Caltagirone & Piazza Armerina Tour from Catania with Sicilian Lunch

The first part - the Roman Villa - was fantastic. The lunch was a little odd - it felt as though we were unexpected. We had to push tables together, find extra chairs and wait for quite a while to get the food. Caltagirone was very a attractive town but I wish we had been given an hour to explore by ourselves here. The guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining!

Angelo was a great guide, very good driver. Gave us a lot of good information even though he did not go into the sites with us. It really was not necessary. He was always on time, cognizant of my husband’s knees which are “okay” but he moves a bit slowly on stairs, very courteous and kind. Overall we had a very enjoyable and memorable day.

This was a great day trip from Catania and exceeded our expectations! A guide is not provided, however a guide is not necessary. The driver provided handouts for both Villa Romana and Caltagirone. Our driver, Angelo, was a good driver, very pleasant and helpful. The lunch was fabulous!l! Tips: the walkways above the mosaics are narrow and can be crowded so leave backpacks in the van, to really appreciate the detail of the mosaics, bring a pair of small binoculars, and decide what you want to see in Caltagirone prior to your visit as the stop there is fairly short. There’s a Presepio (including the story of Jesus) to the right at the top of The Stairway of Santa Maria. The owner was charming and played the English narration on his phone for us. Buy ceramics in Caltagirone (great selection, locally made and better prices than in the larger cities). Also, the communication from the tour operator just prior to the trip was really good.

It wasn’t exactly the trip I expected but it was a fun day. There were only three of us so it was a semi private tour. Villa Romana del Casale is a real highlight and it should be mentioned in the title of the tour. It was very busy when we arrived st 11.15am. Suggest leaving Catania earlier to try and avoid some of the crowds and for the tickets to be pre purchased so we don’t have to stand in line and waste time. Lunch in Piazza Armerina was delicious and relaxing in a lovely bodega. Our guide and driver, Antonio, was very charming and funny. He was not fluent in English but we all managed to understand each other.

Die Tour ist zu teuer. Man wird nur in die beiden Orte gefahren und hat jeweils 1,5 Std Zeit sich alles anzuschauen. A den Orten bekommt man nur Informationen auf gedrucktem Papier. Bei uns hat die Tour schon um 8:10 gestartet und wir waren 16:30 wieder zurück in Catania. Die Tour lohnt sich nur wenn man kein Auto mieten möchte, da die Orte mit den öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln schwer zu erreichen sind.

Our driver and guide, Antonio, was very friendly, helpful and fun. He allowed us time to explore at our pace. The lunch provided was excellent and accommodated vegetarian and gluten free needs. The experience at the restaurant was enjoyable. The sites and villages we visited were very interesting. We met some great people on the tour. Thank you Antonio for a memorable day!

Marco has a very pleasant personality and in his commentary he provided a lot of information on Sicilian culture. And he is very organised and an excellent driver. Everything ran smoothly. It was a tight timetable but enough time to see everything. I suggest preplanning what you would like to see in Caltagirone. Highly recommend the ceramics museum. The lunch was excellent. We weren't sure what was going to be served but we were more than satisfied. Villa Romana was amazing with it's mosaic floors. I'm not sure why it's not mentioned in the title of the tour. I can highly recommend this tour.