Mount Etna & Winery Private Tour from Taormina with Tasting

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/27

Duration5h–8h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · IT

PickupAt your hotel

Etna’s wild slopes, honey stops and slow wine lunches from Taormina

You’ll ride up Mount Etna from Taormina with a local guide, sample volcanic honey in Zafferana Etnea, walk along ancient craters at 2000 meters, then settle into a family-run winery for lunch and tastings of Sicilian wine. Expect laughter over cheese plates and a few surprises as you breathe in the mountain air — it’s not just another day trip.

5h–8h

Step-by-step itinerary

Private tour of Etna and winery visit

Pick up at accommodation in Taormina area
Drive through authentic mountain villages
Stop in Zafferana Etnea village
Taste local honey, olive oil, and wines
Ascend to Rifugio Sapienza at 2000 mt
Visit Silvestri Craters and souvenir shops
Optional cable car and jeep ascent to 3000 mt
Drive to Etna winery
Tour winery estate and cellars
Enjoy traditional lunch with local wines

The Experience

Ever wonder what volcanic soil tastes like? I didn’t either, not really — but that’s kind of what happened on this private day trip to Mount Etna from Taormina. Our guide, Paolo, scooped us up right after breakfast (he actually greeted us with “Pronti?” which I guess means “Ready?”), and we wound through these sleepy villages where old men sat outside bars even though it was barely 9am. The air smelled faintly sweet — lemons and something earthy — and the houses were all lava stone, dark and cool. We stopped in Zafferana Etnea for honey tasting. I tried chestnut honey on bread; it was smoky-sweet and stuck to my teeth. Paolo laughed when I asked for seconds.

The drive up Mount Etna itself felt like time stretching out sideways. Black rocks everywhere, then suddenly patches of green. At Rifugio Sapienza, wind whipped around us so hard I almost lost my hat (Paolo just shrugged — “Etna makes her own weather”). We walked along the edge of a crater; you could smell sulfur if the breeze shifted. There were souvenir shops selling little bottles filled with black sand — kitschy but oddly tempting. Some folks took the cable car higher but we just stood there for a while, watching clouds move over the volcano’s shoulder. It’s weirdly peaceful despite everything you know about eruptions.

After that it was straight to a winery clinging to Etna’s lower slope. The owner’s daughter led us around the vines — she showed me how the grapes looked dusty from ash (“good for flavor,” she said). Lunch was loud and easy: cheeses, olives, salami that tasted almost spicy from fennel seeds, homemade pasta with tomato sauce that probably came from someone’s backyard garden nearby. Four wines: two white, two red. The red lingered in my mouth long after we left. I still think about that view over the vineyard with Etna in the background — honestly didn’t expect to feel so content sitting there with crumbs on my shirt.

What’s included

Your day includes private pickup from your accommodation or port in Taormina or nearby areas by air-conditioned car with your own guide leading the way.
You’ll stop for honey tasting in Zafferana Etnea before heading up Mount Etna to explore extinct craters at Rifugio Sapienza.
Afterward comes a full estate tour at an Etna winery plus a hearty Sicilian lunch paired with four local wines before being driven back comfortably at day’s end.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Prestelli Sicily Tours