Is The Sicily From Malta Day Tour Worth The Money?

For today’s blog, Is The Sicily From Malta Day Tour Worth The Money?

WELL, Short answer YES. One of the many highlights of my recent trip to Malta was this. I’d say it’s a bit cut and shut for me this question but seriously – Is The Sicily From Malta Day Tour Worth The Money? For people generally wondering – because I know there are a few mixed reviews out there but here is what I can tell you…

• SO You will need to get up very early and come back fairly late,
• You will spend a lot of time on the coach, and
• Expect disruptions dependant on the volcano activity.

Our tour group had one disruption – we was supposed to have another stop which I think was a wine tasting and lunch or something but we couldn’t go because of a road closure due to Mount Et. erupting.

*It wasn’t erupting lava but a lot of smoke. Apparently it was a lot more active than usual on this day.

I wasn’t really too fussed about this. Just getting to go up Mount Etna made it worthwhile, and the 2nd stop had some amazing views too. The cost was about 320 euros for two of us. This also included transfers to and from St. Julian’s Bay.

The second stop was the town of Taormina this was a quite small area with a street of different shops and restaurants. The views here were pretty incredible. I’d saying visiting both places was dream-like.

If you ever have a wonderful dream that you are sad to wake up from it was a bit like this for me and totally I would do this all over again in a heartbeat.

For me yes I think it’s worth it and here is what I think you might like to know.

Is The Sicily From Malta Day Tour Worth The Money?

I see there are reviews on Viator that say things like there is too much time spent on the coach. Some people have said things like the tour isn’t accurately described. You wonder if these were just written by negative people but we are all different with how we see things in these situations.

I personally was NOT put off by reading this. This is a tour that things can go wrong with. For example one of the reviews said on their tour the coach had to wait for a whole extra 2 hours for someone and their trip had to be cut short. Thankfully this didn’t happen on my trip but I did notice that a lot of care was taken to make sure everyone was on the coach before it left.

I mean I think this shows their sense of duty to not leave anyone behind. The host on our tour was extra careful to make sure everyone was on the coach before leaving at both our stops.

She must have counted us all about 3 times. I think you want to have that level of care. Although, time is really of the essence on this trip – things need to run smoothly to see everything the tour has to offer.

You could perhaps just book a tour whilst over in Sicily rather than just trying to squeeze it all into one day. Sicily is HUGE compared to Malta but I’d still definitely say it is a good idea to stay in Malta either side of your trip to Sicily because there is not much price difference between a ferry to Sicily and back, and the actual tour.

However, for first time visitors here is what you should know.

How Much Does It Cost For The Malta-Sicily Tour

There are actually two different tours to Sicily;

1.) Pozallo, Mount Etna and Taormina

2.) Southern Sicily – Marzamemi and Syracuse

*I can NOT personally speak on the 2nd tour as I haven’t done it but the first one I think is a good experience to have.

Where To Book

I booked my trip with the travel agents by Spinola bay St. Julians. We paid $135 each for the tour and $15 each for the transfer. This is pretty much a must I think because unless you can get to Valletta ferry port for 5AM you will struggle. You really need to get the transfer – unless you are already in Valetta.

You can alternatively book via MaltaTours.com

What Else Should You Know

• Confirmation will be received at time of booking.
• No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
• Most travellers can participate – Wheelchair accessible
• A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
• Minimum age is 18 years
• Operates in all weather conditions
• Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 150 travellers

  Read more about Mount Etna and Syracuse full day excursion from Malta to Sicily – https://www.viator.com/en-CA/tours/Malta/Taormina-and-Mount-Etna-Full-Day-Excursion-from-Malta/d4141-64726P2?mcid=56757

About Visiting Mt. Etna

Mt. Etna is one of the most active volcanos in the world. It last erupted properly to the point that lava melted away everything in its path in 2001. On the tour they will show you – you can still see the damage.

There of course is always the risk of a bad eruption and in these cases the lava is 1000 degrees c – Etna was erupting when I was there but it was nothing to really worry about as it was just smoke.

You can ride up Mt. Etna on a cable car for 50 euros. I did not pay this but they said on the day that this was a very rare opportunity to see the Volcano like it was. But for me 50 euros after I’d already paid 130 was too much for me.

This would have been Interesting to see – maybe I will take the cable car if I go again but yes 50 euros it is for basically 20 minutes.

I will let people make their own mind up there.

Travelling To Sicily Without The Tour

Now I’m pretty sure there will be people that will want to spend longer In Sicily before going back to Malta. I really don’t blame them It is beautiful here. The same weather as you would expect in Italy but much more countryside.

It is very peaceful from what I’ve seen of it and I think it is definitely somewhere you would want to stay for more than a day to see what it has to offer.

You will need to pay basically 100 euros each way. If you return within 24 hours its only 100 euros (I think) but if you are only intending to stay this long you may as well just do the tour.

You can get a direct ferry to Malta and back which runs every day morning and night. But the tour is certainly convenient for not having to worry about getting around with public transport etc. and if you want to stay longer this is the best way to do it – pay for a ferry there and a ferry back.

I haven’t done this myself but another thing you probably would want is to book a Mount Etna tour in Sicily if that is something you want to see.

Other Things To Do In Sicily

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Some notable landmarks on the Island of Sicily include;

• The Ancient Theatre of Taormina
• Valle dei Templi
• Cattedrale di Palermo
• Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro
• The Norman Palace
• Ragusa Ibla
• Villa Romana del Casale
• Scogliera Di Cala Rossa (Beach)
• Cavagrande del Cassibile
• Duomo di Monreale
• Ex Stabilimento Florio delle Tonnare di Favignana e Formica
• Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l’Arena

{Read More HERE – Over 30 Locations}

Other Tours To Book Whilst In Malta

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Whilst away In Malta I only actually did 2 tours – The Mt. Etna Sicily Tour and the evening cruise to Comino. I did the same tour during the day last time I was here but I thought the later tour was nice as you get to see the Sunset.

Other than this there is a lot of other tours of Malta you can go on. One that I would like to go on next time I’m there is the Gozo tour and I would also like to visit places like The Ġgantija temples and other megalithic ruins here.

If you read my post about the Giants of Malta then maybe you will know that I wanted to come back to explore these places but I never actually did. I was in Malta for 11 days – I’d have liked to stay longer but it just was not meant to be.

In Conclusion

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Personally, I have been to Malta 3 times now in just over 4 years. It’s somewhere that I would recommend visiting. Its a great island to visit if you like to party but also even if you don’t drink like I didn’t on my last visit there is lots to see here and 100% if you do go to Malta go for it with the Sicily Tour.

Don’t be put off by the price. Keep an extra 150 euros ready. It is a day out that you will never forget. I think I would have liked to have seen more of Sicily.

Perhaps on my next visit to Malta I will instead book the Southern Sicily tour but if I really had my way I would go to Sicily for a longer stay and book my tours whilst I’m there rather than getting the ferry there and back in one day because it is about 3 hours each way – its a big chunk of the day gone really.

I will let you decide if you ever come to Malta and want to book this. It’s a nuisance having to get up early and get back late but if you admire the beauty of nature and you love travelling then absolutely do IT!

I shall close up this article here but if you have any questions or would like to share your own thoughts about Sicily or Malta then please do so – we would love to hear from you –

Many thanks for reading this blog post;

Alex & Teddy
TeddyBearsTravels.com