Etna and Alcantara Gorges Excursion

Recommended by 94% of travelers

Catania, Italy

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

6 to 8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.8

· Joseph_F ·

Feb 2026

Beautiful and varied scenery. Salvatore was acharming and helpful host. The exercise was enough of a challenge without being exhausting. The host gave us plenty of time to rest whenever someone was tired. The food was amazing, something I'd not had before.

· Dirk_K ·

Jan 2026

An absolutely fantastic tour of Mount Etna and the surrounding attractions! The guide Salvatore was highly professional, knowledgeable, and made the whole experience engaging and fun, creating a wonderfully friendly atmosphere. The transport was top-quality, very comfortable, and felt completely safe throughout the trip — highly recommended!

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Catania, Sicily

5.0

(8)

ETNA & WINE, TAORMINA TOUR FD from CATANIA (GUIDE and LUNCH Included)

from $222

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Overview

What's Included

Trekking equipment: helmet and flashlight, hiking poles (upon request)
Air-conditioned vehicle
Private transportation
Lunch

A first course, drink and coffee
Entrance ticket Botanical Park Alcantara Gorges + lift
Bottled water

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

After submitting your booking you will be contacted to schedule the exact pick up time. We kindly ask you to keep an eye on notifications via app, email, WhatsApp or direct calls.

Meeting point

Dream Island
Via Francesco Messina, 45 B, 95015 Linguaglossa CT, Italy
In front of "Autoscuola Sorrentino" driving school, free parking on the street.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.9:00 am

Itinerary

Mount Etna

6 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Le Gole dell'Alcantara

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Near public transportation

Not wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Kimberly_W

On june 21st 2025 we went on an adventurous tour and it was so much fun. The tour is very well organized. In the morning one of the tour guides picked us up at a spot 2 minutes from our appartment. We were with 8 person so we got picked up in a van. This was our van for the rest of the trip. Our driver Alfio who was also a guide was a friendly man. For the actual tour we met up with some other vans with some other people. Here we split up in different groups based on the language spoken. We were in the english speaking group with Scalvo the tourguide. He used a lot of humor and was very entertaining to listen to. He also explained a lot and answered all questions. After the climb we got a pasta lunch which was flavourful. After this we went to the Alcantara gorge which was extremely beautiful. There are no words to describe this. Our only regret is that we had only 1 hour to spend here which is nog enough at all. I highly recommend this tour.

Reviews

4.8

based on 260 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Beautiful Snowy Exploration!

Kysa_M, Mar 2026

Amazing experience, know that at different times of year (even spring) there will likely be snow! Our guides were wonderful, full of information and kept us safe the entire time!

Our guide, Salvatore,...

Susan_B, Mar 2026

Our guide, Salvatore, made our day super special. He’s really interested in his work and is so knowledgeable, patient and friendly. He told us where we were going throughout the day and made sure we were safe. Nothing was too much trouble and we had plenty of time at each stop. Salvatore explained when Etna was formed, showed us old lava flows, took us into a lava tube and walked us up onto crater ridges. After a generous lunch at a local restaurant, we moved onto the incredible Alcantara Gorge. Fabulous rock formations and great end to the trip. Would highly recommend.

Beautiful and varied...

Joseph_F, Feb 2026

5 Stars

Dirk_K, Jan 2026

What an incredible...

Lauren_P, Nov 2025

What an incredible adventure! The memories we made will last a lifetime and the guides were so kind and knowledge!

It was great. Salvatore...

Nicolas_K, Nov 2025

It was great. Salvatore and his colleague were very informative and knowledgeable about the area. We enjoyed our experience very much and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about Etna, while also enjoying a great lunch.

Great day on the sleeping creater

Liora_D, Oct 2025

We had a great time with Salvo who is a gifted gide and a very pleasant and patiant person. He guided us with much information and funny remarks in the unique Etna north craters.

Exhilarating Experience

Nisha_B, Sep 2025

Exhilarating day out exploring Etna and the Alcantara Gorge Salvatore was an amazing guide explaining all the way Lunch was just right, I had requested vegetarian and had one of the best tortellini dish Etna was amazing and the gorge was enchanting Would highly recommend this tour and Dream Island adventures

A must

Grace_M, Sep 2025

Wonderful experience exploring nature. Guide was accommodating and educational. Learned so much. Due to mobility issues I took the easier route while my 28 year old explored caves and went up higher. A must.

Mt Etna Hike

maryann_l, Sep 2025

The walking tour of Etna Volcano was a beautiful hike! The walking stick came in very handy on some of the steep hills!! Tour guide Solvo was fantastic!

Wonderful tour!!

Anna_B, Sep 2025

This tour was a highlight of our trip! Our guide Salvatore was wonderful. The Etna hike was beautiful. I recommend wearing dark shoes or boots as they will get dirty. The lunch was very good! The Alcantara Gorges were something to see. I highly recommend packing a pair of aqua shoes as the rocks are uncomfortable on bare feet. The water is cold, but was very refreshing after our time at Etna.

A great day with plenty of walking and views

Beverley_M, Sep 2025

This was a great tour with an experienced and knowledgeable guide, Salvatore. Plenty of walking, so bring your walking shoes or trainers. If some of the walking is too much for you Salvatore gives you the option to wait. Before you book I suggest you look at the photos other travellers have posted. For some it may not be as easy as the tour suggests. Salvatore was very amenable and made all nationalities feel very welcome. We had a delicious lunch followed by a visit to the Gorge. A great day!

A great day spent...

Sarah_G, Aug 2025

A great day spent exploring Mt Etna with really knowledgeable, friendly and helpful guides. Not only did we see some amazing sights, we also learnt a lot about the history of Mt Etna and had a fabulous lunch!

The guide gave...

Liga_N, Aug 2025

The guide gave interesting information also the hike was enjoyable and not too hard. Would recommend to family and elderly people.

I don’t recommend

Manon_F, Jul 2025

Very Poor communication,instructions, lack of information and bad service. I don’t recommend unfortunately

Response from Host, Nov 2025

It's unfair to leave a 1-star review for no good reason since you know well what happened and that it was all due to your own mistakes. I'll explain it to everyone else reading this. They were given all the necessary information to meet the morning of the tour, including the meeting time, the name of the location and a Google Maps link to the location. They were also informed that the guide who was going to meet them knew their name and also had their phone number to contact them if necessary. So what did they do the morning of the tour? About 10 minutes before our scheduled meeting time they bought a bus ticked and hopped on a "random" public transportation bus... The tour was all paid for, yet they didn't think it was strange that they had to pay for a ticket to hop on a bus. They booked a tour in English, yet they didn't think it was strange nobody spoke English. They asked and nobody knew their names or about a Viator/Tripadvisor reservation, yet they thought it was a good idea to board the bus. It's red-flag after red flag and they still went with it. To reiterate, this all happened before the scheduled meeting time, so it's not like we were late to the meeting and they were confused because they didn't find anyone. They did everything themselves before we even had the chance to get there. By the time the guide got to the meeting point and tried to get in contact with them via phone and we managed to speak with them their bus was already long gone. It's not like the guide could've started chasing the bus with the other travelers who were also there for the tour and waiting already while the guide tried to speak with them. The reservation was rightfully marked as a no-show and this wasn't contested and it's still confirmed on the platform. We understand that they made an error, things can happen, but the way they responded to it without taking any accountability, blaming us for the lack of information and even leaving this 1-star review is pretty sad to see.

Amazing

Kimberly_W, Jul 2025

Grand day out

Hilary_D, Jun 2025

Great communication. Pick up tailored to our hotel location. Well organised. Suitable equipment provided. Knowledgeable guide. Lovely local lunch at restaurant on Etna road. A great way to experience such a picturesque part of Sicily.

Good Well Organised Tour

Thomas_M, Jun 2025

This trip is very well organised, our guides Virginia and Salvatore were really informative and knew pretty much everything about Etna. The tour also includes lunch which is needed after walking around the craters for the first part of the day. The gorge is also worth seeing. Overall a good trip.

Excellent day trip!

Stephanee_S, Jun 2025

Giovanni was a great guide! Gave us wonderful information and kept the tour moving. One thing I would disclose is that it says "easily walkable for everyone" but it's a little more strenuous than that. There is quite the elevation change and it is a lot of up and down steep inclines throughout often on uneven ground. Be sure to wear good shoes! The lunch stop was delightful - large portion with the option to add extra food/appetizers/drinks. The Alcantara Gorges are absolutely beautiful but as everyone has said - the water is COLD!! If you can brave the cold, it's worth the sights.

Use Caution when booking!!!

Patrick_K, May 2025

The excursion for the trip up the volcano would have been wonderful and the guide was incredibly knowledgeable. The Gorge was a really beautiful site. The lunch was average, but it was included so it was a basic pasta and bread only with a cappuccino or water, so again, it was average. The biggest reason for the two star review was the vehicle that we drove an hour and 1/2 to get there, and an hour and half ride coming back was awe full and quite frankly that vehicle should not have transported humans. It has an incredibly high smell of diesel engine fuel leak the entire way for both rides!!!!! The vehicle was in poor condition and should not have been a vehicle for guests, especially ones paying $365.00 for an excursion!!!! We ended up with headaches and our evening was ruined with illness felling!!!! This is the reason for the two star review and we wish we could get a credit on this excursion for sure for that reason!!! If you book this excursion, make sure you tell them that you want a vehicle that is in condition for humans to drive in. This vehicle truly WAS NOT!!!!

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Dear Patrick, thank you for your feedback. We're very sorry to hear that the vehicle impacted your experience so negatively and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We're glad to hear you enjoyed the excursion itself, found the gorges beautiful and appreciated the knowledge of our guide, these are all things we take great pride in. Regarding the transportation, due to an unusually high number of bookings that day, we had to rent an additional vehicle the morning of the tour to accommodate everyone. It wasn’t one of the vehicles we use on a daily basis and we apologize that it didn’t meet the comfort level we aim to provide. As for the diesel smell, we understand that sensitivity to such things can vary from person to person. Our guide hadn’t noticed it until it was pointed out, otherwise we would've requested a different vehicle. That doesn’t diminish your personal experience of course and we’re sorry it caused discomfort. We’ll be sure to check more thoroughly next time we rent an extra vehicle. We value your feedback and will use it to ensure better experiences going forward!

Not quite….

Denise_M, Mar 2025

Our tour guide was great, but it was terrible weather the day we went, which meant that we really could not see out of the windows of the van which were completely fogged up. Additionally, it was extremely foggy on the road. We could not see any of the views going up the mount etna. Additionally, one of the hikes was through slushy snow we opted to stay in the van . I had specifically asked about this in advance to the viator agent if we were going to be walking through snow and was told no the path would be clear.. we were told that wearing sneakers that were were not flat footed was acceptable Additionally, we did not visit the Alcantara Gorge or River. We only stopped briefly for an Overlook. Conditions and the weather may have had a lot to do with our experience, but we feel that we should’ve been told in advance that the experience was going to be significantly altered because of these conditions.

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Thank you for your feedback Denise, we’re happy to hear that you enjoyed parts of the tour, though we regret that the weather conditions impacted part of your experience. Regarding the path, it seems there was a misunderstanding when you asked about it. Since the question wasn’t specifically about snow conditions we provided general information about the trails encountered during the hike. Had we realized you were asking about snow we would have clarified that Etna is currently snowy. We still enjoy our hikes in these snowy conditions, unless the terrain isn't suitable to walk on, in which case we cancel the tour in advance. While you decided to remain in the van the other travelers proceeded with the hike and had fun walking on the snow. We truly appreciate your feedback and would love to welcome you back in the future! If you visit in the summer we will show you a different face of Etna and we’ll ensure you have the best experience possible!

Good day out

Crystal_P, Jan 2025

Great day out! Be prepared for a good walk. We thoroughly enjoyed our trek through the snow, it was absolutely magical. Lunch was ok, we got held up in traffic for a long time so lunch was later than planned, and rushed, but would have been good to get hot/warm meal rather than cold pasta. Gorges were nice, closed, but still nice. We might have spent 15 minutes there

Mountain Tour

Thomas_S, Jan 2025

Our guide was awesome, super knowledgeable and friendly. He had all the best gear for safety, too. We'd totally recommend this mountaineering tour.

Excellent tour with Salvatore!

Vera_A, Jan 2025

The tour was amazing. Our group was quite diverse and Salvatore adjusted it to the needs of the group and kept us all safe. We received very good and interesting information about Italy, Sicily and the different areas we visited. We totally recommend this tour!

Your tailored to you!

Ashlyn_J, Nov 2024

Highly suggest this trip! Our travel guide Salvador was highly imformative and very friendly. He brought us around and was our professional photographer for the day. He even took the coat off his back to give to my sister, since we were a little ill prepared for the weather.

Good trip

Michael_I, Oct 2024

Locations were good Staff were good and friendly Lunch was good Views were good Alcantara Gorge was good for a swim Recommended

Wonderful

Antanas_P, Sep 2024

Our driver Emanuel was amazing 😍thank you very much for beautiful tour ,and for being Patient with us😁was really nice to talk with you:)you are start

Beautiful Day Immersed in Nature

Sabrina_S, Sep 2024

All the tour guides were knowledgable, friendly, and helpful. We enjoyed seeing lava rocks, hiking up a small hill to see a beautiful view, lava caves/grottos, and the amazing Gole Alcantara. The only aspect of our day that was disappointing was that we were not informed that there were 200+ steps to see the Gole Alcantara, and our elderly parents couldn't handle it. After waiting for the rest of our family for over 30 min, another person working there informed our parents that there was an elevator, but they would have to pay a fee to use it. It was frustrating and sad that our guides did not help them see this amazing wonder.

This tour was on fire! Nothing will extinguish our love of Sicily 😉

Katherine_C, Sep 2024

Our guide, Salvatore, turned up at the meeting point exactly on time and was immediately friendly and welcoming. A "small hiccup" on way to the point where the tour began was promptly and professionally sorted out. While Salvatore's English was not perfect, any point he made was understood and the tour was informative and great fun. The other guides were also extremely friendly. The itinerary was a good mix of activity and resting points, ending in a much-needed cool off at the gorge. Grazie Salvatore!

Giovanni was a great tour...

Lynne_H, Jul 2024

Giovanni was a great tour guide, very attentive yet allowed us to enjoy the experience. Mt Etna had a little activity the day we went, that was cool to see. The Gorge was beautiful, water shoes are definitely recommended if you want to walk into the gorge.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Thank you Lynne for your lovely review! We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Giovanni and appreciated his attentive guidance. Witnessing Mount Etna's activity must have been an exciting experience! We're also happy that you enjoyed the beauty of the Alcantara Gorges. Thank you for the tip about water shoes, it’s helpful advice for future travelers.