Marvel over the geological wonders of Mount Etna, then visit the elegant resort town of Taormina on this action-packed full-day tour from Catania. Soak up the dramatic scenery of Europe’s highest active volcano as you visit the hilltop resort of Refugio Sapienza; As an alternative to trekking, you can catch the cable car to the 9,514-foot (2,900-meter) peak of Mount Etna (optional) and explore a natural lava cave. After exploring the lava cave, have a delicious tasting of the local products such as honey, oil and wine. On the way to Taormina, you will stop and see the beautiful "Isola Bella” from above. Then spend the afternoon enjoying your free time in Taormina, among medieval churches, ancient Greek theater, and lively shopping district.

Full-day tour of Mount Etna and Taormina from Catania
Ride the cable car up the active volcano of Mount Etna (own expense)
Venture underground to explore a natural lava cave
Visit the historic monuments of mountainside Taormina

What's Included

Shuttle bus (return)
Multilingual guide
The kit for visiting the Cave
Sampling
Trekking shoes (on request)
INFANT price - Baby seat and baby carrier included

cableway + 4x4 bus + alpinist guide to the maximum permitted altitudes (to pay on the spot) optional
Authorized tourist guide in Taormina (on request)
All that is not specified under “the cost includes"

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:30 AM

Pickup details

Hotels, B&B, port, bus and train stations in Catania

What To Expect

Etna Tribe (Pass By)

Mount Etna

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Parco dell'Etna

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Craters Silvestri of Mount Etna

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Funivia dell'Etna (Pass By)

Grotta dei Tre Livelli

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Enoteca Dell'etna

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Corso Umberto

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Piazza IX Aprile (Pass By)

Villa Comunale di Taormina (Pass By)

Ancient Theatre of Taormina (Pass By)

Torre dell'Orologio (Pass By)

Isola Bella (Pass By)

Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano (Pass By)

Palazzo Corvaja (Pass By)

Piazza Duomo (Pass By)

Chiesa Madonna della Rocca (Pass By)

Naumachia - Antico Gymnasium romano (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Q:How can I let you know where to pick me up?

A:We offer pick ups from hotels in Catania, so let us know where you are staying in the 'Special Requirements' box in the Traveler Details section during checkout. Or you can let us know after booking by visiting 'Manage my Booking' and emailing us there.

Jul 2019

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

Wear a hoodie or bring a scarf to protect Your ears, is my advice.

We explored a lava tube, explored mount Etna (cable car and bus to top significantly extra (65euro pp) but very worth it- bring a jacket!

in summer time it is not easy especially because you visit taormina in the middle of the day and the heat can be exhausting.

Reviews

5.0

656 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 656 reviews

High views and highlights

Ray_M, Jun 2023

The trip to Etna was smooth and Angelo drove well, with informative commentary along the way. He gave the group of 5vthe option of all taking the cable car, which ee did - that meant he accompanied us to 2750m altitude and the crater tip. Unfortunately, fog swirled in, so views we re hampered, but the atmosphere and locale was memorable. The need for warm clothing was then clear! Taormina was well worth the visit - an opulent town, with the ancient Greek amphitheatre a genuine highlight.

Great day trip to Etna and Taormina

Jay_M, Jun 2023

I usually visit sites on my own but knew I wanted a guide for visiting Mt. Etna. I chose this Etna Tribe trip b/c it had good reviews and was a full day tour. I was not disappointed. Carmelo was a great tour guide. I was impressed with his language skills (we had both English and Spanish speaking people in our group). And he had a solid working knowledge of the history of Etna and the surrounding countryside, which developed in the shadow of Etna. I should mention that I arrived at the meeting point and saw a tour guide explaining the day trip to Etna. I left with that group till they realized I wasn't part of the group. Note: Hotel Principe is the meeting place for a lot of tour groups. I thought I had missed my tour but got a call from Carmelo who said 'not a problem' he would head back to the meeting spot to pick me up. It was my error and I was grateful that Carmelo was persistent in finding me. I was pleased to discover that our group was only 6 people. When we arrived at the area where we couldn't go any further with our van, we transferred to a funivia and then a hummer like bus to ascend the volcano further up. Finally it was a short hike up the rest of the volcano (not the top) where other guides explained how the volcano and surrounding area were formed and keep changing. On the way down Carmelo took us to a lava tube where we descended into the cave area. Carmelo did a great job of explaining how it was formed. The second part of the trip was a few hours devoted to walking around Taormina. Worth visiting just for the views. In summary it was a memorable day, Carmelo was a great guide and Etna Tribe is a good choice. Thanks. Be prepared with warm clothing. It was almost June and it was cold up on the mountain.

Our guide Florence was...

Stefani_D, May 2023

Our guide Florence was excellent, very friendly and guided us through the craters explaining everything from their history to the consistency of lava. We were searching for a tour, this was the best "value for money" choice.

Amazing tour, highly recommend Carmelo!!!

James_F, May 2023

Our Guide Carmelo was amazing!! Well spoken, highly educated and passionate presenter about Mt Etna and his Country. I highly recommend Carmelo if you want the most well rounded educational outing!!

Excellent way to visit Mt Etna and Taormina

jocruse, May 2023

Simone was an exuberant and knowledgeable host, with excellent English. He was full of info on both destinations plus recommendations for Catania and for our onward journey. The tastings at the Enoteca were fabulous! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this tour.

Enjoyable day trip in Sicily

Lawrence_P, May 2023

Excellent guide/ knowledgeable, friendly, excellent English. And, very patient, and watched out for us. Reliable timing, and so on. Good driver. Explained things well. We enjoyed wine tasting, not interested in olive oil. Taormina was interesting. Length of Time there was ok. Van was comfortable enough. Thanks to etna tribe for offering to pick us up at hotel. Was very helpful that he was able to pick us up in Nicolosi. Thank you

Trip to Etna

Patrick_R, May 2023

Unfortunately for us the day we chose to visit Etna was not the best as far as visibility was concerned. However, our guide, Andrea, was excellent throughout and we really enjoyed our day. I can highly recommend using Andrea as a guide to Etna.

Amazing

MrNielsF_K, May 2023

Our tour guide Salvo was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and he made the day. Mt Etna was amazing and Taormina was beautiful.

Happy

carl_w, May 2023

It was a great day. Danilo the guide was funny and knowledgeable. It's a must do trip 😁 well worth it.

It met expectations

Lyle_N, May 2023

It all met our expectations. Hike at Mt. Etna, stop at small winery and Taormina. Driver/guide was friendly and informative.

A highly recommended tour, which is very enjoyable and a great experience!

Anna_K, May 2023

The tour was great, our guide picked my partner and I up from a location near to where we were staying in Catania. We were joined by a few others on the day as well. The guide gave us great information and history about Catania, Mt Etna and Taormina and was very helpful, friendly and always open to answer any questions. As part of the tour we had a trained volcanologist guide as as we hiked on Mt Etna and we also had a sample tasting of some nice drinks, local spreads and olive oils. Once in Taormina we had around 2 hours to go for a walk and see the sights. We visited the recommended Bam Bar (for the best granitas in town), Villa Comunale di Taormina and Teatro Antico di Taormina, all of which exceeded expectations. The only downside was that we didn't have a full day tour of Taormina, as it's beautiful with a bit to see, but otherwise it was a great tour. Our guide even booked us a local restaurant in Catania when he dropped us back with an amazing volcanic cave side dining experience (A Putia Dell'Ostello), which was a wonderful touch and experience.

Great Trip to Etna and Taormina

Vishal_M, Apr 2023

Natascia was a fantastic guide. She was in contact with us from the morning to arrange pick up, which was from where we were staying. She gave us brilliant advice for our activity at Etna. We had an amazing time off road quad biking on the west side of Etna. Lovely wine, oil and honey tasting, ending with an hour or so of free roaming Taormina. Knowledgeable and just the right level of challenge with great information about the volcanic impact of Etna on Catania and Messina provinces.

Great tour outside of Catania

Connie_L, Apr 2023

Driving thru the smaller towns to get to each destination, in a smaller van and not a tour bus, added a special something to the tour. My guide, Natasia, was great. She shared such good information about each stop and the places we drove through.

Good experience except for the cable car hiccups

Lihua_L, Apr 2023

For Mt Etna - it was cold, we had to rent a jacket. Cable car was not working, have to queue 1 hour to get the bus to go up. Good if we had been warned so we don’t waste the 1 hour of queuing. Cable car tickets were paid for 150 euro for 2 pax. As a result our time in Taormina was cut short which was a pity as it was lovely and would love to explore more

Great tour bad transport

susan_C, Apr 2023

Our guide was superb ! My etna was beautiful. We chose to ride quads around the mountain for an extra 50 euros each. Taormina was spectacular ! The reason for lack of a star the transport was awful!!!! Lots of noise poor suspension and we could not hear the tour guide the first hour of the tour! It was the most uncomfortable ride ever but the content of the trip was fab

Mt Etna and Taormina adventure!

phuvasitkul, Apr 2023

Giulio was a wonderful and patient guide! He took us on a hike of Mt Etna and we stopped for tastings and a lovely trip to Taormina. He was super knowledgeable and we enjoyed learning a lot about the volcanoes and area. He was extra helpful in waiting for us to sort thru our B&B checkin as well, as we had no phone service. Highly recommend!

Everything is excellent. ...

Michael_R, Apr 2023

Everything is excellent. Very interesting trip. Highly recommend to everyone. We used this company before

Awesome

Iryna_T, Apr 2023

Tour guide Pepe was very professional. He picked me up just on time, dropped us to cool spots and gave us informative insights of the tour stops. Etna is so unique. Comfortable shoes are very important as there is snow and ashy terrain. I had my normal trainers but they ended up full of rocks as I was walking downhill. Cable car to 2500 meters costs 50 euros. For 78 euros you can also take a bus to higher altitude. In the terminal you can rent a warm winter jacket for 5 euros. I only took cable car and me and another solo traveler had unguided walk around ourselves. It all took 2 hours. You can pay with either cash or card. Afterwards wine tasting in Zafrana. Just before Taormina Isola Bella was the most beautiful thing I've seen. In Taormina we had 2 hours to self explore. I recommend this tour for the way it is so professionally organized. Your day will be amazing.

5 star day trip

Eilidh_B, Apr 2023

Absolutely fantastic day out. I travel frequently and as I don’t drive I often have to rely on guided tours to get around, by far one of the best I’ve ever done. Darya was lovely and knowledgable. She recommend we do the ATV on Etna and I would encourage anyone else to do it. Brill experience and especially shout-out to one of the guides we got, Yuri, who went the extra mile. Tip - buy the tickets for the theatre in Taormina online!! Everyone on our tour missed out because they didn’t have time to queue up for the tickets however you can get them online and skip the queue, downloads instantly too! Really recommend you don’t miss out on this, it was one the highlight for us.

Great time

Charles_C, Apr 2023

Francesco was a great tour guide. We had a really excellent time. He made excellent suggestions and took us to a great little beach in Taormina for a little bit which was great. He gave us clear instructions and was also very funny. We had a really cool group and we all got along well. This is a great tour definitely worth it.

Excellent tour

Amber_W, Apr 2023

The tour was definitely worth it. I’m very glad I booked the tour. The only thing different I would have liked is if we could have spent three hours instead of two in Teormina.

Great tour and guide

Amanda_S, Apr 2023

Had a lovely day trip. The guide was very friendly and informative. Mt Etna and Taormina are both beautiful places to visit.

Florence was an amazing...

Cathy_R, Apr 2023

Florence was an amazing guide on our trip to Mama Etna and Taormina! She was very knowledgeable and keen to share her enthusiasm for these incredibly beautiful places.

Your expereince may differ based on the weather

Fan_Y, Mar 2023

I visited Mt Etna in October. The weather turned bad soon after I took the cable car up the mountain. It was raining hard and windy, and the visibility was very poor. And it was much colder on the mountain. So bring an extra layer or you can rent a jacket there.

Simone an excellent guide to Etna tour

David_P, Mar 2023

We were expertly driven up challenging roads up Etna and The narrow coastal road in Taormina. Simone gave excellent information including vulcanology nature and legends and geology He guided our walk in brisk winds being aware of our safety and included all the group. He provided useful info on the tasting and best sites to see in Taormina and we enjoyed greek Theatre and the garden

Fantastic day

Alexandria_S, Mar 2023

Absolutely fabulous day. Enzo was amazing, informative and fun. The views at both stops were amazing and we had plenty of time to enjoy our day. Don't miss this tour of you are in the area..

Wonderful experience!

Anonymous, Mar 2023

I traveled with my husband and 16 month old son and we all had a wonderful time! We were picked up from the location we agreed on and met with a few other folks before starting the tour. Nando was great and enthusiastic, knowledgeable. We took the cable car up to Mt Etna with Alessandro and Peppe and they were super helpful and great. The tour provided an infant car seat and baby carrier for the trek and it was awesome! We also went to Taormina and that was also fun. The tour guides really went out of their way to make a wonderful tour and I would highly recommend them!

Such a fun day!

Olivia_P, Mar 2023

Hiking on the mountain was such a cool experience, definitely bring warm clothes if it’s during the winter/spring months and sneakers. The lava cave was really interesting and the wine/honey tasting was a fun little experience. Taormina is absolutely beautiful! I highly recommend this tour! Giulio was great tour guide, very knowledgeable about the areas we went to!

Amazing day

pamccrc, Mar 2023

Francisco was a fabulous tour guide. I should have asked for the offered trek shoes. But still I completed the hike up Mount Etna. And Taormina was beautiful. Such a fun day. I highly recommend this excursion.

Great tour guide

borisqbf, Mar 2023

Great commentary from Giulio. He went far beyond to make our trip a memorable one even when weather was quite ordinary. Grazie mille!

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