Sicily's Best Tour Guides
Find a competent tour guide, tour leader or interpreter. (Hiring a guide is discussed below.) Guides are listed based on general historical and cultural knowledge, linguistic competence and ability. It is also presumed that they work in a professional manner and are polite and cooperative. For rates, based on a full or half day, please email the guide. Best of Sicily recommends these guides but does not necessarily have any commercial connection with them (as they don't pay for being listed here). More comprehensive services (including drivers for shore excursions, week-long tours, etc.) are listed on our Sicily tours and travel services pages, while the consulting page describes such services as lectures, research and photography. Foreign languages spoken are indicated; an asterisk (*) denotes the guide as a native speaker of the language. Certain guides are licensed in more than one province. Following the list of guides by province, we also list specialists in Malta and other areas (such as family history guides).

Palermo (includes Monreale and Cefalù)

Giusy Nicoletti (giusinicol@virgilio.it) English, French.
Jackie Alio (aliojacqueline@yahoo.com) English* (also a historical author).
Francesca Lombardo (lofran07@libero.it) English, German.
Conchita Vecchio - interpreter and group leader (conchitavecchio@yahoo.com) English*.

Messina (includes Taormina)

Rosa Rizza (rosa_rizza@hotmail.com) English*.
Carmelo Guardione (carmeloguardione@yahoo.it) English, French, German.
Tommaso Pantè (tpante@gmail.com) English, Spanish.
Diana Mazza (trinacria2000@hotmail.com) English, German.

Agrigento

Ninfa Cacciatore (ninguide@yahoo.com) English.
Salvatore Macaluso (toulouse@hotmail.it) English.
Michael Gallo (mgallo@sicilytravel.net) English.

Siracusa

Rosa Rizza (rosa_rizza@hotmail.com) English*.
Diana Mazza (trinacria2000@hotmail.com) English, German.
Douglas Kenning (dkenning@sicilyonline.it English*.
Stephen Davies (luciadavies@virgilio.it English*.

Ragusa

Barbara Sudano (barbara.sudano@gmail.com) English.

Trapani (includes Segesta)

Saverio Renda (saverio_renda@virgilio.it) English.
Giusy Nicoletti (giusinicol@virgilio.it) English, French.

Enna (includes Piazza Armerina)

Roberta Alvano (roberta.alvano@alice.it) English, French.
Dino Cuttitta (cuttittad@interfree.it) English.

Catania

Diana Mazza (trinacria2000@hotmail.com) English, German.

Malta (Malta on Best of Sicily)

Joan Sheridan (joansheridan@touringmalta.com) English*.

Family History Tours (Genealogy on Best of Sicily)

Rosy Bartolotta (rosybartolotta@yahoo.it) English*.

How to Hire a Tour Guide:
- Whether you find the name of a guide on this list or another, determine which languages the guide speaks. If you actually speak to him/her you'll be able to get some idea about fluency in your language. The guides listed on this page all speak foreign languages well; sometimes the advantage of native ("mother-tongue") speakers is that, being from (for example), the United States or Japan, they better understand the culture, interests and "touring style" of foreigners (non-Italians) visiting Italy.
- Try, either via email correspondence or a telephone conversation, to get a feel for what there is to see; there are plenty of ideas on this site. A good tour guide will try to determine what you (or your tour group) want to see and do. For example, if your Sicilian visit has a culinary theme you'll want to see the street markets of Palermo or Catania.
- Inquire about rates and the guide's availability on a certain day. It's important that you feel comfortable with the guide you hire. If you get a guide's name from this page, mention that you found it on Best of Sicily.
- Guides are, by nature, specialists in a particular aspect of travel. If you require lodging, transportation or itinerary planning, the right service is a competent travel agent, tour operator or "travel concierge" with staff based at your destination. Several are listed on our travel page.
- Italians are too often inclined to rely almost exclusively on paper "credentials" rather than actual quality of service, and some travel professionals use "certifications" as a substitute for listening to, and then meeting, your needs as a traveler. Scheduling, for example, is important because your time in a certain destination may be limited and Sicily's historic and archeological sites have fickle open-hours, so concentrate on the practical elements of your visit.
- Rates may vary based on factors such as the season, but (speaking very generally) the cost of a guide service is typically slightly over 100 euros for a half-day (4-5 hours) and slightly more than 200 euros for a full-day (7-8 hours). As a point of reference, this is the minimum you should expect to pay. Tipping is always welcome, but especially appropriate with a "larger" group of at least six adults.
- Remember that even if the focus of your trip is primarily cultural and historical, you're coming to Sicily to have a good time. Enjoy your discovery of the world's most fascinating island!
- A few travel agents and tour operators, and dozens of "independent travelers," have told us that this page alone makes visiting Best of Sicily worthwhile. Contact us to suggest a guide, indicating a daytime telephone number.
- The editors wish to acknowledge that this page was suggested by a travel agent's experience with tour guides in Italy. He brought to our attention the vast differences between great guides and mediocre ones.