Walking in Sicily was an excellent week with a varied itinerary concentrating on attractions on the east coast . Hilights included a boat trip to the Aeolian Islands, walking on the slopes of Mt Etna, exploring remote hilltowns and ancient burial sites and visiting the attractive tourist town of Taormina, plus the ancient sites of Syracuse. Our guide, Lara, was wonderful - her knowledge of the history and geography of the area was incredible and she was very competent in dealing with the different levels of fitness amongst the group. My only disappointment was the usual second grade room which I find is allocated to solo female travellers. The hotel was well located, the breakfast buffet was generous and the staff were friendly, but when you spend 8 days in the same hotel there is an expectation of a nice view or some other redeeming factor for a small plain room. I was the first of the group to arrive at the hotel ; the last person to arrive more than a day later was a man who was allocated a suite with a sea view.
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