Catania Inn
Hotel
Days 1, 2
Sicily: Etna to Palermo - 6 Days (Catania, Mount Etna, Taormina, Siracusa & Ortigia)
Six days across the island, Catania to Palermo. Six days with a private vehicle, licensed archaeological guides and a volcanological guide on Etna, staying on Ortigia rather than the mainland.
Cypress & Stone
Runs this trip
Walking / cultural tour
Six days across the island, Catania to Palermo
Group Tour
Join a fixed-date departure with other travellers
Top Highlights
Piazza del DuomoCatania has been destroyed by Etna and by earthquake repeatedly, and the current city is eighteenth-century baroque built largely in… Rifugio SapienzaHow high you get depends entirely on what Etna is doing that week — the summit zone closes on activity and the guides do not argue with it. Teatro GrecoTaormina's Greek theatre frames Etna through the ruined stage wall, which is why it has been painted more than any view in Sicily.
Itinerary
Catania has been destroyed by Etna and by earthquake repeatedly, and the current city is eighteenth-century baroque built largely in black lava stone.
CataniaHow the day runs
- 1 hrsTransfer into the centre
- MealsDinner
- AccommodationCatania Inn
Included Activities
- Airport transfer
- Hotel night
Optional Activities
- La Pescheria fish market, which is loud and finishes by one
LANDMARKS Piazza del Duomo La Pescheria Via Etnea Start point Catania, Catania Fontanarossa Airport (CTA), Sicily 00:00 - 23:59How high you get depends entirely on what Etna is doing that week — the summit zone closes on activity and the guides do not argue with it.
Catania, Mount EtnaHow the day runs
- 2 hrs8:00 AM — up to the Rifugio Sapienza at 1,900 m
- 1 hrs10:00 AM — cable car and 4x4 to about 2,900 m
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationCatania Inn
Included Activities
- Cable car, 4x4 and a volcanological guide
- Hotel night in Catania
LANDMARKS Rifugio Sapienza Silvestri craters Summit craters Valle del Bove Taormina's Greek theatre frames Etna through the ruined stage wall, which is why it has been painted more than any view in Sicily.
Catania, Taormina, SiracusaHow the day runs
- 1 hrs8:30 AM — north to the clifftop town
- 2 hrs2:00 PM — south past Catania to Ortigia
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationSiracusa Retreat
Included Activities
- Greek theatre entry
- Transport
- Hotel night on Ortigia
LANDMARKS Teatro Greco Corso Umberto Isola Bella Ortigia The Siracusa cathedral is a fifth-century BC Greek temple with a church built inside it — the Doric columns are in the walls.
Siracusa, Ortigia, NotoHow the day runs
- 9:00 AM — the Neapolis park, the ear of Dionysius and Ortigia
- 1 hrs3:00 PM — over to Noto for the late light
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationSiracusa Retreat
Included Activities
- Neapolis entry
- Guided Ortigia walk
- Hotel night on Ortigia
LANDMARKS Neapolis archaeological park Duomo di Siracusa Noto Corso Vittorio The Temple of Concordia is among the best-preserved Doric temples anywhere, largely because it was converted to a church in the sixth century and never quarried.
Siracusa, AgrigentoHow the day runs
- 3 hrs8:00 AM — across the island to the south coast
- 3 hrs12:00 PM — the temple ridge, best in the afternoon light
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationAgrigento House
Included Activities
- Valley of the Temples entry with a guide
- Hotel night at Agrigento
LANDMARKS Temple of Concordia Temple of Juno Valley of the Temples The Cappella Palatina is Norman architecture with Byzantine mosaics under an Arab muqarnas ceiling, all built at once in the 1140s.
Agrigento, PalermoHow the day runs
- 3 hrs8:30 AM — north across the interior
- 12:00 PM — the Cappella Palatina and the Ballaro market
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationNot included — onward travel
Included Activities
- Cappella Palatina entry
- Transfer to Palermo airport
Optional Activities
- Monreale cathedral, twenty minutes above the city and worth the detour
LANDMARKS Cappella Palatina Palermo Cathedral Ballaro market Monreale
- Day 1Airport transfer
- Day 1Hotel night
- Day 1La Pescheria fish market, which is loud and finishes by oneCosts extra
- Day 2Cable car, 4x4 and a volcanological guide
- Day 2Hotel night in Catania
- Day 3Greek theatre entry
- Day 3Transport
- Day 3Hotel night on Ortigia
- Day 4Neapolis entry
- Day 4Guided Ortigia walk
- Day 5Valley of the Temples entry with a guide
- Day 5Hotel night at Agrigento
- Day 6Cappella Palatina entry
- Day 6Transfer to Palermo airport
- Day 6Monreale cathedral, twenty minutes above the city and worth the detourCosts extra
- Day 1 · 2 nightsCatania Inn
- Day 3 · 2 nightsSiracusa Retreat
- Day 5 · 1 nightAgrigento House
- Day 1Catania to CataniaTransfer into the centre
- Day 2Catania to Mount Etna8:00 AM — up to the Rifugio Sapienza at 1,900 m
- Day 3Catania to Taormina8:30 AM — north to the clifftop town
- Day 3Taormina to Siracusa2:00 PM — south past Catania to Ortigia
- Day 4Siracusa to Noto3:00 PM — over to Noto for the late light
- Day 5Siracusa to Agrigento8:00 AM — across the island to the south coast
- Day 6Agrigento to Palermo8:30 AM — north across the interior
Where you'll stay
All accommodations are subject to change
Siracusa Retreat
Hotel
Days 3, 4
Agrigento House
Hotel
Day 5
What you'll eat
5 breakfasts and 1 dinner across 6 days, at the lodges you sleep in. It opens with dinner on day 1 and closes with breakfast on day 6.
- DinnerServed on day 1
- BreakfastServed on days 2–6
6 meal services named in the itinerary. Vegetarian and vegan covered; Jain, gluten-free and allergies on notice at booking
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Customer reviews
Overall rating
4.0/5
Based on 3 reviews
Review summary
Food4.0/5
Guide4.7/5
Itinerary4.3/5
Transport4.0/5
Accommodation4.0/5
Tour operator4.7/5
Sort by:Recommended
3
M
Meera Iyer – Mumbai2025-10-29 · Verified booking
Hotels were a step below what I expected for the price. The lead was calm and knew when to slow the group down.
Reply from Cypress & Stone
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope to see you on another trip.
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5
A
Arjun Pillai – Pune2025-10-29 · Verified booking
Everything was arranged properly — transfers, entries, all of it. Rooms were comfortable and the locations meant we could walk most evenings. Simple food, well made, and enough of it. Would send friends their way.
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4
I
Ishita Ghosh – Kochi2025-10-29 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found.
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Questions people ask
One other operator runs this trip. See all 2 side by side →