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Volcanoes of Italy - the Grand Tour
15-day study & walking tour to Italy's volcanoes from Vesuvius to Etna
Mt Etna in eruption under a full moon and the city lights of Catania
Mt Etna in eruption under a full moon and the city lights of Catania
Vesuvius volcano looming over the city of Naples
Vesuvius volcano looming over the city of Naples

Volcanoes of Italy - the Grand Tour

15-day study & walking tour to Italy's volcanoes from Vesuvius to Etna
Tour type
Walking & study tour: active volcanoes - nature & culture - archaeology
Difficulty
Easy to Moderate
Group size: 6-12
Duration
15 days (14 nights)
3-17 Oct 2025
Price per person
3890 € $£¥
This tour starts where the science of volcanology was born: at Mt Vesuvius that destoyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum during its catastropchic 79 A.D. eruption. In 2 weeks time you will explore all active volcanoes of Italy whilst traveling in a small international group guided by an experienced volcanologist.
The first 4 days of discovering the volcanoes around the Gulf of Naples are followed by exploring the Eolian islands for 5 days with the permanently active Stromboli, the Lighthouse of the Thyrrhenian Sea, smoking Vulcano and Lipari, famous for its obsidian and pumice deposits. A 4-days adventure on and around Etna volcano, the largest and most active volcano of Europe, is bound to be the Grand Finale of this classic itinerary that ends in style in the charming Sicilian town of Catania.
During the trip you enjoy the beauty of Italian nature, it's culture, good quality hotels, delicious food and great people.
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  • All active volcanoes of Italy in one tour!
  • Travel in a small international group
  • Archeological highlights such as Pompeii and Herculaneum
  • Beautiful beaches and relaxing boat trips
  • Wonderfully located hotels
  • Delicious South-Italian food and wine
  • Experienced volcanologist as tour guide

Itinerary (15 days)

Day 1: Arrival in Naples
Arrival in the city of Naples and your hotel in the historic center of Naples. The group meets in the evening for a welcome dinner in a typical restaurant in the lively city center.
Day 2: Vesuvius volcano, wine tasting and Herculaneum
Morning visit of Vesuvius with short hike around the famous volcano´s crater and walk in the Valle dell'Inferno, lunch and wine-tasting at one of the excellent vineyards on Vesuvius´s lower slopes, and afternoon - evening visit of the excavated Roman city of Herculaneum.
Day 3: Pompeii
Morning visit of the excavated city of Pompeii (3-4 hours), arguably one of the most important archeological sites in the world. Lunch in a secluded restaurant serving delicious meals based on ancient recipes. In the afternoon visit the superb museum of the Antiquario di Boscoreale before returning to Naples in the late afternoon.
Day 4: Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean Fields) and Pozzuoli
Day trip to explore the volcanoes of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegrean fields): the Solfatara, Monte Nuovo, Lago di Averna and Pozzuoli, ending at the famous Cape Miseno view point before enjoying dinner at a nice beach restaurant.
Day 5: Free day and evening departure for Lipari
Free day in Naples to further explore the city´s rich cultural heritage (e.g. museums, second visit to Pompeii, optional guided visit of the historic center of Naples, ...) In the evening we go to the port of Naples to take the night ferry to Lipari island.
Day 6: Arrival on Lipari Island: obsidian & pumice
Morning arrival on the island of Lipari and afternoon hike to visit this volcanic island´s spectacular pumice deposits and historically used obsidian flow.
Day 7: Archeological museum of Lipari and day trip to Vulcano Island
Morning visit of the archaeological museum of Lipari before we take the speed boat to Vulcano island. After a hike around the active crater and optional visit of the hot mud pools and/or fumaroles on the beach we return to Lipari in the (late) afternoon.
Day 8: Arrival on Stromboli Island and eruption viewing from the Sciara del Fuoco
Morning transfer from Lipari to Stromboli, midday to relax at the hotel or explore the small town, evening climb to the Sciara del Fuoco to watch the volcanic activity.
Day 9: Approach Stromboli's summit and eruption viewing
Free morning and midday before we undertake a more challenging climb to approach Stromboli´s summit to the highest allowed viewpoint in the afternoon. We reach the area before sunset in order to have the best light for eruption viewing at sunset, dusk and early nightfall before we start our nighttime descend.
Day 10: Boat tour around Stromboli island and free afternoon
Another full day to further explore Stromboli. In the morning we have a boat trip around the island and after lunch you are free to relax and/or undertake an additional climb to the summit craters, hike to the Sciara del Fuoco,...
Day 11: Transfer to Etna
Morning boat to Sicily and transfer to our hotel on Etna volcano. In the afternoon we offer an optional hike (2.5-3 hrs) to a great viewpoint for a first impression of Mt Etna´s dramatic landscapes.
Day 12: Excursion to Etna's summit craters (volcanic activity allowing)
If the volcanic activity and weather conditions allow so, we spend a full day on the summit region of Mt Etna to observe its smoking craters, volcanic deposits and historic lava flows and cinder cones.
Day 13: Etna excursion to Valle del Bove
Second full day hiking excursion on Mt Etna which focuses on a the giant Valle del Bove depression on the volcano´s SE flank.
Day 14: Lava cave - Alcantara Gorge - Taormina - Catania
Spare day for Etna´s summit area in case weather and volcanic activity were bad before, or alternatively to visit attractions around the volcano´s lower flanks: a lava cave, the Alcantara Gorge and Taormina with its Greek theatre. In the evening we drive to Catania and celebrate the tour´s last night in its lively historic center.
Day 15: Departure from Catania or own tour extension
The tour ends today with a transfer to Catania airport according to your departure time. If you have some time it is definitely worth to explore the lively city of Catania itself as it offers more than enough to visit: the famous local market (especially the fish-market is spectacular!), numerous Ancient relics, baroque architecture, or simply enjoy its buzzing charm from one of the plenty street cafes.
If you have more days to spend, we recommend you extend your stay in Sicily or on the islands as options of things to do and see are nearly unlimited!
Dates and details
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Arrival info:

The tour starts in Naples and ends in Catania. In order to give everybody the best chance to plan his/her trip as flexible as possible, travel arrangements to Naples and from Catania are not included in the tour package. Naples is easily reached by plane or train (e.g. from Rome airport or other cities) and when the tour ends in Catania one can catch a connecting flight to the international departure airport (e.g. Naples, Rome, Milan). This 2 weeks volcano adventure can be easily combined with a preceding tour or an extension program in Italy, for example city trips to Rome, Florence,... or spending more time on Sicily or one of the Eolian islands. Upon request, we will happily make you some suggestions or assist you with your (international) travels in(to) Italy.

Tour guide

The expedition will be accompanied by a professional volcanologist and geologist from our team with extensive experience on the Italian volcanoes. Normally, this is either volcanologist Yashmin Chebli or company founder Tom Pfeiffer.
Yashmin Chebli (1970) is trained geologist with a university Master's degree and member of SGF (Société Géologique de France). He has been working as tour guide and expedition leader to actives volcanoes, volcano photographer and consultant for more than 30 years. His areas of expertise include the active volcanoes in Italy, Vanuatu, the Hawaiian Islands, Guatemala, RD of Congo, Tanzania, Costa Rica and others. Besides his mother tongue French, Yashmin speaks several languages including English, Italian, and Spanish.
Website: www.vanuatu-expedition.com (photos) and Youtube channel!
Dr. Tom Pfeiffer (1970) is a German volcanologist with a PhD degree in geology about the volcanic history of Santorini volcano from the University of Aarhus in Denmark.
For more than 20 years, Tom has been working on volcanic systems (Hawai'i and Vesuvius volcano observatories), observing volcanic eruptions around the world and organizing guided tours to active volcanoes in Europe (Santorini, Etna, Stromboli,...), Kilauea on Hawaii as well as in Africa and Indonesia. During his travels, he found his strongest passion in photography (link to his book) and the sharing of his knowledge and new travel adventures with people outside the scientific community. He first started a tour company in 2004 and is still guiding most VolcanoAdventures tours in Greece and Italy as well as the pilot expeditions and special eruption tours.

His other professional activities include a large number of articles about volcanoes published in newspapers and magazines such as National Geographic, Scientific American and others. Tom also participated in documentary film productions about Santorini (“The myth of the lost city of Atlantis”, "Mystery Hunters", both on Discovery Channel) and Stromboli (“Quarks and co: Vulkane” on the German television channel WDR), as well as the ongoing documentary series about active volcanoes "Volcanic Odysseys" by Canadian filmmaker Michael Dalton (Love Nature & Smithsonian Channel).

Besides his German mother tongue, Tom speaks English, Danish and Italian fluently and can also communicate in Greek, French and some Spanish. He lived for 7 years in Denmark, spent about 2 years in Italy and worked one year on Santorini, Greece, before moving to Athens in 2004.
Volcanologist Dr. Tom Pfeiffer on Santorini

Additional info

Physical requirements

This trip requires a good general physical condition and some hiking experience. The time spent on individual excursions range from 1 hour up to ca. 6-8 hours, including breaks, but these timings are variable as they also depend on the weather, opportunities to observe and photograph volcanic activity etc. Most hikes are fairly easy, with climbing efforts between 100-400 m and total walking times under 3 hours. Exceptions are the more strenuous climb to Stromboli's summit, where around 900 m of altitude have to be climbed, and the potential climb to Etna's summit craters which can take up to 4 hours or more of total walking (weather and volcanic activity permitting these hikes). These latter excursions can be considered as optional and can be shortened by all or part of the group (possibility to split up, see program for details). People with asthma or other breathing difficulties should contact their medical doctor and are kindly requested to also inform us about this on beforehand.

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