Exploring Sicily Traveller Reviews

A terrific introduction to the long, rich history of Sicily. We visited many iconic historic sites, and the guides brought them alive, happily engaged with us travelers. The accommodation was top-notch, and the food beyond description.

Olivier's expertise in ancient Sicilian history and welcoming manner enriched the experience at every site we visited. His associate, Giuseppe, provided the same for the medieval sites. Fascinating discussions throughout the trip!

A very enjoyable tour. A great itinerary covering wide range of Sicilian sites, combined with expert commentary from knowledgeable guides. A great range of accomadation combined with well chosen restaurants to enjoy local cuisine and wines. The 2 guides were exceptional in terms of making our tour enjoyable.

They were well organised and helped with all aspects of the tour planning. Cannot fault the service provided

An amazing two-week walking tour of all major and some rarer archeological sites of Sicily that revealed its rich and layered history, The tour was led by an extremely knowledgeable archeologist and a native Sicilian both of whom were unfailing in their attention to the details of travel and the past and present stories of the places visited. We particularly appreciated the narration of the history as told through the writings of the ancients who lived it and even a reenactment of the fighting techniques of the ancient Greeks!! Excellent museums, through which we were led by our guides, provided depth to the understanding of the peoples that occupied Sicily through the centuries. The tour was enhanced by a small international group of travelers and by superb local cuisine every day, not only in hotels, restaurants, vineyards and cafes but in the home of a local renowned chef! Wine and olive oil tastings and even chocolate tasting paired with Vermouth at Modica were a delight. All accommodations were outstanding and designed so that the group could stay at each at least two to three nights (with the exception of one night in the two-week journey) and use as a base from which to visit nearby sites. Before this tour, we had traveled across Europe on our own including several times to Italy, but this tour opened our eyes to a new way to travel!

Peter Sommers Travel provided excellent information about the tour in advance particularly on the level of difficulty to be expected on the walks and hikes. They referred us to knowledgeable travel agents in the U.S. who made very good arrangements for flights and travel insurance. Their design of the tour and choice of places to visit, stay and eat were outstanding.

This was our 2nd tour with Peter Somers Travel, and as before, we thoroughly enjoyed this new experience. We visited wonderfully varied sites, were told fascinating and often eye-popping stories, and looked forward to every day's adventures and fabulous lunch and dinner stops with great anticipation. Our bus transport was comfortable and well organized and our accommodation was excellent with delicious breakfasts and often wonderful dinners on site. A gastronomic tour as well as an archeological delight!

Our guides were both hugely knowledgeable, entertaining, enthusiastic and thoughtful and our group gelled well under their watch.

Fantastic trip to Sicily with an emphasis on archeology . Fantastic guides, wonderful food and wine , lovely little hotels .Well thought out itinerary that maximizes the enjoyment . The professor of archeology who was our expert guide Prof Henry was amazing Peter Sommer does a wonderful job

Peter Sommer is excellent, they have really good pre trip information , reading lists etc and take great care of each guest during the trip.

The holiday was a very stimulating exploration of the many ancient sites on Sicily, together with deep and at times, dramatic explanation of the peoples who lived and died and shaped Sicily’s ancient landscape. This, together with the fine food, wine and accommodation and the endless enthusiasm of our guides made for a holiday which will give me memories to enjoy for years to come.

The documentation and information was clear and informative, the arrangements were faultless and everything was supplied to a high standard. Nothing was too much trouble.

Yet another outstanding trip with Peter Sommer . Exploring Sicily was a wonderfully sculpted tour with an amazing guide Professor Olivier Henry . The tour not only took us to the most interesting sites of Sicily but brought the history we were viewing to life . In addition to fantastic food, wine paring meals and lovely accommodations. Peter Sommer truly takes care of their guests .

Peter Sommer is a wonderful tour operator taking exceptional care of their guests.

This was our sixth tour with Peter Sommer, which begins to sound like an addiction! People often ask us what was the highlight of the tour. However, we still cannot decide, as every day we were presented with extraordinary archaeological sites, often set in landscapes with amazing views, in terrain covered in wild flowers. As well as these field trips we visited notable churches and were able to see remains of ancient cultural items and even ships in well laid out museums. These experiences were interspersed with tempting meals featuring regional speciality dishes and a succession of local wines, some almost unknown outside Italy. What then of these daily highlights? Here are just six: walking among bronze-age rock-cut tombs and houses at Pantálica; entering through the florid Baroque portico of the Duomo, Syracusa’s ancient cathedral, to find ourselves surrounded by the huge pillars of the far older Greek temple of Athena; exploring the interior of the Villa Romana del Casale, a unique surviving imperial hunting lodge, with its astonishing mosaic floors, culminating in an amazing 60-metre long hunting scene; viewing the astonishing golden wall mozaics of the Norman cathedral of Monreale and the intricately carved capitals of its cloister; marvelling at the great Greek theatre at Taormina with its natural coastal backdrop; and, for contrast, hiking through the moon-like larva landscape of the upper slopes of Mt Etna. The list could go on and on! Among museum objects, the astonishing workmanship of the ornate ancient ceremonial silverware from the destroyed ancient city of Morgantina stood out. After seeing so many beautiful Greek cities that were destroyed in wars (sometimes multiple times), we were left with an abiding sense of the fragility and impermanence of human societies.

Despite our late arrival caused by airline delay, we were met at the airport and taken out to join the rest of the group for supper. The whole tour was managed by Paul Beston and Andrea Giardina with the usual calm efficiency and attention to detail which distinguishes Peter Sommer holidays. Paul brought to his guiding a wealth of unobtrusive scholarship and local knowledge based on careful and regularly updated reconnaissance and reading. Andrea communicated his passion for the land and culture of his beloved Sicily, pointing out many things we would otherwise have missed along the way. The combination of guided visits to sites, cities and selected museums helped us to build a composite picture of human cultures in Sicily from the Bronze age to the early modern period, with a particular focus on classical antiquity. Apposite quotations from ancient writers such as Thucidides and Cicero helped us to understand more of the life of the ancient city states and their eventual demise, through the eyes of contemporary observers. The selection of accommodation was always comfortable and especially appealing when staying in rural hotels surrounded by groves of fruit and olive trees. It would be hard to imagine a more enjoyable way to assimilate so much of the history of Sicily in such a short time.

A thirteen day circular tour of the island of Sicily and its many historic archaeological sites, museums, and architectural and natural landmarks, with expert guidance from a specialist in ancient history and an experienced local guide.

This is the second time we've booked with Peter Sommer, following an excellent trip to the Cyclades last year, and once again they came up trumps.

The tour exceeded all my expectations. The logistics were beautifully arranged. We never worried about a bag or a connection or an arrival time. The site selections were fantastic- we were treated to comprehensive tour of the most important sites of Grecian, Roman and early Christian Sicily. Our guide, Professor Olivier Henry delivered unmatched lectures. His lectures were thoughtful, challenging and very entertaining. Moreover, I discovered something else about Peter Sommers tours. They are a lot of fun. Our ground man Andrea Giardini loves Sicily and this shinned with the choices or restaurants and bistros at which we ate. Lunch and dinner were always wonderful and the addition to the tour of wine tastings, olive oil tasting and a chocolate tasting was inspired. Finally, on a Peter Sommers tour you travel with others who have a profound love of history. A day on a Peter Sommers tour ends with a beautiful dinner, good wine and rich conversation of the treasures viewed during the day.

The tour operator was outstanding. We begin from the fact that Mr. Sommer and his team love history. The itinerary for the Sicily tour reflects this passion. The professionalism of the Sommer team was unmatched, from managing my booking through the pandemic lockdown to handling all the unexpected travel events that confront us in this post pandemic year. The choice of our guides also reflected the passion and professionalism of Mr. Sommer. Professor Henry (professor archeology) is brilliant and engaging scholar, or groundman Andrea Giardini, was knowledgeable with wide ranging interests ranging from the natural wonders of Sicily, to food and wine, to local customs and traditions. I felt secure on my tour. Our team was very well trained and very safety conscious. I will take another Peter Sommer tour.