Planeta is among the largest winemakers in Sicily; you may have seen their labels in shops in the…read moreUS too. Their multiple tasting rooms and large variety of choices demonstrate how big they are, but still we are glad we made the trip to visit them while in Sicily. We had an awesome experience touring their beautiful gardens and tasting almost 7 different wines alongside a marvelous charcuterie platter. The other guests there were very fun to chat with and spend a few hours learning about how the volcanic Sicilian soil adds a unique character to grapes growing here and creates wines quite different from those on mainland Italy. It's a great experience and I highly recommend it! When going, DO NOT RELY ON GOOGLE MAPS to get to this location! Follow THEIR specific directions and look for the roadside signs.It's easy to find if you follow the directions on their website. If you follow google maps, you will most likely get lost in a field! Planeta knows this may happen - their super helpful team speaks English and can guide you to their front door. DON'T hesitate to call them!! Also, don't just show up here; you need reserve a tasting or tour experience. They're often very busy and their slate for a day may get too full to accommodate walk-ups. It's a great experience but be sure you're all booked.

A truly beautiful family owned winery. Had a great tour with an extremely knowledgeable tour guide,…read moreAntonio. The tour and tasting consisted for four wines. First we tasted and talked about the four wines. Then we tasted the wines again with food pairings. After a bit more drinking and snacking we took a tour of the winery and cellar. Then in the setting sunlight we had an olive oil tasting with more wine. The cost was 35 euros. Totally worth it in my opinion. Also they rotate the wines they offer for the tasting so you could go back and have multiple experience with different wine.

I can't compliment Chauffeurs of Italy highly enough. They made our visit to Sicily special…read more Barbara was very responsive to our group of four with quick replies to our e-mails. She helped tweak our itinerary. We were able to make last minute changes without any fuss. Luciano was awesome. He was prompt for all of our pick ups. He is an excellent driver. He pointed out areas of interest during our drives. He suggested one of our favorite restaurants during our visit to Ragusa. The thing that took our trip to the next level was having local guides for all of our major stops. Barbara and Luciano arranged for us to have half day tours of Palermo, the valley of the temples in Agrigento, Ragusa and Siracusa. They were all excellent. Getting oriented by a local is a great way to start a stay in a new town. Luciano was a gentleman. He always had cold water available. He often had snacks, like cookies or chocolates. He was always happy to make a bathroom stop. His English is imperfect, but it wasn't a problem. He was unobtrusive in a good way. We would not have enjoyed constanly having to make small talk during long drives. I can honestly say that our trip would not have been the same without them. Our next trip to Italy will likely be Naples and the Amalfi coast. I hope to persuade Chauffers of Italy to show us around.

I would give the Zafran a 5 star rating, if not for 2 reasons. #1 we were told that the restaurant…read moreand most restaurants around were closed after October, we arrived the 3rd of October. The Continental breakfast was wonderful and the servers so great. #2 is I really dislike memory foam mattresses, I find them to smell a bit like chemicals and I feel uncomfortable, also the sheets are terrible!!! Felt like I was sleeping on cardboard, in the middle of the night, I put on leggings and a long sleeve top, so I didn't feel the sheets. The staff was very pleasant and the view is fantastic! Make sure your room faces the sea. Also a 'double bed' is actually a king size (called a double because it sleeps 2).

Jonny/Gianni drove us to Catania Airport at 4 am after we missed our ferry. We communicated on…read moreWhatsApp to schedule as we don't speak Italian. He was extremely kind and considerate. We're so grateful to him and his business for saving us in our moment of need.