Aci Trezza to Aci Castello Boat Tours

Aci Trezza and Aci Castello sit about 2 km apart on the same stretch of lava coast, and between them lies most of what makes the Cyclops Coast worth seeing: the Faraglioni, Isola Lachea, and a Norman castle on a black volcanic crag. A short boat trip links the two, and it shows you both in a way the coast road never does.

The Tour: 45 Minutes on the Polifemo

The tour featured on this page is the 45-minute boat tour from Acitrezza to Aci Castello with a swim, from $17. It runs on the Polifemo, a small boat operated by the same family from the Aci Trezza pier since 2015. The operator calls it the essential version of their tours: the sights that matter, a swim, and back in the harbour in time for lunch.

It’s newly listed on GetYourGuide, so there are no reviews yet. What stands out in the listing is how the trip is run. Even on the short version, the skipper switches off the engine, gets close to the rocks, and explains what you’re looking at in Italian and English. Masks, snorkels and life jackets for everyone are included. Food, drinks, towels and hotel pickup are not.

The Route, Stop by Stop

Isola Lachea. Within minutes of leaving the pier you’re in front of the largest of the Cyclops Islands, a nature reserve since 1998 and home to a lizard subspecies, Podarcis siculus ciclopica, found nowhere else in the world.

The Faraglioni. The boat drifts beneath the sea stacks that legend says Polyphemus hurled at Odysseus. From below, they turn into clusters of basalt columns rising out of the water, taller than a house. The skipper explains how lava cooled into those prisms, from underwater eruptions around half a million years ago.

The lava coast. Heading south, you follow the shoreline where Etna’s flows reached the sea. Along the Aci Castello cliffs you can see pillow lava: rounded, bulging forms that lava only takes when it erupts underwater. Around Etna, these formations are found only in this small area.

Aci Castello’s castle. The Normans built the fortress in 1076 from black lava stone, on a crag that once stood apart from the shore. In 1169 an eruption sent lava around the rock and joined it more firmly to the mainland. From the water you see the whole thing at once: the dark walls, the crag beneath them, and how the castle commands the bay. From the street you only see the entrance.

The Cannizzaro cliffs. The tour’s southern turning point, beyond the castle along the lava flows.

The swim. On the way back, the boat stops inside the Isole Ciclopi Marine Protected Area. Masks and snorkels are on board. Anyone who’d rather stay dry is welcome to stay on the boat.

Why You Can’t Simply Anchor Under the Stacks

The water around Isola Lachea and the largest stack is the marine reserve’s strictest zone, marked by five yellow buoys. Boats aren’t allowed to anchor or moor there, and swimming is only permitted in two designated spots. In the surrounding zone, motorboats must keep below 5 knots and can’t anchor at all. That’s why this route drifts slowly past the stacks with the engine off, and why the swim happens on the way home at a permitted spot.

Other Ways to Do This Route

• The Aci Trezza Odyssey Faraglioni tour, from $22, covers the Faraglioni, Isola Lachea, the basalt columns and Aci Castello, with a scheduled 1.5-hour version, a flexible 45-minute ticket usable between 10:00 and 17:00, and a private option.
• The Cyclops Coast boat tour with swim stop, from $29, adds the Caves of Ulysses along the coast south of Aci Castello.
• The rubber dinghy tour of the Cyclops Riviera, from $80, is a longer guided trip of about three hours that continues past Aci Castello and the Caves of Ulysses toward Ognina, Catania’s old harbour, with a small aperitif and a snorkel stop. Check your voucher for the meeting point.
• For a longer day heading north instead, the 3-hour tour to Acireale from the same Polifemo family goes past Capomulini to the 80-metre La Timpa cliff.

Boat, or Walk?

You can easily visit Aci Castello on foot or by bus from Aci Trezza, and it’s worth doing. The castle houses a small civic museum with mineralogy, palaeontology and archaeology collections, and the view from the walls back toward the Faraglioni is the best on land. Entry is a few euros; check the current opening hours, which vary by season.

The best plan is both. Take the boat in the morning to see the coast from the water, then walk or ride down to the castle in the afternoon to see the boat’s route from above.

Tips

• Bring swimwear and a towel; towels aren’t supplied.
• Bring water. The 45-minute tour doesn’t include drinks.
• Go early in summer. A morning trip leaves the afternoon for the castle, the Casa del Nespolo museum in Aci Trezza, and a long lunch on the seafront.
• Short on time? This is the quickest way on the coast to see the Faraglioni, Isola Lachea and the castle from the water in one trip.

Compare every departure on our Aci Trezza boat tours page, or see every Cyclops Coast tour side by side.

Ready to see both landmarks from the water? Check availability above.