Frequently Asked Questions
Who are you and how are you different from other personal tour services in Sicily?
What's the difference between a tour guide, a driver-guide and a driver?
How much will my tour or excursion cost?
How far in advance must I reserve my tour/excursion and make a deposit?
What kind of vehicles (cars and minibuses) are in your fleet?
Can you assist with itinerary ideas if I don't know what to see?
What if my question isn't answered here?
Who are you and how are you different from
other personal tour services in Sicily?
There's an entire page dedicated to information about
us. We'd like to mention reliability as one of our strong points. We'll
provide what we promise. That may seem prosaic but it's important, for example,
that your driver or guide meets and greets you on time and communicates
well with you; we've heard some horror stories of certain of our competitors
failing to meet clients at a port or airport. Another distinction is that
our services, though generally competitive, cater mostly to a "luxury"
market. Our fleet of motor vehicles, for example, includes 
the best and
most recent models, our guides speak English well and are generally more
knowledgeable that those of other "driver-guide" services in Sicily.
What's the difference between a tour
guide, a driver-guide and a driver?
A good question because many drivers promote themselves as "guides"
though they aren't. The pages about us and about
real guides address these matters. Here we'll
try, succinctly, to demystify the jargon.
In Italy, the phrase "tour guide" has a specific legal meaning.
Some licensed guides also offer transportation. It's more likely legal and
acceptable for a licensed tour guide to provide transportation than for
a driver to act as a licensed guide.
Tour Guides: In Italy a licensed guide has been trained in history,
art and architecture to the level one would normally expect of a university
history professor, and the best guides are very good "teachers"
because after even a few hours with a guide you'll have learned far more
about a place, its customs and people than you are likely to with a "driver
escort." To be licensed the guide must have passed a demanding examination
which requires - in addition to extensive factual knowledge - fluency in
at least one foreign language. Nowadays a university degree is required
to qualify for the guide exam.
Tour Leaders: While some licensed guides also work as tour leaders
of escorted tours which travel from city to city, the licensing examination
for these "group leaders" is quite different from that which licensed
tour guides are expected to pass.
Drivers: A driver might take you to a certain location, but (even
if he could speak your language) he cannot legally lecture at a historical
or archeological site such as those of Taormina
(the amphitheatre), Siracusa, Agrigento
or Segesta - or sights such as Palermo's
cathedral or Monreale's cloister. That said,
a driver may be perfectly suitable to your needs if you require little more
than transportation.
How much will my tour or excursion cost?
Our excursion page gives fixed rates for
one-day tours and shore excursions, while the tour page indicates pricing on week-long tours around Sicily. For longer itineraries, contact
us with your requirements and we'll provide a precise quote. The kind of information we'll
need is: your arrival/departure dates and airports/ports, number of participants in your group,
the itinerary (which we can assist in planning - see below), etc.
How far in advance must I reserve my tour/excursion
and make a deposit?
For a week-long tour it's best to contact us at least five weeks
in advance. For a day tour or shore excursion three or four weeks is usually
sufficient. The earlier the better.
What kind of vehicles (cars and minibuses) are
in your fleet?
These include some of the newest Mercedes Benz automobiles (shown
on this page). What is important is that we're constantly "refreshing"
the fleet to ensure the most recent models. Your comfort is important to us.
Can you assist with itinerary ideas if I
don't know what to see?
Yes. In fact, we have a highly-qualified support staff to assist you with
itinerary planning. We may require a deposit before beginning this early
phase of our service - to be credited toward the total cost. Visit
our tour page for some tour ideas. The "locality
pages" linked in our navigation bar (on the left of this page) provide
information about some of Sicily's most interesting attractions,
and the excursion
page offers some interesting descriptions of sights to see in one day.
What if my question isn't answered here?
Contact us! We'll be happy to provide all the information you need. That's what we're here for.
