Comparing tour companies

I’m on Trip Advisor a lot and there is not a place there for reviews of multi-day trip providers. The most you’ll get is a comparison of 2, maybe 3 companies.

I’d love to know if you find one.

Do you have your likely candidates narrowed down to a handful?

No, I am just beginning to look at tours. I tried about a year ago but life got In the way of plans for Sicily. Would love to go next February or March, but it may be fall 2026 or spring 2027. I have to nudge my husband into another European trip. As we get older (81 and 82 now) the energy level is less and comfort is more important. Plus, lots of stairs and long rough walks have little appeal nowadays. (Insert dramatic sigh here!)
I guess I need to set the parameters and make a sort of spread sheet. Oh well, the task will keep the old brain active and focused.

Hi Judy,

We took the Rick Steve’s Sicily tour a couple of years ago. We enjoyed the tour but found it a bit strenuous in places. It was doable for us (in our early 70’s). You can look at the Rick Steve’s tour itinerary description on this website to give you an idea of how much walking is involved. Another tour company to look at for a Sicily tour is Odysseys Unlimited. They list that tour as moderate. Odysseys Unlimited tours cost more than Rick Steve’s and you are expected to tip the guide but they stay at more upscale hotels than Rick Steve’s and they portage your luggage (one bag each) to your hotel room. We like both Rick Steve’s and Odysseys Unlimited. I think the main point for you is to look at the itineraries and see if they go where you want to go and how much walking is involved. I have no info on other land based companies but I hope this helps.

Hi Judy

There is a website called TourRadar that lists all sorts of tours for Sicily (or other destinations). Unfortunately, many of the mainline tour companies don't list on the site. G Adventures, Exodus, Rabbies and Intrepid are on there, for example, but not Gate1, Rick Steves, etc.

I sometimes use it to get an idea of what is possible in an area I haven't visited. And also how realistic a certain itinerary would be as far as cost and time needed.

Anyway, you can get an idea of price and what some of these other tours include. I hope this helps!

I just reread your post regarding when you would like to go, so I will include my trip report in case it helps you persuade your husband! :)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-february-march-in-italy

I haven't been on their Sicily tours, but several of us on this forum are fans of Gate 1. Unlike Rick Steves tours, Gate 1 uses hotels with elevators and they also handle one piece of luggage.

Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) and Road Scholar are also companies that offer Sicily tours.

I am going to just add a word of caution. Tours that visit ancient historical sites, by their very nature, usually involve walking , stairs, and rough terrain such as cobblestones. You will be expected to maintain a certain pace as part of a group. Every tour company will have information about what the physical requirements are for that tour. Make sure you read this carefully.

Here are key points I would look at when comparing tour companies.
How do they count the days on tour? For some the count starts the day the tour actually begins. Others will count your travel day from US as first tour day.
What is included? How many meals and are tips included or not.
What is the touring experience like? Read carefully. Will you be driving by or actually visiting key sites? How much independent time is built into the tour? What is the maximum number on the tour?
Lodging,luggage handling. -typical locations of hotels and amenities.

I’ve been on 9 guided tours across three different companies and I can confidently tell you that no tour company is going to do everything exactly the way you want. There will be compromises either in itineraries or in pacing. However, that doesn’t mean that those very compromises don’t sometimes make the trip a better experience than if it was all the way you wanted.

To all of you who kindly responded.....

Mary, from research, I think I would prefer Odyssey to Rick Steves tours, for the reasons you mentioned. I am on their mailing list (though I haven't traveled with them before), and looked up their hotels, sights, meals offered, etc. and am considering them. RS style is just an bit too strenuous (how sad I am to say that!)

Sunny, I did find TourRadar yesterday and went over what they show as offerings. I am unfamiliar with the companies they list and wish some of the big players would be on there as well, but there is one offering I am looking at. And, yes, I am comparing itineraries to other companies not on Your radar.

cala, Gate 1 would be new to me, but I didn't realize they handle a piece of luggage and have hotels with elevators. Good to know! I will look at them again.

renee, Will check those two out, but I hope to not be included with just folks of my own age.

Carol, All your points are good, and I have done comparisons (of the companies I have checked so far) on tips, covered meals, number and types of included excursions and activities, lodgings and transportation, and actual number of tour days. I know how they call a 10 day tour a 12 day tour, when day one is the day you leave the US, day 2 is a partial day, and day 12 is departure (right after breakfast, leaving you with 9 days of actual touring.

To all.....We can manage walking around the Greek and Roman ruins and up and down some stairs, but definitely don't want to hike to our hotel or schlep bags upstairs or run from place to place. We have taken tours in countries other than Europe (China, Turkey, Kenya and Egypt) mainly due to the language/alphabet barriers and the type of terrain and the desire for some good lessons in the history and culture. Europe has always been on our own (as was Chile, Canada and Mexico). This time I just thought it would be nice to not have to drive ourselves around the island or arrange local transportation. (And will they even rent a car to an 83 or 84 year old, DH's age in 2026 or 2027?) Oh, by the way, we have used Insight and Trafalgar Tours, and Lion World Tours (Canada, NOT Lion Tours, a Chinese company), and been very happy with them all. I don't recall the China tour company name, it was almost 20 years ago.

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses. I think I'll set aside a certain amount of time each day for a couple of weeks to set up a comparison chart. If I come up with something clever and useful for others I will let you all know, but I have no computer spread sheet skills so probably not. (I may just resort to a big piece of paper with lots of lines and columns and boxes. I'll probably be faster at that!)

Grazie! Ciao!

Judy, you may know this already, but Collette is offering small group tours to Sicily. I’ve never traveled with them but am researching their small group itineraries.

Another thought:

Pick your potential hotels, then email (or call) to see if the hotels could arrange local guides for you at each "location" based on what you might want to see (helped by the itineraries of group tours you look at), and then also ask if, in addition to the local guides to take you to see exactly what you want to see at your pace, see if the hotels could also arrange a private driver to take you to the next hotel.

I know it sounds expensive, but you might be surprised that it may not cost that much more (or even less) than some packaged group tours.

We did that in Ireland (the first trip we took after my husband's very difficult cancer treatment years ago), and it was the perfect arrangement. After the trip, I did the math on what it cost vs. if we had rented a car and tried it on our own...............no real difference/maybe even less.....and it sure was a nice way to pace the trip for exactly what we felt like doing and going to exactly what we wanted to see (along with the driver suggesting a few additional places that were fabulous). And, for days that you might just "stay put" at your hotel and walk to close-by places, obviously a driver would not be needed those days.

Lots of ways to "skin the cat." Do what is exactly right for you two!!

Rachel, I have heard good things about Colette and will check it out.

Maggie, great suggestion. Sicily is small enough to do some "legs" with personal guides or local small tours.

What kind and clever people there are on this forum!

Grazie!

We love Gate 1 and have taken 5 group tours with them.

Also, we did a great Road Scholar tour of the Hidden Villages and Towns of Tuscany and Umbria earlier this year and loved it.
We looked at booking a Road Scholar tour of Sicily, but declined, the cost was almost double what our Tuscany/Umbria tour cost.

Thank you geogriffith.

I just Google and research as many varied websites and people's opinions as possible. Rabbies always gets great reviews and I don't think I've seen one that's negative.

If you are looking for something in-between a multiday guided tour and an independent tour, consider basing yourself in a city (or two or three) and doing guided day tours and walking tours.

Word of mouth, as is often the case, is perhaps most valuable.

Grazie, BigMike.