Etna and Taormina Tour from Catania

Description

This Etna and Taormina tour begins with the pick up at the hotel in Catania.

After being picked up you will head for Rifugio Sapienza, stopping in certain view points on the way up. The guide will give you all the information you need about the history and the territory of the volcano and you will visit the sites of the last eruptions and the old Silvestri Craters.

From Rifugio Sapienza you can choose one of the following options:

• Do some trekking in one of the nature paths of “Parco dell’Etna”, up to 2000 m.
• Buy the Etna high altitude option (extra cost): from Rifugio Sapienza you will take the cable car and reach, in 15 minutes, 2504 meters. From here you will continue with special 4x4 minibuses and reach, in 20 minutes, 2900 meters (Torre del Filosofo). You will find your self in front of a scenery stretching right down to the sea. Here it will be possible to admire the great central crater, the South-East crater and the historical lava flows that characterize the landscape of Etna. With the alpinist guides you will visit the places where the life of the volcano flourishes, in full safety. You will return to Rifugio Sapienza by minibus and cable car.

The excursion will continue with the visit of a lava cave with helmets and torches.

The next stop, on the way down,will be Zafferana, where you will visit one of the most famous organic farms for a delicious sampling of typical products such as honey, wine, oil etc. 

After the tasting, you will head for Taormina, but first you will stop at the wonderful “Isola Bella”, a Wildlife Reserve considered the “pearl of the Ionian sea” for its natural beauty, and connected to the mainland by a thin strip of sand.

After lunch (not included in the price) you will dedicate the afternoon to visiting the picturesque town of Taormina.

Along the main road of this town, Corso Umberto, with the Messina Gate below and the Catania Gate on the mountain side, you will admire the most important monuments: Palazzo Corvaja (The Corvaja Palace) , the Teatro Antico (The Greek Theatre), Piazza IX Aprile, the Torre dell’orologio (The Clock Tower), the Cattedrale Fortezza (The Fortress Cathedral), the Badia Vecchia (The Old Abbey), and the Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano (The Duke of Saint Stephen Palace), and much more. It will also be possible to go shopping in the exclusive shops which alternate with workshops.