Private Tour: Mt Etna and Taormina from Catania Mt Etna Volcano Activity and Sicilian Charm
4.7
39 Ratings
Catania
Embark on a private tour to Mt Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and explore the charming town of Taormina. Experience the thrill of witnessing volcanic activity and soak in the breathtaking views of the sea and mountains in Taormina.
Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Take a scenic drive to Mt Etna through several Sicilian towns, including Santa Venerina and Zafferana. Visit some old lava flows on the way. During the ascent, you will travel through different kinds of vegetation. Once you reach a little over 6500 feet (2000 m), you will walk with your guide to visit the Silvestri craters and the latest new lava flows and craters from 2001-2003. Enjoy the desert moon atmosphere that was created.

After visiting Mt Etna, drive to Taormina. From the Greek/Roman for theater, you will be able to see the architecture of old Greeks and Romans and Etna together completing each other. The main street, Corso Umberto, is an excellent place to visit shops and boutiques to buy the clothes of the latest fashion collections. You will have free time for lunch (own expense).

Points of Interest

  • La Zagara
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Bottled water
  • All taxes, fees and handling charges
  • Private tour
  • Driver/guide
  • Transport by air-conditioned minivan
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Mt Etna Volcano, reputed to be among the most active volcanoes worldwide and the liveliest in Europe, boasts a history of eruptions spanning several million years. Offering one of the most intriguing and visually spectacular volcanic experiences, Mt Etna lies in Sicily. Post your Etna exploration, enjoy a picturesque drive to Taormina.

Taormina, a sophisticated town, is celebrated for maintaining pleasing weather year-round, complemented by breathtaking panoramas of the ocean and mountain ranges.

  • At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the following information: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
  • May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
  • Pricing is per vehicle, maximum of 8
Location
Pasticceria Savia
Via Umberto I
Departure Point From Hotel/ Accomodation in Sicily, Catania Airport, Harbor, Acireale, Giarre, Messina, Taormina & Naxos. Since it is a Private Tour, we can adjust time upon your wish and needs. Outside of Catania Province are considered upon an extra to be agreed on distance from Catania.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(39 Ratings)
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1 star
Rbpenney1
Apr 3, 2024
Awesome tour company - Tour was awesome. Great guide. Got us back to ship on time. My wife left her phone and wallet in the tour van and they mailed it back to us in Canada promptly. Highly recommend this company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dawn_c
Mar 23, 2024
Personalize - Personalized trip Nice relaxing trip with history lessons Be prepared as snow was falling on Mt Etna when we were there
Review provided by Viator
Lubomira_d
Feb 20, 2024
Everything was great - We had a wonderful time with Daniel. He took us from our place in Catania. We had a ride to Etna for an hour, where we went for a walk around some old craters. Then proceeded to a small farm where we tasted some local products - wine, honey, olives, olive oil. Next we went to Taormina for lunch near the sea shore - nice food and lovely views. After Daniel left us in the city centre of Taormina where we could sightsee the town. Everything was as described and we got to see some of the most important places around. Thank you!
Review provided by Viator
Laurapm7115cv
Jan 17, 2024
Best experience ever!! - For me and my family it was not the first time in Siciliy but THIS time was different, we had the BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!! We've been very lucky to meet Simone (the company owner) and Pippo, two great drivers and very nice people. Pippo gave us a warm welcome at the airport, drived us directly to the front door of our hotel and even waited till the porter took all our suitcases inside. He really took care of us ! Then we had a spectacular private tour of Taormina and Mount Etna with Simone. It was not a simple tour around these great areas (even if it could have been enough) but it's been also a real history lesson! Simone is truly an amazing tour guide and enchanted us with many stories and anecdotes about the history of Sicily and of Italy as a whole. Thank you guys! 5 STARS!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marybethhowe
Nov 12, 2023
Taormina trip - We had a terrific tour and enjoyed the entire day. Our driver, Daniel was excellent! He was a terrific driver and also took care to make sure we were happy with each stop we made. He was friendly, competent, flexible with our plans and very kind.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rimma
Oct 21, 2023
Excellent tour - We enjoyed seeing the volcano crater and hearing about the volcano eruption. Our guide, Antonio, was extremely attentive, provided valuable information on the sites, made excellent recommendation for lunch in Taormina.
Review provided by Viator
Sandra_e
Oct 3, 2023
Great Driver Great Tour - Our driver Marchello was amazing. So knowledgeable and friendly. He helped us in so many ways. The tour was excellent and I highly recommend it. AWESOME!!!
Review provided by Viator
Michaelan8725zi
Sep 21, 2023
A fantastic day! - Our tour guide Daniele picked us up from the hotel in Catania well in advance and we set off on time. On the way to the cable car he told us lots of interesting facts about Etna and its history. When we arrived at the valley station he helped us buy the tickets and also accompanied us up the volcano itself. He mentioned that he rarely does this, but since the weather was so great and we were such a laid-back bunch ;-) he came up with us. The 4x4 buses picked us up immediately after we arrived. After about 15 minutes of driving we got out and walked another 15 minutes up the volcano until we had a great view of the currently active (gas clouds) Etna. The cable car ride and then the 4x4 bus ride are not included in the price of the trip and cost €78 per person, but it was worth it! We then fortified ourselves as a group in the bistro at the mountain station while Daniele waited for us in the car. Then we continued on to Taormina. On the way there, Daniele told us again about the towns we passed on the way and about Taormina itself. When we asked him about a place to eat, he suggested two places. We chose one with an incredible view of Isola Bella and really great Italian food. Once we had fortified ourselves, we went to the center of Taormina. There we strolled along the pedestrian zone. Unfortunately, there was no time left to visit the ancient theater, so Daniele picked us up again at the other end of the pedestrian zone and we returned to our hotel after 8.5 hours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elton_s
Jul 15, 2023
Ask for Daniel for tauromina/ Etna! - Daniel was a very knowledgeable guide/driver. He was able to improvise due to scheduling. From this knowledge and ability to make things happen on the fly, I had possibly my best meal on our trip! Fantastic!
Review provided by Viator
Susan_k
Aug 5, 2023
Worst Viator experience on our trip to Greece and Itsly - We had a tour of Mt. Etna and Taormina for our party of 6, one of many Viator excursions we had booked during our time in Greece and Italy. This was the one ‘bad apple’! Our guide was nowhere to be found when we got off our ship. We finally had to call the contact number we had, and they were entirely cryptic about why we wrre not met according to the ore-arranged time. Finally, 40 minutes late, our ‘guide’ appeared looking sleepy and a bit disheveled. He first took us to Etna (which was fine) and then on to Taormina. He started ‘pushing’ a restaurant in a seaside town ( not on our agenda) and we told him we wanted to eat in a Taormina restaurant we could ‘vet’ for our grandson’s severe nut allergy. He dropped us in the seaside town, which was crowded with long steep stairs to get us down to what was nothing more than a crowded beach. He told he had made a reservation for us at the restaurant he pushed and pushed for and we had to tell him one again, in no uncertain terms we were going to find our own place in Taormina. Throughout this guide was generally unfriendly except for a few brief moments of spontaneous engagement. Had he not pushed rhe seaside town on us we would have had more time in Taormina, which was our original plan. We’ll so vlad every other Viator guide we had was the ‘polar opposite of this one!!!!!
Review provided by Viator
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