Sebastiano Leone knows that traveling is always better when you’re being led by your senses, whether it's on a cultural exploration in Sicily, where he knows all the local hotspots and best places to savor authentic local cuisine and wines, or in the alpine regions on a hike amid beautiful mountains. His love for people and nature make him an excellent Trip Leader and wonderful travel companion. When not guiding, Sebastiano works for the Sicilian government on environmental projects and lives in Siracusa with his wife and two daughters.
Sebastiano is a trip leader "eccezionale"—informative, fun, infused with peaceful passion and generosity, and always in control. He strives to bring the diversity and beauty of Sicily to his guests, and he succeeds in spades. His rapport with locals at every stop along the way added to our enjoyment. We are now part of the Sebastiano fan club and will be on the lookout for future trips with him.
Sebastiano remains one of the BEST WT guides I've had EVER! Wonderful! Very detailed oriented, and he reacts to and pleases clients. Great sense of humor, and always, always so very responsive.
Sebastiano is a star! If all of your trip leaders are as professional, well organized, knowledgeable, friendly, flexible, and fun as he was on this trip, you must have a lot of repeat clients. He checked in with each of us all of the time to make sure we were having a good time and comfortable with the day's plans. He was an excellent resource for shopping and dining suggestions, and his easy going nature and good sense of humor were much appreciated by this Wilderness Travel neophyte. I would definitely consider other trips Sebastiano leads.
Sebastiano embodies the spirit of Sicily, as he knows the art of lingering. He was our patient leader, guide, interpreter, godfather, mentor, empath, friend, advisor, and driver. With his encyclopedic knowledge of the history, geography, and customs he achieved his goal of infusing us with the essence of Sicily through all of our senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling.
The best of the best. His knowledge, passion, caring are all extraordinary.
Sebastiano is knowledgeable about the mountains and trails, helpful and protective of hikers, thoughtful about addressing special needs, warm and friendly, open in sharing about the natural world, a joy to share the trip with.
Sebastiano just made this trip for me. His positive nature, his love for Italy, his passion for geology made each day a delight. When I showed true interest in geology and the desire to find a fossil, Sebastiano went out of his way to show me interesting things and to talk to me about the things I noticed and was curious about on the trail.
I cannot overstate Sebastiano's capacity as a guide/trip leader: he is one of the most capable, gracious, thoughtful human beings I've encountered, and he truly enjoys his role with Wilderness Travel, going beyond his serious work ethic to embody a respect for others and the ground he travels. He seems to love being ‘on hike,’ and I very much learned and benefited from his example, natural observations, and assistance, most every step of the way. We count him as a friend.
Sebastiano has almost 20 years experience leading this hike; he is an exceptional leader. The trip was seamless even though he had to change plans because of rain. The guides he lined up were wonderful. I will never forget climbing (and descending) Mt. Etna!
Sebastiano was a stellar trip leader in every way. His love for the Dolomites was evident every day and his knowledge of the area was very strong. He made a clear effort to take care of every individual on the trip and was very attentive to everyone's needs and desires.
Sebastiano is an excellent guide and a charming, engaging person. His knowledge of Sicily's geology, environmental issues, history, and food was amazing. He is so calm, thoughtful and helpful.
The leader sets the tone of the trip, and Sebastiano kept an upbeat, controlled presence throughout. He is a lovely man who is utterly sincere in his desire to make everyone happy. He understands how much a trip like this means to people, and strives to meet expectations. We were in HIS country, seeing the best of HIS world, and it was great. He tries to make sure the group doesn't waste time on anything but the best experience. He tackles tough questions and addresses every one.
Sebastiano is a treasure. He has an excellent sense of humor, is approachable, and very flexible, offering many options. He worked very hard to ensure our trip was the best it could be.
Sebastiano was endlessly cheerful, organized, informative about the locations we visited. I appreciated, also, that he was continually finding ways to enrich the experience by adding visits to new sites. His extensive scientific knowledge added a lot.
Sebastiano really knows all the "insider" places to go and things to do. He helped make our trip a real pleasure.
Sebastiano paced our trip well, allowing room for individual side interests within the scope of the itinerary. I especially appreciated his deep background in the geology and the history of the area. Much of Sebastiano's work was invisible to us, the clients, but his thorough behind the scenes hard work made the trip move smoothly. He was the quiet force that made the trip so successful.
Sebastiano is genuinely a caring, expert leader. He was always a gentleman who went to any extra effort to please everyone in the group. It was great to observe the relationships he had positively nurtured with hotel and restaurant proprietors at each of our destinations. He helped make our group feel like a Sicilian family!
Sebastiano's ready humor and easy interaction with everybody had a very positive impact on the group dynamic. His intelligent comments about culture, local customs and geology were always welcome.
Excellent is not a sufficient adjective. Sebastiano is over the top terrific at everything. And a great guy as well.
Not only did Sebastiano bring his deep love and knowledge of Sicily, his knowledge of history and geology, his incredible organizational skills, his adaptability and ability to adjust the trip, but he made it all seem so effortless and natural. A truly outstanding guide and a wonderful person.
Sebastiano was superb—prepared, knowledgeable, nice, organized. We want to do another WT trip with him!
Sebastiano is one of the best guides that I have traveled with; very professional, funny, and resourceful.
Sebastiano is a real ‘people’ person. He was most helpful to all the group members and was fun to be with.
Sebastiano really looked after us. He was always available, made sure that everything always went smoothly, is very knowledgeable, and very friendly.
A gem! Sebastiano is an exceptionally skilled, knowledgeable, and personally involved hike leader. An extremely professional, educated, and pleasant person.
I can't say enough great things about Sebastiano. He was congenial, caring, fun, and flexible to the group's needs. I really enjoyed my time with him and felt he kept things flowing with a smile. He made sure everyone was having a great time.
Patient, knowledgeable, and good humored, Sebastiano was a first class leader. I would be happy to travel with him in the future.
'Sebbe'is a very warm, responsible, and knowledgeable leader, who ran a truly great trip in Sicily. He worked very well with the other two exceptional leaders, and showed a lot of concern for making each trip participant fully satisfied, down to small details. What stood out for me was his kindness, his good judgement, his tact, and the depth of his serious thinking about many subjects-Sicily, of course, one of them. Some amazing people work with Wilderness Travel!
Sebastiano Leone encouraged some of us to do more challenging hikes and stayed with us the entire time. His wit and smile made even the tougher hikes loads of fun.
Sebastiano was a great leader: fun, thoughtful, kind, warm, capable, and organized. I hope to travel with him again!
Sebastiano was a great trip leader. He is a very genuine person, the kind you would have for a friend. He is intelligent, confident, and personable. I loved that he knew so much of the geology of the Alps.
Sebastiano is an excellent leader: professional, caring, and capable.
He was a wonderful guide both in terms of relevant knowledge and interpersonal skills. His ability to explain the geology and natural history of Sicily was exceptional. A real bonus was his knowledge of plants, flowers, and trees. We always felt he was looking out for us in every way.
Sebastiano is an excellent trip leader and guide. He was outstanding at dealing with the various hiking skill levels of all participants. He is a true cultural ambassador and a great asset to Wilderness Travel.
I cannot say enough good about Sebastiano—he is extremely nice, funny, sensitive, knowledgeable, and professional. He always went the extra mile to help and provide the best possible experience.
Sebastiano is warm, considerate, and flexible. He has an excellent instinct for the energy level of the group and was always able to anticipate and meet our needs.
Sebastiano was a wonderful leader. The moment we expressed any needs, he immediately filled them. He was adjustable, friendly, and organized, with a great sense of humor.
Sebastiano was great—very personable and knowledgeable about the hikes and the towns.
Sebastiano was very friendly and knowledgeable about Sicily, especially the terrain.
Sebastiano was outstanding in giving us information about Sicily. He was also a pleasure to be with.
Best trip ever! Sebastiono was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, flexible, and guided by the interests of the group.
Sebastiano is terrifically organized and highly efficient in a low-key way. His knowledge of local culture, food, and architecture is awesome.
