The trip to Sicily was wonderful. As usual, Shannon gets to know the locals and finds the best places for wine tasting and dining. Often, off the beaten path which makes it an even better experience. Not only is there a vast amount of good wine, but also great food while you learn about the history of places from her great local guides. Always great to travel with GrapeHops. Croatia was my first trip and Sicily my second. Both trips have been very memorable.

Cathy R. – San Diego, California

This tour in Sicily was wonderful! I have never drunk so much great wine or eaten so many delicious meals as on this trip! Shannon knows many of the best places to eat and drink and everyone on this trip benefitted from her knowledge!

Fran D. – Ellicott City, Maryland

Our Sicily Tour with Shannon of Grapehops exceeded even our already high expectations. Meeting the winemakers, seeing the actual vines, drinking the wine, eating the food – all were generous and delicious.
The tour was varied, well-paced, smoothly run, and hospitably informed by our guide, Gianluca, and by the locals he introduced us to. Our eight fellow travelers made dinners and tastings convivial and interesting.

Alex & Ann C. — Berkeley, California

We enjoyed immensely our tour of Sicily in May with GrapeHops. This was our fifth tour with GrapeHops. We appreciate the careful attention to detail that seem to make the tour progress in a seamless fashion. The places we visited were informatively presented and amazing from Greek ruins to a family run saffron farm where we had fresh ricotta. The food, including cooking classes, and wines were remarkable examples of the regions we visited. Even though we had a full itinerary, we did not feel rushed, and overall the tour was relaxing and amazingly satisfying.

Grazie mille!

Don & Mary M. — Marshfield, Wisconsin

We were fortunate enough to get on Shannon’s 2018 Sicily tour, and it was a set of experiences we will always cherish. To start with, her tours are the perfect size – I came to feel like we were in a “traveling dinner party”. What this small group size enabled us to do was enjoy dinners and wines in intimate settings with restauranteurs, chefs, and vintners interacting with us personally. This made for truly memorable connections with Sicilians who are passionate about their crafts, as well as connections with each other.
In addition to the intimate group, the other thing that Shannon has perfected in her tour of Sicily is a perfect balance between relaxation time, amazing and unique cultural experiences, and of course incredible food and wine at the best vineyards in this amazing and beautiful land. We will never forget the venerable craft of the marionette show, and the witty and gregarious artisans who put this show on, as has been done for centuries. We ate fresh – as in made before our eyes – cheese with a saffron farmer, walked the Palermo and Catania markets with a couple native Sicilians, and learned new appreciation for the history and culture that have amassed in this crossroads of centuries of western civilization. Perhaps the most memorable was a private lesson and recital in the history of music in a 14th century home by a world renowned music historian, luthier, and musician who crafts ancient instruments and teaches their playing. These amazing experiences were always punctuated by great foods and sublime wines in beautiful settings.
While we anticipated great things in Sicily, our trip exceeded all of our expectations. We will definitely be making another trip with Shannon- and it will be hard to resist the temptation to repeat Sicily!

Bob & Margaret F. — Washington D.C.

With Shannon as your guide, your biggest decisions will be red, white or rosé. We have done four trips with Shannon and each one has been so organized, interesting, and comfortable with delicious wine and food – all the things you want when traveling.

With Shannon you’ll get culture, history, local knowledge and the most wonderful food and drink imaginable. Her 5-star, small group tours are the best way to see some very special places in Europe that she knows very well, and she will take you places you would never find on your own.

Mary H. & David B. – San Diego, California

At age 58 I wasn’t quite ready to be “guided” and “bussed” around. I like to experience the culture, the people and the customs of a country and be spontaneous and adventurous while I still can. Well, Shannon’s Sicily tour was so phenomenal that my next trip will absolutely be with her. The beauty of being on a tour with Shannon is that she connects you with locals who are proud of their culture and what they do; whether it’s cheese making, wine making or puppet making, even the drivers are awesome. The passion they showed in their trades was monumental to me and what made my trip so unforgettable; and Sicily wasn’t even on my bucket list! Dining experiences are fun, lively and delicious. It is easy to see that Shannon puts much thought and research into her tours to make them such a success. As another testimonial noted, she is a bit of a mother hen watching over her group and going the extra mile to address any concerns. No amount of planning on my own could have afforded me such a successful and awesome trip.

Janell S. — Roseburg, Oregon

The trip to Sicily with Shannon was just what we needed after years of feeling like we were treading water through the covid pandemic. It was safe but had a real sense of freedom and adventure.

As with all the Grapehops tours, this one was personalized. Shannon wanted to know each traveler’s interests, which she tried to integrate into our activities. In our case it was art, history, and architecture as well as the reliably fabulous and authentic food and wine.

We had great, very knowledgeable, and extremely fun tour guides who felt like (and became) friends. Many of our activities felt like down-among-real-people hidden treasures: a cheesemaker’s farm and facility; family wineries; an ancient fish market (with incredibly delicious fish hot dogs at a small restaurant adjacent to the market); a quirky and fascinating ancient instrument craftsman, musician, and music historian; a traditional Sicilian puppet workshop and show (just for us!); and many more.

I’m eagerly anticipating our next trip with Shannon.

Riley D. – San Diego, California