Secrets of Sicily Cycling

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Sharon Colin, 01/10/2023

This was a lovely holiday. But with hindsight, other destinations in France have provided more of a relaxing holiday in that we could stop along the way for coffee or lunch whereas on this one we just went from A to B with little in between. Maybe this is because Sicily is a poorer area although it was beautiful. We didn't appreciate the fly tipping either!

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Timothy Stocker, 30/09/2023

It was a good holiday. It would be very helpful for Headwater to give some restaurant recommendations. Most hotels made suggestions but we had to spend time looking the suggestions up online which was time consuming. The recommendations in Castellamare and Mazara were excellent Headwater's notes seem to suggest a richness of seafood at Selnunte along the shoreline. We did not find it so,. It might be a good idea to draw attention to other restaurants that are available in the town and away from the sea.

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Veronica Stephens, 18/09/2023

Really enjoyed our trip and was well organised by Headwater with very good guide to help. All hotels good with exception of Hotel Mahara

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Heather Binmore, 08/09/2023

Helen Hodson was extremely attentive, helpful and reliable.

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Karen Hastings, 01/09/2023

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Mr BOLAND, 29/04/2023

Overall we really enjoyed this trip and based on previous cycling trips the 1+ rating was about right. Undulating on the interior sections and generally flat on the coastal sections. With the exception of Hotel Hopps (not originally part of itinerary) all hotels were good with good breakfast. With the exception of the agriturismo all overnight locations had many points of interest if you had the time and energy, and there were many places for a swim on the coastal sections. A couple of unexpected route diversions encountered as well as a few injections of speed to get past the odd stray dog. Without wishing to condone any fly-tipping whatsoever, the level of rubbish was not as bad as expected having read previous trip reviews. We saw much worse as we continued our journey through Sicily. Botecchia cycles were appropriate for trip profile and distance. Filippo the local agent provided an excellent briefing and introduction to the trip. All-in-all we would recommend this trip.

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Mrs Chambers, 15/04/2023

Thoroughly enjoyed our cycling in Sicily with Headwater. All transfer arrangements went smoothly. The local Geotravel representative, Filippo was extremely helpful, friendly and efficient in imparting information and answering queries.

The bikes were perfectly adequate for the level of cycling and road conditions. The Navigation App is easy to use.

Cycling in April, the weather can be mixed so pack accordingly, it was cold and wet at the start of our trip but temperatures rose throughout the week.

The countryside is beautiful. Highlight visits were to Enrice, Marsala Wine Tour, Archeological Site at Selinute and it is well worth spending an extra two nights in Palermo to experience the magnificent buildings.

We ate well throughout at small local restaurants and drank the excellent local wines.

We have no hesitation in recommending this holiday. Headwater area great company to travel with.

Thank you.

Rosemary and Bryan

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Mr Moncrief, 08/10/2022

Fairly easy cycling through undulating countryside with some nice coastal sections. Wonderful food and good swimming in clear water. Some fine hotels, particularly the agriturismo and Room of Andrea. Unfortunately, Sicily is an opencast landfill of rubbish, and it is so sad and depressing to ride along otherwise wonderful backroads lined by endless garbage. The tourist board needs to apply some pressure to stop the accepted culture of dumping. I wouldnt recommend it as a cycling destination purely for this.

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Mrs Fowler, 01/10/2022

This is our second holiday with headwater and we would definitely travel with Headwater again. The organisation is good and all staff friendly and helpful. . We enjoyed Sicily very much and were very pleased with the bikes, locations and liked the mix of hotels . However we were really shocked by the rubbish that litters the Sicilian countryside and found it difficult to see past this to enjoy the countryside as we would have liked to. Most of the hotels were very good , one was a bit past it’s best . Mostly the food ( usual just breakfast ) was good, but our 2 last hotels the breakfast was poor and in one case very poor, with dreadful coffee in both. The other thing that I struggled with is that the beds were generally very firm to hard and in all the hotels but one the pillows were very hard foam and very uncomfortable. This of course could be normal for Sicily, but unfortunately I came home with a very sore neck. I am sounding negative, but really overall it was a great holiday .

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Ms Richards, 28/09/2022

Although rated as 1+, there are a lot of hills on this trip so we were glad we chose ebikes . My ebike started to emitt an enervating wailing sound from the front wheel hub and Philipo came out in a storm that evening to repair it. The scenery was varied and interesting, but there was a fair bit of urban and main road to negotiate, which was not pleasant. The hotel breakfasts were on the whole limited for vegans. We spent a couple of additional nights in Selinute, with a beautiful beach, warm sea and a laid back feel.

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Mrs Easton, 24/09/2022

Sicily is a country of contrasts. The archeological sites are amazing, Segentum and Selinunte are fantastic. The roads are not in a great state of repair, and at times we had to wade through mud. The roadsides are disappointingly covered in rubbish, and fly tipping is very prevalent. The roads are also very busy for cycling, and the drivers don’t give you much room. As someone previously mentioned the bikes are not high quality, , heavy and really suitable for short city rides.

I’m sorry I don’t buy into the fact that they need to be sturdy as there are panniers. We carried virtually nothing . We went to the Egadi islands for a few days….they were fantastic, and great cycling, well worth a visit.

Eating out was very expensive.

We travelled in September , temperatures were great, and often a gentle wind.

The hotels were mainly great. It’s worth spending extra time in Palermo, as there are some amazing museums and palaces, The archeological museum has a lot of information on Selinunte.

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Ms Karayi, 17/09/2022

Doing our cycling holiday as a self-guided tour was an excellent way for four of us to travel, to see and experience this part of Sicily.

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Mrs Curnow, 17/09/2022

please see below

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Ms Harris, 10/09/2022

Another great holiday with Headwater!

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Mr Beeby, 03/09/2022

A very good holiday, much enjoyed.

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Mr Sadler, 25/06/2022

We went on the Secrets of Sicily cycling holiday but happened to hit a heatwave which made the first couple of days cycling very hard due to the intense heat and lack of shade, but Headwater were very accomodating and arranged with the accomadations to provide breakfast earlier so that we could leave early in the morning and beat the sun, after that we enjoyed our trip a lot, the cycling was relatively easy and the scenery was lovely especially in the last few days, I thuink this trip would suit people who are interested in history, architecture and local "real" Sicily, we didn't see another tourist at all while we were cycling, only once we stopped in the cities. The highlights were the meal that we had in the Eco-Tourism hotel, and the small seaside resort of Selinunte on the last day - simply lovely !

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Mr Hunter, 14/05/2022

Excellent way to see beautiful places. Good routes and well selected hotels

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Mr Browne, 30/04/2022

We really enjoyed this holiday with you. We were met on arrival at the first hotel by the local rep , who was very helpful. The cycling was very good and with beautiful scenery. The hotels were excellent and very welcoming. Certainly it has given us a taste of Sicily and we will definitely want to visit again.

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Mrs Coupland, 09/04/2022

Generally we loved our holiday through Headwater. The only disappointment was the rental bikes - we are both very keen cyclists and felt, in the spirit of openness, advertising the bikes as 'high quality' is a little wide of the mark. They are heavy, clunky and are more of an entry level city explorer bike rather than biking 200 or so kilometres on. Scenery was beautiful in parts and the route great, however it was disappointing in parts to see so much rubbish dumped on the side of the roads (which we know is no fault of HW). Everything ran incredibly smoothly, mapping was very easy to follow, local support staff were excellent and in constant communication - we felt very safe and looked after :)

Would highly recommend and will definitely travel again using HW. The booking process was efficient and very friendly. On the whole we had a fantastic time.

Headwater response:
Thank you for your feedback we are so pleased you had a lovely holiday and thank you for your comments regarding the bicycles. The bikes do need to be sturdy enough to withhold the usage, the weight of the pannier racks and panniers, the stand, heavier saddles and the suspension - all of which contribute to the overall weight.
Its such a shame that you experienced rubbish that had been dumped on the side of the road. Our team, when planning the routes do try to choose the most scenic routes
I do hope that we will be able to welcome you back to Headwater for another holiday in the future.
Kind regards
Customer Service

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Mrs Rayner, 23/09/2017

Cycling in lovely countryside with places of interest to see. Evenings spent in comfortable hotels with good local food.