RS Sicily tour too rushed?

You can call it "rushed" or you can call it "efficient", as it's very hard to cover that amount of ground in 11 days and, at the same time, to see such a broad set of sites throughout the entire island. Without a doubt, some cities and sites will feel shortchanged (e.g., Palermo). The tradeoff with Road Scholar seems to be the geography covered and perhaps the pace (it's hard to say because I don't know what their full itinerary is). The upside of having multiple bases is that you see more because you're one the move every few days. So the question is - do you want to see a very broad sample of Sicily or a narrower slice where you can linger in one place longer?

With that said, I would personally not want to be based in Taormina for 6 nights (or even more than 2 nights) for a number of reasons, one being that it's hardly a "central" location if you want to see other parts of Sicily, such as the ones covered on the RS tour (you would still need other bases to do trips from, Sicily is too large to have only one base). Also, I'm in the minority perhaps, but I found Taormina too geared toward tourists, a bit too luxurious (prices in Taormina are much higher than elsewhere in Sicily because it's marketed as a high-end spot), way too compact/hemmed in (albeit of course beautifully situated), and too little to do there for more than a day or two. Other parts of Sicily felt much more down-to-earth and representative - Taormina felt like an outlier (too many tourists relative to locals). I should say, though, that I am more biased toward physically active travel so that is probably why staying in Taormina that long would not appeal to me.

I did not go on the RS tour, I did only the southeast portion of Sicily on my own (Ragusa was my favorite town on that trip). I felt really rushed so if I extrapolated what's on the RS tour, then I would say that, yes, it's definitely an ambitious tour but one that should give you a good "sample" of Sicily should you choose to return. If you want a slower pace, you have to cut down on the number of cities/sites and to have enough time for truly "slow travel". Staying in Taormina for 6 nights would be way too slow for me although you could certainly cover Giardinia Naxos, Mt. Etna, Catania, and even Siracusa as day trips if you wanted to see other places. You should keep in mind that there are a lot of places that you cannot see as day trips out of Taormina, so make sure that you have a realistic assessment of what you can see if that's your only base. I think the RS tour would give you a more broad set of experiences but at the expense of spending more time on your specific interests. If you want to concentrate on wineries, then it makes more sense to go to the Marsala region for a few days (you cannot do that as a day trip from Taormina) or to visit the ones near Mt. Etna.

In general tours are geared to give you the most travel/tourist experiences in a relatively short amount of time while taking care of the nuts and bolts of travel such as finding your own hotels and transportation. For that they can be unbeatable. For staying in fewer places for longer periods of time it's best to do independent travel. Sicily is certainly doable on your own, renting a car and going where you want and staying as long as you want in a few base locations.

I visited Sicily on a short (9 day) tour many years ago. We stayed in Giardini Naxos for a couple of nights and went to Taormina on a day trip. I was glad we went there because it was one of my 'must dos', but I'm not sure I would have wanted to stay there, although on a tour that stays there you don't have to find your own way to other places, transportation is supplied for you. As the other poster said it's not in an easily accessible location, albeit very scenic and historic, and it is pretty overrun with tourists.

I have taken the RS Sicily tour twice (2013 & 2016) both were the Off Season tours, the itineraries were slightly different and the price was right! But the main reason I returned for a second tour is that I loved Sicily and everything it has to offer from the first day in Palermo in 2013. On the first tour, we spent time in Cefalu and I am sorry to see that lovely small town is no longer on either itinerary. In 2013, we stayed 2 nights in Taormina and for me, that was enough. It's beautiful and has a lot to offer but there are so many other wonderful places to visit, and not all able to be visited through day tripping. There were enough other differences in the tour to make repeating the tour very attractive for me. Just taking a quick glance at the current itinerary, it looks as if there is only one 1 night stay with the rest being 2. Oh, and one night for Catania, which is your final stay of the tour so you can easily extend your stay there after the tour, as we did. I can't say enough wonderful things about the tour(s) and Sicily itself. I have traveled in Europe quite a bit with and without tours. Sicily is definitely at the top of my list of "favorite places"; the people, the history, my fascination with the fact of it's strategic importance throughout history, the successful melding of several different cultures......and the tour guides we had both times were truly outstanding. This year we arrived in Palermo a couple of days early and took a Street Food tour. It was a lot of fun! Something else that made this year's visit so special was that it was done over the week of Palm Sunday and Easter., what an amazing time to be there. Whatever you decide to do, I feel sure you will fall in love with this beautiful island, it's people, and oh, right.......the food (and wine!) is the best ever.
Adding- To answer your question: No, I didn't feel either itinerary was too rushed or rushed at all, for that matter! These tours are all meant to be a "taste" in the hopes that one day you will return.

I agree with the other respondents that Taormina is not a place where I'd want to spend a lot of time. For me it's worth at most one day for itself, then if you want to pay the price to enjoy the beautiful environment it can serve as a base for seeing Mt. Etna, Catania, and the beach at Giardini Naxos.

Personally, I wouldn't want to visit Siracusa (large historic district, Greek ruins, archaeological museum) on a day-trip from Taormina. At least during peak season you could probably pick up a one-day bus tour to a couple of the baroque towns in SW Sicily from Siracusa (closer) or Taormina. I preferred taking public buses so I could be more flexible and save substantial money, but public transportation to such small towns in Sicily really makes you appreciate the transportation provided my multi-day tours like Rick's!

I think the time allowance on the RS tour is often just about enough to see the sights, so it's not like most travelers would feel as if they left every town too soon. The Palermo stop is short if you want to see a lot of the churches (Palermo is one of Europe's best places to do that), and the omission of the baroque towns (Ragusa, Noto, Modica, Scicli) is regrettable. I'd stay a few extra days to see the latter and probably spend some extra time in Siracusa. Since the tour begins in Palermo, you could arrive one day early and take the quick trip to Cefalu, which is an easy hop by train. Cefalu is small. One more extra pre-trip day would allow you to hit some Palermo sights not on the tour itinerary.

Phaedra and acravan, we actually visited Scicli, Modica and Ragusa on my tour this year. I do know that the off season/winter tour posted tour itinerary can sometimes differ from the "regular" tour itinerary. We spent Good Friday in Ragusa (there for 2 nights and most of 2 days), Easter Sunday in Scicli and had a wonderful tour/tasting at the chocolate factory in Modica. Often the RS guides are given latitude to amend the posted itinerary, at their discretion, and visit places of interest not previously mentioned. One of the surprises I like best about taking a RS tour!

Sicily is the biggest island in the Mediterranean and Taormina is on "the edge." If you aren't interested in the sights visited by the RS tour, then don't take it. But if you want to see them, you'll need a tour with a similar itinerary. I've done lots of winery tours and my experience is that they are very similar to each other, unless you are a connoisseur. You can sample many local wines more easily by going to cafes and bars.

I never know what tourists mean by "meeting the locals." I do know that my experience 3 years ago was that most Sicilians speak little or no English. I spent 2 weeks there, traveling solo with a rental car. I went a bit slower than the RS tour. I think I would have been okay with the tour pace since a tour is always more efficient. Of course there are "bits" that you'll miss on a tour, but there are usually other "bits" on an RS tour that you wouldn't get to see/do otherwise.

After taking 10 RS tours (not the Sicily one yet, but soon), I have found that parts of every one can seem rushed. But the tours do cover a lot in the short amount of time. And many get you access to places you never would on your own, some of which might seem a waste of time from the description but always turn out to be well worth it. Also, by not using a single town as a base camp and venturing out to different sights each day but moving from place to place every couple nights and seeing things along the way it gives you more actual sight seeing time each day instead of time on the bus possibly covering the same roads day after day to see the destination of the day. Moving from town to town also gives you a better feeling of the place being visited as you can see the differences in the people, the food, and life in general.

My thoughts on the RS tours in general is that they are designed to teach you how to travel and give you a taste of the places visited so that you will feel confident enough to return on you own for a more in depth stay in places you found interesting. I have returned many times to London on my own since my first RS tour there for example and enjoyed every visit thanks in part to what I learned on the tour.

Not everyone is cut out for a RS tour, and not every RS tour works for those who have even taken one or more already. If the Road Scholar tour seems a better plan for you, then take that one. There will be other RS options you may feel work better for other parts of Europe in the future.

I never know what tourists mean by "meeting the locals." I do know that my experience 3 years ago was that most Sicilians speak little or no English

That is spot on. The Sicilians were very friendly and spoke Italian with me - luckily, I could answer back and had some moderate understanding. Let me be more specific. While riding the local train and bus or just sitting by myself on a bench, a few old/er men would talk almost non-stop - language barrier notwithstanding. A very nice old man told me all about the area where he lives while we were on the train from Siracusa to Ragusa, then asked me a lot of questions about myself. Another old man told me he cannot understand why I was traveling by myself (well, with a friend really) and why aren't I married...that was a hoot! The only Sicilians who spoke decent English were directly connected with the tourist industry, but the majority of locals are not. Older folks really don't speak English at all (so knowing some Italian will really help make your trip better, as well as trying to connect with people). If I was on a tour, I don't think I would have had any interactions with everyday Sicilians unless they were included part of an event or the itinerary...the one upside of traveling independently and taking public transport is that you're face to face with the public and some are quite talkative.

Thanks to all for your responses and suggestions. I have actually been on 3 RS tours--all city tours where we unpacked once--and I really enjoyed those trips. I have been to Europe more than 50 times on both tours (hiking, running, biking, and/or general travel) as well as solo travel. I agree it is difficult to see a lot of a country or area unless you move around. I have never been to Sicily so maybe that is the best choice for this area. But I must add that lately I have taken numerous "slow travel" tours where we stay in one place for 4-7 days at a time and found those trips immensely enjoyable as well. And even with a language barrier I have still enjoyed "getting to know the locals" even when they spoke no English. Thank you again...Keep Traveling.

You are correct this RS Sicily tour was the perfect way to see the entire island. I took the off season one in April this year and could not have been more pleased, and never felt rushed at any time. We visited one winery on Mt. Etna at the end of the tour, and you could see more on your own either before or after the tour. And if the one day at the end in Catania bothers you, add a day or two, as many people in our tour did. Was perfect timing for our tour.

I did the RS Sicily tour this year and thought it was wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it. As our guide said at our intro meeting, this trip will give us a taste of Sicily, just an overview. I think it's a great way to explore the area to understand how you might want to structure another trip with extended stays in different places.