Best of Sicily free time

revelsnn, I had just the opposite impression. I took a quick look at the detailed itinerary, and counted 6 free afternoons out of the 9 non-travel days.

We joined this tour in April 2018 and had a wonderful time. Sicily's culture is a true melting pot of influences. We had quite a bit of free time since the bus rides were not very long. in most stops, we had a guided walking tour to orient ourselves and provide a good overview. Then most afternoons were free to spend as we chose. Many of the stops were visits to specific sites which were guided tours. You will have an advantage with the brand new RS guidebook to Sicily this year, which we did not have. Study it with an eye on your itinerary and then plan your desired free time activities. I caution against over scheduling as you will enjoy the occasional time to just enjoy a gelato while strolling the streets or having a glass of wine and watching the people out for the evening stroll. Sicily is a great destination and our wonderful guide Nina made it come alive! Oh and did I mention the fabulous food?

I did this tour in March, and I think there was the usual amount of free time. I mostly just wandered in the various locations.

I did take a hydrofoil to Favignana on the free afternoon in Trapani, mostly because I had never been on a hydrofoil. A couple of other people on my tour rented bikes there and enjoyed it.
https://eng.libertylines.it/timetables-hydrofoils-trapani-favignana-1-2

We were on this tour in April 2016, and really enjoyed it. The amount of free time seemed just right. Often we would join with other tour members for informal group dinners. Since the tour was relatively short, there was no free day as we have experienced on longer tours. Since we were not in one place very long, it was nice to be able to wander and explore during our free time.

It is a good idea to arrive early in Palermo before the tour starts.

Days 2, 4, 7, 9 and 10 provided ample afternoon and evening personal time. The pizza making on day 9 squeezed the personal time somewhat. If I had to do it over I would have skipped that meal. Sicily is my favorite RS tour that I have taken.

Looking at the "Itinerary" tab you should get a good idea of how the days flow

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/sicily

We took the Sicily tour in May and you will have plenty of free time, this is a great tour and the group activities are exceptional, especially the day you tour the Countess's home. I would arrive at Palermo a day early to get over jet lag and stay a couple of days afterward to visit someplace in Italy your interested in, we flew from Sicily to Milan and then spent 3 days at Lake Como and it was wonderful to have some time to just relax and enjoy the scenery!

I loved the Sicily tour and had one of my favorite guides. They have adjusted the itinerary a little since I went, but I recall not visiting additional sites in my free time, but just wandering. I ate gelato, did a little window shopping, sat on benches and enjoyed the scenery. My favorite spot was Taormina I think. There I sat on the hotel terrace and watched Mt. Etna spew smoke and looked out to sea. I also took a short bus ride there to a village a little further up the hill and walked around and had lunch.

Look at the scrapbooks . There are 4 in 2017 alone. They give you a wealth of detailed information and helpful suggestions.

Edit I took a look at the 4 in 2017 and the single one in 2016 and they aren't really very helpful. Don't give up, keep going back, year by year, the tours don't change much and some people put a great deal of effort into their scrapbooks.