Sicily RS tour

Just curious...what was the total number of travelers and age distribution on this tour? Any solo travelers?

So we are scheduled for this fall. What were the issues you had?

Age range was early 20s to early 70s. All the young people were part of two different groups. Some were awfully nice and very respectful. They're generally aren't many people that young on the Rick Steves Tours. We only had one single person, a woman. But on other Rick Steves Tours upstairs certainly have been more singles. I actually did one alone -- the Adriatic trip.

About the guide: I really don't want to say anything negative about her on this forum, since you might have her on the fall trip and I wouldn't want to prejudice against her. Perhaps she'll do better on her next tour.

We are also scheduled on this tour in October. Cannot wait!

We have this tour in November. (Winter tour) It's also an anniversary present for us. Here's hoping we have a happy, good guide for our trip!

(Sorry that yours wasn't up to par. I've traveled with other companies before and had guides that didn't seem suited to the job. It does change the whole trip for you, I know!)

I hope Laura filled out her tour evaluation after she returned from her trip - that is when she gets it. RS does read most if not all of the evaluations, especially the ones that have some negative comment.

Hi Charlie. Yes, I definitely did fill out the evaluation form. I feel that I was honest but fair about our guide, since it wasn't my intention to attack her personality, etc. I simply expressed my opinion (shared by many of the group) about her lack of enthusiasm, etc. The trip was still fun - we met some great people and saw some wonderful sights. I have had reservations about two of the other guides on RS trips - you can't get a home run every time at bat!

This tour is on my radar. I'm sorry you didn't have the best experience....I appreciate your candid opinions!

Has anyone taken this tour in May or June who could report on the weather that they found. I have checked out the weather report shown on the tour page. Thank you.

Charlie,

We took this tour in June 2015, and it was hot, especially in Palermo. The seaside places were a bit cooler.
It didn't dampen the enjoyment, though. A fascinating place to visit.

Laura, I was on the RS Sicily Tour in early May of 2014, and it was wonderful! I do not remember any bad weather at all, and no days with rain, or especially hot or cool temperatures. Our guide for the tour, an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, passionate and very experienced Sicilian, was the single most outstanding highlight of the tour!

I was in Sicily independently in 2014, last week of April and first week of May. The weather was mostly gorgeous, not too hot, a very few cloudy days. I think it rained once and then just light showers off and on.

We are considering this tour, but having a VERY hard time figuring out the flights into and out of Sicily. Did you book on your own? What airline? We would be leaving out of Asheville NC or we could go out of Charlotte NC. Thanks.

China lake,

It's easier to get flights to Sicily from someplace like Rome or other European cities. So maybe look for RT US to Rome and separate booking from Rome to Palermo and Catani back to Rome. My friends spent two days in Rome prior to the tour. I elected to fly in from London.

I flew Lufthansa/Dolomiti from JFK to Munich to Palermo. Dolomiti is a regional affiliate of Lufthansa. Flight from Munich to Palermo was 2 hours as I recall. On the return, I flew Volotea from Palermo to Naples, then poked my way north by train and flew home from Venice. All smooth and easy.

Laura, thank you for posting your experience. I've taken the Sicily tour twice and had wonderful guides (different person each time, both terrific). I am sorry yours "wasn't up to RS standards", but glad you did note that on your tour review. The company places a high value on customer feedback. I am happy to hear you enjoyed your tour anyway.

China Lake: From Denver, we took Delta to Atlanta to Rome then Alitalia to Palermo. From Catania Alitalia to Rome; Delta to Atlanta to Denver. Easy trip, good connections. Times were right for us. We did not book this ourselves.

We are considering this tour, but having a VERY hard time figuring out the flights into and out of Sicily. Did you book on your own? What airline? We would be leaving out of Asheville NC or we could go out of Charlotte NC. Thanks.

ChinaLake - We booked this tour. Our home town to Atlanta. (Delta) Atlanta to Rome. (Delta) Rome to Palermo. (Alitalia). We booked it ourselves online through the Delta Airlines website. American Airlines probably has something similar leaving from Charlotte.

Re: Flights from the US to Sicily.

We used Aer Lingus to fly from Boston to Rome, where we stayed for a few days before the tour. Two days before the tour, we flew Alitalia from Rome to Palermo. At the end of the tour, we took another Alitalia flight from Catania to Rome, stayed overnight in Rome and flew back to Boston on Aer Lingus. The Aer Lingus flight was so inexpensive compared to other flight options that it paid for the extra nights in Rome. This itinerary also gave us a chance to relax a bit in Rome (which is a familiar city to us) before embarking on the RS Sicily tour. Connecting to Sicily through Milan is another option. The flights from Rome and Milan to Sicily are frequent and inexpensive.

To chinalake67:

We are taking a RS Sicily tour in November and live in Charlotte. We are flying Delta from CLT to ATL to FCO. Then we booked Alitalia from Rome to Palermo separately. Ryan Air also does this route. It was super cheap but do note that this is a good chance you'll need to change terminals so give yourself plenty of time to jump through all the hoops, particularly if you are checking luggage. Happy Travels!