Magaritours Avis 

Just returned from Magari Heart & Soul of Sicily 10day tour. We are left with amazing memories & feel we have indeed ‘done’ the Authentic, Unforgettable & real Sicily.

Flew H/R to Palermo & packed a lot in 10 days to then fly out from Catania to Gatwick thus enabling us to cover a whole lot of the island - which is roughly the size of Wales.
Azzura our smart, professional & knowledgable guide welcomed us at the airport & seamlessly went onto navigate us around the whole 10 day trip. We found her available from morning to night.

From Spectacular UNESCO listed Temples & Churches, for which we had knowledgable, specialist guides. Baroque Towns & excavated Roman Villas. Sicilian Chocolate making & tasting, little train rides with stops for photos over magnificent landscapes.
Even dipped into Montalbano territory.

We found welcoming good standard small hotels with porterage that delivered cases promptly to our room so we could refresh & rejoin our small group for yet another evening of gastronomic discovery.
Always welcomed with gusto at amazing eateries so eager to share their often freshly caught delights & local traditional deserts hard to resist.

I thought as we were travelling as a small group we were often able to sample tasting menu often delivered to table with a proud smile & explanation about the local regional delicacy.

Thank You “ Super Mario “ ( mini bus driver)
It will remain a mystery how he was able to find such off the beaten track farms within softly lit luxury settings, often a swimming pool in view, then shown to a long table to seat the 14 of us ( including Azzura & Mario ) dressed with a crisp white table cloth, set for yet another gastronomic delight.  

Even more outstanding was a visit to De Vittorio family run Olive Grove fortunate timing ment we were able to view the very first 2026 pressing of the Olives. The lunch following under the Olives groves I can only explain as a feeling of being part of a film set -leisurely  enjoying  an expansive lunch with accompanying wine & “Mums “ home made Tiramisu -what a treat.
Sunday found us with  a feeling of belonging to the family as we were driven ( again Super Mario ) to a private beach club hosting large gatherings of families enjoying Sunday lunch together. Giggles, chats, catch ups & smiles all round.

Wine was included with each meal.
Entrance fees & advance bookings were covered which enabled our group to skip any queues.

Yes, lots of walking & steps  between 6 & 10k ( 3-5 miles 6-5Km) a lot of days, but it’s the only way to see all that’s on offer & still readily accessible.  
It was occasionally an option to travel by golf buggy.
The trip being in Oct ( & I believe another in April ) has the advantage of less crowds & comfortable temperatures ( 23-26*) often with a slight welcome breeze.
Days started at 9-30 after a more than acceptable breakfast in the hotel.

Thanks Tony & Caroline first contact/booking
Azzura multi lingual guide who we soon realised was in complete control & was there to make sure we were always happy.
Super Mario drove with confidence always dropping us off as close as he could & occasionally navigating us ( it seemed ) by the stars.

From the moment we were greeted with a friendly smile at the airport in Milan to be guided through check in and onto security on our return home, everything was looked after down to the smallest detail in between. much work and organising was clearly done behind the scenes which we never saw and never needed to as everything was seamlessly orchestrated. (just check in your brain on arrival and enjoy the ride). Expect to be wined and dined at some of the best and most surprising locations by friendly attentive staff, professional guides and top rated wines and bears. As someone who prefers not to eat meat, fish or dairy we were more than well looked after with nothing being too much trouble to cater for our preferences. Such an easy week exploring parts of Italy we would not normally see, a no brainer well done Magari.

Well informed and friendly guide. Not too large a group. Interesting places visited. Lots of food and wine included in the price.

A brilliant tour around Sicily. Greek temples, Roman villa, Norman cathedrals and Baroque architecture. And the food, utterly delicious and so much. Azzurra, our tour manager was amazing; funny, knowledgeable, organised and lovely to be with. Definitely recommend this tour from Palermo to Catania.

I just returned from the Lombardy tour with Magari. It was a memorable experience which included a wonderful extended family run hotel. The staff were very friendly and helpful.
The meals were plentiful and exceptional both at the hotel and at the local restaurants we visited. We enjoyed the typical regional food including polenta and risotto and various local wines.

We enjoyed interesting trips to Bergamo, Brescia, Lake Iseo and Lake Maggiore with beautiful mountain views.
Our guide who was from Bergamo was warm, enthusiastic and knowledgeable of the history, food and culture of the area. 
Notable was the personal touch and caring of our Tour Operator which was much appreciated.

I have just returned from the Secluded Tuscany tour which was exceptional. Just a small group of 9 people ( I was travelling alone but never felt alone at all!) guided by the amazing Wendy - fluent in Italian, so knowledgeable about the area (without notes!!) and never overbearing - such a lovely person. Some amazing meals included within the tour cost too - the seafood lunch at Castiglione della Pescaia was truly exceptional. The Grand Impero hotel was friendly, clean and with wonderful views up to the chestnut forests and the peak of Italy's third highest volcano (thankfully not a working model!!). Magari is for me for sure!

My holiday to Tuscany In May, was my second holiday with friends with Magari Tours. The hotel was lovely set in it's own grounds. My room was very comfortable overlooking the front of the Hotel. I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed some lovely food and visiting some believable and very different wineries, excellent. We were able to relax in the evening at the Hotel to contemplate what we had seen and experienced on our Tours. Our tour guide Wendy was excellent, kind, helpful, nothing was too much trouble for her, she had a good knowledge of the area and the places we visited. She did not refer to notes, as she was knowledgeable in her head, very impressive and informative about the places we visited. I was very impressed with the standard of guiding. A lovely holiday which l would certainly recommend as it was away from the main tourist sights to give us an insight into the Italians, Tuscany. I enjoyed my holiday so much l have booked a third Magari Tours holiday for June next year. Well done Magari Tours keep up the high standard you set.

A relaxing holiday in Lombardy, an area of Italy we hadn’t visited before with, for us, the right balance of sightseeing and free time. The family run hotel in the mountains was lovely with very good food and excellent local wines of which the family were obviously and justifiably proud. The view across the valley was stunning.
Very interesting trips to Bergamo and Brescia with
informative and entertaining local guides.
A well organised and very enjoyable holiday.

We were based in Alberobello for our week long holiday in Puglia. We enjoyed the experience of staying in a Trulli and were pleasantly surprised to find we had air con - which we had not necessarily expected in what we assumed might be a more ‘rustic style' dwelling.

We particularly enjoyed our trips to local Masseria where we were always met with exceptional hospitality and enjoyed learning about the pasta, cheese, bread, wine and olive oil produced in this region. The 'tasting' experiences exceeded our expectations and were often set in beautiful outdoor locations.

Trips to towns and through the countryside provided some truly wonderful memories, which benefited greatly from the knowledge and enthusiasm of our Tour Guide, Grace. Trips were organised to allow time to enjoy both scenery and history at a pace that also created free time to explore, rest or just soak up the atmosphere.

Unforeseen circumstances just prior to our trip resulted in a reduction in mobility for one of us and we went fully prepared to 'opt out' of the longer walking parts of tours, so as not to compromise the rest of our group. However, our Guide arranged Tuk Tuk and Rickshaw tours for us instead, so we could continue to enjoy the full experience as set out in our itinerary. A level of attention to detail we very much appreciated.

Customer care prior to, during and following our tour has been excellent - well done Magari Tours

The party only had six customers one of which was an individual who had two full length callipers on his legs. Seriously compromised as it was a holiday that involved a lot of walking along ancient streets, he was unable to walk properly holding the rest of us up. After about 2/3 days a tuk tuk was organised for him; why not from the beginning as Magaritours must have known about his disability before hand. The accommodation was very basic and not particularly clean. Non of us ever found the mini bar which was advertised?!! Two days were empty of activity until 4.30pm. Alborabello is not somewhere that you would choose to spend time exploring, there's not much to see after looking at the trulli's. Overall it did not match up to what I was led to believe would happen. The food was repetitive and bland, it was advertised as an exciting break and to experience the local cuisine, said by someone with a sense of humour.

Travelling with Magari exceeded our expectations. The boutique hotel was one of the best we have stayed in, with friendly staff, spacious room, delicious food, with excellent local wines included and a very pleasant spa. The itinerary was interesting and provided us with a good balance of cultural interest and exploration time. The tour guide helped provide us with a good experience. Overall, the holiday was very enjoyable and we look forward to our next Magari tour.

The holiday provided everything listed in the brochure, and more, always exceeding our expectations. The hotel was comfortable and a well located base.
The food and wine, all included, were also of a high standard.
The tours and the guides provided were excellent, with a well balanced itinerary, poviding both cultural interest and free time for our own further exploration.
We really enjoyed our holiday and will look for another Magari tour in the future.

The hotel was great. Nice rooms, lovely helpful staff, good food and the local wine, different every evening was a great experience. Our tour guide Wendy was excellent, kind, helpful with a good knowledge of the area and the places we visited. Two of the journeys were quite long and the coach not so comfortable for a longish journey. I suppose we were a small number so a larger coach would not be practical particularly when we visited remote places.
A good crowd of fellow travellers and we all got on very well,
I think the treatments in the spa would have been better if the therapist spoke a little English. Pleasant ladies but a little silent!