Palermo and Cefalù Day Trip from Taormina

It was nice to see, but Palermo is not the most exciting part of Sicily. Good tour and easy way to get around. Highlight was the Godfather reference.

Fabulous experience, as it is the first time in Sicily. I booked through Travel Taormina and I must say very kind and helpful. The trip was pleasant, thanking the guide Renate very prepared and helpful to everyone, who explained in detail during the trip both outward and return everything that passed around us. While visiting Palermo and Cefalù impeccable showed us a lot of things in a short time. Thank you and who knows until next time.

Important to know and I don’t think it’s listed anywhere, the tour’s primary language is German, English is secondary and I felt we missed out on a lot of commentary. There wasn’t any downtime given in Palermo. We were rushed through the market, only to stop at almost every vegetable vendor instead of being given a chance to wander and purchase items. The restaurant in Palermo was not great. We were served cold lasagna. We were given 90 mins in Cerafù. After coming from Palermo, this village was underwhelming. If you’re looking for a quality introduction tour to Palermo, I’d advise to look elsewhere.

I had a dream ponderous time in Palermo and Cefalu, however the free time was only 1.5hours… which really turns to be 45minutes or an hour depending on where it spent and the time it takes to get back. It’s just not enough time, especially in Cefalu when there complete freedom without a tour (which was great) but the walk to and from the drop off takes a decent amount of time from that anyway! I think it should be a longer amount of free time! The tour itself was great and the SAT guide as well as the Palermo guide did an excellent job and catered to many languages (at least 4) … but that did consume more time which was fine but worth nothing.

We thoroughly enjoyed this tour. From Taormina we drove through the beautiful landscapes of central Sicily past Enna. We had a toilet stop on the way, after just over 3 hrs we arrived in Palermo. Guide Renate was very informative and did a bustour first, then a walking tour visiting a couple of important sites and churches and a local market. After lunch in a nice outdoor restaurant we were brought to Cefalu, and saw the historic town and the beach.

OK if you don't mind a route march through the busy streets of Palermo at speed in 30°c. We passed through one of the local markets with lots of lovely fresh produce on display. The tour guide walked through it so quickly we were unable to stop to look at anything. Accused of being late for the pickup in Cefalu. Yes, we were last on the bus but with a few minutes to spare. Even the others on the bus agreed that we were not late. If you can get to Palermo yourself, either by car or public transport I would do that instead of going on an arranged tour. Very disappointed.

We were happy to get on this tour after booking the night before - the company we had originally booked with cancelled at short notice and we were scrambling to find another company. (And it seems the CbyS company had messed others around too) With SAT not a problem, they could pick us up near our hotel in Giardini Naxos and we could then pay on the bus. Hurrah! The guide was excellent and we felt that we were in good hands the entire day (our guide also spoke German which was a bonus). The tour itself is long bus stretches and the time in Palermo seemed relatively short but it was good to see another part of Sicily. We particularly enjoyed Cefalu.

It was a long day but very interesting and informative. The guide and the local guide in Palermo were excellent as was the driver.

Very well organized, and the guide is luxurious. The tour is very nice and I am totally satisfied.

First we were picked up only 25 minutes after the agreed time. On the way to Palermo ( there would have been enough time ) there was scant information from the tour guide. Nothing about Palermo, country and people etc.... But 5 times he tried to make us a restaurant in Palermo ( the '59 ) tasty.( which of course was not included in the price. ) In Palermo we walked 2 streets and one across and that was it. No highlight (such as the catacombs, or similar..) The bus was not air conditioned , or did not work properly and it was sweltering hot. A short stop in Cefalu on the way back rounded it all off. The whole way back, our so-called tour guide did not speak anything at all. We have already had some trips, but this one was by far the worst.