Basil

I am considering an escorted tour of Sicily. Has anyone gone with Academic Tours to Sicily? I would be interested in any comments, reviews or complaints. Thanks in advance!

TexasAggie

Hi Basil,
I just came across the same company and we are pondering it for some distant vacation. Did you ever hear anything firsthand about the company? Did you go on the tour?

Amy

I used Academic to go to Malta (trip report here: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34454157 ) and was quite satisfied with how everything worked out; I was on my own, though, not taking a guided tour. Their price was much the best I'd seen for a Malta package.

gertie3751

Thanks Fodorites for putting me on to this. I too would appreciate comments on Academic Tours. Are the other people academic? Is there much herding about? Early starts? The price is quite astonishing. I'm tempted.

WillTravel

What astonishing prices are you getting for the tours?

TexasAggie

I've trolled about a few other websites and did not find any first hand trip reports from individuals who actually went on their tour.

We wouldn't consider it for a few years anyway. We have always longed to see the archaeology in Sicily but are hesitant about driving there so this does seem like it could be a possible solution for us.

sicula

TexasAggie

There's really no reason to be hesitant to drive from one major city to another or to even wander off on some country by-road in Sicily. Sicily's highway system is reasonably good and well marked. There are more scarey places highways and wild motorists in the US than there are in Sicily. Finding a parking place is the problem.

TexasAggie

Thanks for the reassurance sicula... however, we have just about the worst sense of direction imaginable. We have spent hours lost in Germany (considered by most to be one of the easiest countries to navigate) if that makes the situation clear
So after reading bobthenavigator's report (I believe it was he who mentioned his challenges with driving) we just figured that for this one time it might be worth it to pay someone else to do the driving/navigating.

Basil

Sorry for the delayed response! Anyway, I made inquiries with Academic Tours and had a very negative experience with them. After requesting my "independent" arrangements with them (hotel, some excursions and a flight from Naples to Sicily and back), it took weeks to get a confirmation from them. When I got it, it was incorrect. Despite this lack of competence, I patiently requested correct materials so that I could proceed further. They never followed through, my sense is they prefer groups over independent travelers!! Finally, I gave up (and I'm sure they were sick of me too). I took my business to Amelia International, which also does "independent" arrangements for Sicily. I have just paid my invoice for a trip this September, I will let you know if it worked for me. I prefer going my own way; however, I liked the idea of signing on for a few excursions on buses to expedite touring Sicily! The rest of my time is my own there!

TexasAggie

Thanks for the update! I'm very interested in hearing about your experience when you return. Do you mind sharing your general itinerary?

nissangle

My husband and I just returned from Sicily and we had a great time with a group called Sicily Tour. We were picked up at the Palermo airport and then went from Marsala to Agrigento to Syracusa and on to Taormina. Our guide, Stephen and his wife, Lucia, have lived in Sicily for 23 years. He was able to tell us all about the history, the architecture, the people, good places to eat, etc. We are going back next year and will use them again. You can look at their website, www.sicily-tour.com. I hope this helps.

DejaVu

(This is more for general info than for the original poster, seeing the original post was a while ago.)
The Archaeological Institute of America sponsors tours to Sicily; I'm not a tour person, but if I were, I'd go with AIA. Their next Sicily tour is in May and features Jenifer Neils as tour leader; she's a Case Western prof and a first-rate scholar, very well known in the field. I imagine it'd be a great tour. AIA's website is www.archaeological.org --click on AIA Tours at the left.

Rosalinda

We just returned from an Academic Tours escorted trip to Sicily. Only it wasn't. There were 17 people on the tour which was organized by a Sicilian tour company. We were the only people who had booked through AT. The others came through other agencies. Academic Tours was pretty sloppy to deal with. They took forever to respond, told us things which weren't true, etc. And they gave us the impression they were the ones running the tour. HOWEVER, the tour was actually pretty good and a great value, about $100 a day per person with all meals. It stayed only at Jolly Hotels, most of which were quite nice. It included all food and took us to the places I wouldn't want to drive to myself. Our guide was a dud, but we didn't really need him. The meals were excellent and the sites outstanding. One aspect which had plusses and minuses - our tour was conducted in both Spanish and English. The plus was meeting some Argentinian teachers, the minus was the extra time it took to listen to everything twice.

Rosalinda

The Sicilian tour company is CIT, http://www.compagniasicilianaturismo...nuovo/tour.asp

TexasAggie

Thanks Rosalinda. That is the second semi-negative review I have read about Academic Tours

Eloise

And I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that if you book through CST it will cost you a lot less than if you book through Academic Tours.

I did a 7-day CST Sicilian tour, staying at Jolly Hotels, back in 1999. The guide was not particularly good, but the tour did include almost anything worth seeing in Sicily. The Jolly Hotels are comfortable, and the four-course meals (all meals were included) were good. The price was more than reasonable. I stayed on in Palermo for three days, and the Jolly Hotel gave me the special tour price for the extra nights.

If you can't do one of the really professional tours - AIA, university extension tours, museum-sponsored tours (all of which are much, much more expensive) - the CST tour is a reasonable compromise.

vagabondsoul

hi Rosalinda -

I'm finalizing plans for a 7 night Sicily trip. The tour you sent the link on [jolly] seems like it would have you on the road a lot. Did you feel there was enough time to relax?

I think I'm leaning more toward less stops and a slower pace.

Thanks for your input!

emiller444

We were also planning to use Academic Tours to do an escorted tour of Sicily. It turns out many, many agents use the same tours run by http://www.compagniasicilianaturismo.it/home.asp - the Italian company mentioned before. We are using the Sicilian Carousel tour - that one is done just in English. In my beginning dealings with Academic, they were full of information and very nice - although they did try to give the impression they run the tour themselves. Then they stopped returning my phone calls or answering my questions. Then they told me the dollar had been devalued and that all the prices they quoted would be going up 6%. At that point I said good-bye to Academic and booked the tour through Pilgrim Travel - same tour(Sicilian Carousel although Pilgrim calls it something else) at a slightly lower price. You can also book directly through the Italian company - they charge roughly the same. I would not deal with Academic.