Mother Nature's two greatest gifts to eastern Sicily were the spectacular Alcantara Gorge and Europe's largest active volcano, Mt Etna. On this full day excursion, you'll discover these two natural wonders – paddling in the water of the gorge and climbing up to 2,900 metres in the volcano in a variety of transport modes.

Your adventure starts with a drive to the Alcantara Gorge, where you'll have free time – about 90 minutes – to take in the natural beauty and paddle in its crystalline pools. Its 50-metre-high black lava walls are made of layer upon layer of slabs in wavy and tubular patterns. Surrounded by lots of lush vegetation, it's an amazing spot.

After you've dried off, it's on to Mt Etna. Most of the journey up the volcano will be by coach. You'll then transfer to a Unimog – a kind of 4x4 minibus - and a guided walk will take you to the Sapienza refuge at 1,900 metres above sea level. From here you'll head up to 2,900 metres above sea level for even better views.

Fabio was a brilliant guide and extremely helpful going above and beyond to make our experience of Etna and Alcantara Gorge as enjoyable as possible. Even when our bus A/C broke, him and our driver resolved the issue quickly and even bought us all a treat later. We cannot praise them both enough.

- the guide (Fabio) was excellent. He was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. - I felt safe with the driver (Alfio) - it was an easy way to do Etna - not really a negative as was unavoidable but there was a lot of time in the coach. Luckily Fabio filled the time with history and vulcanology info

Great tour of mount Etna and the Gorge.. Fabio was very informative about local info and Anna was a great driver.. off to a perfect start with everyone on time and cable car and 4x4 to Etna was well organised and enjoyable . The trip to the Gorge was also good but please note ticket not included and cost a further £11 for entry .. Gorge is a must see visit and bring water shoes and towel for a paddle.

Nice excursion but very stressful environment with a lot of tourists queuing up at different places during the trip to summit and back.

The trip itself was good and both Etna and the gorge were amazing. Unfortunately the guide was rude and seemed more interested in getting home early than our enjoyment of the trip. Lots of other companies do tours of Etna, so I would recommend booking with someone else so you don't get stuck with the guide we had.

Why you’ll love this…

Free time at Alcantara Gorge
Off-roading trip up Mt Etna
Enjoy views over Sicily from 2,900m

Important to know

Entrance fee to Alcantara Gorge not included
Please note, the guide who takes guests from Refugio up to 2900m speaks English only
Not suitable for expectant mothers or guests with back problems
Not suitable for guests with cardiac or respiratory problems
Not suitable for guests with reduced mobility
Bring a hat
Bring suitable footwear
Bring warm clothes
Food and drinks not included
Some entrance fees and optional extras are payable locally
Subject to weather conditions
Not suitable for guests with poor health
Not suitable for wheelchairs
Please note that all times are approximate and subject to change

Cancellation policy

Receive a 100% refund if you cancel up to 1 day before the experience begins.

What’s included

Transport
Guide
4x4 tour
Cable car ride

Booking fee

Good news! No extra fees are applied to this booking.

Pickup points

To see which pickup points are available, check under availability & prices.

Provider

TUI ITALIA S.R.L.

What people say about this experience

4.5/5

All reviews are verified

Based on 15 reviews

Review categories

Service

4.3/5

Staff

4.3/5

Safety

4.3/5

Value for money

4.3/5

All ratings (15)

5 stars (10)

67%

4 stars (3)

20%

3 stars (2)

13%

2 stars (0)

1 star (0)

T
TUI Musement Traveler
23 August 2025
5
United States of America
Fabio was a brilliant guide and extremely helpful going above and beyond to make our experience of Etna and Alcantara Gorge as enjoyable as possible. Even when our bus A/C broke, him and our driver resolved the issue quickly and even bought us all a treat later. We cannot praise them both enough.
C
CF
Solo traveller
14 September 2024
5
United States of America
- the guide (Fabio) was excellent. He was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. - I felt safe with the driver (Alfio) - it was an easy way to do Etna - not really a negative as was unavoidable but there was a lot of time in the coach. Luckily Fabio filled the time with history and vulcanology info
C
Clk
Travelled with family
24 August 2024
5
United States of America
S
ShazzaG
Travelled as a couple
16 October 2023
4.6
United Kingdom
Great tour of mount Etna and the Gorge.. Fabio was very informative about local info and Anna was a great driver.. off to a perfect start with everyone on time and cable car and 4x4 to Etna was well organised and enjoyable . The trip to the Gorge was also good but please note ticket not included and cost a further £11 for entry .. Gorge is a must see visit and bring water shoes and towel for a paddle.
B
Bjorn
Travelled with family
29 October 2022
5
Norway
Nice excursion but very stressful environment with a lot of tourists queuing up at different places during the trip to summit and back.
A
Andrea
Travelled as a couple
2 October 2022
3
United Kingdom
The trip itself was good and both Etna and the gorge were amazing. Unfortunately the guide was rude and seemed more interested in getting home early than our enjoyment of the trip. Lots of other companies do tours of Etna, so I would recommend booking with someone else so you don't get stuck with the guide we had.