The guide was only interested in finishing the tour at Taormina so that he can get off the bus and go home straight.  The tour operator Elio was also terrible and only interested in making a quick buck. His choice of guide was terrible.  He looks like a sleepy operator and was only concerned about collecting his fee. My strong recommendation with TourHQ is to be very careful in choosing guides. In this case it was a company and not an individual who was the listed guide.  My experience with the individual listed guides in Livorno, Kotor and Dubrovnik were in contrast all very very good and professional. They were all client focused and keen to satisfy the  specific client requirements. They seemed to be very particular about leaving a positive impression and protecting their reputation. This was not the case in Messina Sicily where the guide that we ended up with was like the guide “from hell” he was not listening to what we were saying and everything he would say is that what we wanted “is not possible” he refused to accommodate our requests simply because it will not allow him to end in Taormina and disrupt his plans to end the tour in Taormina so he could go home straight. Please delist this guide Ernesto as well as the tour company of Elio. They are terrible.