My wife and I selected this tour based on reviews from TripAdvisor. We were not disappointed (other than the weather being overcast and not being able to see Mt Etna). I am going to list a couple pointers at the end.
We were staying in the center of Taormina. A beautiful place and a post for another day. Salvatore, a fantastic host with good English, who happened to be the owner of the company, picked my wife and I up for the start of our day. We then picked up 4 more people from London, a great crew.
We started driving to Linguaglossa (tongue tongue) to meet up with about 12 more people in 2 more vehicles.
We then continued to our first stop - the lava flow from 2002. While Salvatore says it’s a flat 800m walk, there are some small hills, but nothing too strenuous at all. The lava flow was great. You get the opportunity to stand next to and climb up on the flow. The pictures do not show the scale. Very cool.
The second point of interest (POI), not really a stop, in the drive over the lava flow. You can get a sense of the width of the flow.
The third POI, second stop is at the craters. There are multiple and Salvatore does a great job explaining before you start your walk. Here you will need to walk up to the crater rim and lava flow. Be prepared. It good weather I imagine it will be very warm. I would also say, if you think you can’t do the climb, do it. It is worth the views and the group does an excellent job taking the best route. You could see Etna close up, several craters, and the flows. Very cool.
The third stop is a climb down into a lava tube. Here you will get a hard hat and lamp. More so if you hit your head on the low ceiling, you have protection. Being somewhat claustrophobic, it was fine. Wide space, plenty of air. No problem at all. But watch your step. The climb down and back up can be slippery.
Stop 4 was lunch. Not sure if it is the same every tour, but we went to Sole Neve. A great host who brought out 2 pasta dishes - a pistachio pesto and a meat ragu. (The second dish can be a tomato sauce for vegetarians), and some vino, all served family style. This food excellent! Better than some of the meals we had in Taormina.
After lunch we were on to our final stop - the Alcantara Gorge. Here there are A LOT of steps. And you will have opportunity to cross a small stream (with a strong current with all the recent rain). The rock formations and waterfall at the bottom of all the stairs is very cool. But please be prepared to get wet up to your knees (unless you fall in) to cross the stream for a better view.
All in all, a great day with a great host. Thank you to Salvatore and his team.
Tips:
1) Use the bathroom at the meeting spot - a driving school in Linguaglossa - the last bathroom stop until lunch.
2) Bring water. You do not want to be without.
3) Be prepared to get wet up to your knees for the Gorge visit.
4) Don’t skip any part of this trip.
