, ranged from really quite warm (I got slightly sunburnt one day) to -2 at the top of Etna! You probably won't have time for a swim at any of the hotels, as generally you do get to them quite late (and I think only one or two of them had pools anyway). Don't bother taking much reading matter - apart from airports you won't have time to read! There is a fair bit of walking around to be done, so make sure you have good shoes. Make sure you can cope with your suitcase as you do have to move it around a bit, although there's usually someone around to help. And make sure you have plenty of space in your case - you will bring back plenty of foodie souvenirs, if our group is anything to go by!

Most Inspirational Moment

Going up mount Etna, an optional extra but well worth it! Going to buy lunch in the local market was a great experience and visiting the different producers was very interesting. The Etna wine tasting with food pairings was really fun. There were so many great bits, it's hard to pick only one!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Rosario was very good! Got us from a-b, fed and watered us. He was very knowledgeable about the local areas and answered any questions or querys with the patience of a saint! What more could you ask for :)

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a larger suitcase or sacrificial clothes! There was so many things we wanted to bring home. Nothing too unwieldly though, as there was a few short walks to some of the hotels with some uneven surfaces.

Most Inspirational Moment

Capo market, was a delight, seeing the extensive mosaics at the Roman Villa, the hands-on cookery class, drinking sparkling wine in the square in Ragusa surrounded by beautifully lit architecture and the list goes on...

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide was very helpful, informative and was keen to ensure we really got the most out of our tour.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cooking tutorial

Thoughts on Group Leader

Brilliant

Advice for Potential Travellers

It is a pretty hectic tour.

Most Inspirational Moment

The cookery demonstration & practice. This was in a beautiful environment & we had excellent tuition in preparing the food for our lunch. And then eating our food in a delightful outdoor courtyard in the warm sun was just wonderful.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was great. Really friendly & good fun but also efficient & very knowledgeable. I’d happily go on a trip with him again.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You do need a reasonable level of fitness. There was quite a lot of walking to do & a couple of the people in our party struggled a bit. It does say about good health & reasonable fitness in the tour details but this needs to be emphasised at the booking stage.