Length
5 days
Group
Up to 8 guests
Season
April–June and September–October
Pace
Steady, with hill roads
We meet
Front desk, Cat Mitty Hotel, 17:00 the evening before
Guide price
From 34,400 CZK per person
This is an approximate figure, with flights and the nights listed below. The manager confirms the final price when you request the tour, since it can move with dates, flights and the number of travellers.
Taormina sits on a ledge over the Ionian Sea and has been charming visitors for two thousand years. We spend the first two nights there, then climb the lava roads to the villages on the flanks of Etna, where the walls are black and the vineyards are very green.
The route is gentle on the legs and harder on the camera roll. Between the sea and the volcano there are lemon terraces, small wineries, a coastal gorge and a street market in Catania where the fish are shouted at in dialect.
The ribbon of days
1
Taormina on a ledge
We reach Taormina by minibus from Catania and settle into a hotel with a terrace. A first walk takes us to the Greek theatre at sunset, when the volcano glows pink over the stage.
2
Castelmola by foot
A morning walk up the old mule path to Castelmola, a village so high that it has its own weather. Lunch is almond wine and fresh ricotta, and the cats sleep in the church doorway.
3
Up to the slopes
A drive to Zafferana Etnea, where we stay in a small wine house on the slope. In the afternoon the winemaker takes us through the black-stone rows, and in the evening we eat with the family.
4
The gorge and the volcano
A morning at the Alcantara gorge, where basalt columns line the river, followed by a guided walk on the side of Etna at a gentle height. The ground crunches and the air smells of sulphur and pine.
5
Catania market and flight home
Early to the Catania fish market, a last coffee and arancino, and then the airport transfer for the evening flight to Prague.
What is in
- Return flights from Prague
- Four nights in Taormina and on Etna
- Breakfasts and three dinners
- Gorge entry and the guided volcano walk
- Wine house visit
- A guide for the whole trip
What is not
- Other meals
- Travel insurance
- Cable car or jeep rides above the walk
- Wine you carry away
What to bring
Closed shoes for lava ground, a warm layer because the volcano is cold at any time of year, and sunglasses. See the packing page.
Request this tour
Send a request with the dates you have in mind and the number of travellers. A manager calls you within 48 hours to confirm the price and the details; nothing is charged on this site.