Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

So much fun and so relaxing to take it slow in Sicily—I felt like we gained a better appreciation for the culture, history and people
Dana Perry | May 24, 2023

I wanted to give an enthusiastic review of Matteo for his services in planning the trip we just took in May of 2023. We used Matteo for a trip to Sicily in May of 22 and loved it but also realized that there was so much more to do in Sicily, so we arranged trip #2 to Sicily for this year in May.

We spent two full weeks in Sicily, the first near Noto (east) and the second in the southwest (near Menfi). We stayed at houses we rented through an agency (given that we wanted to rent places instead of staying in hotels, Matteo worked with us on picking out the property we chose near Noto, and that was very helpful).

The first week, we had a wide variety of historic, cultural and food-centered activities in the east near Noto. Matteo kept the geographic range of each day’s activities pretty tight so we were not in the car all day. We enjoyed everything, and sometimes the unexpected delighted. For instance, I had to persuade my husband to do the experience with a chef in Siracusa, where the chef took us through the food market, then we went back to his restaurant and helped him prepare a meal for us. My husband (and I) really enjoyed that activity. Some of the best activities were out in the countryside, like a visit to a sustainable family farm and lunch of home cooking, and the discussions we had with the farmer about his way of life (through our guide translating). On another day, we visited an ancient chapel site and site of ancient olive trees and nearby small villages. Memories of that day I’ll carry with me are the beautiful black horse being walked down the main street of one of the villages, and the friendly reception from the residents…and of course, the wonderful food we had every day.

The second week, we saw various historic and cultural sites in the west, including Agrigento/Valley of the Temples, Trapani, and Salemi, a beautiful small village on a hilltop. We had several relaxation days built into that week. The only place that was crowded was Valley of the Temples, but the ancient temples and ruins were about the best I’ve seen anywhere, including Athens.

Overall comments:
We opted to have Matteo arrange drivers, and are so glad we did. Driving in Sicily is challenging and there are very few 4-lanes like in the States. The drivers were all excellent.

We’re glad we built in some rest days to the trip with no scheduled activities.

Matteo wisely did not try to cram too much into one day or have us go too far away from where we were staying (aka “slow travel”).

The guides Matteo found for us were all top-notch—very professional and knew their topics and areas. Plus, they were all good sports putting up with all our questions.

Between the trip last year and the trip this year, we’ve spent 4 weeks in Sicily, and still haven’t seen all the major locations. It was so much fun and so relaxing to take it slow in Sicily—I felt like we gained a better appreciation for the culture, history and people. Sicily has gotten into our blood—it’s our happy place, and it’s likely we will return!!

A highlight of the trip was having a wine-tasting luncheon at the winery owner’s home by Mount Etna. They were such gracious hosts.
Vicki Porpiglia | January 22, 2023

Matteo did a wonderful job of planning our Sicily family trip! He had many great tour suggestions, as he lives there, so he knows the area very well. We were there on a Holiday week in January, so some restaurants and stores were closed. Matteo found great restaurants that were open and even made some restaurant reservations for us. We had private tours every day. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable and very friendly. The driver we had was exactly on time every morning. He knew our itinerary to have us to each location as scheduled. Every day ran so smoothly.

A highlight of the trip was having a wine-tasting luncheon at the winery owner’s home by Mount Etna. They were such gracious hosts. Matteo was always available with responses right away from many emails of planning the trip AND during the trip. He even surprised us and met up with us at a cafe in one of the towns.

I would definitely recommend Matteo! Our vacation was absolutely, perfectly enjoyable and worry-free because of his expertise and patience in planning!

We went to his restaurant and had a cooking lesson, followed by the delicious lunch we had watched him make
Davi Harrington | November 20, 2022

My husband and I worked with Marcello to plan a 3-week vacation in Sicily which we took in September, 2022. Marcello was fabulous to work with! He listened carefully to how we liked to travel and what we were interested in doing. He gave us a wide range of experiences to choose from and helped us create a fantastic itinerary. He clearly loves his work and his passion and excitement for Sicily is contagious!

We decided not to drive ourselves and opted for drivers to get us around the island. The drivers he lined up for us were excellent. We always felt safe and in good hands. The drivers spoke English well and were happy to talk with us about their lives in Sicily.

Marcello has an extensive network of guides, and we used guides in almost every place we went. They were without exception excellent. They spoke English well, were knowledgeable and passionate about their area of expertise and were able to show and teach us a great deal about the art, architecture, culture and life of Sicily!

He also arranged for us to have some unique experiences. Some of the highlights include —

A morning spent with a local chef. First we went to the open-air food market, learning how he chose fruits, vegetables, fish and meat. Then we went to his restaurant (which is closed at lunch) and had a cooking lesson, followed by the delicious lunch we had watched him make for us.

Another experience was spending an afternoon and evening sailing on the Mediterranean in a 52-foot sailboat. The couple who own the boat were lovely and welcoming. They served us delicious antipasti and wine while we were sailing and watching the sunset.

We also visited an organic farm/ranch. We loved spending time with the owner, who spoke so passionately about his way of farming and raising cattle and horses. He was a fascinating man and it was an unforgettable experience.

Thanks to Marcello, we had a fantastic trip in Sicily. He not only planned it well but was in touch with our guides and drivers almost daily. When we needed to change a plan due to weather, he was able to accommodate us with no problem. It was reassuring to know he was so available should any need arise.

I highly recommend working with Marcello if you are thinking of going to Sicily. You won’t regret it!

History, cultural events, food tasting and preparations, and wine tastings were all included
Karen Bennett | November 15, 2022

Sicily was an amazing place to visit and the 4 of us loved it! Lots of history, cultural events, food tasting and preparations, and wine tastings were all included in our itinerary. Matteo did a fabulous job preparing and coordinating our trip and it was executed without any flaws! The only slightly negative comment that we have is that perhaps we were too busy seeing everything and had very little down time. But, I’m not sure what events I would have eliminated!

If I had to pick one highlight, I would say that the trip to Mt Etna with the guide, who was a volcanologist, was 100% worth doing! So much knowledge and information sharing, it was great!

I would definitely recommend Matteo to a friend to help plan a Sicilian itinerary.

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