Oct 1, 2024
Spectacular day on Mt Etna - We had an amazing day with Manuel! He picked us up close to our hotel and we headed off for Mount Etna! Along the way we stopped at a honey farm where we were able to taste different flavors of honey. Also, We were given an education about the bees! A quick note: this was the most economical place to purchase the honey. We continued our journey, stopping along the way in a quaint town, where we visited that beautiful cathedral. Then we headed to Mount Etna! The views were breathtaking! Manual took pictures of our group at all of our stops, he was very very kind. We stopped at a restaurant on the mountain and we enjoyed chocolate tastings and some of creamier alcoholic drinks that are sold all over Sicily. Both were delicious. It was nice to be able to sample the products. We then went off the beaten path to enjoy a stunning area in a private serene place. He taught us all about the chestnut trees, the volcano, and the history of the area.
We ended our tour at the famous Gambino winery. I can’t say enough good about this place. It was beautiful and the wines were outstanding. We had a pairing with many different foods and many different wines! You will not leave hungry! Each table was appointed, an educator about the wines and the food -which were all local to the area. The 2015 Etna wines were our favorite!
He delivered us back to our hotel! Safely (you will know what that means when you get here-lol). Manuel made this a very special day for our vacation here in Sicily with our friends.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 1, 2024
Manuel is a fabulous driver and host - We had a very enjoyable trip through the Mt Etna region with Manuel. He took us to various points of interests along the way. It was a great day with him. He took us to places off of the beaten path that we would never had found along the way. He is so flexible and a accommodating. He allowed plenty of time to enjoy each stop. His English is excellent.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 25, 2024
Great day out !! - Had an enjoyable day out exploring Etna and wine tasting at Gambino Winery with our tour guide Gabrielle who was super friendly & knowledgeable - the day was not rushed we felt we had a good insight into the history of Etna and the visit to the Winery for a tasting and lunch is a must do!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 22, 2024
Fabulous private tour of Etna with wine tasting at the Gambino winery - We had a great day out visiting Mt Etna, a local honey farm and the Gambino Vini winery. This was a private tour for my wife and me, not cheap, but worth every penny.
The guide was great, car was comfortable and clean. His knowledge about Etna, the local region and wider Sicily was excellent. We went to 2000m on Etna, however, due to the amount packed into the day there was not time to go on the cable car, but we did not feel that we had missed out as we had such a rounded experience, visit to a lava flow, a lovely panoramic view across a valley, visit to the Oro d’ell Etna honey farm and finished off with a wonderful wine tasting visit to the Gambino Vini winery, where the wines and food were fabulous.
It was a full day, pickup from the hotel at 9:30 and arrive back at 17:00.
Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 4, 2024
A great tour to see the highlights of Sicily! - Manuel was an excellent guide for our day through Sicily. We arrived in Messina on the Disney Dream and easily found him. Our kids (9 and 11) loved eating granita in Zaffarena. We visited a honey farm and a lava flow. The two highlights were our very windy walk around Mt. Etna and lunch and wine tasting at Gambino. Manuel had us back at the cruise ship with plenty of time. He was very knowledge and enjoyable to spend a day with. We highly recommend him!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 9, 2024
Great tour ahead of the crowd - Had a nice day. The guide, Gabriele, was nice in time and even a bit earlier, so we could leave before all the other tourists were also leaving. That made this tour excellent as we stayed in front of the crowd. Thanks Garbriele for the nice tour and the stories you told us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mar 27, 2024
Fantastic Private Tour - Fantastic experience! We booked the private Etna/winery tour for our honeymoon. Manuel was very a kind, courteous, and knowledgeable tour guide and driver. He also tailored the tour to our interests and was willing to adapt depending on what we wanted to do, including a visit to Oro d’Etna to taste honey, olive oil, and wine. Our tour also included a tasting at Murgo Winery, which turned out to be our favorite wine tasting of our entire Italy trip. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 6, 2024
The good guider Manuel - Nice guy, very kind and enthusiastic. Made us very happy, good arrangements and speaks good English. Transportation was comfortable and clean as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 10, 2024
Nothing like tour description . . . felt rushed and agenda/agenda time totally different than listed on web - First stop in Zafferana Etnea. Not sure the value in stopping here as we just walked to town square and in a church. Believe reason for stop was because it sounds good for agenda, although my guess is just because it is on the way to Mt. Etna, and sound good on website agenda.
Second stop gift stop Mt. Etna gift shop to sample liquor. Again, not sure value of sampling liquor instead of true value would be more time on Mt. Etna.
Third stop: short walk out of car to look at Mt. Etna. When driver heading back to car, asked if we could take a short hike, which he did say yes. Driver headed back to car while we walked around a crater. Once back at car, driver was ready to leave Mt. Etna. We asked if we could do another hike, and driver said no as had to get to winery before they close. Did not understand this comment, as agenda said 2 hours for Mt. Etna PLUS 2 hours for Mt. Etna Tram. Mt. Etna Tram option was never offered to us. It was a somewhat cloudy day and Tram was running, so did not understand why we could not do other hike, as 2 hours were stated on agenda for Tram.
Fourth stop: Bee Farm. Not sure why they list this as a bee farm, as the only bees you will see are bees flying into and out of a small wooden box (like a shoe box) in the driveway of the Bee Farm Wine Tasting Room. Wine tasting a joke, as they only give you an extremely small taste they pour in a plastic cup the size of a thimble. Also, tasted honey samples.
Last stop: a winery other than Gambino Winery listed on the agenda. Asked why we were not going to Gambino Winery, and driver (believe name was Manuel) said because that day they could not get us into Gambino Winery, and this winery we went was a favorite of his. The winery was nice and sampled wine with a meat and cheese tray. There is no tour of winery or really anything other that stopping a winery restaurant and tasting wine and sample meat and cheese tray.
Total time from pick-up to drop off was approximately 5 hours. Again not sure why we could not spend a few more minutes walking around Mt. Etna. And when driver said we had to get back to winery before close . . . not sure on this one, as can google winery and see when they close . . . which was much later than when we arrived . . . as driver dropped us off back in Taormina shorted after 2 p.m.
Would not suggest this tour, as much different than listed on website.
Review provided by Viator
May 14, 2024
Terrible - The driver was OK. He was mostly a driver not a tour guide. The car he picked us up in was a very old and damaged car. Not our standard! He kept asking us what we wanted to see! Definitely not worth the price of $406.00. Not a good experience. Booking.com has MUCH BETTER experiences! Not sure if we will use Viator again?? We wasted our money on this tour!
Review provided by Viator