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PRESS RELEASE
https://travel.yahoo.com/guides
Would love your thoughts, please comment!
Leave your comment in the box at the bottom of the page đ
Carla Principato says:
Thank you Ciro Grillo for planning a fantastic 2 week tour of Sicily for us ! Everything was wonderful!
Vince Adamo says:
My wife and I, along with eight other extended family members, just returned from a wonderful trip to Sicily that we planned through Ciro. Ciro and his team made this trip a great success and one we will always remember. I personally worked with Ciro early in the trip’s planning stages to design a custom itinerary that not only included some of the most beautiful places to visit in Sicily, but also included visits to three small cities of origin for our families (both my wife and I are Sicilian-American).
Other than our flights, Ciro booked all of our accommodations, transportation from the time we were picked up at the Palermo airport to the time we were dropped off at the Catania airport, and a lovely tour guide.
For the majority of the trip we had the same mini-bus and driver. Our driver, Maurizio, was friendly, professional and fearless, which is a definite equirement when navigating some of the narrow, winding streets of Sicilian cities.
We also had the same tour guide, Anna, for the duration of our trip. And I can’t say enough about how much we loved having Anna as our guide and host throughout our trip. She made us feel like family. Not only was she a guide throughout the trip, she was our own “in country fixer”, working tirelessly to make sure our every need was met and that we were enjoying ourselves throughout the trip.
I would not hesitate to work with Ciro again to plan another trip to Sicily.
Brenda Carrico says:
So happy my brothers, Greg and Steve Carrico, sister- in-law Brenda Carrico , sister-in-law to be Barbra Nolte and cousins Vicki and Chris A. Pumphrey joined me and my other half on a trip of a lifetime. The tall guy in all of the photos was our wonderful tour guide, Enrico Todaro. Also, a shout out to Ciro Grillo for putting this amazing trip together for us.
Anna Artist says:
Thank you to Ciro and Sicilyroutes for this fantastic Sicily tour!
Here are a few photos from the past few days, including Agrigento and Ortigia. We are all having a fantastic time, thanks to Ciro Grillo. I was thrilled that we were able to fulfill a lifelong dream of Susan Tumminelli’s to visit the town of her ancestors, Caltanissetta. She was so surprised to find that her ancestral town is the sister city to Rochester, N.Y., where she grew up! As an American of Italian descent, many of us have always dreamed of this experience. Although my ancestors came from Caserta and Salerno (which I have yet to visit) on the Italian mainland, I consider the Sicilians “my peopleâ.
Hope Phelps says:
Campofelice di Fitalia – Giovanna âJennieâ Arnone (âMawmaw Gebbiaâ) was born on December 8, 1909 in Tickfaw, Louisiana. Her father, Gaetano âGuyâ Arnone was born Feb. 11, 1879 in Campofelice di Fitalia to parents Giochino âJackâ Arnone and Giuseppa âJosephineâ Passantino Arnone. The parents of her husband, Anthony Gebbia, also married in Campofelice di Fitalia.
Jennie and Anthony raised their children in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. When we visited her there, sheâd bake a funfetti cake. I thought this was magic (til years later I learned itâs Pillsbury). My mom has baked me a funfetti cake every year on my birthday ever since.
Pictured here, the much more traditional caciocavallo . And also the town âgebbiaâ an irrigation cistern from the Arabic word ŘŹŮابŮŮŮŘŠ (jÄbiya). Villafrati, Sicilia – the town where Giuseppe âJosephâ Gebbia was born in 1862. He married Grazia in 1887. They emigrated to New Orleans in 1896. And here we are
â¤ď¸âď¸
E grazie ancora, Ciro Grillo! SICILYROUTES
Rick Clemo says:
Just got back to the US after an amazing 10 day tour with SICILYROUTES. What a once in a lifetime experience!!! There were 7 of us, plus our amazing tour guide, so it was a perfect size. The 9 passenger van worked out great, as we all had a lot of luggage. The airBNBâs and hotels were fantastic! And luckily for us, we had perfect weather. I highly recommend SicilyTours!!! We took 3 of their recommended boat tours (amazing!) had a wonderful wine tour/charcuterie board lunch, got to see some amazing ruins, and so much of the real day today Sicily life. Really hoping to get back sometime soon.
Anthony Silvio says:
Sicilyroutes is worth every penny and more for exploring this wonderful island, if not the world. Although my family is from Sicily, and I have been there a few times. It was time bring my three teenagers on my own for the first time. We were started looking for a driver a few months before our trip and came across Ciroâs company via Facebook recommendations. Ciro was very patient with my numerous questions and changes in itinerary. He was also as a pleasure to speak with on the phone. Sicily Routes was very adaptable up to the last minute and until we arrived in the airport.
We were just as fortunate to get a wonderful driver and tour guide . He is a very kind and personable. He has a great command of the English language. He took great interest in explaining the history of the island as well as enjoying his time with us. Within a short time, he was family dining with us. He made sure that we were always comfortable. I was delighted to see he took great interest when we visited my mothers and then my fatherâs town. His knowledge of Palermo is unmatched. He is also a very safe driver who navigated the notorious tight roads and âcrazy Sicilian drivers â and made the entire experience enjoyable for my children.
When I compared the price of renting my own vehicle vs using Ciroâs company itâs an easy choice. The pleasure of a relaxed drive, catching up on sleep and a guide is worth the slight premium. Going into an airconditioned vehicle during the heat wave is always a plus.
I highly recommend Sicilyroutes and the best tour guide and driver.
Monica Galante says:
A friend’s recommendation led us to Ciro Grillo, whose thorough pre-planning and pairing with Ettore created an outstanding experience in Montedoro, Sicily. One year later, the memory of that day remains remarkably fresh, feeling almost as if it occurred yesterday. Thank You!
Roshni J. Desai says:
My family and I had an incredible 8 days in Sicily thanks to Ciro Grillo and Ettore. Ciro customized the tour based on our preferences and Ettore executed it to the T with much patience and flexibility. We did so much and literally saw it all. We, along with our two children (11 and 13) made life time memories. Highly recommend them.
Don and Lori Stroup says:
A big THANK YOU! to Ciro Grillo and his group for our wonderful 9 day tour in mid October, which turned out to be a good time to be there. Weather still warm enough to enjoy the beach and water in Cefaluâ, only one afternoon of rain. Perfect!! Great itinerary planning, covering the entire island from Palermo to Erice, Trapani, Segesta, Caccamo, Monreale, Cefaluâ, Ventimiglia, Agrigento, Siracusa, Mt. Etna, Taormina, Forza dâ Afro, Savoca, Catania.
Spent two days in Caccamo, where my maternal grandparents were from and got to meet some relatives so, that was extra special and the main reason for the trip. Caccamo is not on the âtourist trailâ, not one souvenir shop. There was one at the castle but, it was closed while we were there. The Caccamo Castle is worth the trip if you have the time.
One of the oldest, best preserved castles in Italy. Museum inside covers nearly all of the history of Sicily.
Canât say enough about our driver and guides, all very knowledgeable and explained everything very well. He picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel in Palermo, where we met Ciro. Ciro was our guide from Palermo to Siracusa except for Cefaluâ and Ventimiglia, Mattia was our guide there. In Siracusa and the East end of Sicily our guide was an archaeologist. How perfect is that when next stop is Mt. Etna. All wonderful guides.
Our driver, the entire time did a great job negotiating all the âinsaneâ bumper to bumper 3 lane traffic in Palermo with motorcycles and scooters cutting in and out and all the narrow hairpin curves getting up to the mountain top cities. Itâs definitely a different traffic procedure than here in the US. I admire the folks from US that think they can do their own driving there. I couldnât do it and so glad we had a driver.
There are other ways to tour and see Sicily but, we lucked out to find Ciro Grillo and Sicily Routes for our tour. I highly recommend them.
Thank you Ciro and all Iâve mentioned for a wonderful, memorable trip to my grandparents homeland.