Sicily Tours provided my wife and me with what could be plausibly considered the “vacation of a lifetime”. For our journey we had a special focus which was the classical antiquity of Sicily. Lucia patiently customized our itinerary until we were fully satisfied with it. She was always prompt to respond to our queries and last minute changes. It was important to us to be able to swim in the sea as often as possible and Lucia found us wonderful hotels near the beach. All our hotels were superb. The rooms were very comfortable and clean and had beautiful views; the breakfasts were of great quality and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful.
Our guide Douglas exemplified the ideal of professionalism; he revealed the island to us and shared his love of it while occupying two roles: deeply knowledgeable docent and charming travel companion. We became good friends. Evanescent impressions flit about in recollection: Ortygia in moonlight; the beach at night in Agrigento; the brilliant animal hunt mosaic in Villa Armerina; the enchanting island of Motya; the glittering Palatine Chapel in Palermo; the unpretentious and fascinating excavations at Tyndari. We are certain that we would not have achieved such unalloyed perfection without you both.
We highly recommend Sicily Tours as an eminently trustworthy organization and an excellent value.
Thank you. Sincerely, Tony and Veronique Whalen anthony.whalen@rcn.com
**********
Hi everybody!
All of us want to thank you tremendously for your wonderful
tour and commentary. We have recommended you to every person we know going to
Sicily and will more publicly recommend you on Frommers as soon as I can grab
some time. It is rare to meet people who have the integrity to deliver
everything they promised before our tour. We always felt that we were in good
hands and that you drove as safely as you had promised while also providing
such excellent commentary. We hope you are all well.
sincerely,
Linda, Alissa, Jill and Mary
ProfLSSmith@aol.com
********
Hi Lucia and Douglas,
I just wanted
to thank you for an amazing trip that far exceeded our expectations. Everything
about our trip was wonderful- from all the contacts by email that I had with
you, Lucia, to the accommodations, to the food, the friendliness of the people,
the history, and especially our fun and knowledgable guide and now our friend
Douglas.
John and I have heard from all the cousins who are still
raving over what they are calling the best trip of their lives. . . .
If you are
considering Sicily for a private tour, Sicily Tour-- www.sicily-tour.com, is
highly recommended by this recent traveler. The contact is Lucia Davies.
An online inquiry was sent to Sicily Tour requesting a 6 or
7 day private tour (for two) with a guide, driver and car to include: the
mosaics of Monreale and Cefalu, the Greek sites at Segesta, Agrigento and
Siracusa, some time in Palermo, plus whatever else would be recommended by
Sicily Tour along the lines of history, architecture, archaelogy and local
culture. . . .
Ms. Davies responded quickly with an appealing itinerary,
attractively priced including references which had also been requested. Upon
receipt, requested itinerary changes were quickly revised and repriced by Lucia
who offered thoughtful suggestions throughout the process. . . . Each B & B
turned out to be a wonderful choice -- family run, gracious, ideally located
and with local character - each charming and highly satisfactory.
Sicily exceeded the highest expectations. The itinerary was
an exciting mix of the originally requested sites and, thanks to Sicily Tour
and the extraordinary guide, Douglas Kenning, additional ones that revealed
Sicily in all its wonderful complexity - a 7 day unforgettable treat of
history, art, food, culture, landscape, flora, views, wine, etc. etc. Douglas,
likely the most knowledgeable guide this traveler has experienced, brought vast
knowledge to each of the places visited. In addition to his engaging capacity
to bring so much history and mythology to life, his personality as host and his
unwavering concerns for his two travelers needs and wishes made traveling with
Douglas a joy from beginning to end. . . .
This traveller cannot recommend Sicily Tour highly enough.
My husband and I have just returned from a trip to Sicily
and I wanted to thank you for putting me in contact with Sicily Tour
(www.sicily-tour.com). Stephen Davies, who is one of the owners of Sicily Tour
. . . provided us with 3 days of the best sightseeing we have ever experienced.
It was so great that we asked him to take us and another family on a tour of
Syracuse. We had a great time and even the kids loved it.
. . . Stephen knows all about the history, culture,
shopping, great places to eat, EVERYTHING! He also helped my husband find
relatives in Marsala and documentation of his grandfather's birth at the town
hall. We would never have been able to see or experience so much with out his
guidance and positive attitude. We loved it.. . . . We highly recommend Sicily
Tour and would definitely use them again. I would also recommend that anyone
who is going to Sicily should have Sicily Tour drive them around instead of
renting a car. They will enjoy the experience so much more.
Regards,
Nina McEachern
zmac@mindspring.com
**********
I just wanted to tell you how wonderful Stephen was. He was
the best tour guide that we had on the whole cruise. It was a shame we couldn't
have had him in all of our cities. If you ever want us to write a testimonial,
we could give it 100%. He made us comfortable and everything he could to make
our trip to Sicily, though short, very meaningful. And the restaurant he took
us to was fabulous, our best meal. . . . Thank you both from the bottom of our
hearts. You made our trip meaningful.
Maria & Bret Avra, & Mary Gladys Wheeler
MARIAAVRA@aol.com
**********
Dear Douglas and Steven,
I would like to thank you for a great tour of your Island,
the information was absolutely great and the history was AWESOME. I know you
went to great lengths to accommodate us and we did appreciated it, thanks for
everything and for the great tour, as I have just said it was AWESOME. I will
highly recommend you to any one that goes to your part of the world. . . Thanks
again for everything.
Rod Hoffmann
**********
Dear Lucia,
We have been back home for a week now and have such
wonderful memories of our trip to Sicily. I want to thank you for making all
the arrangements for us everything was perfect. We enjoyed our days in
Taoromina, Villa Fiorita was nice and our room on the top floor had a beautiful
view. We did have one day of rain but that didn't stop us. . . .
Please thank Douglas for being a great host and guide, he is
so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Sicily and has a wealth of information
and stories to tell which we enjoyed very much! A big thanks for driving us
safely everywhere and taking us on those long walks and climbs.
. . . . Ortigia [Siracusa] was one of the highlights of our
trip and Approdo delle Sirene couldn't have been better, Federico was the
perfect host always friendly and hospitable, the roof top garden was great and
the breakfast outstanding.
We will recommend your agency and services to anyone
planning a trip to Sicily.
Elizabeth & Rudy Archer
larcher@ct.metrocast.net
**********
Lucia and Stephen,
Thanks for a
wonderful time in Sicily. We enjoyed every minute of it and your expertise made
it go so smoothly. After ten days on a cruise ship and being on a tour bus with
35+ we really realized the delight of such a small group and how much more we
accomplished. Sicily was everything I expected plus. We all feel as if we got
the most out of the time we spent there. Again, thanks to all of you. Our
expectations about the trip were met above and beyond what we thought it would
be. The hotels were fabulous and of course the food was delicious.
Marianne for the gang.
mslevy5@comcast.net
**********
Lucia,
We always remember our trip; it was one of the best. The
tiles from the factory are in our kitchen. I just gave another raving review
about your services.
Mary Jane & Nick Ihasz
nlihasz@yahoo.com
**********
Hi Lucia,
I wanted to thank you and especially Stephen for our
wonderful trip. You all thought of everything and we certainly felt well taken
care of. Your choices of hotels were perfect for us and the food was also
terrific. Stephen gave us a very comprehensive and well-thought-out tour of
Sicily.
I never would have had such a memorable visit to my family’s
home town. That too is thanks to you.
Michele LaMarca
michele@galison.com
**********
Dear Lucia:
We
have been back in the U.S. for almost three weeks now since our wonderful
wonderful trip to Sicily, and Joan and I wanted to write you and Steven to
thank you for all of your help in making this the perfect trip that it was. . .
. Thanks to both of you for making our trip a pure delight.
Other folks who have taken our tours and can tell you about them.
a. Tony & Kathleen Giardina, with whom we had an incredible day in a remote village in central Sicily, running into long lost distant relations. (ggiartn@aol.com)
b. Linda Hall and half the population of El Dorado, Arkansas: (halls5@cox.net)
c. Ian Goodall and family from England and Scotland: (ig@goodall.net)
d. Madeleine and Ann from San Francisco: (mad13ann13@yahoo.com)
e. The Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences is an overseas study
institute in Sicily for American university students (see
www.StudyAbroad-Sicily.com). Douglas (until he started Sicily Tour) was their official guide for
student groups to all the places we are going.
Dear Lucia and Douglas,