CICERONI Travel Traveller Reviews

We had just completed a wonderful Ciceroni tour of Sicily and were doubtful whether the tour of Lucca and it surrounds could match the Sicily experience.. We need not have worried as the Lucca experience was, if anything,even better. The hotel at which we stayed was brilliantly located and very comfortable with pleasant and helpful staff. The gardens thatwe visited were brilliant and the views from them were just brilliant.

As we have come to expect the tour operator left nothing to be desired. Everything went smoothly, excellent meals and superbly delivered commentary of the highest quality as to content. Tom Duncan was, as usual, first rate and he was ably assisted by James Hill.

Well organized, informative, very high standard as always with Ciceroni

Excellent

Tom Duncan and James Hill of Ciceroni skillfully imparted their great wealth of knowledge in a brilliantly lighthearted manner.

A ten day tour of Sicily staying in Palermo, Agrigento and Syracuse. We learned about the settlers from the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Normans and present day citizens. We saw Greek Temples, Roman Villas, Norman Churches and palaces with magnificent Byzantine mosaics and Baroque buildings and remarkable Palazzos.. A group of 26 like minded people whose company we enjoyed during the day and at group lunches and evening meals. We also had time to explore on our own and find hidden away trattorias and wonderful ice-creams!

Ciceroni is an extremely professional company run by Tom Duncan and his talented team. I cannot recommend Tom more highly for his extraordinary knowledge of all the places that we visited and the history of the region. The Tour manager, James Hill, got us from place to place seamlessly and if there were problems we were not aware of any

Once again an excellent cultural tour of 9 days with some 22 clients covering all the major historic sites in Sicily by coach . Stayed in 3 high standard hotels across the Island, and had very safe driver. Guided tours every day of very high intellectual quality either by good local guides of by tour leader Dr Duncan who is an art historian ably assisted by his resident tour manager who lives in Italy and commented on modern Italy. Most meals were included, except some lunches and 2 dinners, and all were in carefully selected restaurants of consistently high standard. One of the best of several holidays I have had with Ciceroni Travel.

Ciceroni Travel is a small specialist company providing top quality art history tours across Europe, Middle East,North Africa and USA. Most are led by Dr Tom Duncan , a very experienced art historian, or by other carefully chosen lecturers of high calibre. The groups are usually 22 - 25 clients and Ciceroni lecturers use latest wireless headset technology which enables clients to walk around sites while hearing commentary clearly and also ensures no disturbance for groups. All administrative arrangements are very efficiently handled by Stephen Brooks and his staff at Ciceroni.

We stayed in three equally well-appointed hotels in Sicily - in Palermo, Agrigento and Syracuse in order to explore the island's historical and cultural gems from Doric temples to Christian cathedrals - and one in Syracuse that included both. The sun sparkled and so did the cathedrals' mosaics. Those in the Roman Villa were impressive, but the hordes of tourists - unfortunately there were two Bank Holidays during our stay -slightly impaired one's vision and appreciation. As ever, on Ciceroni Tours, the private, uncluttered visits and really excellent meals in superb restaurants provided many highlights. In such good company it was easy to make friends with convivial members of the tour party.

The fact that this was my ninth Ciceroni tour testifies to my appreciation of the expertise of its leaders, generously and wittily shared with us in talks given both on our coach and in front of the cultural artefacts we'd come to see. The intellectual and culinary stimulation was superb.

Ciceroni Travel took us on tour of Sicily with visits to sites of ancient Greek temples, amphithatres, to a well preserved Roman hunting vila with brilliant mosaics, to a Phoenecian island settlement as well as some very interesting cathedrals and palazzos. The tour was led by Dr Tom Duncan, a highly regarded expert in the arts and archeology - his talks were brilliant - and he was ably supported by James Hill who is fluent in Italian and seemed to know all the right people to enable us to visit private stately homes that are not open to the public. Accomodation was very good as were the dining arrangements. Altogether a fantastic tour!

The tour operator was excellent. His talks about the various places we visited were extremely well researched and delivered with great style and with an entertains sense of humour. Logistics were smoothly handled. It is difficult to see what could be improved!

A meticulously planned holiday that condensed all that was most important to experience into a few days. A comfortable hotel, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide and well chosen restaurants for group meals.

Ciceroni take great pains over the planning of their holidays, choice of hotel and local guide.This all contributed towards a memorable few days.

An exceptionally well organised tour with visits to varied cultural sites that were quite breathtaking in there building over thousands of years ago to more recent times. Excellent hotel and restaurants. A nice touch by the agent having the menu with a small photo of the restaurant for every guest.

I have travelled with this tour operator several times and they are quite exceptional. The guides knowledge is simply outstanding. He presents each visit with true love and enthusiasm for the subject .

This was a cultural trip which focused on the island's prehistoric history, the role of the Knights of St John and the siege in WW11

Every thing was meticulously planned and the programme ran like clockwork. We had an excellent guide who went out of his way to ensure we were well informed. He was a fund of information and was the key to a successful trip.