Etna Morning Tour (starting from Catania)
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Sicily, Italy
- 5 to 6 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
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What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Vehicle transfers with air conditioning and driver Certified naturalistic guides (ita, eng, fra, spa)
- Helmets and flash lights for the Cave
- LunchLunch and Drinks
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.
Itinerary
Piazza Stesicoro (Pass By)
Lungomare di Ognina (Pass By)
1
Craters Silvestri of Mount Etna
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
2
Mount Etna
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
3
Valle del Bove
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Colata Lavica 1992
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Oro d'Etna
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Catania (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
A fantastic evening at Etna (I did the sunset tour) with a very knowledgeable guide! I know much more about volcanoes as well as having had the experience to visit this beautiful location. We stopped at a number of scenic points including a volcanic cave, craters and lava flows before heading to the perfect spot for sunset. Great to experience in a small group with convenient transportation from the centre of Catania. Do not hesitate to book this tour!
Reviews
5.0
based on 373 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
We met a guide not too far from the port. The ride was smooth. She answered any questions. We stopped at a cafe/gift shop where we could use bathrooms. Then went on a hike up a ways.
Etna was erupting so we could see ash all over the ground. We were on back side so we never felt unsafe. Hiked down then drove to a lava tube. They gave us helmets and walked us in a bit. Final stop was a lookout point. We could see the fresh hardened lava.
Then we stopped at a wine and honey store. Samples were available so we bought some honey. Overall a great excursion.
There are several things to be aware of with this tour, that I don’t think are accurately represented from the booking.
1. The start time is NOT 8am. They expect to be leaving the meeting point at 7:35am. You only find this out the night before via WhatsApp text and email. They really should update the start time to 7:30 to accurately reflect so people can plan accordingly, especially if they might be coming from somewhere other than Catania.
2. The duration of each itinerary point is vastly overstated. Of course there is drive time to consider which they don’t really outline but the Lava Cave is listed as 2 hours in duration. The actual lava cave is 15 minutes.. the tasting at the end is also overstated to be 30 minutes, it was 15 on the dot. The tour was spent predominantly driving, and less so actually looking at the sights. They should update the itinerary to reflect actual time at each stop and drive times listed separately. I likely wouldn’t have booked this knowing what I know now. It was a cool experience to see but not quite what I had expected.
3. The last point of concern, the tour operator we had while very knowledgeable, was unprofessional. He allowed a 15m coffee break after the first hiking portion which was 45 minutes of steep incline walking, when one of the couples in our group (3 couples total) was still finishing up he started berating her for not being done and continued to go on even after she threw her food out. 15m is not enough time for a break for a group of 6 to use the bathroom (which this was the only opportunity to use the bathroom on the 5 hour tour), get food, water, etc. everyone in the group was more than fine to wait a couple minutes for her to finish.
If this tour is bilingual Italian/English you may hear more Italian A day of diversity Short walk on the lower edge of Etna but none the less it was AMAZING to experience it Information given about the history and geography I felt at times that asking a question was rather a nuisance After our walk we drove to caves that were lava tunnels and spent 20 minutes learning about those and the geology Last stop was a honey, wine, olive, olive oil and garlic shop for tasting No info given there On our decent we stopped at a lookout to see a valley formed by lava Interesting experience but a felt the guide was rather abrupt May be it was the Sicilian way?
From start to finish, it was fantastic. Climbing up and around the crater made us feel like we were on top of the world. The cave was awesome! The valle del bove (valley of the ox) was an incredible lava flow. Giuseppe took care of us every step of the way! He let me use his trekking stick because my knees are bad. He shared facts and info consistently. It was even better than I could have imagined.
Booking a morning tour avoided the crowds, and the small group was more personal. Our guide Janet was fun, friendly, multi-lingual and knowledgeable. I think we all had a great expedience.
Giuseppe was amazing! This was a bucket list tour for me! I highly recommend this tour. Be ready with coat and proper footwear!
The Mt. Etna 1/2 day trip was terrific and the right amount of time. Our guide, Giovanni, was one of the best guides I've ever used. His knowledge of both Mt Etna, volcanoss, and geology more generally is truly impressive. This knowledge was on further display when Giovanni took us to an impressive lava cave.
The only downside of the tour was our inability to see some of the lower level craters due to a private citizen (not even living in Sicily from what I understand) charging a fee for a site that clearly should be accessible. The authorities should correct the problem. Otherwise, a perfect tour.
Great day out. Wonderful views & interesting facts about the history of Etna & volcano information . Our guide was lovely.
One area with a very steep climb on a narrow path would not be suitable if you have problems with walking but guide has walking sticks which helps.
We had a terrific visit to Mount Etna with Sebastian. We originally considered a few other tours with larger groups, but quickly realized we didn't want to get stuck in a group of 30 or 60 people. While those tours also offered a small-group option, it was much too expensive. It was just my wife and me on a private tour with Sebastian in his personal SUV. He spoke English very well, was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Mount Etna, and was very patient answering tons of questions about the geology, history, etc. He communicated really well before the trip (we were originally going to go another day, but he suggested we shift because of the weather, and we really appreciated the flexibility). It was lots of fun hiking during the tour, and we appreciated the chance to sample some local products. Having done this private tour option, this is the way to go if you can book it. Highly recommend!
It was wonderful experience from start to finish. Our guide (Paolo) was extremely knowledgeable and very engaging. We learned a lot and had a great time doing so.
A fantastic evening at Etna (I did the sunset tour) with a very knowledgeable guide! I know much more about volcanoes as well as having had the experience to visit this beautiful location. We stopped at a number of scenic points including a volcanic cave, craters and lava flows before heading to the perfect spot for sunset. Great to experience in a small group with convenient transportation from the centre of Catania. Do not hesitate to book this tour!
The guide was amazing and made sure we saw as much as possible. An amazing day where i learnt a lot!
Diego was amazing. He knows the volcano very well and pointed out hundreds of interesting facts. He was funny, easy to talk to and very knowledgeable. The tour was just the right amount of time.
Excellent trip. Leaving early means you can experience the volcano and cave etc before it gets too busy or hot! Monica was a wonderful guide - very knowledgable and with lots of fun anecdotes in with the facts. Her enthusiasm and love for Etna helped make this an unforgettable experience.
Would definitely recommend! Giuseppe was so helpful and full of information about the history of Etna, and the view was amazing!
We thoroughly enjoyed our Etna Morning Tour. Giuseppe did an excellent job providing information before and during the tour. It was really fascinating and something everyone should experience given the opportunity.
We had an amazing experience with this tour and we are so glad that we booked it. The organisation was smooth and we were picked up close to our accommodation. Our guide for the trip, Monica, was superb! She was fun and very knowledgeable and really made the experience special for the group. We learnt a lot about the history and vulcanology of Etna and she really brought the volcano to life for us. She really took good care of us all. We would definitely recommend this trip to anyone else.
Our guide, Luigi, was great! He explained about the Etna region and the mechanics of volcanoes. The hike up to one of the calderas was a little challenging but worth it. He was always ready to answer any questions we had.
Great guide, Monica was very nice and knew all about the history, culture, and science of the Volcano and Catania. We made it up the mountain to a big crater group, Monica had a surprise Catania Delicacy for us there. Then we went into a Cave with flashlights and then lastly on the Volcano over to the lava flow of 1991, a massive valley where you can see where all the lava flowed. We ended the tour at a wine, cheese, and honey producer with a ton of free samples to taste. Awesome tour that got us back to the city center in time to make a train out to another city in Sicily for touring and dinner.
We had a lovely time visiting Etna. The vulcano stories and history behind it educated us on that sunny day. Bonus point goes to free tasting on the way back.
Fabulous trip made all the more enjoyable because of the knowledge and fun that Monica brought to the trip. Would strongly recommend to anyone who wants to have a deeper understanding of the history of Etna whilst enjoying the amazing scenery. The local delicacies were an added bonus!!
Response from Host, Aug 2020
Thank you to you too guys!
It was a pleasure share with you a part of this kind of magic land and see how you got involved.
Hope to see you again here or there!
Have a good trip back to your 18 degrees 😉
It is a very beautiful experience, the guide was great and the explanations very interesting. However, we could have done it without a guide with a car. Furthermore, the price is too high. We would have paid less by booking directly on site.
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Thanks to Monica who is passionate about Etna.
An unforgettable memory in nature. We learned a lot, we heard Etna talk, the sunset was beautiful.
Thank you for the photos
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Después de un malentendido por el idioma del guía todo salió bien.
El guía se esforzó al máximo y es de agradecer
Nous étions un petit groupe de 6 personnes. Très agréable. Diego était super sympa! On a appris plein de choses sur l’Etna de 8h à 13h!
From $100.49
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Etna Morning Tour (starting from Catania)
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