Sicily (2012)

Much time is wasted in Naxos and could have been spent at the Villa. Many museums were skipped. Since the hotel in Naxos was in an abandoned area, the tour should have gone to museums in the area.
The time in Syracuse could easily be extended to see all the sites.
Palermo tour should have been another half day to include the museum.

Traveler: William Harder from Daytona Beach, FL traveled on November 09, 2011

My recent tour of Sicily, a region of Italy was a very learning experience of their history and culture. Even tho I had been there before in a rented car, I didn't learn much, so that is why I decided to do this tour. While staying in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, I learned their history from B.C., the Greeks and the Romans and about the flag of Sicily. The opitional tours of Cefalu and Erice added more to the history and culture. While walking andor on the bus,our tour director, Moshe Ben-Simon was great and went into details about the history. On our way to Corleone, we learned more about the history of the Mafia. We then stopped overnight in Agrigento, and while there, visited the Valley of the Temples at nighttime and also in the daytime. Then on to our hotel in Taormina, and we had a guided tour of the city the next day, with added history of the Greeks and Romans there and also Sicily. Doing the opitional tour of Messina added to the history of WWII, and the Strait of Messina. Doing the opitional tour of Siracusa, I learned about the Greek Theatre there, the Greek and Roman ruins, and a cave that looked like a human ear, where prisoners were put by the Greeks, when captured. On our last two days there, we were to visit the top of Mt. Etna, but it was canceled due to a heavy snow fall at the top and the roads were closed. So on our final day there, a rain came in at the top of Mt. Etna, and there was a beautiful "Rainbow" at the top of Mt. Etna, on my " last day" in Sicily, which I took a picture of! After all was done, I took over 300 pictures and some moviesound. I have three suggestions for fellow travelers:
1st-Keep pace with your Tour Director day andor evening time, to Learn the history and culture.
2nd-Do all the opitional tours to ADD to the history and culture.
3rd-Pack and take with you, a charger and converter for your camera batteries.
Now my suggestions to GCT for this tour.are two:
Add two or three days to this tour.
OR
Offer a Pre-Trip 3 Days in Palermo
OR
Offer a Post-Trip in Taormina

Traveler: Rita Westerman from Westerville, OH traveled on February 15, 2012

Too much "down" time in isolated areas. We could have been kept busier, and eliminated 3 or 4 days, and kept costs lower too!!
Dinners were scheduled too late in the evenings @ 7:30 PM, especially American senior citizens.

Traveler: Teresa Saltiel from Lafayette, CA traveled on October 28, 2011

This was the most "laid back" trip I have taken with GCTOAT. To me, having interesting activities is more important than availability of free time. Is Grand Circle tours focus on more leisure time & slower pace whereas OAT is on unique activities & destinations with faster pace? I must be an OAT type person!! I'll be sure to read the itinerary more carefully next time.

Traveler: Susan Rainey from Boise, ID traveled on October 31, 2011

I took this trip in January as a solo. This is a great time to go with no crowds. The weather was generally in the 50's. i would not want to go in the summer big crowds, hot and humid!

You do not need to go to Greece or Turkey to see ancient history. Over the centuries, almost every regime invaded Sicily and Malta because of their strategic location. You see bits and pieces of all these regimes.
Be sure to take the post trip to Malta. It is a quite a thrill to touch a stone on the oldest free standing structure in the world. It is over 5000 years old! Malta is "English" where Sicily is "Italian."

The two tour directors, Gaetano and Stuart were excellent and lived up the high standards of GCT Tour Directors. Both gave me all the "discovery" I could adsorb!

Be aware that the trip requires a lot of walking, some on uneven surfaces, up and down hills and steps with no railings.
I took all the optional tours which I recommend but they do add $600 per person to the cost. The extended stays at hotels, 5, 5, and 6 days concerned me that there would not be enough to do or see. With the optional tours, there was enough activity for each day....they keep you busy! Both Sicily and Malta are small so with the bus trips you can go from end to end. To me the walking on snow at 7000 feet on Mount Etna was a high light.
This is the highest active volcano in Europe.

Finally, the trip was stress free. On the return from Malta to Rome for one night, GCT had a representative meet us at the airport to make sure we did not get lost.

Traveler: Charles Zellner from Katonah, NY traveled on January 18, 2012

This being our 6th trip with GCT what I enjoyed the most was the history,terrain,food and the people. Going to Corelone was very impressive but going to where they filmed the Godfather was even more so!!!
Malta really surprised me. I could not believe the history that little island has. It's a must see. I wouldn't mind doing it again.Don't forget your walking shoes!!!!!

Grand Circle your doing a great job don't change anything.

Ed & Antoinette Rader

Traveler: Edward Rader from Fort Lauderdale, FL traveled on November 23, 2011

I was so dissappointed. Brochure neglected to say there was no level ground., continuous super hilly land to walk all day long with nothing to see but ruins, ruins and more ruins, and churches and more churches. Your brochure should have warned seniors with any kind of problems, whether it be walking, sitting, breathing . back problelms, etc about the level of difficulty to expect. The hotel in Palermo (Crystal Palace) was the worst . Dinner was awful (we ate their only one night) The other nights that called for dinner at the hotel, we had to schlepp out and walk to local hotels. Food was terrible. I expected good Italian food, but what was served was swordfish in tomato sauce over pasta, ugh , swordfish and bread stuffed in veal roll up ( it was unrecognizable.) The one night in Agrigento was the best hotel and beachfront . Messina was a big disapointment. More of thesame. I would not recommend this trip to anyone. I have traveled four times with you, and introduced Marjojrie Barker toGCT . We travelled together the last two trips. This was a bad one.

Traveler: Theresa Lynch from Jupiter, FL traveled on October 31, 2011

This was a great trip. Palermo was a very walkable city with much to see. We were lucky to see an opera in the great opera house - a nice treat. Cefula was a surprise. A lovely city on the sea. The Duomo was like an art gallery, our luncheon was great and we had sufficient time to explore the town. Corleone was a highlight of the trip. The scenery was lovely and our visit to an elementary school was a real hoot. The kids were terrific. The Valley of the Temples near Agrigento has to be seen to be believed. The east coast towns on the Ionian Sea were very differnt from one another. Taormina, high on a hill, offered wonderful views and Giardini-Naxos on the shore was a bustling little town worth seeing. Our day trip to Savoca was a wonderful experience. If you go take a walk on your own and find the Catacombs - a captivating experience. Siracusa was a favorite with it's ancient Greek Theater, Roman Amphitheater and lovely shore restaurants. For the most part our hotels were quite good. The Palermo hotel was spartan and business-like but had a very welcoming staff. However, with the exception of breakfasts, the food was not good at all. Our hotels in Taormina and Agrigento were excellent.
We do not hesitate recommending this trip to fellow travelers.

Traveler: Marie & Bud Reilly from Warwick, NY traveled on October 21, 2011

I wasn't real excited about visiting Sicily just wanted to see the country my grandfather emigrated from when he was fourteen. Sicily is much more beautiful then I could have imagined. I thought the optional tours were very pricey and chose to only do two of them, Erice and Siracusa. I wanted to see the cave called: "The Ear of Dionysius" which was a disappointment, it was so dark inside you could see nothing! As for Cefalu, I chose to take the train. One mile from the Cristal Palace Hotel in Palermo. I took the one hour train ride to Cefalu for 12 Euros round trip. I found the ride enjoyable, I spent two hours there roaming around myself, the ride back to Palermo was even prettier along the water. The Valley of the Temples was beautiful, even prettier and better preserved than the ones I saw in Greece. The farmhouse lunch was wonderful food was excellent and the host and hostess were warm and friendly. When we were ready to leave, our bus broke down, the hostess invited us all back inside while they had to send for a replacement bus, she made coffee for us and we all had great fun loading our luggage on a small tractor, looked like it would be a disaster getting that full tractor down the hill. Our replacement bus was not as nice as our first bus. As for the home hosted lunches, we never made it. Heavy rain that came down from Mt. Etna flooded areas and the road we were supposed to take was not safe, the police thought the bridge might collapse, our driver Mario and tour guide Marco called the restaurant across the street from our hotel and they whipped up a nice lunch for us when we got back. I did not personally like Palermo but loved the pastries, warm crossaints filled with custard at our hotel and the bakeries had wonderful cannoli's. Everything was extemely expensive, our dollar doesn't go far. A magical moment was in Savoca, where part of the Godfather movie was filmed, near the end of our tour it started raining, and at noon this lovely church played Ava Maria in this gorgeous setting, everyone ran to the bus, but two of us stood in the rain and listened with tears streaming down our faces...It was a moment that I will always remember...Italian with & without words was very funny as our tour guide showed us. Most of us were not impressed with the dinner served at the Cristal Palace, it was inferior. The pizza lunch was not good, as we have much better pizza here in the states and beware, sausage pizza is a hot dog on pizza. I loved Taormina, beautiful and witnessed a most unusual funeral, quite fascinating in the town square. The opera house is beautiful, a few of us bought tickets to a Mozart concert in this gorgeous place. I would prefer all meals to be included since the food was very pricey. I didn't care for the place or meal at our farewell dinner. The presenters on the discussions on Mt. Etna, Corleone, World War II were excellent! My favorite hotel and place to stay was by far the last hotel Hilton Giardini Naxos, the young woman pastry baker was amazing. I sampled some of her cookies in the gift shop, bought a box and enjoyed all of them, they were fantastic! Great traveling group, everyone was always on time, no one complained, we all got along great! Good trip!

Traveler: Terry Wangsness from Benson, AZ traveled on October 28, 2011

My recent trip to Sicily with Grand Circle was the culmination of a 40-year desire to visit the island home of my birth father, whom I never knew.

With the assistance of our wonderful guide, Francesca, I was able to contact family in the Taormina area and was welcomed into my sicilian family, which was a dream come true.

The tour itself was an amazing experience. All the guides were outstanding; they were without exception both knowledgeable and entertaining and were able to bring alive the history and culture of the wonderful places we visited.

Palermo is undoubtedly a great center of culture and historical importance and a vital component of any Sicily experience, but I preferred the quieter and more scenic areas that we visited, and would have enjoyed spending perhaps one more day in the Agrigento area; just one day there was not enough for me personally. Also, I was almost mugged in broad daylight on the main street in Palermo, which did not endear me to that city! Just a warning to female tourists - do not venture out alone there, and certainly not while wearing gold jewelry.

Unfortunately, we were not able to visit a school on this trip as we were in Corleone on Sunday, but we did meet the principal of the school, as our guide managed to waylay him and his wife as they exited the
local church after the service!

I had never been part of a tour group previously; this was my first Grand Circle
experience. I must admit that I was rather nervous about travelling as a single, but was happy to find that I was included in all the activities by wonderful, friendly people
who became good friends by the end of the
trip. All in all, this was a great travel experience, and hugely satisfying for me on a personal level.

Where the next trip will take me, I have no idea at present, but there are certainly more Grand Circle tours in my future!

Traveler: Judith Corino from Middletown, NY traveled on October 10, 2011

Excellent Trip... Four Stars in all aspects. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to visit Sicily... You will not be disappointed!

Traveler: George Reilly from Atlanta, GA traveled on May 18, 2011

I wish I (we, my wife included) could heartily endorse this trip, but we can't. Though there are always highlights on every trip, including this one, it is hard to overlook its being offered "on the cheap". The meals were "skinny" and did not contain very much real Sicilian food or seafood, and this is an island with lots of fishing. (We've had more and better Sicilian food in our hometown of Fresno!) When we would go into restaurants we would see full plates of wonderful Sicilian food and seafood being served to paying customers, BUT the meals we were served as GCT were meager by comparison, including the wine portions (when we had wine) which were embarrassingly slight. With minor exception this was the pattern throughout the trip. We have been on many tours with GCT and OAT (and other companies) and have NEVER had cause to complain about the food, which, in a foreign country is one of the highlights of traveling. In addition, GCT took us to almost no sights where one has to pay (Agrigento was the one notable exception), bypassing some interesting places where other tours do indeed go and are listed in guidebooks. Finally, the optionals were overpriced for what was given. The whole tour added up to a "slimmed-down" experience.
On the positive side, we had a really good program director, and our tour group was one of the best we've ever toured with!

Traveler: James Cooney from Fresno, CA traveled on September 16, 2011

The island of Sicily is absolutely beautiful! Our Program Director, Federica Dagnino, was terrific - she shared her knowledge and love of Sicily with the group. She truly helped make the trip special.

The only problem I had with the tour was the included dinners, including the dine-around. In a country with wonderful food, the included meals were is some cases dreadful (especially Ristorante La Cuccagna in Palermo). The amount that Grand Circle allows for these included meals should be increased so that the meals are representative of the fine food in Sicily. Also, on several occasions, wine was not included. The restaurants then charged - overly expensive for clearly inferior wines.

Traveler: Karen Pasquale from Little Falls, NJ traveled on September 16, 2011

I frankly didn't have any preconceived notions about Sicily other than it's being a bit remote from mainland Italy. What was it's connection - was it it's own country apart from Italy, with it's own identity? What a delight it was to explore this amazing island, surrounded on three sides by three different oceans! And yes, it is a country with it's own pride and discoveries. Its history is wrapped in many cultures which shaped it, its land is varied from oceanside towns tumbling down to the sea, to mountain villages with ancient birthmarks, the Valley of Temples, hill country full of fertile soil and farmland, and mysterious Mt. Etna, the volcano that spits out its constant presence. The food it one of its crowning glories (the cannoli being the "national" dessert!) and the people so willing to share their story, for better or worse. Seeing Italy without seeing Sicily is like eating cake without the icing!

Traveler: Lainey Brown from Loveland, CO traveled on September 14, 2011

This is Mary Namey writing for the two of us. I loved our program director and many of the people on our trip. The hotels in Sicily were very good. I'm still trying to figure out why I rate this trip at the bottom of the 5 GCT trips we've taken. I think that our expectations were too high based on reports from other travelers. The food was mediocre at best overall. Too much food was deep fried and loaded with carbohydrates. What happened to all the seafood that must be available from the waters that surround Sicily? I wish I could be more specific about my feelings. In time I think I'll be more able to put this all together.

Traveler: Edward Namey from Grand Rapids, MI traveled on September 09, 2011

We did not like Palmero. Perhaps it was the location of the hotel. We found it not safe and dirty. Also the farmhouse lunch was very poor. There was one piece of bread per person, one piece of everything for everyone and they couldn't wait to clear the table.
Loved Tarormina and the rest of the trip. Wished we could have stayed at Agrigento hotel longer. It was beautiful. Overlooking the pool and the ocean.

Traveler: Madelynn Donovan from Las Vegas, NV traveled on September 12, 2011

MY WIFE HAD I HAD A FABULOUS TRIP TO SICILY FROM SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2011 TO OCTOBER 4TH, 2011. OUR TOUR DIRECTOR, FRANCESCA WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRIP. SHE WAS ALWAYS THERE TO GIVE HELPFULL HINTS AND HER LOVE FOR SICILY WAS SHARED WITH ALL OF US ON THE TRIP. THE HIGH LIGHTS OF THE TOUR FOR US WAS THE SIDE TRIPS WHICH TOOK US FOR THE MOST PART TO VERY INTERESTING PLACES OFF THE BEATEN TRACK. WE WOULD CHANGE NOTHING ON THIS TOUR EXCEPT MAKING THE LEG ROOM ON THE BUS BIGGER.

Traveler: Anthony Siggia from Whiting, NJ traveled on September 21, 2011

The scenery, the people, and the history of Sicily make it an ideal place for a two-week visit. The extra week in Malta added to the charm of the trip.

The hotels were quite nice, except fot the noisy Dioscuri Bay Palace. The meals included in the tour were excellant. When we were on our own for meals, the nearby opportunities were also excellant. The home hosted meal was marvelous.

The included tours and the optional tours that we took were very good. Overall, the pace of the tour left us a significant amount of time to explore on our own, and the hotels were conveniently located.

Generally, everything I have said about Sicily also applies equally to Malta. Surprisingly, Malta was a little bit cheaper, overall, than was Sicily.

The least desireable part of the trip was the transportation getting there and getting back. I realize that no transAtlantic flight is fun, but the airlines and the airports seem to make the trip more of a nightmare that it should be.

Traveler: Lawrence Newlon from Greensburg, PA traveled on March 09, 2011

I was a little dubious about visiting Sicily. I remember, as a child a lot of years ago, my grandmother from northern Italy telling me to never go south of Rome because it was a primitive unsafe area. "Da Roma giu commencia l'Africa."
How delighted we were to find a beautiful island replete with some of the nicest people we have ever met and unique cities that were once in a lifetime cultural experiences. Taormina, especially, is a totally memorable place. The Sicilian culture is unique in that it draws from Moorish, French, Spanish, Phoenician and others as well as Italian. Grand Circle allowed us to see it all. The included meals were perfect for someone like myself who enjoys home style Italian food at its best. One of the other reasons we enjoyed it was a chance to see antiquities that are magnificent beyond description. Another was Grand Circle. Our guide, Mariangela, was superb in that she was friendly, knowledgeable, and fun. The accommodations were nice and, all in all, Grand Circle provided us with a unique and fabulous experience.

Traveler: Ron Waitman from Lacey, WA traveled on December 11, 2003

Sicily. February, 2010
Frederick Wulff


My recent trip to Sicily (and pre-trip Malta) was really a pleasant surprise. First of all, I wasn’t expecting much from Sicily.. I signed up for the trip because I have traveled just about everywhere else (18 trips with Grand Circle alone) and my experiences with Grand Circle have been winners. This trip, too, was great. As usual the GCT accommodations were extremely good. Our GCT guide in Sicily, Maurizio, was very outgoing, knowledgeable and extremely accommodating.

As for the countryside and historical sights in Sicily, they were every bit as good as anywhere. Actually the Roman and Greek ruins alone made the trip outstanding. My premonitions about Sicily as rather plain were completely overturned. This is a wonderful place to visit and the people were friendly and gracious. I would rank this part of Italy right up there with Tuscany (except for the Tuscany pizza). That the food was of excellent and tasty quality can be attested to by my weight gain. The cost of meals that were on our own was pricy, as were the optional excursions, but still with the low base price that overall this was a very good buy. I heartily recommend the trip, especially with the no extra charge for singles. There were a number of solo travelers like myself on this trip and we got along fabulously with the group.

The weather in February was moderate because of the Mediterranean subtropical climate.. This beats the summer months when it is hot and tourism from Europe is heavy. An added plus was the Mardi Gras celebrations that are so colorful in this part of Europe. The pace of activity in both Malta and Sicily was just right. Free time in Palermo was great because of the hotel’s walking proximity to interesting sights.

Qualified guest lecturers gave good presentations on the WW II invasion of Sicily with emphasis on the roles of Patton and Montgomery and the development of the Mafia with subsequent heroic efforts to reign in its power. As a retired history teacher I rank these presentations as valuable additions.

If I had know how wonderful these two countries were for history and beauty, I would have purchased this trip many years earlier.

Traveler: Frederick Wulff from New Ulm, MN traveled on February 11, 2010

Sicily, oh Sicily! We were on the Nov. 10 - 23, 2010 tour and found Sicily to be splendid! The trip included a very well planned and executed itinerary. Our tour director was Maurizo and he was absolutely excellent in every sense of the word. As it turned out we did all the optionals and were glad that we did.

We had picked a specific date for the trip because the Hotel Aristan in Taormina was listed. We were very disappointed when just a few weeks before the trip we discovered that the hotel would not be the Hotel Aristan in Taormina, but rather the Antares Complex in Letojanni which is just down the road from Taormina. The Antares is a fine hotel and we would have be delighted with it had we not been expecting and wanting to actually stay in Taormina.

I’m not going to go into a lot of specifics about the places that we saw. Rather I’ll just tell you that you may go to my travel blog and it is complete with a summary of the trip, plus lots of pictures. Visit my travel blog: http:thefarmersmeanderings.wordpress.com

All in all it was an excellent trip and we are so glad we had the opportunity to see and visit Sicily.

Traveler: Marilyn Farmer from Altoona, KS traveled on November 10, 2010

We recently returned from this wonderful holiday and would recommend you include the pre and post trips to give you the most value for your dollars. The weather in this MayJune trip was perfect. In Sicily Mario was one of the finest directors and we have traveled with Grand Circle 13 times. This trip has a wonderful balance of cultural events, beautiful countryside, the excitement of big cities, and the charm of small coastal towns. There were many opportunities to mingle with the local people and really become a part of the culture of this area.
Malta has a rich history and provides a wonderful opportunity to walk along the prominade by the water. You can't find anything more beautiful than the journey along the Amalfi Coast and stops in Amalfi and Positano. Truly a joy.
My only recommendation to Grand Circle is to improve the choices in air transportation. Having everyone use JFK was a hardship and especially the domestic flights are often delayed because of the number of flights using this airport. If necessary pay a little more for the air portion and avoid some of the stress.

Traveler: Mary Orourke from Seven Hills, OH traveled on May 13, 2010

I have always been amazed at the quality of program directors on my nine trips with GCT & OAT. Denese(Malta), SARA (Sicily) & Linda (Amalfi) were three of the best mI have ever had. The trip was fantastic & I was very surprised at how interesting Malta was. I keep saying my last trip was the best yet, si I look forward to my next adventure.
Jim Nolan
Palatine, IL

Traveler: James Nolan from Palatine, IL traveled on April 01, 2010

Now that the 800 digital photos have been reduced to a reasonable number and our log typed, we can take time to reflect on what was a wonderful experience in Malta and Sicily. Bad weather in the States disrupted travel for many in our group and caused us to arrive in Malta 24 hours late. We are happy to report that our call to GTC informing them of our forced layover in Newark was all it took and we were met at the airport in Malta and taken to the hotel where Stuart our PD was waiting to get us up to speed. Our small pre-trip group of only 8 composed of 3 couples and 2 singles blended quickly and we enjoyed each other while soaking in the sun, atmosphere and history of Malta as presented by Stuart and local guides who proudly showed us the country they love. The only negative of the several days was the very early departure time of the short flight to join the others in Sicily. That negative was softened however as our rooms were ready upon our arrival in Taormina and we relaxed in the sun on our balcony with Mt Etna in view as we waited for the others to arrive from Rome.
At our first group meeting we learned that we had several other Inner Circle members (one couple were on their 19th trip) and the usual few who were experiencing GTC for the first time. Gaetano introduced himself and told us of his plans to share his love of Sicily so that we would leave the island after the two weeks with the same affection for the country and it's people. From the comments made at our final gathering in Palermo, We feel comfortable in saying that he was a success in creating 28 new Sicily lovers.
Rather than spend time repeating comments made by others in their reviews about planned and optional tours and the unique sights of Malta and Sicily we'd like to focus more on our fellow travelers and how being with them contributed greatly to the trip experience. Gaetano commented about the group in his closing remarks and that caused us to reflect on the impact that each traveler in a group can have on the enjoyment of the entire group. We'd like to suggest that GTC travelers are a special type of folk that not only enloy travel but also realize that complaining about missing luggage or a rainy day won't solve a single problem and will only dampen the spirit of discovery for others in the group. We were a group that didn't complain about the rain, but instead pointed out that our photo's of Mt Etna were even better with the fresh snow cover that the moisture had created on her slopes. It was only when an absence was noted did we learn that a few of us had experienced some sort of stomach bug . No one in our group complained of wet feet after getting caught in a down pour as we left our wonderful home-hosted luncheons, but instead on the coach ride back to town we compared notes on the quality of the homemade wine we had been served. Breakfast conversation topics were frequently reports of little shops or unique sights discovered. Our personal unplanned experience was being greeted warmly after we peeked in a small Anglican Church in Palermo on what turned out to be their Mothers' Day recognition service. Unfortunately we couldn't bring others back the next day to share what we had experienced.
Our enjoyment of traveling and discovering with our fellow travelers combined with the professional leadership of our Program Directors is what created our excellent rating. We're checking calendars for planning our next GTC trip.

Traveler: John Herold from Ann Arbor, MI traveled on February 25, 2010

Wow! It doesn't seem like I have been back from my vacation for over a month already, because that is all I have been thinking about since my return.

First off a few comments about the Pre-trip to Malta - If anyone is thinking about visiting this wonderful country, I highly recommend doing it with Grand Circle. Our guide, Stuart, was as informative as he was friendly. The week we spent in Malta was well organized, with plenty of information given about everything from the Neolithic sights to the “modern” bus system. Stuart knows this island nation very well and was eager to share with the group. Our local guide was also a pleasure to travel with as she relayed well-timed information throughout the week.

Next – Sicily! This was my third trip to Italy, but my first to Sicily, as well as being my first with Grand Circle. Stuart in Malta had set the bar pretty high for tour guides, so I did not expect the same treatment when we arrived in Sicily. How wrong I was! Grand Circle knows how to recruit the best of the best for their company, and they have yet another superb guide with Mario Marcosano. You can read all about the itinerary in the trip subscription. What you can’t anticipate is a tour guide who goes out of his way to make sure his clients have the best experience possible in his country. Just a few examples of above-and-beyond attention to his family (what us clients considered ourselves after a short time); Mario making sure that everyone who was interested in going to the Rigoletto opera got a ticket for the event, a lovely evening boat ride around the coast of Taormina, and maybe my favorite surprise of the trip – a traditional puppet show in Palermo. These BIG extras made a great trip into one of the best I have experienced.

A last note – I should mention that I do most of world traveling with my mother. We both have unique dietary needs. Mario discovered this fact during the welcome meeting, and made absolutely certain that these needs were met at each and every meal. I have never had that sort of service with any company I have traveled with in the past. Based on the tour guides alone, next time I travel it will be with Grand Circle!

Traveler: Michael from Sunnyvale, CA traveled on November 12, 2009

My dream came true when I traveled with a GC extended tour going to Sicily. The country was so beautiful that it was breath taking. I loved the trip.
Mario Marcosano was our guide. He was so pleasant and looked after everyone of us to make sure we were all taken care of and enjoyed our trip. I had my 72nd birthday celebration at a home hosted lunch. I sang and laughed with the people of Sicily and learned the history at the same time. Thank you GC for choosing such wonderful tour guides. The trip would have lacked much without Marios' Sicilian flair. I cannot say enough about the guides. Without them the trips would not have been so special.

Traveler: Rose from Clearwater, FL traveled on November 18, 2009

Our October 1, 2009 trip to Malta, Sicily, and The Amalfi Coast was another wonderful GCT trip. We returned home to say that this trip was the best or at least as enjoyable and interesting as our previous best trip with GCT. Our local guides in Malta and Sorrento were simply wonderful. Mario Marcosano our Program Director in Sicily was a true and proud Sicilian and anxious to share his country with us. He did this very well! We are now a lot more knowledgeable about yet another country. He kept us very well informed and entertained us with his grand and humorous anecdotes.

Each hotel we stayed in was well located. From the one in Malta from which we were able to visit all points of the Island, to each of the 3 hotels in Sicily. The hotel on the Amalfi Coast in Sorrento was another pleasure. There were always good restaurants available to enjoy nearby with little hassle to reach and many times lovely views of the water surrounding our hotel.

We highly recommend this trip to others and hope they are fortunate enough to have the same PD and guides whom we enjoyed so much. Thank you all.

Traveler: Carol and Bob Kennaday from Morristown, NJ traveled on October 01, 2009

This was our 5th Grand Circle or OAT Trip. For the most part we have had good experiences.

We were very pleased with the Malta portion of the trip but Sicily fell short of our expectations.

Our hotel the Antares Complex 3 miles from Taormina was unacceptable in all respects but primarily because of the location.

We felt we were captives. The hotel was shabby and the food mediocre at best. Transportation into Taormina was practically non existent.

Our trip leader Mario was the worst program director we have encountered.
I have never had a trip leader return a gratuity.

We do not require exclusive hotels but we do want easy access to the cities either walking, bus or taxi at a resonable price.

Those lucky travelers who stayed in Taormina fared much better.

Grand Circle was completely unresponsive to my complaints offering a 300.00 credit for another trip as the only compensation.

I wonder why the reviews on this web-site are always so favorable. Check out other feed back websites and you will find a completely different story.

Mary and Carl Burst
Sarasota Florida

Traveler: Carl from Sarasota, FL traveled on October 01, 2009

We thoroughly enjoyed the Sicily tour with the pre- and post-trips. We hadn't considered Malta as a travel destination until it was offered as a pre-trip, but are very glad that we chose to go there. It is actually three islands with a fascinating history. There are prehistoric temples older than the pyramids of Egypt, as well as remnants of cultures from all around the Mediterranean. Since we were there in the summer, there was a large number of young people from all over Europe who come to Malta to study English. Of course, they also "study" beach and partytime! It was a lively place. If you are considering the Sicily tour, I encourage you to include Malta.

Mario was our guide in Sicily. He is very knowledgeable, as well as entertaining with his stories of life in Sicily. Taormina is a stunning town located on a cliff overlooking the sea in one direction and Mt. Etna in another. Be prepared to be walking uphill or downhill everywhere you go--I don't think there's a level place on the island. Palermo is a big city and a bit of a letdown after beautiful Taormina, but side trips to Cefalu, Monreale, Corleone, and Agrigento were interesting. It was very dry when we were in Sicily so the countryside was brown rather than the brilliant green of wetter seasons. Still, our bus trips from one location to another were scenic.

The post-trip to Sorrento was memorable. Because of our very small group (we were on the same trip with Doug and Sandy who have posted a review) Grand Circle's optionals were not available. That was fine with us because we like to explore on our own. The Circumvesuviana railroad station was just a few blocks from our hotel and we took advantage of the train to go to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Naples. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum are amazing. We spent 9 hours roaming around Pompeii and still didn't cover it all. The little cafe just outside the gate to the archaeological area has great pizza! The next day after visiting Pompeii we took a restful mini-cruise from Sorrento past the island of Capri (where we jumped off the boat for a swim in the crystal-clear water) and up the Amalfi coast to Positano and Amalfi. After our day of relaxation we took off on the train again to Herculaneum, which is still being excavated and is better preserved than Pompeii. We spent 5 hours there and saw most of it. Warning--there is nothing available to eat inside either Pompeii or Herculaneum. We took snacks with us to both places. In Pompeii there are water fountains so you can refill your water bottle frequently. It was HOT when we were there.

We enjoy the extended vacations offered by Grand Circle since we like to have free time to do our own exploration. However, there are a number of optional tours at most locations for those who want a guide with them. We've done 6 GCT and 3 OAT tours and are busy planning the next one!

Traveler: Linda from Orange Park, FL traveled on July 30, 2009

Having no idea what to expect of Sicily and Sicilians, we were totally surprised!

Grand Circle always does an excellent job of choosing destinations, but, we think they outdid themselves when they offered us Sicily and Mario.

From the very first day until our departure, we learned so much about Sicily and the Sicilian way of life from Mario with his knowledge, warmth,compassion, interest and great sense of humor. From the foods, the wines, the very warm and friendly local people...there just aren't enough words to describe how wonderful everything was.

The home hosted lunches were supberb, the included lunches were excellent as well as the dine around dinners.

The ruins, Greek and Roman, were just awe inspiring and the guides did such a good job explaining the roots of it all which made you actually go back in time and you could almost picture yourself living in those times.

We took an extended trip to Sorrento with Alberio as our program director. He is another excellent Grand Circle representative. We had a very small group in Sorrento and most of the optional tours required a minimum of people which he could not fulfill. He worked with Patty and our group so that we could see what Sorrento and the surrounding areas had to offer.

Once again, Grand Circle, a job well done.

Traveler: Doug & Sandy from Pittsburgh, PA traveled on August 05, 2009

Our trip to Sicily with the pre-trip to Malta and the post-trip to the Amalfi Coast was excellent.

We thoroughly enjoyed Malta and visiting its capital city, Valletta; visiting its best-known prehistoric temples, Hagar Qim; taking the ferry to Gozo and seeing the Ggantija Temples, taking a boat ride to the Blue Lagoon; visiting Mdina and the archaeological excavation of the Roma Villa with its beautiful mosaic floor. Our guide, Stuart, was absolute wonderful and all our hotel, Golden Tulip Vivaldi Hotel, was great too.

The main trip, which was to Sicily, was filled with wonderful new experiences. We enjoyed visiting Taormina and the Greco-Roman Theater; visiting Catania and the Duomo; visiting Siracusa and the Greek and Roman Ruins, including the cave called "the Ear of Dionysius"; visiting Mt. Etna to the 6,000-foot mark for a spectacular view; visiting Palermo, including Quattro Canti di Citta (the Four Corners of the City) and stopping at the Piazza Armerina to see the floor mosaics in the Roman Villa del Casale; visiting Monreale and the Cathedral; visiting the beautiful town of Cefalu; visiting the hilltop town of Corleone and its Cathedral; and visiting Agrigento to see its superb Valley of the Temples - they were spectacular. Our guide, Maurizio, was absolutely wonderful in every way. Our hotels, the Antares Complex in Letojanni and the Garibaldi al Politeama Hotel in Palermo were great.

Our post-trip to the Amalfi coast was our fourth time to this beautiful area, Visiting Amalfi, Positano, Capri and Sorrento were the highlights of our trip. The downside to our trip was the hotel, Zi Teresa. Since we were stayng there for a week, it was very uncomfortable staying in a hotel with sporatic airconditioning, a very small area for storage and juice at breakfast that was more like a flavored water than juice. Not up to Grand Circle's standards.

Overall, it was an excellent trip. Our travel companions were some of the best, the food was great everywhere we went and the weather could not have been better.

Traveler: Richard and Judy from Tafton, PA traveled on June 11, 2009

I absolutely loved my trip to Sicily. I would travel with Grand Circle again. The extended stay concept was wonderful. I wish there were more trips like this. It was great not being in and out of a hotel every day or two!

Sicily itself was way more than I expected, and to be here for any less than 2 weeks just does not do it justice. It is unbelieveable how much there is to see and do.

I cannot say enough about our guide, Maurizio Caminita. He was wonderful--knowledgable, conscientious, a great personality, and so helpful. He is one of the exceptional guides that goes above and beyond what's expected.

Our hotels in Taormina and Palermo were in excellent locations. We could walk every where and were not stuck on the outskirts of town. We had plenty of free time where we could explore on our own.

The pacing of the trip was great. We weren't run ragged. It was an excellent combination of organized time and free time. Probably the best one I've been on in that respect.

Traveler: Walter from Rolling Meadows, IL traveled on June 03, 2009

Just came back from a wonderful trip to Sicily 515 ~ 528. We enjoyed the weather, food, scenery, historical sites and the companionship of tour members - 26 in all. Our tour director, Maurizio Caminita, did a fantastic job. He was very knowledgably, enthusiastic, helpful, and professional. He did extra to meet requests from team members, including touring inside the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, visiting Gole dell'Alcantara (Alcantara Gorge) on the way to our home-host lunch near Taormina, and making a stop at the beaches of Giardini-Naxos on the way back from home-hosted lunch.

The Siracusa visit with local guide Rosa was lively and very educational. She told us the origin of the word Arena (“sand”, to absorb blood from gladiator fights ), and the differences between Greek theater and Roman amphitheater, as well as taking us back (imaginatively) to the days when the whole Greek Theater was carved out of a single huge stone by slave labors.

The Palermo and Monreale guide, Laura Lanza, did a very good job telling the story of every mosaic panel on the walls of the Monreale cathedral. She told us there are two weddings every day in Monreale (one in the morning, one in the afternoon), and quipped that it is easier to find a man than to find an available date at Monreale to get married. After our tour at Monreale we stayed in the cathedral to wait and see a wedding processing at 11am.

All the local guides were outstanding. Gino at Corleone was very passionate in his talk about mafia and the government’s anti-mafia efforts. Giovanni at Agrigento was very informative with history of the Greek in Agrigento and the building of those temples.

Food wise, we have many high lights. Laura Lanze told us to try watermelon ice cream before leaving Sicily. The Italian word for watermelon is Anguria. We saw Anguria granita at an ice cream shop in front of Cefalu’s cathedral (this ice cream shop seems to monopolize most the outdoor seating under canopies on Piazza del Duomo), so we ordered Anguria granita. It was very good but also expensive at this prime location. The following day we had Anguria ice cream at Spinnato (a popular pastryice creamcoffee shop on P. Di Belmonte, near our Palermo hotel) but it was not as tasty as the Anguria granita we had in Cefalu’s Piazza del Duomo. Also, give brioche a try - two scoops of ice cream sandwiched in a sweet bun. It was 2 euro per brioche everywhere, and you get to choose 2 flavors of ice cream to put in your brioche.

While in Taormina, we passed by a restaurant called La Grotta Azzurra with seafood packed in ice displayed in a glass case. We saw sardine, so we inquired if they could make fried sardine. Yes, (even though fried sardine was not on their menu). How about Calamari? Yes, fried or grilled? We ordered a grilled calamari. (Always understand the price before you order anything that is not on the menu.) The fried sardine was so crispy and tasty that we rated it one of the best seafood we had in Sicily. In Cefalu we also had a opportunity to order grilled sardine and grilled sepia from a restaurant called La Vecchia Marina (listed on Lonely Planet’s Sicily). Both sardine and sepia were excellent, we ordered sepia only because the restaurant said they did not have calamari but had sepia which tastes just like calamari. This grilled sepia was very tender, much easier to chew than grilled calamari.

One of the dine-around restaurants in Taormina was La Piazzetta, also listed on Lonely Planet’s Sicily, so we chose to dine there one evening. We asked the wait staff instead of a glass of wine, could we have a freshly squeezed lemon juice with ice and sugar? The wait staff happily complied, he gave each of us a half-glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice with ice cube, we added water and sugar ourselves. We had a memorable dinner at La Piazzetta.

Traveler: Vincent and Mei-Ching from Reading, MA traveled on May 15, 2009

We landed in Catania and was met by the GCT rep., after a shirt drive to our hotel in Taormina we met our Official tour director Gaetano. I cannot say enough about Gaetano, he was wonderful, very well informed, always had an anedote for us on the bus.
The tour was above anything we expected and the scenery was outstanding. The in home lunches were excellent, all the History we saw and the talks we had in the evenings gave us new insight into the wonderful history of the island.
The food, was excellent and the different places allowed us the opportunity to sample a variety of foods. fresh fish and wonderful deserts.
I would take this trip again, as the experience was worth every minute and ecery penny.

Traveler: Michael from Winter Springs, FL traveled on February 25, 2009

My visit to Sicily was incredible. The island and the people are beautiful and my traveling companions were wonderful. However, the real key to the trip was our fabulous guide Mario. His passion for his heritage was the lens through which we experienced this beautiful culture. It was all the more amazing for me since my heritage is Sicilian. We had great food, great stories and wonderful experiences enhanced by Mario's willingness to indulge our groups' curiosity and energy. Bravo Mario!

Traveler: Sandra from Hayward, CA traveled on February 11, 2009