Italy Local culture Trips

The entire trip was fascinating. I never knew how culturally diverse Sicily was. I would never have been able to have these experiences as a traveler on my own. First of all - our guide Rosario was AMAZING!!!! He is knowledgeable, well informed in local history and current events, personable and very caring. He has to be the best guide I have ever had. The high points were: Palermo and our hotel location. It was right in the heart of the city. A wonderful location for exploring solo or with the group. The excursion to Monreale and our guide, Jacqueline Alió made the experience memorable and one of my favorite stops. Her passion about the subject was infectious. It was an honor to have her as our guide. Agrigento was a real surprise. Ancient ruins in Sicily?? Who knew?? It was just a lovely experience. The garden excursion from Marsala could be replaced with a trip to Erice. The gardens were lovely but could have been skipped. The winery visit in Marsala was a really fun experience. We learned a little about wine and pasta making and had a wonderful time. The owners of the winery were exceptionally gracious and made us feel like we were the only group to ever visit. Salina was a unique, low key yet wonderful experience. The hotel was out of a story book! It was wonderful! Great choice. The caper farm was most enjoyable to have the very proud owners share their lives with us. Never had a caper dinner before and it was wonderful. And finally Taormina - WOW! The town was a shoppers paradise!! But the amphitheater overlooking Mt. Etna was a wonderful part of the tour. But the real high point was the excursion to Mt. etna, walking on lava stone paths and then onto the wine, honey and goat camp!! Such a contrast of nature!! It was wonderful. But Rosario was the reason why our group of 20 merged so beautifully and made the entire 2 weeks a very rewarding experience!! Thank you Collette.

Truffle hunting Sitting in our down time on the Goudi Avenue in Barcelona Fragonard Purfumeur in Grasse My suggestions for improvement: I would like to have had less included meals. Some were delicious but some were just okay. My husband and would have preferred to select what we wanted to eat more times during the tour. We wanted more down time and a slower pace. In looking back, much of my favorite moments were when we stopped touring for even just a few minutes to enjoy a cup of delicious hot chocolate or green tea, in a quiet place, but even that was rushed and no time to linger or even finish our delicious drink. We had to leave to stay on schedule. That exact thing occurred twice on the tour and we were disappointment both times.

Our tour of the Mediterranean Coastal Journey, far exceeded our expectations. The tour manager was absolutely amazing! Having been thrown some curveballs, especially when the rain and windy weather caused Cinque Terre to be closed! Barbara pulled together a tour of the Imperiale Palace for the next day, with a demo on making Pesto sauce, then each of us made pesto as well. I was so looking forward to Cinque Terre, but in the long run we had a great experience in Genoa. Also, the hotel there was lovely being located on the marina, and all the shops and restaurants were just across the street. I was not looking forward to our stay in Genoa but came away pleasantly surprised. Our group of 22 turned out to be incredibly friendly right from the beginning. All the restaurants were very good, she even surprised us with a 1* Michelin dinner experience in substitution for that evening dining experience having been cancelled, so we got to eat at the number 1 restaurant in Marseilles! I have to say that Barbara was responsible for getting the group off to a great start being together, with her great sense of humor, friendliness, being firm about the start time to be on the bus :-) She went above and beyond making the last night of our tour so very special for my daughter, being it was her actual birthday. It was all just perfect! Thank you, Barbara, what tour will you be leading next season? I would consider going on it knowing how you can handle even those last-minute curveballs!

We loved the entire tour, partly because my family immigrated to the US from Sicily in 1910, so it had deeper meaning than just a vacation. Our tour guide (Davide Iosia) was absolutely phenomenal and added a lot of extra value to our group. He made special accommodations for us to spend more time in Cefalu, where my family came from, and we climbed the Rocca di Cefalu for a bird's eye view of the town. It is a memory of a lifetime for me and Davide made it happen. We will never forget this trip.

The tour was amazing! I most enjoyed all the visits to the local farms, learning about the work they do and just listening to them; being immersed into the cultures and everyday life.

I just loved seeing the open air opera theatre in Taromina.. Knowing that it is still being used today for performances is so wonderful. Seating in the seats that are now provided I could just imagine seeing performers on the stage. I would have loved to just stand on the stage. I didn’t get to see it at night but can just imagine it under the stars with a view of Mount Etna. I must also mention the food. It was truly wonderful. Every bite!! Our tour manager Laura was just the best. This was my second tour with Collette and I hope to add at least one or two or who knows how many more. I truly prefer the small group tours. You really get to know your fellow travelers and the experiences are truly remarkable. I like that even if you are traveling alone you have a travel family with you. I do hope that in the future you might add a few more level 2 tours to the small group tours. Right now the level 3 are fine but hoping to be able to travel as long as possible. It took me a while to finally get to Sicily to see where my grandparents were born, but it was worth the wait and I’m so glad I chose Collette for the journey.