Etna And Taormina Full Day Excursion from Palermo
Palermo, Italy
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Spend an unforgettable day exploring Mt Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, on this day trip from Palermo. See the looming mountain up close and learn about its unique landscapes, studied since the Greek period.
- Day trip to Mt Etna from Palermo
- See the enormous Mt Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, up close
- Learn what has fascinated people since the ancient Greeks began studying the mountain
- Enjoy transportation in a comfortable vehicle
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Hotel/port pickup and drop-off
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Food and drinks
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Entrance fee - Funivia Etna€30.00 per person
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- P.za Giuseppe Verdi, 59, 90141 Palermo PA, Italy
IN FRONT OF THE RASTAURANT 59
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.6:00 am
Itinerary
1
Mount Etna
2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 45 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.7
based on 38 reviews
Robin_M, Apr 2026
The tour operators were very helpful and organized. Overall, they communicated the days itinerary well. Mount. Etna was interesting. There are a number of options to do there, including a quad ride, as well as hiking around the craters. Do be aware there is a cost to hike on these trails – five euro. The amphitheater was interesting to see. Time is short so I suggest packing a luncheon eating it at the amphitheater. If you go to a restaurant first, you might be a little pressured for time.
Lisa_S, Mar 2026
There is no talking or pointing out historical land marks . Driver was very cautious and kept his eyes on the road. Very professional
Anthony_C, Nov 2025
It is a bit of a drive and if you have any motion sickness, sit in a seat where you can see the road be careful of other passengers that might annoy you, but the driver was amazing and a great guy
Liz_W, Oct 2024
A great day. Although an early get up and a long drive, it is totally worth it. Etna is impressive. You have a few options once there. You can up the cable car to the next level. The views are spectacular. You do also have the option of adding on a 4x4 to go up another level but you will be pushing it for time. Instead we went back down and walked around Silvestri crater. This is easy walking and has fantastic views. If you more ambitious there is another crater you can climb. It is steep and again, depending on your fitness levels you may be pushing it for time. The 2 craters are found at the far end of the car park, which you can easily walk or there is a little road train for those want it.
Taormina is a beautiful place. Stunning views and a good buzz. We headed straight to the amphitheatre which really shouldn't be missed. Either take food with you or we ate in the cafe at the amphitheatre which was definitely the best use of our time. You can also buy take out at the cafe and you can eat sat in the amphitheatre. It's a stunning place and overall would definitely recommend this tour with both visits. Don't expect commentary from your drivers though, they literally just drive you around.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
Sylvie_S, Sep 2024
An excellent round trip to Mount Etna and Taormina. It was spectacular to see Mount Etna, although it was disappointing not to have enough time to use the jeep and go right to the top. I don’t know if it would be possible to add an hour to the experience to allow people to go right to the top? Also, it takes a long time to queue up and get the tickets for the cable car, could Viator include the tickets in their booking, to speed things up? It would allow people to go right to the top.
Taormina was very pretty!!
Response from Host, May 2025
thank you
MarieDominique_B, May 2024
On time, well planned; it is worth taking the complete package to go up Mount Etna. You would reverse not doing it! Taormina is a charming town to relax after Etna.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
Janine_A, Apr 2024
We had a lovely day, although a tip if you go April, wear a warm jacket and trousers for Etna. Taormina was beautiful, warm but very busy. Mano was great, he returned to Palermo so that we could see more of Sicily which we really appreciated.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
merMahmut_B, Mar 2024
Special thanks to Emanuele our driver and guide 👍 Etna was amazing if the weather conditions were better Iam sure it would have been more interesting,Taormina a star see it
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
Andrea_P, Nov 2023
Despite the cold windy weather that didn’t allow us to explore the crater, we had a wonderful time. Our guide Emmanuel ( sorry for the spelling) was EXCELLENT!!!
Response from Host, Dec 2023
Thank you for your feedback
David_F, Oct 2023
Quite poorly organised from start to finish.
Initially I was never given a pick up time from the meeting point. I tried to contact the operator 3 times, eventually the great customer services of Viator sorted it for me, they were great.
Upon arrival at 6am to the meeting place, they hadn't got our names on the list, eventually we were literally bundled into a car with 5 other people.
We made a toilet/coffee stop on the way from palermo to mount Etna.
There was no communication from our driver at all, and we were just left there, the queue for the cable cars and bus was chaotic, we were told we only had 2 hours, about 1 of that was gone waiting for tickets.
The 7 people in our car decided we'd stick together, so, that was nice.
We then had 1 hour 30 mins in taormina where we were dropped off at the side of a road outside the town. We ate there and then had to leave.
Firstly, this is not a tour, it's a transfer service and quite a disorganised one at that.
Secondly, it's far too ambitious trying to combine Mt. Etna and Toarmina from Palermo in one day.
The saving grace of this trip was that our group of seven really got on well and we enjoyed the groups company for the day.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this tour.
Response from Host, May 2025
lies
AnneMarie_D, Aug 2023
Tour was enjoyable but not enough time to see sites visited. At etna we arrived to parking spot and tour guide stated we had two hours to explore the area. No guidance given, we asked what about the cable car was this possible? He said no it was wasn’t working as volcano was erupting and if it was we would not have time. After checking this out ourselves the cable car was working, and we were able to do this within the time, however it would have been better if we could have had the time to go to top of volcano by 4x4 also. On returning to Palermo we had booked hotel pick up and drop off, we had this in the morning but were dropped in city at end of your, no hotel drop off. Disappointing for the money paid for this tour.
Response from Host, May 2025
Please don't lie
Tomasz_L, Jul 2023
I was order this trip only for pick up from CDS TERRASINI.One day before the trip they send me text message that pick up is from Palermo .I orded the cab to Palermo but was fire on motorway and cab was late,so we where late for pick up in Palermo.No one ring me ,no one answear the phone and text message.Terrible company ,big mess.No one want refund for me for the trip😡
Response from Host, Aug 2023
I don't book the tour of colosseum with the pickup from Milan
Milena_K, Jul 2023
First of all, it would be nice to be more precise with the time we have in the places we visit, because, if you write that cable car and 4x4 jeep tours are not included in the price you are kind of misleading people into thinking they have an option to rent them and pay, when you could’ve written that it is impossible to rent them because the lack of time which is the agency’s fault. There were older people who were unable to climb and were expecting to have time to rent and experience some beautiful views which they now haven’t.
I told the operator I was speaking to that I’m not staying exactly in Palermo and that I need to know when is the tour starting because I would have to get to the meeting point by train or bus. After asking multiple times the operator told me that meeting is at 6:45am and I booked the earliest train. The day before the tour they told me to be at a meeting point at 6am which was for me personally impossible, and canceling is not an option that late into reservation and paying everything so I booked a hotel in Palermo and was on time to the tour. Because of the fires we had to take a longer road to Palermo and we asked if we are going to be on time because we still had to catch a train to get back to our place. They told us that the minivans that should take us to the train station are waiting for us, and when we got there they were not there and they told us that we couldn’t make it, which was at this point only their fault.
The tour is just driving to the Etna and Taormina, without any informations and organization so I would not recommend it to anyone. Etna and Taormina are both beautiful places worth a visit but not with such organization.
The only good thing on this tour was the driver Salvatore who was very nice and helped us with our transportation problem.
Response from Host, Jul 2023
There were people in the office working hard to let you have a tour during one of the worst day in Sicily in the last 20 years , as you know, Sicily was on fire , and we made the most possible to let you have a tour!!!
People died , animals , vegetation because of the several fires around the island and despite this , we made everything possible to let you have your tour!
This review is just disgusting!
My suggestion is :
Try to be a fair person in this life!
Thank you!
Amelia_Z, Jun 2023
It was a very good tour and some very great destinations to go and see if you are in Sicily. It was a very full day. The coach was very nice and comfortable, it would of been nice to stay longer are the destinationsz
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
Timea_K, May 2023
The tour was carried out very well, we were transferred by comfortable nice cars. The drivers were nice and helpful and the tour was great however the weather was very cloudy and in Taormina there was a heavy rain, which is of course not the fault of anyone:) This is now a reason I have to come back again, when the sun is shining :)
Carola_E, Aug 2022
We are very disappointed. To sum up we were driving 7h by bus, we spend 15min on the Etna and we haven’t seen Taormina and paid altogether around 200€.
The pick didn’t work as agreed even after a privat request from our side. They have canceled our pick up late on the evening before.
So we had to manage the drive to the meeting point on our own on the evening before.
There were no sanitary facilities at the meeting point and in the bus.
We have chosen a german tour guide which didn’t exist. There was no tour guide at the Etna at all. Even with the extra tour that we paid at the Etna, there was no tour guid at all.
We had to wait 2h at the cable car station to come down from the Etna because of working problems due to the weather, it would have been nice to get any informations about that situation - instead we were waiting without anybody telling us whats going on.
After driving to the second stop for 30min, the guid told us that we can not make it to Taormina so we were driving back to Palermo for another nearly 3h30.
Mehdi_M, Aug 2022
It was more a shuttle than a tour. Not much information where shared by the guid. The Etna took much longer than expected (due to sudden weather change) so that we had only 45 min for Taormina that was too short. Tour guid could have simply discussed this with us and come with an alternative solution like heading back to Palermo and offer refund of a part of costs.
In the way back driver did not stop any where meaning 4 hours nonuse if sanitary services.
Georgina_B, Jul 2022
Tour guide was super friendly and full of fun and interesting facts.
Etna was really cool we had around 1.5 hours there.
We took the tour to see etna but Taormina was gorgeous and we were happy we got chance to see this part of Sicily.
Would definitely recommend.
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Thank you for your feedback, is very important to us
Alicia_d, Jul 2022
The day before the tour, the agency was easily reachable to answer any final questions. I had chosen to be picked up from a certain hotel which went very well and we started the tour on time. In total there were 6 participants, which I personally liked very much. Our driver Joshua was very friendly from the beginning and very keen to make the tour as pleasant as possible for everyone, which he managed to do. During the trip we received some information about the landscape and culture of Sicily. Arrived at the volcano Joshua helped us to buy the tickets for the tour to the top and picked us up again after 2 hours. Arrived in Taormina we had a little more than two hours to see the beautiful city.
Overall, I can highly recommend the tour and find that the time at both places was absolutely enough to watch everything in peace. Especially if you do not make a round trip through Sicily, but have your accommodation like me only in Palermo, this is the optimal opportunity to see the other side of the island.
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Thank you for your feedback
Joana_L, Jun 2022
As its only one day its quite impossible to be in Etna and Taormina more than 2 hours. Specially in Taormina 2 hours is not much time but is definitely worth doing this excursion. Both places are fantastic.
Jason_B, Jun 2022
Great trip, would go again but with a more specialised visit to Etna during a night or eruption tour.
You go upto the base of the central crater and no higher. We were 1 of two groups. You go to the mountain, then pay the attentional to go up a cable car and then 4x4 bus to go to the base of the central crater. It was about 15’C at the top, it was a clear day(sky) but because of an slow eruption you can’t see much because of smoke.
Really quite incredible like being on the moon. Take a mask if windy, because of the dust.
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Dear Costumer,
Thank you for your feedback.
Warmly
Jay
Andreas_K, Oct 2020
The tour starts early in the morning from Palermo. But it has to, if you want to see Etna and Taormina in one day.
The driver/guide Joshua was great. Fluently in Italian, English and German he could share some of his knowledge of Sicily and the places we visited.
If you go to the Etna, it is recommended to buy a ticket for the whole tour: Cable car and trucks taking you as close as possible to the summit of the volcano. Interesting experience.
Also the visit to Taormina was worth the time, although I wouldn't stay there for more than one day. Nothing to do ...
If you are in Palermo and want to visit the Etna, I can definitely recommend this tour.
Chantel_V, Aug 2019
Our driver Joshua was very sweet, but I found the additional Euro 65 to go up Etna a complete waste of money as the view is not much different. Additionally you must wear closed shoes. The Etna tour was uninformative and pointless. However, Toarmina was lovely and would recommend to this quaint town.
lidijadanaityte, May 2019
I really enjoyed this small group trip. The tour was well organized,a driver Joshua came on time to a hotel.After collecting all people he drove us to Mount Silvestri. Joshua explained us what tickets to buy. Tickets for the cable car, bus and guide cost € 65. We took a cable car to a higher point.And we were taken to the very top by special Mercedes buses.A local guide gave us some knowledge about the craters.
My advice is to check the weather forecast for Mount Etna before you go.The weather for my trip was not the best. When we were on the top a blizzard started and it was very cold.
But I really happy that I decided to go to the top.It is impossible to control weather and it is interesting to compare weather differences on the top and coming back.
The second part of the tour was a short distance to Taormina. We had 2 hours to spend in this beautiful town.It is a choice to visit an ancient theater, to have a walk in a town and to have lunch.I would advise not to miss a theater as you can enjoy wonderful views from it.
I came back to Palermo not being sorry that I went on a trip.It would be impossible to visit 2 places in one day from Palermo without this tour .
InaAnni_K, Jan 2026
This is not a guided tour, but a shuttle to Etna and Taormina. I had assumed a German-speaking tour, fortunately I speak English. There was only a distribution among the minibuses. We were not welcomed, the driver not introduced by name.
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German_S, Apr 2025
No existe el guía , es una persona que maneja nomas y no habla más que su italiano , te dejan en el lugar y te dicen que te arregles como puedas, te hacen esperar 2 horas en la fila , en Taormina te dicen que bajes y que camines , ni una sola palabra más , un desastre, además lo cobran 125 euros , por que?
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Fuisteis las únicas dos personas que causaron estragos en un grupo de 24. No añadiré nada más.
Intentaste pedir un reembolso tan pronto como te fuiste, entendimos que intentaste hacer un recorrido gratis.
Anja_L, Oct 2024
Es war für mich ein wunderschönes Erlebnis. Alle waren sehr nett und der Ausflug zum Ätna war echt super. Auch der Nachmittag in Taormina war schön. Werd mich gerne lange daran erinnern. Liebe Grüße von Anja
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
Marta_E, Aug 2024
Todo bien pero precipitado. En el Etna aún nos dió tiempo de hacer media ruta en quad y Taormina de comer y nada más. Ya entiendo que es por la distancia pero bueno, igual se podria ir solo al Etna y no querer incluir Taormina que cuando salimos de comer ya no daba tiempo de ver nada. Ah! Teoricamente era en español pero no…algo pillamos entre italiano, inglés…que se entendía a duras penas
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you
Francesco_a, Aug 2023
Giornata bellissima, divertimento garantito se avete senso dello scoprire;
Silvio, la Guida, Gentilissima e persona fantastica.
Ci siamo divertiti tantissimo.
Response from Host, May 2025
Grazie
Frederic_S, Jun 2023
Tatsächlich handelt es sich bei der Tour eher um einen reinen Transfer. Die Organisation insbesondere in Hinblick auf den Startpunkt war katastrophal. Wir haben erst am Vorabend um 21:00 erfahren, dass wir um 6:00 Uhr in Palermo sein müssen. Eine Abholung vom Hotel war (trotz Angabe) nicht möglich.
Die Orte waren nichtsdestotrotz wundervoll & atemberaubend!
Response from Host, May 2025
lies
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per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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