Etna, Taormina & Isola Bella tour: Greek Theatre and crater walk

You'll stand inside a 2,000-year-old Greek theatre overlooking the sea, then walk across volcanic craters the same afternoon.

This eight-hour guided tour covers three of Sicily's most visited sites in a single day: Mount Etna's Silvestri Craters, the Greek Theatre of Taormina, and the Isola Bella nature reserve. The tour includes an air-conditioned vehicle, an audio guide available in English, Spanish, Italian, French and two additional languages, and two hours to explore Taormina's historic center. Museum and archaeological site tickets are separate.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Etna, Taormina, and Isola Bella

• Walk on Silvestri Craters
• Optional cable car to 2500m
• Visit historic center of Taormina
• See Ancient Theater of Taormina
• Enjoy view of Bay of Taormina
• Relax at Isola Bella nature reserve

The Experience

The day starts at the Silvestri Craters on Mount Etna, where you walk across the volcanic landscape at 2,000 meters—or take a cable car up to 2,500 meters if you want the higher vantage (cable car tickets are extra). Two hours there gives you time to move through the craters without rushing, and the air-conditioned vehicle waits between stops. From Etna, the route drops down to Taormina's historic center, where you have two hours to walk the ancient Greek Theatre and the narrow streets around it. The Theatre sits on the hillside overlooking the coast, and it's the kind of place where the scale of the stone and the view together make the age of it real.

The final stop is Isola Bella, a small nature reserve in the Bay of Taormina where you can stand on the shore and watch the water, or swim if the weather holds. The bay curves around the reserve, and on clear days the view back toward the town and the coast is the kind of thing people photograph. You're not rushed here either—the schedule leaves room to sit, or to wade in, or to just look. The whole route is built around seeing three different altitudes and three different kinds of Sicilian landscape (volcanic, ancient, coastal) without having to arrange transport between them yourself.

What’s included

• Air-conditioned vehicle throughout the day.
• audio guide in English, Spanish, Italian, French and two additional languages.
• two hours in Taormina's historic center with access to the Greek Theatre.
• two-hour stop at Mount Etna's Silvestri Craters with the option to take a cable car higher (cable car ticket extra).
• time to relax at the Isola Bella nature reserve by the sea.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Tourist Service

Is this one for you?Pick this if you want to see multiple landscapes in one day with two hours at each stop—the steady pace lets you walk the craters and old town without feeling rushed, and the air-conditioned vehicle handles the transitions between sites.

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Top questions

What's the walk like on Mount Etna's Silvestri Craters?

The Silvestri Craters sit at 2,000 meters on the volcano's slope, and you walk across the volcanic terrain for about two hours. The cable car option goes higher to 2,500 meters if you want it, but that ticket costs extra and is not included in the tour price.

How much time do I get to see the Greek Theatre of Taormina?

You have two hours in Taormina's historic center, which gives you time to walk through the ancient Greek Theatre and explore the old town around it. The Theatre is the main draw, but the narrow streets and the views from the hilltop are part of the same stop.

Can I swim or go in the water at Isola Bella?

Isola Bella is a nature reserve on the shore of the Bay of Taormina, and you can relax at the sea during the final part of the tour. Whether you swim depends on the weather and the season, but the stop is designed to give you time by the water after the walking and climbing earlier in the day.

Is this tour suitable for families with young children?

The tour is designed for families with children of all ages. Infants can ride in a pram or stroller, and small children can sit on an adult's lap in the vehicle. The pace across the craters is manageable, and the two-hour stops in Taormina and at Isola Bella give families flexibility to move at their own speed.

What languages is the audio guide available in?

The audio guide is available in English, Spanish, Italian, French, and two additional languages, so you can follow along at each stop in your preferred language.

Are museum and site entry tickets included?

Entry tickets to archaeological sites and monuments like the Greek Theatre are not included in the tour price and must be purchased separately at each location.