Etna on the day set for the museum. She was a very gracious hostess.". I couldn't have asked for more from a tour of Sicily - what a wonderful mix of educational, historical and cultural activities. And the view from there to the coast!". The tour was the right length although it was still hard to leave. He wowed us each and every day. ", "The buffet lunch with all the Sicilian food and wines.". My favorite experience was stopping at a small outdoor cafe near the vegetable and fish market. For instance, we went to a cooking demonstration put on just for our group. Plenty of fairly-intact ruins to explore. I felt so much better with masks required for the group and knowing that a negative test and proof of vaccination had to be shown. More than one favorite Winery visit in my Etna,". Travel by bus was never onerous, our driver Giuseppe a true professional. I love visiting Mt. This was our first Rick Steve's tour and although we've used other your companies we think, for us this was the best tour we've been on. Brilliantly led by the knowledgable, well-organized and entertaining Jamie, we learned a tremendous amount about Sicily and visited places we would never have thought to see in our 11 days. "Too many to list. "My wow moment was the food, though it is tough to decide whether it was the huge feast with the tour group in Agrigento or the wonderfully tender grilled octopus at Trattoria Don Ciccio in Taormina. This was the first of many delightful tastes of the incredible Sicilian food we enjoyed throughout the trip.". It was a thrill to see the full splendour of the Villa and how well they are presented. Etna, and the site was truly one to remember.". Sicily's beauty is breath taking. "Polpo bollito at Palermo market, buffet and pastry lesson at Marie Grammatico's, wine-tasting on Aetna, Contessa's home tour, Alberto's presentation at the Museo della Sal, Valley of Temples guided walk (exceptional guide), pizza lesson and dinner with Corado in Taormina, boat ride and Caravagigo's "Burial of St Lucy in Ortygia . "As always, there were so many (food and geography were constant sources of delight). ", Well structured and organized. This was such a wonderful tour! "So many wow moments! This was my first tour of any kind and it exceeded my expectations in every way. This was our 3rd Rick Steve's experience and plan to do many more. All tours were included without any "optional" tours. We visited so many interesting and unusual places, and our tour leader was excellent. Wonderful tour, outstanding leader Virginia, great hotels and you were right about packing light. "The Greek temple was amazing. Sicilian Pizza !!!! "There really wasn't a favorite every day had wow moments.". We participated in activities that I never could have imagined, certainly not if I had been traveling on my own. Our guide, Karin, went above and beyond anything we could reasonably have expected to make sure that everyone on the tour had the best time possible. I thought it was very well chosen. "Ancient Agrigento, hands down. The views were spectacular. Sicily is one surprise followed by another. Great guide, Michael, and interesting displays of how the buildings may have been built.". The varied types of activities we did were both fun and highly educational. The local guides were excellent, food was outstanding, accommodations fine, and Alfio's knowledge was excellent. Alfio told us there is one town whose Mayor is trying to entice people
Anderea our tour guide did such a great job of letting us experience the culture and sights and finding historical and fun places to visit. Great guide, good tour sites, nice group events and site guides were knowledgeable. "Salt harvestinghad no idea what to expect and found it extremely interesting.
It then occurred to me that we had done and seen SO MUCH. Overall, Alfio provided both and expert and personal tour of Sicily. Sicily was also colonized by the Romans, which we'll learn about at today's first destination, the Villa Romana del Casale. Group meals were good and convivial, well-planned and the right number. Appreciated the general congeniality of the tour members! ", First class tour guide and accommodations. ", "So many beautiful sites seen. Bus: 3 hours. Every day had a "wow" that was worthy of being the highlight of the entire trip. ", Logistics were well planned. One month prior to the tour departure, you'll find the directions to your first tour hotel and a complete list of hotels where we'll be staying while on tour in the Documents section of your tour account. We did not find the pace too strenuous and ended the tour ready for more. The guy made a killer Carbonara. He provided the context for understanding. It was a thrill.". For my boyfriend, his wow moment was the Villa Romana del Casale. I had a wonderful time. Sicily is an amazing island with many beautiful places to visit. The hotels were all excellent. But my favorite was listening to Tomasso in the bus! Excellent guide great people to travel with and the food was wonderful! Ortygia and Taormina vie for beauitul towns, but walking the crater at Mt. "Witnessing the glowing lava flow from Mount Etna at night from the rooftop restaurant of our hotel was amazing.". I would have to say that the Greek/Roman theater in Taormina topped them all. "There were soooo many! The help provided by the Rick Steves guides regarding Covid rules, taxi scheduling and problem solving was first rate. It was just cool. Mount Aetna was certainly very memorable.". Sleep on the island of Ortygia. "Lunch at Maria Grammatica's home. "Alfio leading the "three tenors" in the Theater near Segesta.". "Hmmm I think it has to be the first glimpses of Taormina from our orientation walk!!". My RS experience made me so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this adventure. Our group members gelled well during all the gelato tasting and vineyard visiting. Sicily was particulary interesting in that every place was so different. "My favorite "wow" moments were two cathedrals: Monreale for it's beautiful mosaics and Siracusa for it's history..". Believed by Romans to be the home of Venus, Erice eventually evolved into a center for Christian convents and home to heavenly pastries (which we'll learn about and taste). He is such a robust character but I also noted his attention to detail and to the needs of the group. In both cases, you were struck by the beauty and history of Sicily". Etna were astounding. Thinking about cannoli? It was OUTSTANDING!!!! But I must say the Greek ruins in Segesta stunning, the salt flats in Trapani and the island of Mozia so unique! The activities chosen, pace of the tour, wonderful accommodations, delicious food, and excellent guides made this one of the top RS tours that I've taken (it was number six for me). Bus was comfortable, hotels were great, food was fantastic. Most days are strenuously paced with 28 miles of walking, including hilly terrain and lots of stairs. We were very fortunate to have perfect weather in April. ", "If was a tie between lunch at Maria Grammatico cooking school and the visit to Mt. Sleep with street noise and no (or weak) air conditioning. We'll meet our local guide and take a walking tour of Palermo and its colorful, bustling Ballar street market all spiced with an evocative whiff of Africa. "Taormina, hanging on the side of a cliff, overlooking the ocean and Mt. There was also a great balance of down time where you could just hang like a local or explore even more! ", Excellent itinerary with interesting culture, experiences, and food; outstanding guides; excellent COVID precautions, "Erice and the cooking demo with Maria Grammatico; Roman mosaics at Villa Casale Romana". Seeing the Salt Flats and sea salt production was fascinating as well.". "The views from Taormina were spectacular.". Very good - first time on organized tour. Etna when the weather was good. It's a breeze to reach Catania's airport by taxi or shuttle bus. From tour guides, sights, hotels, food, organization, travel, and fellow travellers, it was a very enlightening and memorable experience. We went to places and did things I would never have thought to do on my own! It was my first experience with a tour and one I will remember as an incredible group of people who cared about making this an outstanding experience by respecting each other. To talk about them all would basically repeat the itinerary. In Italian, he told us all about Archimedes. "Seeing the ancient, well preserved - Churches, Temples, Mosaics was the "MINOR WOW" for me. I also loved the talk by the Volcanologist, which was so interesting - who knew that would be good?!". Fresh and wonderful. Bus: 4 hours. This was our first Rick Steves tour and we were very pleased with it. There is that much diversity - cultural, historical, culinary, and beauty. The rural location, and the preservation of the temple and amphitheater, was a perfect (and beautiful!) The food and scenery were equally enjoyable.". The local guides used were fantastic - the tour of the Monreale Cathedral by Jacqi Alio was so interesting. Here we'll spend much of our morning surrounded by the world's richest and most colorful collection of Roman mosaics including the time-bending "bikini girls" mosaic. The "WOW" moment was realizing that the food is used to keep the party going to allow for more time for social interaction with my travel mates, not just to eat". The bus was top notch, clean and comfortable. It seemed as if some days were just a time filler. "The positive attitude and enthusiasm from Tomasso, our guide.". Tie breaker: Alfio's surprise treat at Catania market!". But the WOW factor for the tour was our guide, David Tordi. We could not have planned all of these details ourselves. The tour was as good as previous tours although I'd prefer having a little smaller group. Small group of 14 was very cohesive. Laughingly he said it would
Everything was well planned, the site tours were very well done. They were small polite eruptions, not something Hollywood would produce, yet spectacular to me as a witness to the amazing feats our planet produces.". The experience is forever memorable. I was overwhelmed by the amount of history this one island contains. Having Nancy as our guide greatly enhanced what we could have achieved on our own - even as experienced travelers. Fantastic tour from start to finish. And each time I see a church on the schedule I think it might be an "ABC" another bloody church, it isn't. My complete Sicilian immersion can be summed up in one word: fantastico! Plus he had a winning personality. My 7th tour and third in Italy. Top moments were Palermo, the ancient sites Roman mosaics, Benanti Winery and the lunch we had at the old farm house. The history, the food, the people, the sites - wow! Rooms not as expected; in particular bathrooms. Etna with the volcanologist as part of the tour". "Visiting Monreale Cathedral and seeing the mosaics.". Moderate walking: 26 miles throughout the day with some hills and stairs. We had a blast though and it seemed we were surprised every day. I was told it wasn't on the regular RS schedule, but she and an archeologist took us. There were hardly any other people besides us, making these visits much more pleasurable than, say, the Acropolis in Athens. Alfio was a fantastic guide, one of the best and I have been on many group travel tours. How majestic watching her do a slow eruption every day. Our main guide was Jamie who was INCREDIBLE- all the information that he shared - how does one person remember all the names, dates, myths; and make it so interesting and fun?