Rick Steves' Sicily & Southern Italy tour?
 

We are 2 little old grandmothers, & we are not about to tackle driving in Sicily. Has anyone taken the RS tour?

I haven't, but have friend (in their 60s) who have and have liked the tours very much. The only complaint they had on the Italy tour was that they felt it was a bit rushed. Also, you have to carry all your own luggage, so if that's a problem, you might want to check out some other tours. I've heard very good things about elderhouser (sp?) tours as well.

I replied to your other post - the RS
tour is great - the guides are good
and the hotels acceptable. There is
quite a bit of walking and you do carry
your own belongings so if you are very
elderly or very out of shape it may not
be ideal for you.

If you go onto the RS website and click
on Tour Evaluations you can read what
previous tour members thought of the
Tour.

I replied to your other post as well.

You may be grandmothers, you may be old, and you may be little, but I assure you that women with all 3 attributes have gone to sicily without a tour. If you would go to Italy without a tour, you can go to Sicily without a tour. It's not difficult, especially if you post here and let people give you advice.

Great trip report on southern Italy and Sicily from another granny (me too!):

Here:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ycluyf
and here
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yhu54n
and here
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ya7m44
and here
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y9gvpu

Enjoy!

Just checked those links. If you have cookies disabled then they will direct you to the tiny URL page and there you need to click on the Redirect button.

Sorry - I didn't want to mess up the thread with really l-o-n-g links. If it is too complicated this way, let me know and I will repost with full links for each of the sites which are: Italy #6, Italy #5, Italy #4 and Italy #3.

Hope that helps a bit.

......back again - you haven't said
exactly how 'little' or how 'old' you
are but unless you are really decrepit
with especially slow response times to
traffic, I would not hesitate to drive
in Sicily excepting in the cities.

We (mid-60's) wanted to try a tour
and after an especially hectic year
we thought the tour would be relaxing.
Alto' we enjoyed the RS tour, we are
independant travellers and will remain
so until time and tide beach us!

The highways in Sicily are well-maintained and wide-spread; I think
it would be wise to pre-book accommodation b/c motels are non-existant (grin)!

We flew Alpi-Eagles to Palermo and
the only problem was trying to figure
out their website (all in Italian).

How about Elderhostel?

http://www.elderhostel.org/programs/...d=1%2BJB%2B178

to Llamalady

Yes, I have done independent travelling also and it was glorious! But this time I'm feeling a little tired & the idea of the itinerary being all laid out seems very appealing. Also, being I'm travelling with someone with tastes somewhat different from mine, we won't have to give thought to choices. We'll just "Go with the flow."

Does Alpi Eagles fly from the US? From Newark? I haven't seen it listed except for the Rome-Palermo leg.

to Wliwl

I have taken 4 Elderhostel tours. The itineraries and the guides are superb! The hotels and meals are adequate--not intended to be 5 star or gourmet. What drove me crazy was that they sat down for 3 full, long meals each day. For lunch, I would much prefer to grab an apple and a piece of cheese to eat on the fly. Often the restaurants they choose are not located such thatt you could do some sightseeing while they linger.

^ Yeah, I hear ya'. I wouldn't like that either. But I guess that's the downside ot tours. You're sort of stuck on their schedule. 3 meals a day would be too much for me actually! Good luck.

I took the RS Venice, Florence and Rome tour this past summer and I LOVED it. I am 51 and did find some aspects challenging - carrying my own bags up the stairs of two of the hotels. Thankfully there were strong young men in our group as well as thoughtful hotel assistants to help me. It was my own fault - too much with me in the suitcase added weight.

The tours are great - there are local guides who lead the tour of the historical sights, and the guide who remains with the group to give walking tours and information about transportation. There is an equal amount of time between the guided tours and free time, where a person can decide to do as much, or as little, as he or she wants. All breakfasts are included and half the dinners.

I attended some music concerts, did some shopping and went on a smaller tour with others in our group. One of the best things about the RS tours is that there are between 20-25 people in the group of various ages and interests. The hotels are right in the centre of town, not on the outskirts. All tours are included, as well as tips for the meals and the guide.

I went on the RS Paris and the Heart of France tour in July 2005 also, and highly recommend this type of tour for all ages, especially those over 50. If you can walk at least three miles a day comfortably, you can do these tours. We had people from 13 to 75 years old, and those older people chose to take part in their own experiences if they felt something was too physically challenging. The tour guides are very knowledgeable about alternatives to their activities.

Remember that airfare is not included in the RS tour price, but I prefer to arrive earlier and stay later anyway, so I make my airline reservations, using the information I have learned here on Fodors.

I'm not aware of any non-stops from Newark to Sicily.

do_it: Am sure Rick Steves tours are fine, and I've heard good things; however there seems to be a lot of walking, steps, carrying luggage and it IS budget.
My husband and I almost always rent a car and do our own thing when in Europe. MY hobby is planning the trips., husband does the maps and money!!!
Anyway...we HAVE "digressed" twice and have taken two wonderful Elderhostels...both in Italy....one was in Tuscany, one in Sorrento. You don't HAVE To eat three big meals (ours were delicious, but at night could just order what you wanted, even if just an appetizer). The classes are wonderful, taught by teachers and professors from universities etc.

We would like to visit Sicily also...and have considered renting a car and spending about 7 or 8 days.
The Sorrento (Bay of Naples) Elderhostel program was run by an excellent leader.....and her assistant at that time was a wonderful young man from Sicily. I understand he is the leader of the Sicily program now. Our only hesitation is that the Sicily program is about 19 days long, and seems a little long to us....but I knw it is a good program. In Sorrento we were in a beautiful 4 star hotel.I can only speak for the Italian Elderhostels, but they are excellent.