PatrickSch

We took a 12 day tour of Sicily with Go Ahead Tours this July. We had always travelled independently and weren't sure we would like a group tour but the final results were good. We considered a fly/drive but when the guide books say things like you can drive in Palermo but it will take years off your life I was a little deterred. We chose Go Ahead because you had a lot of free time on your own if you wanted it, the price was good and the company got generally good reviews on the internet. We also knew this was not a luxury tour.
Some of the best things are obvious- they transport you everywhere, check you in at the hotel and move your luggage-no stress.
The single most impressive part of ths tour were the guides. The tour director was excellent-she did suggest some additional group activities- we passed on two and did one which was fun-she didn't pressure. The local guides were fabulous. We have had some terrible guides in the past and were surprised at the high qulality of the five different guides. We agreed we could never go back to the earphone recorded guides that are available at so many tourist sites today.
Worst -Go Ahead changed the hotel in Agrigento and didn't tell anyone in advance. This hotel was in a terrible location and not the same quality as the one in the brochure. It was several miles from the center of Agrigento and on a very ugly strip of commercial buildings and next to a MCDonalds. We had to pay 40 Euros for a cab to take us to the historic center of Agrigento and eat dinner. Name is the Kore hotel and I reviewed it on Trip Advisor.
Best- The upgrade to the Hotel Villa Diodoro in Taormina. A fabulous hotel- see Trip Advisor.
The other two hotels- the Mecure in Palermo and the G Tourist Hotel in Siracusa were both good hotels-see trip advisor.
The three dinners included in the tour price were all excellent-and all included wine.
We took two optional tours- Segestra and Erice- don't miss them and a lunch at a contessa's farm outside Siracusa- the single most fabulous meal of the trip -we couldn't eat dinner that night.Everyone else in the group took the Mt. Etna tour- we didn't- some loved it others thought it wasn't worth it.
We really enjoyed all the places the tour went. Palermo is dirty and noisy but as the guide said-look up- lots of beautiful architecture and the two included trips to Monreals and the Norman Palace are great.
Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is fabulous and the historic center of Agrigento is very charming.
Don't miss the mosaics at the Roman Villa near Pizza Armerina.We've never seen anything like them.
Archeological park and Ortygia Island in Siracusa are both fascinating and charming.
Taormina is breathaking and beautiful. We spent the last two days there wandering the streets, going to the beach and pool. Very relaxing.
Food- there are no bad meals in Sicily and there is a lot of fabulous past and fish and wine.
Cost- When we ate on our own lunches ran 20-25 Euros with wine/beer-dinners 50-65 Euros with wine. Most dinners were pasta and/or fish-usually one course. Not cheap but not as expensive as some of the horror stories you hear about travel in Europe.
Nicest gesture from Go Ahead- the rest of the group-20 people- had to get up at three in the morning to catch their flights from the Catania airport- our flight was the only later one and they sent us in a taxi at seven.
Sicily is hot in summer- we had to go then but if you have a choice go in the spring.
Will we take another go ahead tour- probably- we think we can do cities on our own but we like some of their other tours- we keep wondering if we would ever get the excellent guides that they had. I also didn't miss trying to find hotel on our own or getting lost while driving which has happened more that I want to remember in the past.
Our flight were excellent and everyone except one member of the group agreed. For some reason she was routed through Frankfort, then Rome then Palermo by Go Ahead- arrived late and had to find the hotel on her own.

linawood

bookmarking

Chrisjim

PatrickSch: I am glad to hear that the mosaics at the Roman Villa were great. There has been some discussion that they were under construction and not worth the visit this year. I also would like to know if you saw the Valley of the Temples at night.

Thanks, Chris

PatrickSch

Chris- They are still doing work at the Roman Villa but it doesn't interfere much with the tour- you tour the grounds and several rooms with fabulous mosaics.
We saw the temples lit up from the taxi we took back to our hotel from the old section of Agrigento- it was impressive even from a moving car. One of the good things Go Ahead did in Agrigrnto was schedule an optional dinner at a restaurant above the ruins- the people who went (we didn't) said the view and the food were wonderful.
We didn't regret seeing the old section of Agrigento- we would have left with a poor impression of the city itself if we hadn't.

kja

Chrisjim -

> I also would like to know if you saw the Valley of the Temples at night.

I have wonderful memories of a night when I spent hours looking out at three of the lit temples from my private patio at the Camera con Vista, so if you are planning to stay overnight in Agrigento, you might check it out. It's a bit of a ways from the town itself, so staying there would be most feasible if you have a car. And I agree with PatrickSch that spending a bit of time in Agrigento's old town is also worthwhile. Enjoy!

Chrisjim

PatrickSch: This is great news. Thanks so much for your information. We will definitley go to see the mosiacs at the Villa de Casale. You don't remember the name of the restaurant where your group went to see the Valley of the Temples at night do you?

Thanks, Chris

Chrisjim

kja: We leave on our trip to Sicily at the end of September. I will let you know if we get to see the Valley of the Temples at night.

Thanks, Chris

TDudette

A postscript to the amazing driving in Sicily:

We watched police cars with sirens blaring come to a screeching halt as a family of 4 slowly crossed a highway.

Thanks for the report PatrickSch.

mhyde1

What is the address for Go Ahead Tours on the internet? Wonder if we will be able to take chartered days trip from Palermo in October?

adrienne

goaheadtours.com

PatrickSch

Chris- Sorry but I don't remember the name- I checked the brochure but they don't give the name.

latedaytraveler

Patrick, I was gratified to see that a well seasoned traveler like yourself agreed that there are some positive aspects to taking a tour. From my experience, the guides on these tours have been most knowledgeable. As you know, your tour director on these trips must hand over the reigns to a certified local guide in all major cities and historical sites. These individuals are usually outstanding, often retired professors with a deep appreciation and love of the region. Let’s face it, tourism is a competitive business and only the best survive in most cases. Also, the hassle of finding the hotel (as you mentioned), parking, and figuring everything out on your own are eliminated on these excursions.

I appreciate that the majority of contributors to this board are independent travelers and proud of it. Sometimes I wonder if they did take an excellent tour like the one you enjoyed, they might be more sympathetic with those of us who opt for an escorted tour.

In any case, Sicily is magnificent no matter how one travels.

Mark71

Hi Helen and Patrick, I myself am one of the many independent travelers, but I would never say a tour is not good. I wouldn't go on one, but everybody has its own opinion and preferences of course.

I enjoyed reading the travel story, but am a bit surprised about the money you spent on meals... We have had several meals with starters, two kids of first courses, a main course, fruit, a dessert, wine, coffee, water and a limoncello for 25 Euros per person...
To us the sicilian cuisine is excellent and very cheap. We avoid eating in typical tourist locations like Taormina and Cefalù though as there you will pay way too much (and the quality can be disappointing).

camato

Have you flown Alitalia? We are doing the Go Ahead Sicily tour this fall. We don't seem to have much choice in flights from NY to Palermo. It seems Alitalia is the only airline with one connection to use without using two separate airlines. The airfare right now is quite good although the reviews are horrendous. I have flown Alitalia twice before and have been lucky with the exception of missing a close connection in Milan on one trip.

Any feedback is appreciated.

PatrickSch

We flew Alitalia and it was fine-not as nice as AA international flights(no private TV in every seat)but comfortable. If you canf leave a lot of time in Rome between flights because you have to go through passport control and there is no crowd control- a very long wait. One good thing Alitalia did was to hold the Rome Boston flight when our return flight from Catania was late because of a work stoppage at Rome airport. At the time I thought that an American airline wouldn't wait because they publish on time records. There were probably about 10-20 people who would have missed that Alitalia flight. I was reading horror stories about Alitalia last year also but most centered on the possibility it would go bankrupt. I guess the Italian government keeps saving it.

Lesuk

I took Go-ahead's Egypt tour in 2009 and was very happy with all aspects of that tour. Though I also travel independently, I signed up for their Sicily tour in 2010 because it included an optional 1/2 day tour from Taormina to visit Tindari (Tyndaris), near Messina, a Greek/Roman ruins site and the nearby Sanctuary of the Black Madonna Church. Recently, Go-ahead replaced this optional tour with a visit to medieval villages, Savoca and Forza d' Agro. If I want to continue with my idea to visit Tindari (it's a two-hour trip one-way from Taormina) and I need to find a driver to take me there which is not inexpensive (for one person). Did you get to see this site and what did you think of it? Do you think it's worth the effort? Frommer placed it at the top of his list of best ruins in Sicily, but I've seen little information in other guide books or on the internet. Thanks for your impressions of your visit.

PatrickSch

Sorry, but we did not go to that site.

maryellen12

Thanks so much for the info on Go Ahead Tours
Thinking of southern Italy and Sicily
I have done alot of independent traveling and escorted tours
Depends on where and what I want to do
Don't discount tours-try one!

Cavangal

I like to travel independently because I end up having moretime to enjoy the day trips. I am looking into my first trip to Sicily. Might like to stop in Rome for 2 days and will get a flight out of Dublin on my return journey to U S.

Looking at flight to Catania to enjoy SE region and might finish my trip getting flight from Palermo. Is public transportation good and do I need to buy tickets in advance for trains. I will travel mid September and stay 12 days in Italy.

Need help planning itinerary, how to divide my time as I normally spend 2to3 nights an each location to have enough time to enjoy without rushing. I like to visit historic places, gardens, parks and walk along the ocean. Thanks to all for any help offered.

adrienne

Cavangal - perhaps you should start your own thread since you don't seem to want information on Go Ahead tours and that is the subject of this thread so many people who could respond won't open the thread.

You'll need at least 12 days on Sicily. That was the length of my trip and I didn't get to see everything I wanted to see. If you stop in Rome for 2 days and then spend the 3rd day traveling to Sicily (or part of that day) then you'll only have 8 or 9 days on Sicily.

There is a direct bus from Catania to Palermo. I spent more time in Palermo than other places and loved it. Public transport to the major towns is fine but it takes lots of time to connect to smaller towns. I looked at buses from Palermo to Erice and it would have taken most of the day because of waiting for connections in Trapani and given little time in either town.