Catania

Culinary & Nightlife

Enjoy an adventurous day trip to Mount Etna, including handy roundtrip transfers from Catania. Best of all, customize your tour according to your needs, choosing from either a private or small-group experience in a choice of languages. Explore the volcano’s ancient craters, a lava flow cave, and try some local products, while taking in some breathtaking panoramic views along the way. Start your day with a pick-up from your Catania accommodation in an air-conditioned 4x4 or minivan. Digest some fun facts about the volcano from your professional guide as you drive 2000 meters up. Hear about everything from the volcano’s natural resources, memorable landscapes, and flora, to lava flows that have swallowed roads and buildings in past spurts of activity. Once you reach 2000 meters up, take a guided walk around the ancient craters, recent lava flows, and other-worldly landscape. Rest easy as the trek is an easy one, suitable for both families with younger children and older family members. Try a mini-sampling of Sicilian delicacies during the trek, with some "cantucci" biscuits and "zibibbo" wine both up for tasting. After a short break, head to your next stop — a lava flow cave. Using a helmet and flashlight, you’ll discover the cave’s origins and stand-out features in ample time with your guide. Your last stop is a panoramic viewpoint at Monte Pomiciaro, granting you unforgettable views and photo opportunities over the Valle del Bove, the volcano’s most important valley. If the sunset option is selected, take in breathtaking views of Etna during 'Golden Hour'. After your volcanic adventure, head back to Catania, where your tour will conclude.

Following pick-up at a pre-arranged pick-up point, depart Taormina at about 08:30 and journey to the foothills of Mt. Etna. Travel in a small group of no more than 8 people for a more intimate and personalized experience. You will be accompanied by a guide trained in volcanology, biology or geology for your convenience. Upon arrival at the active volcano, hike for approximately 1.5 hours around the perimeters of some of its extinct craters. Walk through ancient woods and along paths covered with lava about 2,000 meters above sea level. Get a better appreciation of this emblem of Sicily and its surrounding landscape from a different perspective. Learn about the fascinating volcanic phenomenon, before heading underground to explore one of the lava caves. Then, head to a local café for a typical savory snack of a sandwich, wine, a dessert and a tasting of almond wine, which is a typical Sicilian sweet wine. Return to your hotel at around 14:30 at the end of the tour services.

Benefit from pickup at your accommodation in Taormina. Taste local produce at an organic farm and savor the flavors of the local honey and wine. Continue to a lava cave created during the 1792 eruption of the volcano. Enter the stunning site to learn about the lava flow and forces that created them. Then, stroll along the mountain trails to reach the Sapienza Refuge on the slopes of Mount Etna. Walk around the different lava flows created by the latest eruptions and see the ancient Silvestri craters from the eruptions of 1892. Watch the sunset from the top of the mountain before returning to your hotel after dark.

Your adventure begins when you meet your captain on board your boat for the day, decked out with three double cabins, a bathroom with a shower, an outside shower, a kitchen, and a refrigerator. You’ll then set sail to Ulysses’ Caves. Be amazed by the gorgeous underwater scenery of vibrant blues and greens as you sail past these breathtaking lava-formed caves. Next, while sailing towards Acitrezza, you’ll pass under the medieval castle of Acicastello and enjoy a spectacular view of the castle by the sea. You’ll notice the characteristic pillow lavas found under the castle due to the rapid cooling of submarine eruptions.   Once you reach Acitrezza, you’ll be shown a marine reserve dubbed "The Cyclopean Isles”. The only way to access the reserve is via a pedal boat, which is included in your tour depending on seasonal availability. If the pedal boat isn’t available or if you prefer not to use it, you’ll instead have the chance to visit the charming little village of Acitrezza for one hour. When you arrive back on board you’ll be served a delicious traditional lunch including an appetizer, pasta with mussels, fruit, water, and local white wine. Finally, during your return trip, you’ll make a short stop with the chance for another quick swim before arriving back in Catania at around 6:00 PM.

Your personal guide will pick you up from your hotel/ port and you will start your wonderful private tour around the top Etna wineries. Driving by comfortable, air-conditioned car through the small authentic mountain villages, you will admire unforgettable picturesque views of the Sicilian countryside full of oranges and lemon plantations, olives and almond trees, houses and churches built of lava stone. The Mount Etna eruptions feed the soil, and that is why this region is considered to be one of the best in the world for growing grapes and wine production. You will visit the three best wineries at the Etna slopes. Wines from these wineries are on the top lists of premium international wine associations. The first venue will be a family run winery, world-famous with its outstanding wines. Here, you will be welcomed by the owner with a glass of an awesome white wine aperitif. Sipping refreshing wine, you will have a guided tour around the estate, after which you will visit the cellars where the owner or your private sommelier will explain to you the wine production process. Finally, you will sit at a wonderful terrace with a breathtaking view of mountains and Ionian coastline, and with your personal sommelier, start your food and wine tasting. You will taste 4 or 5 excellent white, red and rose Etna D.O.C. wines with locally produced cheeses, salami, prosciutto, sausages, couscous, vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, domestic olive oil and fresh homemade bread. Enjoy the panoramic view and the unique atmosphere of the Sicilian countryside. You will be driven to the second venue – another outstanding Etna winery, where the owner will give you a tour around the estate. With a professional sommelier, you will taste 4 brilliant red, rose and white wines of the region. You will continue the tour driving to the next venue, an ancient family run winery with authentic charm. After your guided visit to the cellars, you will taste 3 premium red and white wines accompanied by fresh domestic appetizers: locally produced cheeses, meat delicacies, olives, olive oil and fresh bread. After the tour, your personal guide will bring you back to your accommodation.

Your expert guide will pick you up at your accommodation in Catania, or another central location, around 8:30 AM. The guide will drive you to Rifugio Sapienza where you will the cable car to 2500 meters. Here, a 4x4 vehicle will take you to 2950 meters. With the guide, enjoy the magnificence of the volcano in front of the impressive Central and South-Eastern Craters, which are surrounded by ancient and recent lava flows. Return to Rifugio Sapienza to head in the direction of Monte Nero Degli Zappini. Take a nature walk with your guide to discover the geological and botanical aspects of Etna. Stop for a delicious lunch of authentic Sicilian baked goods accompanied by water and Mount Etna wine. In the afternoon, you will visit a volcanic cave and use helmets and torches to safely explore the depth of the volcano. Your expert guide will teach you some basic information about speleology and the fascinating phenomenon related to eruptions.

Benefit from pick-up at your accommodation and journey with an authorized local guide through the typical villages of Sicily's west coast. Pass houses made from lava stone and marvel at groves of orange, olive and almond trees. Listen to tales of local traditions and learn about the food and wines produced in the volcanic landscape of Mount Etna. Stop at a family-run winery and get a glass of rosé prosecco as a welcome. Visit the cellars before a wine tasting with cold appetizers in a lava stone open-air amphitheater. Sample a glass of white and red wine with locally produced cheeses, salamis, artichokes and more. Continue to a farmhouse to savor more food and wine on an open-air terrace overlooking the vineyards. Try various dishes, including ricotta cheese with marmalade and 2 different pastas made with seasonal ingredients, such as black pork sauce.  Finish your tour, tasting a home made Limoncello and be dropped off at your accommodation.

On a 7-meter boat, discover about 20 kilometers of volcanic coast between the La Timpa Natural Reserve and the Marine Protected Area of Isola dei Ciclopi. In the company of a marine biologist and underwater environmental guide, you will follow a path over the beautiful lavic seabed of Isola dei Ciclopi (Aci Castello), a marine protected area. Discover underwater basalt pillars, lava ropes, lava pillows, and colorful sea life and plants which will all provide the scenery for an unforgettable snorkeling excursion. Experience a unique underwater adventure, as you explore a world of silence between old lava flows, stretches of white sand, underwater canyons, and volcanic faults. Whilst snorkeling, you will have a good chance of encountering groupers, white breams, octopus, sea sponges, and much more.

After being picked up from your accommodation in Catania, visit the magnificent Neapolis in Syracuse. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, this famous archaeological park houses a Greek theatre. With the help of a guide sheet, admire the impressive ruins of this stunning site.  After visiting Syracuse, journey to the lovely peninsula of Ortigia. Starting from the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, enjoy a gentle stroll to reach the spectacular white cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Take in this idyllic cathedral, before stopping off at the Fountain of Arethusa, a legendary fresh water spring. For lunch you have the option to enjoy a classic sicilian snack made of Tavola Calda, with water and red wine. Or, if you prefer, you will have 1 hour of free time to have lunch in one of the amazing restaurants in the alleys of the city. Upon reaching Noto, you will explore this jewel of Sicilian Baroque architecture, which is often considered to be an open-air museum! Admire the extraordinary architecture of its many palaces, churches and stairways. After an exhilarating day, sit back and relax as you are taken back to your hotel in the comfort of a luxurious vehicle. 

Your visit starts with a pick-up from your accommodation in a comfortable minivan at around 8:30 AM. The first stop will be in Agrigento. This city used to be the richest of all the Greek colonies. Its wealth can still be admired by visiting the beautiful and impressive Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Here, see some of the best preserved Greek temples in the world. Pindar, the Greek poet and writer, described it as one of the most beautiful cities of those inhabited by mortals. The Valley of the Temples is famous for its well-preserved temples, seven in total. The Temple of Concordia is one of the best preserved Greek temples in the world helping the site to gain the classic UNESCO world heritage award. On the site, you can also visit the remains of many other temples dedicated to various divinity like Juno, Hercules, Hephaestus, and Athena. Then, you will get to visit one of the most amazing beaches in Sicily. A few kilometers away from Agrigento, you will find the Scala dei Turchi, literally translated to Turkish steps. It is a dazzling white rock formation, rising from the clear blue sea like giant steps. Walking this gentle slope, high above the sea on your feet, will let you enjoy a unique experience. Here, you will have free time to enjoy one of the most famous beaches in Sicily. A typical Sicilian snack which includes small pizzas, bottles of water and red local wine.