Name: Catania private tour to Mount Etna and Taormina
SKU: 39871
Price: 10 USD
Availability: InStock

Duration: 6.5h

Activity Level: Intensive

Experience: Adventure, Historical, Nature

Language:

Photo permit included

Tour by public transport

Canal Boat tour included

Train tickets included

Suitable for little children

Wheelchair accessible tour

Museum ticket included

Light snack included

Lunch included

Transportation included

Walking Tour

Overview

Private tour in Catania with visit to Mount Etna and Taormina is a perfect option for those who want to explore the city yet to get some rest from the busy city life. This adventure will provide you with such an opportunity. Enjoy the scenic coastal drive while getting to Taormina, explore the local history and culture walking around and see the breathtaking views of the mount Etna. The tour will allow you to feel the inner peace and calm, enjoying the beautiful stories told by your friendly tour guide.

What's included

English-speaking guide
Pick-up and drop-off
Transportation

Food and drinks
Entrance fees

Pick-up and drop-off at Catania port
Sun cream, a sun hat and bottled water are to be brought
Comfortable walking shoes required

Highlights

Catania

Catania is the second-largest city in Sicily, after Palermo, and among the ten largest cities in Italy. Located on Sicily’s east coast, it faces the Ionian Sea. Catania today is the industrial, logistical, and commercial center of Sicily. Its airport, the Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, is the largest in Southern Italy. However, it is also noted for its history, culture, architecture, and gastronomy. The section of the city known as the “old town” features some of the most striking examples of baroque architecture in Italy, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cathedral of Taormina

Opposite the Town Hall, the street widens out into Piazza del Duomo, with the Cathedral of San Nicola. Founded by the Hohenstaufens in the 13th century and altered several times in the 15th to 17th centuries, it combines medieval and more recent features. The unplastered exterior, with its crenellations, is original, whereas the Baroque main door was added in 1636 and matches the 1635 Baroque fountain in the middle of the square. The three aisles of the basilica are separated by large pillars supporting pointed arches. The interior is decorated with a number of works dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, including the 15th-century Visitation of the Virgin Mary by Antonio Giuffrè and Madonna and Child with Saints by Antonello da Saliba, painted in 1504.

Mount Etna

Mount Etna on Sicily, locally called "Mongibello", is Europe's largest and most active volcano. Its frequent eruptions are often accompanied by large lava flows, but rarely pose danger to inhabited areas. Etna is one of the volcanoes with the longest historic records of eruptions, going back more than 2000 years.

Silvestri Craters

The Monti Silvestri are two inactive craters formed as a result of the Mount Etna eruption of 1892. Situated just a few steps from the Rifugio Sapienza in Nicolosi at about 1,900 m above sea level, the craters are named after Prof. Orazio Silvestri. Half of all visitors of Mount Etna travel via Nicolosi on the southern slopes to see this highest active volcano in Europe. A walk up and around the Silvestri craters is a good solution for all those who have problems with their heart or lungs and cannot go further up to the summit. The volcanic landscape around the craters is impressive and of a rare natural beauty.

Taormina

Taormina is a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. It sits near Mount Etna, an active volcano with trails leading to the summit. The town is known for the Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-Roman theater still used today. Near the theater, cliffs drop to the sea forming coves with sandy beaches. A narrow stretch of sand connects to Isola Bella, a tiny island and nature reserve.

Taormina Greek Theatre

The Greek Theatre of Taormina is the most fascinating historical monument of the “pearl of the Ionian Sea”. It is one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions so that Johann Wolfgang Goethe in his famous “Journey to Italy” wrote: “No theater audience has never had such a sight in front of him.” Taormina's most famous landmark is the Greek Theater, originally built in the third century BC under Hiero II of Syracuse. Under Roman rule in the second century BC, it was completely rebuilt with all the characteristics of a Roman theater. The perfectly semicircular cavea rises in stepped seating to an upper diameter of 109 meters, the stage stands above the level of the orchestra, and the finely decorated stage loft is so high that its sides adjoin the top rows of seats to create an enclosed space. A fortuitous gap in the wall of the loft frames Taormina's most celebrated view of the surrounding countryside as far as Mount Etna, one that has been immortalized in paintings and photographs as one of Italy's most iconic.

Itinerary

09:00

You will be met at the port and guided you to your air-conditioned transportation ready to commence your tour.

The tour will commence with a drive on the outskirts of Catania, your guide will be pointing out all the main landmarks for your interest before the tour will continue toward the famous Mount Etna National Park. The journey to the National Park will take around 1 hour 15 minutes, there will be a comfort break along the way in a beautiful Sicilian town. Here there is a local cafeteria where you will be able to use the washrooms (free of charge) or purchase a coffee or one of the many pastries on display. The drive will continue, making a way up to the National Park, the scenery during the drive is impressive. Your guide will be giving you information along the journey, explaining about the Etna eruptions over the years. Disembarking the transportation, you will be taken on a guided walk of one of the many craters the National Park has to offer. After the visit to Mount Etna you will then continue the tour to Taormina. Once in Taormina you embark on a short walking tour of around 1 hour. Those who wish to experience Taormina on their own may advise the guide, your guide will then point out the meeting time and place for everybody to meet at the end. The walking tour will take you through the quaint Sicilian streets full of vibrance and shops and restaurants in abundance. The first stop will be the Cathedral Square. A viewing point from the town is the next stop, be prepared to be amazed by the incredible views of the coast down below. After taking your photographs from the viewing point the tour will continue. There is an option to visit the Greek Roman Theatre during your hour free time at the end (not included). If you wish to do this please inform your guide, who will take you to the entrance.

After the free time you will meet back up with the guide who will escort you back to your transportation ready to take you back to the port in plenty of time for your cruise ships departure.

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Catania private tour to Mount Etna and Taormina