From Catania: Day Trip to Mount Etna and Taormina with Lunch

About This Experience

This is a full day that pairs Mount Etna with Taormina. A guide meets you in Catania, drives about an hour to the volcano and leads a hike of about 2.5 hours past old craters and lava flows, including a volcanic cave at around 2,000 meters. Helmets, torches, hiking boots, wind jackets and snowshoes are provided.

Lunch is a picnic of typical Sicilian products with water and a glass of wine, eaten outdoors for about an hour at a vineyard. If the weather turns bad, the listing says lunch moves to a refuge.

Taormina comes in the afternoon, after a drive of about 30 minutes from lunch. You get 1.5 hours for a self-guided walk with an online brochure and map. The itinerary names Porta Catania, Porta Messina, Corso Umberto and the Greek Theatre as things to see, but the listing also excludes entrance tickets. It does not state that Ancient Theatre admission is included, so treat the theatre as something you add yourself.

If the theatre is your priority, you can buy an official ticket (EUR 14 full price, checked 3 November 2026) and spend part of the 1.5 hours inside. That leaves little time for the rest of town, so decide before you arrive. A return drive of about an hour takes you back to Catania.

The listing offers two options. The shared group excursion is from about $106 per person (checked November 2026). A private excursion is from about $291 per person. The guide speaks English and Italian.

Highlights

• A guided hike of about 2.5 hours on the north slope of Etna, past old craters and lava flows
• A visit to a lava cave at around 2,000 meters
• Lunch outdoors at a vineyard, about an hour, with a glass of wine
• 1.5 hours on your own in Taormina, between Porta Catania and Porta Messina
• A naturalist guide (geologist, biologist or agronomist, per the listing) on the volcano
• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Catania, with about 1 hour of driving each way

What's Included

• ✓ Naturalistic guide (geologists, biologists, agronomists)
• ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off in Catania, or an agreed point close to your accommodation
• ✓ Lunch, water and a glass of wine
• ✓ Hiking equipment: helmets, torches, hiking boots, wind jackets and snowshoes
• ✓ Transfer to Taormina
• ✓ Online brochure with maps for the visit to Taormina

Not Included

• Entrance tickets, so no Ancient Theatre ticket
• Extra food and beverages
• Anything beyond the listed lunch, water and wine

What to Bring

• A warm jacket, since it is cooler on the volcano
• Water
• Sturdy hiking shoes (the operator lends boots and jackets free if you ask when booking)
• Sun protection and cash for extras in Taormina
• A card or cash for a theatre ticket if you want to go in

Good to Know & Caveats

• Taormina is self-guided and lasts 1.5 hours. Entrance tickets are excluded, so the Ancient Theatre is an optional extra you pay for yourself.
• The tour can be cancelled after confirmation if too few people book, or in bad weather. In that case you are offered an alternative date or a full refund.
• Some reviewers wanted more time on the volcano; others found the Taormina free time about right.
• Reviewers mention a driver who spoke little English on transfer legs, and a vehicle swap that delayed one departure.
• Children must be accompanied by an adult. Not suitable for wheelchair users, people with heart problems or a low fitness level.
• Vegetarian, vegan and celiac meals are available if you say so when booking.

Meeting Point

The tour picks you up at your accommodation in Catania or at an agreed meeting point close to it, and drops you back in Catania. The listing shows two pickup and two drop-off options; start times appear when you check availability.