Syracuse boat tour with lunch: Ortigia and Plemmirio

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.72 (146 reviews) 86% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/12

Duration4h

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN · IT

Mobile ticketAccepted

Lunch is cooked on board while you float past Maniace Castle and the Arethusa spring.

A half-day boat tour along the Syracuse coast with a skipper guide, covering Ortigia island, the Plemmirio marine protected area and the Porto Grande. The tour includes a four-course Sicilian lunch prepared in the boat's kitchen, fresh drinks and seasonal fruit throughout, plus swimming stops in the protected area. The itinerary may shift with weather, and food allergies must be noted at booking.

Step-by-step itinerary

Boat tour and sightseeing in Syracuse

Board modern motor boat with skipper
See monuments and buildings in Ortigia
Sail towards Plemmirio marine protected area
Swim at suggestive points in Plemmirio
Enjoy lunch with Sicilian specialties onboard

The Experience

You board a modern motor boat in Syracuse and spend the morning and early afternoon on the water with a live guide in English or Italian. The boat moves slowly past Ortigia—the historic island at Syracuse's heart—where you'll see the Maniace Castle, the Cathedral, the Church of Santa Lucia, the Arethusa spring and the Spanish Walls from the water. The route then heads toward Plemmirio, a marine protected area where the boat stops for swimming in the clearest spots along the coast.

Lunch happens on board, cooked in the boat's kitchen while you're underway or anchored. The meal is a reinforced appetizer and a main course—either homemade or fish-based, chosen by the staff—with wine and drinks included. Fresh seasonal fruit and drinks stay available throughout the tour. If you have food allergies, you'll need to flag them when you book so the kitchen can plan around them.

The 4-hour tour holds together without planning on your end: the skipper handles navigation, the kitchen handles the meal, and the stops are timed into the schedule. Marine weather can shift the exact route or which parts of Ortigia you see from the water, but the core of the day—the boat, the coast, the protected area and the lunch—stays intact.

What’s included

Modern motor boat with skipper guide in English or Italian.
Sicilian lunch with appetizer and main course cooked on board.
wine and drinks with lunch.
fresh seasonal fruit and drinks throughout the tour.
swimming stops in the Plemmirio marine protected area.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Escursioni in barca Siracusa | Excursion Boat Ortigia | Tour en bateau by Dolci Escursioni

Is this one for you?You're on a shared boat with other travelers, so the pace and stops are set by the group and the skipper—good if you want the coast and the lunch without building the day yourself, and the swimming stops mean you're not just watching from the deck. If you prefer to control the route or swim on your own schedule, a private rental boat would give you that freedom instead.