Sicily Shore Excursions

[CalGalTraveler]

We are on an Italian cruise which offers several options for shore excursions for Sicily. Specifically we are wondering if adding Mt Etna option to a tour of Taormina is worth it. They say we can see the volcano from other vista points without climbing the mountain. Seems like a long day and this will be at the end of a 14 day vacation of tours.

Is it worth it to see volcanic rock given we have been to Hawaii. Worth it? if so why? Alternatively, should we stay in town and enjoy a nice slow Italian meal.

TIA

cc @WinniWoman, @Hindsite would like your thoughts if you have been to the top of Etna.

 

[CPNY]

Mt Etna is spectacular. I did a mountain biking excursion (It was a lt harder than I thought, it was like riding a mountain bike on a beach). Taormina is nice, but it's just one street that is the tourist attraction, Corso Umberto. I assume you're only doing a day trip to Taormina? If you just have one day in Taormina, then skip Etna. I did two nights in Taormina which was more than enough. I was lucky enough to catch a concert at the greek theater and I did enjoy one day at a beach club. The rest of the time I was wandering Corso Umberto. if it's just one day in Taormina, skip Etna.

 

[WinniWoman]

We are on an Italian cruise which offers several options for shore excursions for Sicily. Specifically we are wondering if adding Mt Etna option to a tour of Taormina is worth it. They say we can see the volcano from other vista points without climbing the mountain. Seems like a long day and this will be at the end of a 14 day vacation of tours.

Is it worth it to see volcanic rock given we have been to Hawaii. Worth it? if so why? Alternatively, should we stay in town and enjoy a nice slow Italian meal.

TIA

cc @WinniWoman, @Hindsite would like your thoughts if you have been to the top of Etna.

You don’t have to climb the mountain. We didn’t/couldn’t physically anyway. Actually there are craters up there to walk around. I thought it was pretty cool. But also we could see the volcano smoking from our hotel in Taoromino.

There are a lot of tourists up there, however. And it is a long ride. And being you will be tired and have seen volcanoes before I think it would be fine to just stay in Taoromino and chill. I would recommend walking in the gardens there ( I forget the name) and there’s a nice distant view over the sea of the volcano if it’s smoking. Also the Greek theater in Taoromino is something to see.

 

[Laurie]

There are some beautiful craters to walk around, acloser than all the way up Mt Etna, and yes, gorgeous and different from Hawaii Volcanos NP if that's what you mean. Also you can walk over to the pretty little Isola Bella (an offshore island) during low tide.

 

[PaulaC]

We were in Sicily last year and I highly recommend Viator's a Taste of Sicily, a walking food tour. The last stop was for cannoli and the pistachio cannoli still haunts my dreams.