Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

Our week in the Aeolian Islands was magnificent, thanks to the extensive local knowledge of our trip planner, Matteo. We wanted to spend some extended time in the islands at the tail end of a month-long trip to Sicily, and spoke with Matteo about our interests and goals for the trip. He knew the islands through and through from his own travel, and identified outdoor and cultural guides who were perfectly suited for us. The program came together quickly, and was executed flawlessly (juggling around one day of bad weather)—the perfect mix of outdoor hiking, museums and archeological/volcanic history, walking tours of the islands, and unique experiences (caper farms, wineries, picnic lunches in the mountains, private boat tours, etc.) We used Salina as our home base, with day trips to Stromboli, Filicudi, and Lipari.

The islands were gorgeous, uncrowded (early May), and fascinating—we cannot recommend them highly enough! In our case, there is no question that Matteo’s deep knowledge of the islands and his strong personal relationship with the guides made a huge difference in making this week everything we had hoped.

Richard Rediker and friends at a cooking class in Siracusa, Sicily.

“One of the highlights was a cooking class at a restaurant in the Siracusa area…ending with a selfie taken by the chef himself!”

Sicily March 18 to April 3rd, 2025
17 Days in Sicily

We are two couples in our 70s who spent 17 glorious days in Sicily on a trip arranged by Matteo. For decades, I have planned my own trips all over the world. However, using Wendy’s WOW List last year for Morocco and this year for Sicily saved a lot of time and provided us with local experiences we never would have had otherwise. Over 17 days we biked, hiked, took cooking classes, learned a lot of history, saw many “ruins” and ate Sicilian cuisine. Matteo arranged for local drivers and guides at each stop—people who were from the places we visited and seemed to know everyone we passed.

Over many months, Matteo and I tweaked and refined our itinerary. When I mentioned that we enjoy remote destinations, he suggested visiting the car-free island of Marettimo for the San Giuseppe festival on March 19th. Marettimo is located 90 minutes off the west coast of Sicily by hydrofoil. Matteo ensured that accommodations and restaurants would be available despite the off-season. We had a local guide who grew up on the island, and whose father was the mayor. As we joined the festivities, we seemed to be the only “tourists” there—aside from locals who had grown up on the island and return each year for San Giuseppe.

On Marettimo, we ate at a fantastic restaurant where the owner’s husband had caught the tuna we enjoyed that day. When high winds were forecast for the day we were supposed to leave, Matteo quickly arranged for us to depart early, booked us a wonderful boutique hotel in Trapani, and set up a guided tour for the following day.

Each day, lunch was included at special restaurants or private homes. We hiked, biked, took cooking classes, and visited a couple of wineries. Everywhere we went, we were treated like VIPs. Our guides and drivers were always early and went out of their way to accommodate any requests. While Sicily can be very hot and crowded, traveling from March 18th through April 3rd was ideal—the weather was comfortable, ranging from the 50s to 60s, and there were very few tourists. Aside from a few stray showers, we had only two days of rain during the entire trip.
After Marettimo and Trapani, we spent four days in Palermo, two in Agrigento, and six in the Siracusa area.

Together, Matteo and I selected our accommodations in each location. The company allows travelers to choose their own rooms and pay hotels directly. Many travel agencies bundle hotel costs into their tour prices and provide only the lowest-category rooms.

Throughout our trip, Matteo checked in to ensure everything was going smoothly, even joining us for pizza one evening and again when we were in his hometown of Noto.

One of the highlights was a cooking class at a restaurant in the Siracusa area. First, we visited the market to select fresh, locally sourced ingredients, then returned to the restaurant to prepare and plate our own meals—ending with a selfie taken by the chef himself!

Sharon Kornhaus and Mark White at The Valley of the Temples, Agrigento.

Sharon Kornhaus and Mark White at The Valley of the Temples, Agrigento.

My husband, Mark, and I just returned from Sicily this April. We used Matteo and Marcello to help plan our trip. After a brief meeting with Matteo, we arrived at a travel plan that included culinary adventures, cultural and historical stops and lots of opportunities to take in the beautiful Sicilian scenery.

Visiting Sicily gave us the chance to experience the wide variety of cultures that contribute to making this Italian island the melting pot of the Mediterranean. We saw Greek temples at the Valley of Temples, Roman mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale, Norman, Arab and Byzantine architecture at Monreale Cathedral, small Mediterranean villages with narrow, winding streets like on the island of Oritgia, and an Arab and Norman castle at Castelbuono.

One of the highlights of our trip was getting to visit the Scardaci family almond farm near Noto to see how they use traditional methods to grow olives, pistachios and almonds and then join them for a rustic lunch of vegetables, cheeses, pasta, and cannoli. Throughout our trip we also had the opportunity to sample some of Sicily’s wonderful cuisine—gelato, granita, Sicilian bread, pizza, caponata, almond cookies, and of course, Sicilian wine.

Our travels were seamless. Matteo and his group made sure we were never waiting for a pick up or guide to arrive. Tickets were ready, tables were secured, guides were prepared, hotels were waiting for us to arrive—we didn’t have to fret about anything and were able to concentrate on absorbing and fully enjoying Sicily.

Virginia and husband Joe cooking with Chef Maurizio at Macalle in Siracusa, Sicily.

Virginia and Joe loved cooking with Chef Maurizio, an award-winning chef at Macalle in Siracusa.

Much needed R&R in Sicily!

My husband and I needed a relaxing mid-October trip to celebrate our only daughter’s departure for college, and after reading Matteo and Marcello’s profile on Wendy’s website, we chose Sicily. We can’t imagine a better decision! Matteo asked me what we wanted to do, and we told him to plan a highlights tour of his favorites with an emphasis on food, wine, and enough history to keep us awake.

Every day a guide and/or driver appeared to take us somewhere new, and we learned a lot about Sicily as we toured a Roman villa, Mount Etna, a few churches, 2 wineries, and an almond farm. We had lovely hotels in both Palermo and Siracusa—Matteo did a great job of finding properties with a gym that were still specifically Sicilian. Both of us gained weight despite a lot of walking, as the food was incredible. Our guides were top-notch, spoke perfect English, and seemed to genuinely enjoy their work. There were no hiccups in the travel arrangements and both of us completely relaxed—the only way we could tell the day of the week was to look at the itinerary!

Matteo checked in with us by phone, tweaked our itinerary when there was an issue with a guide so we missed none of our planned activities, and even met us on the last day for a granita tasting in Noto. Perhaps our favorite evening was spent with Chef Maurizio, an award-winning chef in Siracusa. We had a “market tour” in his restaurant kitchen, chose our ingredients, and cooked a delicious meal using techniques that I brought back home. Maurizio is hilariously entertaining as well as a superb chef, and we loved our experience at Macalle. I’m already thinking about another trip to Sicily as there are nonstops to Catania from the East Coast starting spring 2025—this time I want to spend more time in Noto and go up into southern Italy on the ferry. Thank you Matteo, Marcello, and Wendy!!

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