Cyclops Coast Sailing Tours

Most short boat tours from Aci Trezza use small motorboats. If you want to be under sail, with the engine off, the canvas up and a skipper working the wind, you’ll board in Catania. Both leading Catania departures are sailing-yacht trips. The one featured here adds something the other doesn’t: a naturalist guide.

The Tour: Sail, Swim, Aperitif

The Sail Tour of Cyclops Coast with Sicilian Aperitif is a four-hour trip from Catania’s old port. It has 941 reviews at an average of 4.7 and starts from $50.

You meet the crew at Caffè del Porto on Via Cardinale Dusmet, then walk through the Dogana gate to the Club Nautico dock. The boat is a Beneteau Sense 55, a Dufour 41 or an Oceanis 39, depending on how many people are booked. From there you head north toward Aci Trezza, with the guide explaining the coast as you go.

At Aci Trezza you stop to swim. Snorkel gear and a stand-up paddleboard are on board. After the swim comes the aperitif: a glass of Italian sparkling wine with local light bites, such as flavoured cheese, fresh tomatoes, cold cuts, and bread with savoury pestos, as you sail back to Catania.

What the Guide Adds

This is the tour’s real point of difference. The guide explains how the dark rocks along the shore formed when lava from Etna ran into the sea, which hardy plants manage to grow on them, and how the Castle of Aci Castello came to sit on a cliff of volcanic rock jutting into the water. The castle was built by the Normans in 1076, and in 1169 an eruption sent lava around its crag, joining it more firmly to the mainland.

Then there are the legends. Guests repeatedly mention the stories: one wrote that the guide “shared fascinating legends about the Cyclops Coast” on the way to the swimming spot, and another described “ancient myths intertwined with stories of natural events.” You’ll hear how the blinded Polyphemus hurled the Faraglioni after Odysseus, and how the jealous Cyclops killed the shepherd Acis, whose name lives on in the towns along this coast.

Sailing, Honestly

A sailing trip depends on the wind, and the crew will motor when the wind isn’t useful or when the boat needs to reach a swim spot on time. One reviewer described a grey day with a front coming in, when the crew couldn’t raise the mainsail at all. They still rated the trip five stars, but if you have your heart set on sailing, a settled day gives you the best chance of the full experience.

You don’t need any sailing experience. The crew handles the boat; you’re a guest, not a deckhand, though they’re usually happy to explain what they’re doing.

How It Compares With the Appetizer Cruise

Both Catania trips are four-hour sails with a swim stop, snorkel gear and a paddleboard. The differences:

Choose this tour for the guide, the stories and the lower price. Choose the Cyclops Coast Cruise with Appetizer if the food matters more.

What Guests Say

“The sailboat was excellent, and the trip was the most you could do in 4 hours,” one reviewer wrote. Another described “a whole hour of swimming in the sea near the yacht,” followed by food that let them “try local flavors and prosecco.” Short reviews tend to mention the crew by name, which says a lot about the atmosphere on board: “lovely relaxed excursion & highly recommended.”

Know Before You Book

• The boarding fee of €20 per person is mandatory and paid on site, separate from the online price.
• Bring sunglasses, swimwear, a change of clothes, a towel, sunscreen and water.
• Not suitable for children under five or wheelchair users, since boarding involves stepping down onto the yacht.
• The itinerary can change with sea and weather conditions; the skipper decides where to stop.
• Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before departure.

Other Ways to Sail This Coast

If a shared four-hour trip isn’t right, the private charter to the Cyclops Islands uses a traditional fishing boat rather than a yacht, with your own guide and a sea-cave swim. For a shorter evening on the water, the sunset boat tour is two quiet hours with a good chance of dolphins. Compare them all on our best Cyclops Coast boat tours page.

Ready to set sail? Check availability above.