Taormina Tours in Spring

A well planned itinerary circumnavigating the island to visit the major sites with the odd dart inland for even more. The minibus was comfortable, as were the hotels, which came in a variety of sizes and styles that added to the experience. Most were right in the heart of their communities, so there was never far to walk for sightseeing or amenities, such as restaurants. Apart from a brief period of Saharan wind and sand, we had perfect weather for sightseeing, sunny but not too hot. We enjoyed everywhere we went.

Our tour guide Christian Cueva was excellent, this was our 2nd tour with Christian. We were very happy to see him again as our 1st tour with was excellent. Our favorite experience was the tour to Mt Enta.

This trip has been running for several years and the itinerary works well. We felt there was a good balance between organized activities and free time to relax/explore on our own. We enjoyed wandering around Ortigia, Erice and Cefalu, but found Taormina underwhelming as, apart from the Amphitheatre, it is basically one long, crowded street of tourist shops and expensive boutiques. The accommodation was generally fine – our favourite was Il Barocco in Ragusa. The agroturismo stay was disappointing; we had expected a meal featuring homegrown produce, which was not in evidence!

Thanks to our very well organised leader Laura, we managed a complete tour of the island in a week. Greek, Roman and Norman sites told the rich history of Sicily. The trip to Mont Etna and the walk in the national park covered the beauty of the island. Our group was made up of lovely people which added to the fun

The tour introduced us to Sicilian food and we experienced making pasta, drinking Marsala wine, tasting mozzarella and warm ricotta straight from the buffalo cows, and visited an organic olive farm. This was in addition to eating loads of delicious street food, and exploring fish and vegetable markets. And then we visited beautiful historical towns of Ragusta and Nota - and learned about the ancient history of Sicily in the Valley of Temples in Agrigento. I also walked around a crater on Mount Etna. What a week ! Full of fun and learning.

What a wonderful week offering a great overview of Sicily, its culture, history and people, not to mention food and pastries! We packed so much into the week, always something new and unexpected, each day having its particular wow factor.