My Review of TravelStride: Re: Treasures of Sicily, May 31-June 8, 2025 My name is Anna Arapakos, and I along with my seven travelers joined up with a group from Britain to do a weeklong tour in and around Sicily, with Alessio Graffio as our tour guide, and I can't sing his praises enough as well as the touring company we used in Italy which was Exodus. Our tour agency in the States which brokered our use of Exodus was TravelStride. I would like to say a few words about TravelStride and the preparatory experience I had. As the leader for my group, I selected TravelStride because this particular tour touted more UNESCO world Heritage sites advertised than any other I saw. It looked thoroughly organized, varied in experience, and chockfull of all the major things to see and experience. TravelStride did not disappoint! It was packed, meaningful, and rich and varied in experiences. That said, I had never used an organization like TravelStride before, and initially it seemed indirect, hard to make contact with (without an appt.), and I found the process a bit confusing. That was my fault! As time went by and I made a concerted effort to have more direct communication with my agent, Justin Delaney, things became clearer. I believe he became more committed to me with greater contact, and for that I am grateful. This increased my respect for TravelStride. I tried to field all questions from my participants to him. He did very well when it came to payments, and he made a great effort to make the paying experience smooth. As we got closer to the trip,I met Agostina Rinaldi, and I believe she and I were a very good fit. Her communication was timely, prompt, thorough, warm, and personable. I cannot say enough good about Agostina. She made the transition to Exodus (in Sicily) seamless, and this is where I met Monica for Sicily. She, too, was committed, passionate, and timely in anything and everything I needed from the standpoint of Exodus, which is the organization TravelStride hooked me up with. I added a day that involved yet another travel agency, this time, Omega Tours, through which we arranged one more day tour of the two Godfather villages; this too, was an excellent experience. My group loved it. I also want to say that in terms of logistics, as in getting us to and from the airport, there were no issues. All was as it should be. In short, I had a positive experience with TravelStride and will not hesitate to use them again. Sincerely, Anna Arapakos