RS Sicily Tour Questions

Itineraries can change year by year so you might want to call the RS office to see if they plan anything different for 2024. However on the tour this year we spent perhaps an hour up a few thousand feet on Mt Etna with the volcanologist. Definitely not enough time to take one of the cable-cars/buggies to the top. Then we had a vineyard visit and a nice lunch much lower on the slope, but honestly it could have been a hillside anywhere in Italy (eg. it didn't have any special "we're on Mt Etna" feel). So depending on what you mean by spending enough time around Mt Etna this may or may not be what you're hoping for.

Hi, I think the Sicily tour uses Hotel Ambasciatori quite often in Palermo. It has a nice rooftop gathering area.

I haven’t taken that RS tour, but I’m going to be in Palermo next year for five nights during a trip in Puglia. There’s a lot to see in Palermo! I may take a day trip by train out to Cefalu, and it’s also easy to get to Mondello Beach.

We took RS Sicily tour this April, weather was not too hot. Don’t know about September or October temperatures. Hotel in Palermo was Ambasciatori, an easy walk from train station and bus depot. The tour includes a visit to Mount Etna with a local volcanologist, so no need to go back IMO. We did not stay longer in Sicily, instead flew from Catania to Munich and enjoyed a few days there and in Salzburg, very different than Sicily.

Thought I would add a couple of other questions. We are going on the tour starting November 21st.

Does the bus have power to charge phones/cameras?
When shopping and eating out in Sicily do we need cash or can we go cash free? How about using Apple Pay. We like to be cashless.
How to travel light when also have chilly weather particularly in the evenings? Clothing that dries fast works well in warmer times of the year, not so much when sweat shirts and long pants.

Cefalu in September should be nice. A few days there would be a good option, great place to unwind and acclimate. Easy to get to.

Palermo is awesome. It looks like the tour spends like one full day there, and part of that is Monreale? Not enough imo. Palermo could easily fill a couple days.

As I recall, we were told that about 50% of the whole island is actually part of Mama Etna.

We spent a couple of extra days at the beginning in Palermo, as there was plenty to see and do there. If we were doing over, we would have gone to Cefalu after Catania, circling back to Palermo for our return flight. Note that the airport is in Punta Raisa (and thats how locals referred to it) which was about a 45 minute ride west of Palermo.

If you go to the tour link, and look at the page for the Sicily tour, the photo at the top with the young lady and gentleman holding flowers - that is the terrace on the roof of the Ambasciatori Hotel, where we had the group breakfast every day.

Thanks all for your input. It helps confirm our decision to spend additional time in Palermo and add Cefalu. The Hotel Ambasciatori is not getting such good reviews these days for a RS recommended hotel although I have been traveling “with” Rick for lots of years and have not been disappointed with his recommendations. But who doesn’t like a good rooftop for a glass of wine? We enjoy some moderate hiking so Etna intrigues me. I’ll study that more. The more I read the better October sounds. My wife has told me on too many occasions she didn’t bring enough warm weather clothes because it was unusually hot:). I’ll learn one day.

@Keith the bus we were on had power, if I remember right it was the old-style USB-A and not the small USB-C connectors. But from comments I read in the forum don't count on the bus having power or them necessarily working.

You'll need some euros for smaller purchases like to use a restroom when walking around (it costs 1E or so to buy an espresso at which point you are a customer and can use the facilities). And at the produce markets everyone was paying cash. For meals & drinks credit cards were always accepted, even for just an Aperol Spritz at an outdoor table.

@brdoo the Ambasciatori Hotel was recommended recently by the Wall Street Journal in their article on "20 Secrets of Sicily: The Restaurants, Beaches and Museums Most Tourists Miss": https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/sicily-travel-guide-restaurants-beaches-museums-most-tourists-miss-ff3b502a

1. Take a Seat for Sunset “Atop the Old World Ambasciatori Hotel is a planted terrace that overlooks Palermo. Used by guests for breakfast in the morning, it is open to the public for aperitivo and dinner in the evening. Watching the sunset over this magnificent city of domes and spires, as the lights flicker on and the outline of the surrounding hills sparkles in the dark, is just the best. With a glass of crisp Grillo, the Sicilian alternative to Sauvignon Blanc, or a Spritz in hand, it is the ideal ending to a Palermo day. Call ahead since hotel guests get first dibs.” —K.L.

I’ve reserved the Palazzo Arone dei Barone di Valentino for my stay in Palermo next May. It’s expensive but sounds like a wonderful opportunity besides being a beautiful B&B. And traveling solo on this trip, I value being in the heart of locations I want to see, plus a safe street. I always post a trip report when I’m back, so I’ll be sharing what I did those days, plus the lodging experience.

Thanks Jean. We will stay tuned.