Mount Etna and Alcantara Gorges
An 8-hour private tour: Mount Etna, a village of lava stone and the Alcantara Gorges, cut by the river through the lava.
Highlights
- A car and driver reserved for your group, 8 hours
- Mount Etna from the south side or Piano Provenzana
- Randazzo or Linguaglossa, villages of lava stone
- The Alcantara Gorges, between walls of lava
- Back through the valley, via Francavilla di Sicilia
- Photo stops around the volcano
About this tour
Then you drive down to one of the villages built with the volcano's stone, Randazzo or Linguaglossa, for a coffee or lunch. In the afternoon, the Alcantara Gorges: the river cut through an old lava flow and left dark rock walls above the cold water. Entry to the park is paid on site. The way back runs through Francavilla di Sicilia, in the valley.
Your driver drives, waits for you and suggests timings. At the gorges you move on your own, under the park's rules.
Itinerary
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Pickup
Your driver meets you at your hotel or address, or at Messina port if you arrive by ship.
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Mount Etna 2h
Rifugio Sapienza or Piano Provenzana: a walk on your own among lava and extinct craters.
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An Etna village 1h
A stop in Randazzo or Linguaglossa, for a coffee or lunch.
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Alcantara Gorges 1h 30min
Free time at the gorges park, with entry paid on site.
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Return
Back through Francavilla di Sicilia to your pickup point.
What's included
- Private vehicle for your group only: by car for up to 3, by van for up to 8
- English-speaking driver
- Pickup at your hotel or address and return to the same point
- Fuel
- Your driver waits for you at every stop
- Free time on Mount Etna and at the Alcantara Gorges
- Photo stops where the road allows
Not included
- Entrance tickets to sites, monuments and parks
- The Etna cable car and the 4x4 higher up: optional, paid on site
- Lunch, snacks and drinks
- Tips: up to you
Good to know
- Alcantara Gorges (official site, read on 20 October 2026): the park is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00 until 31 October 2026, with the 2027 season to be confirmed; the full visit costs about 30 euro per person, paid at the entrance. The river water is cold even in summer.
- Bring shoes that can get wet.
- You choose the north or south side on the day with your driver, depending on the weather and the road.
- Above about 2,500 m access depends on the volcanic alert phase: the summit craters only with authorised alpine or volcanological guides, when the phase allows. Under notice no. 2 of 12 October 2026 the phase is pre-alarm and the summit-crater zone is closed.
- Your driver does not go above the square, and nobody can promise the summit, lava or a visible eruption.
- Your driver drives, waits for you and suggests stops and timings, but does not guide inside sites and monuments.
- Entrance tickets, the cable car and tastings are not part of the tour price: you pay for them yourself, on site or online.
- Pickup at your hotel or address at the time you choose: in historic centres the car comes to your hotel where traffic rules allow, otherwise to the nearest point, agreed beforehand.
- Arriving by ship at Messina port? Pickup is at the cruise terminal exit or the port gate agreed at booking. Add the ship name and the all-aboard time, and plan the return with a margin.
- Private tour: the car and driver are for your group only, up to 8 people. The price is per group, not per person.
Pickup
Pickup at your hotel or address (Catania, Acireale, Taormina, Giardini Naxos, Messina port). Add the exact address in the booking notes.
Frequently asked questions
Is entry to the gorges included?
No. The park has its own ticket, paid at the entrance: about 30 euro per person for the full visit (October 2026).
Can we swim in the river?
It depends on the park's rules that day and on the season. The water is cold: ask at the entrance what is allowed.
Is there time for the Etna cable car?
Yes, if you choose the south side and start early: your time at the gorges gets shorter. The cable car is paid on site.
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Arriving by plane or train?
We also run private transfers from airports and stations. Door to door, on your schedule.
