CICERONI Travel Traveller Reviews

In a tightly packed four days the artistic riches of Parma - both medieval and modern - were displayed and expertly commented on with a happy blend of enthusiasm and erudition. Our group meals were delightfully convivial. After a rainy morning in Verdi's Busseto, our lunch at Trattoria de Buca was outstanding: a real tsste of Parma to savour on out homeward journey.

Over the past eight years Ciceroni staff - both in the office and on tour - have become my friends, valued for their calm efficiency, deployed with wit, ease and good humour.

A joy from start to finish

Charming and efficient

Visits to art galleries, churches and places of interest in and around Parma with a relatively small group of like minded people interested in the arts. Visits accompanied by excellent knowledgeable guides who provided relevant commentary and background talks. Sufficient free time to just relax and enjoy the local food and ambiance. Hotels, meals and transfers comfortable and good quality

Relatively small, tightly run operation with good "on the ground" Italian connections and support. Serious, but nevertheless entertaining guides for those interested in art and architecture. Operates with small groups, 12 to 20, of like minded people whose company also enhances the overall experience. If you are looking to rest your brain by sitting on the beach or shopping this operator is not for you.

A splendid combination of artistic, architectural and gastronomic wonders.

Excellent, as usual.

Our resident guide and leader was, as usual, outstanding and the local guides very informative. The administrative arrangements could not have ben bettered. A very varied and interesting tour which gave a telling insight into the history and culture of Sicily throughout it's long history, from early man to the present day.

A very reliable and respected tour company which organises very high Quality cultural tours. The tour administration is particularly efficient.

It was inspiring to be guided through some of the many wonderful sights of Sicily by Tom Duncan and James Hill of Ciceroni. It is a very big island to look at in 10 days but they gave us a fascinating selection of cities, cathedrals, oratorios, chapels, palaces, temples, ancient theatres, museums to look at. We stayed in Palermo, Agrigento and Syracusa. They took us to excellent restaurants; we dined in palazzios; we stayed in good hotels and we learnt a lot about Sicilian history. We were looked after extremely well and had some time to ourselves to gives our brains and feet a rest.

Ciceroni do everything to an extremely high standard. Tom Duncan and James Hill are both hugely knowedgable about Sicily and James is a fluent Italian speaker. They use the bus rides to give us a lot of information about the places we are about to visit, and also about the history of these places and contemporary life in Sicily so we returned home with a much clearer knowedge of the island, its people and its long and varied history. They are both very entertaining, which helps a lot and they take us to places that one couldn't get into on one's own account.

This was a marvellous tour of the beautiful island of Sicily in the company of an excellent and knowledgeable lecturer. Good accommodation, good food and wine and good company made for a special holiday expertly organised. There was the added bonus of privileged access to private palaces. I could not have enjoyed it more.

Our tour operator was efficient and at all times courteous. Any query was dealt with speedily and there were no pressing buttons in order to reach people. The lecturers spoke well and were on top of their subjects. I cannot recommend them more highly and will certainly travel with them again.

Ciceroni arranged a succession of wonderful places in Sicily for us to visit, always accompanied by our two superb Ciceroni guides. We had an emergency medical problem (GRRR!)and they showed their excellence by helping us resolve it totally satisfactorily without any delay or fuss. That is what you want when it really matters.

Our third holiday with Ciceroni. They remain our first choice for cultural hoidays.

Very well organised with a great attention to detail. Excellent leadership and guides.

Our tour guide James was amazing, he was interesting and engaging. He made us want to learn more all the time. The itinerary was packed and filled with interesting opportunities, some optional and some mandatory, a good mix. Everything ran smooth and there was nothing to complain about, it was worth every penny. I would mention the pace was a bit slow as I think the tour agency is used to plan tours for the elderly segment, but it was fine and a good lesson in patience for us youngsters. All in all a grand tour with amazing tour guides (the highlight), very fine accomodation and smooth travelling. Ciceroni Tours can definitely be recommended.

James Howard and his wife Suzi was out tour guides. They were both very attentive to every participant and interested in us and our stories. James is very engaging and can tell a story like no other. Shakespeare might have had his pen as hiw sword, but James definitely has his speech as his sword and advantage. He is easy to be around and makes you feel welcome and at ease at all times. James is one of those guides you would take a tour with even though you weren't really that interested in the subject of the tour itself. We five who travelled together were all very impressed with James and his knowledge - he had his small notebook with quotes and contact information, besides that it seemed as if he has all his knowledge in his head and that is impressive.