Best Shore Excursion in one day: Etna - Taormina - Godfather with food | La Vacanza Travel

Best Shore Excursion in one day: Etna - Taormina - Godfather with food

Duration: 8 to 9 hours
Destination: Italy, Province of Messina, Messina
from
689.27

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  • 8 to 9 hours
  • Messina
  • E-Voucher
  • Lowest Price
  • Not-Cancellable

Overview

Private full day tour of the most important and beautiful Sicilian sites - Mount Etna Volcano (including honey, jams, olive oil, Etna DOC wines and liquors tasting), Taormina, the most important tourist resort in Europe, full of fascinating streets and ancient monuments. The Godfather tour with Food and Wine tasting in Savoca near the church where Michael Corleone married Apollonia.This tour is private - only for your party, nobody else, to ensure the highest quality for our guests, and includes pickup and drop-off.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Port of Messina, Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 27, 98122 Messina ME, Italy

Your private English-speaking guide will pick you up at your hotel or port in Messina at your preferable hour in the morning, and you will start this delightful private tour of the most important and beautiful Sicilian sites.

First, you will visit Mt Etna Volcano. Your friendly guide will tell you history of volcano creation, about eruptions, culture, myths, and folklore of "Mamma Etna" and Sicily itself. Driving by private car through authentic mountain villages, you will visit local honey farm and taste the produce of the fertile volcano terrain - honey, jams, olive oil, Etna DOC wines and liquors. Then continue to ascend and visit amazing natural phenomenon - a cave of lavic origin where, according to the Greek legend, Ulysses was confined by Polypheme, after which you will reach “Rifugio Sapienza” station at 2000mt. Here you will see famous Silvestri Craters, admire unforgettable panoramas, visit shops with souvenirs of lava, refresh yourself at some restaurant or bar. Optional ascent with cable car and jeep with the authorized Alpine Guide to 3000mt.

Then your guide will chauffeur you to Alcantara Gorges Natural Reserve - another unique natural phenomenon with Etna activity connection. Several thousand years ago, Alcantara river's bed was blocked by lava flow from Mt Etna. As the lava was cooled much more quickly by the water than it would have done otherwise, it crystallised in the form of columns. Over the next millenia, the river eroded a channel through these columns, resulting in impressive gorges and ravines. You will see this unique gorges, refresh yourself in cool water of Alcantara river, enjoy unspoilt Sicilian nature.

The tour will continue in Savoca - the must-see Sicilian hilltop village world-known thanks to F.F. Coppola, who filmed his legendary "The Godfather" here. The guide will tell you about the filming process and trivia, and the real Sicilian Mafia story. You will discover the history and culture of the movie locations, and feel the romantically rustic atmosphere of old Sicily. Walk the authentic streets of Savoca, remained unchanged since the movie was made, visit ancient churches, Bar Vitelli where Michael spoke to Apollonia’s father, church of Santa Lucia where the couple was married, follow the same path down the hill into town that the newlyweds did, and maybe even meet some locals cast in the movie - like signora who played Apollonia's mother!

Then, you will arrive at a charming wine bar near the church, and sitting on a terrace with romantic panoramic view of the sea and surrounding countryside, you will have hearty traditional food and wine session. You will taste organic locally produced food - cheeses, salami, prosciutto, Sicilian relish caponata, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, home-made jelly, extra virgin olive oil and fresh bread with Etna DOC red and white wines.

Duration: 8 hours

Inclusions
  • Private tour of Mount Etna Volcano
  • Tasting of Etna honey, jams, olive oil, DOC wines and liqours
  • Private tour of "The Godfather" locations in Savoca, including Bar Vitelli visit
  • Private local English speaking guide
  • Hotel/port pickup and drop-off (Messina)
  • Round trip transportation by comfortable air-conditioned car
  • Food and wine tasting at restaurant with panoramic view in Savoca
  • Bottled water
  • Taormina walking tour
  • Entry/Admission - Port of Messina

Exclusions
  • Optional ascent to 3000mt on Etna by cable car and jeep with licenzed Alpine guide - 65 euro
  • Gratuities
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
  • Minimum drinking age is 18 years
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Infant seats available
  • Most travelers can participate
  • We have private tours, only for your party, however at the beginning of the excursion we will give each guest a mask, protective gloves and hand sanitizer.
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Departure Point

Traveler pickup is offered
Your private guide will meet you at your accommodation in Taormina or Giardini Naxos. - For pick up in Messina or Catania area you pay addition price: 60 euro that you pay to your guide

Airports

  • Fontanarossa Airport, Catania, Sicily Italy


Ports

  • Messina port
  • Porto d'Ulisse, 95126 Catania, Metropolitan city of Catania, Italy
  • Via Larunchi, 23, 98035 Giardini Naxos ME, Italy


Departure Time


Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
Tour from Messina
3/18/2022 - 3/11/2025

Monday - Tuesday : 09:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Wednesday - Sunday : 09:00 AM - 03:30 PM
Tour from Catania
1/12/2024 - 3/11/2025
Monday - Sunday : 09:00 AM - 04:00 PM

Voucher info

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

Duration

8 to 9 hours


User's Reviews

Priti_R

07 Apr, 2024

Elena was excellent and engaging. She was knowledgeable and gave great at explaining all the history and kept us engaged. We were not rushed at any point in our trip and gave us plenty of time if needed to shop or get coffee during our full day private trip. Will recommend this company and guide to everyone. Day well spent!

Amanda_S

24 Sep, 2023

We loved our tour of Sicily. Our guide was amazingly knowledgeable about Mt Etna and that was one of our favorite things to explore. I will say this is a packed day and was exhausting but if you have one day to see all the highlights this is the tour to take. Amazing!

Melanie_H

18 Jun, 2023

We had a wonderful guide Maurizio! He was easy to communicate with before and during the tour. He was so kind and told us all about his island and the places we visited. He even gave us jackets while we were on the mountain at the volcano lava fields. There was a misunderstanding in the description of the tour, but the manager took care of us right away! Very apologetic and professional!! So appreciated. Note that you probably won’t have enough time to go to the Greek theater (long line to get tickets) so let them know if this is important to you. Highly recommend this company! Thank you for a lovely day!

ForeverBubbles

22 Jan, 2020

We had such a blast with Roberto on this tour! He was so passionate and knowledgeable about his job around where he lives. The honey, olive oil, and liquor tasting was so fun and delicious! Then we visited the top of Etna where we got to learn about the history. And finished it all of with an amazing lunch and wine tasting with great views and a tour of the historic winery. Highly recommend and wish we could be back there now!

User's Picture Gallery

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Amazing tour with Roberto!!!

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