Michelina (Michael) was amazing. We did private transfer tours with stop overs, and he customized the sites and stops on the way based upon what we told him we wanted to do. And he would also change, juggle it, and showed us more than we asked for.
A very safe driver, he was very knowledgeable about the history and was also very personable. He was also thoughtful and concerned with our safety.
We never were in want of great food, and never felt rushed.
I'd ask for him next time.
Our original plan was to rent a car ourselves. We were talked out of it, and I understand. There is virtually no parking in most towns, some roads are two way and look one way, getting lost even with navigation would have been easy. No, in Sicily, let someone else drive. Divorce would have cost more had we driven ourselves
We just returned from a 12 day private tour of Sicily, arranged by Valeria Gulotta. It was over a year in the planning, and thanks to the excellent constant communication between us, it included everything we hoped to see and experience in beautiful Sicily. Everything was arranged expertly, from wonderful professional English speaking guides in each city we visited, hotel accommodations and locations tailored to mobility issues, to luxurious vans for transport driven by friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating professional drivers . Both guides and drivers were extremely flexible…. an extra stop here, or an extra time at an interesting location were no problem. They constantly assured us that they were there to make it the best trip possible, and they welcomed any change in plans that we might wish.
It is hard to put into words how amazingly beautiful we found Sicily, with its friendly people, its amazing history, its unique and delicious cuisine, and the breathtaking beauty of the island. Our tours with our guides helped us to quickly understand the many past dominations that influence Sicily, its cuisine, its architecture and its traditions to this day.
It is difficult to select what tour or location is best, but a couple of highlights for us were the visits to two different agriturismo sites, farms where we learned about the products produced there, and sampled some wonderful Sicilian cuisine… one of them was in a thousand year old building on a family-operated olive farm producing the best olive oil I’ve ever had and the lunch of some traditional Sicilian foods was just delicious. Another huge highlight was a cooking class for the four of us. It was held at an ancient farmhouse that had a water wheel for grinding grains. We were greeted with a sumptuous array of local cheeses, meats, bread, olives and delicious wine before we began our cooking adventure. We made our food, guided by Chef Bruno, then enjoyed every bite! Another highlight not to be missed is the Jeep excursion to the North slope of “Mama Etna” as the Sicilians call it. Amazing!!
We had looked into Sicily tours with agencies from the US, but chose to go with Tour of Sicily based on their responsiveness, ability to book experiences more in depth than US tour operators offered, and, best of all, at less expensive cost. I would highly recommend Tour of Sicily. They planned for us the best trip we have ever taken. I can’t say enough good things about them.