Explore northeast Sicily in a feast for your senses in the foot hills of Mount Etna, Taormina and exotic, volcanic Aeolian island of Stromboli. Eat, cook, laugh and explore with a cast of welcoming, fun loving Sicilians, passionate about sharing their cooking, culture and lives with you. With charming, knowledgeable local guides, you discover breathtaking natural beauty, ancient architecture and authentic Sicilian wine and cuisine.

Stay in the foot hills of Mount Etna on the a family’s winery estate in a 150 year old manor house and gaze around you at magnificent views of their vineyards and Mount Etna.

In the nearby untouristed town, Linguaglossa (population 5,000), with its volcanic stone buildings, you learn about life under the volcano in chats with local people, sample Sicilian pastries at a typical café and get a real taste of life in a small Sicilian town.

Taormina, Mount Etna and the sea

Explore beautiful Taormina set high on a hillside overlooking the azure sea with the brooding presence of Mount Etna in the distance. A long time mecca for artists, actors and other famous travelers, Taormina inspired them with its spectacular panoramas, gardens and history.

Discover fascinating layers of history at the well preserved Greek theatre from the 3rd century B.C. The main and side streets will tempt you with their alluring bakeries full of Sicilian treats like almond, orange or pistachio cookies, cakes, cannoli and marzipan.

happy cooks in local family's home

Enjoy humorous banter and cook with local people passionate about food, eager to share their cooking secrets: a warm family in their home in Linguaglossa, a talented family in their restaurant in a well renovated country house in Mount Etna's foothills and a delightful, down to earth restaurant on Stromboli.

Create mouthwatering dishes like sardines stuffed with bread, tomatoes, raisins and pine nuts, penne stromobolana with black olives, grilled eggplant with mint and olive oil or semifreddo with pistachio and chocolate.

Take an easy or moderate hike in the Mount Etna foothills. Following black volcanic sand paths and craters punctuated with green and gold trees overlooking the blue sea, this experience is a close encounter with a truly unique natural landscape.

Stromboli houses at black, volcanic
sand beach

Stay two nights on the Aeolian island of Stromboli with its live volcano. Stromboli's scenery is truly remarkable—you have to see it to believe it. At night you watch the volcano hurling its fireworks into the dark sky. By day your senses feel overwhelmed as you gaze at the black, brown and green mountainside, dotted with wild flowers, the brilliant white houseson narrow streets with long white walls hiding courtyards and walled gardens, black sand beaches and clear blue sea. Share a glass of cool wine and laughter with your guide and fellow travelers outside in a piazza at night under the stars.