Private Cyclops Coast Boat Tours

A shared cruise puts you on a boat with other travellers, on a schedule the operator sets. A private tour gives the boat, the guide and the pace to your group. It costs more, and for some trips it’s clearly worth it. Here’s what you actually get, and when it’s worth paying for.

The Tour: A Private Trip to the Cyclops Islands

The tour featured here is the private boat tour to the Cyclops Islands with lunch on board, rated 4.8 from 70 reviews. It lasts about three hours, on a traditional Aci Trezza fishing boat with a skipper and your own guide, Arturo, whose knowledge of the coast comes up in almost every review.

The route covers Isola Lachea and the Faraglioni, the heart of the nature reserve that has protected these islands since 1998. Then it goes where shared tours usually don’t stop: you swim inside the volcanic sea caves locals call Ulysses’ Sea, and beneath the Norman castle at Aci Castello. Afterwards the boat anchors for a small Sicilian lunch with a Sicilian dessert and Italian coffee. Boat fuel, the skipper and the guide are included, and you can add pickup from Catania or Taormina when you book.

What You Actually Get for the Extra Cost

The sea caves. This is the biggest practical difference. Swimming inside the caves along this stretch of coast is the stop guests remember: “Swimming alone in the Ulysse caves was one of our favorite moments,” one wrote.

A guide who’s only talking to you. Arturo’s commentary on the history, geology and legends of Aci Trezza comes up in review after review, from “very informative of local ancient and recent history” to “a detailed talk, very knowledgeable, while we sailed to the caves.”

A real meal, at your pace. Not a snack squeezed between stops. One guest described the lunch as “a taste of Sicilian street food ending with cannoli”; another had “a perfect meal and wine just off Aci Trezza marina under Mt. Etna.”

Flexibility. Pickup from Catania or Taormina, a choice of departure times including an 18:30 evening trip, and no rush. “The trip was private and very peaceful without any rushing,” as one reviewer put it.

How the Price Works

The private tour costs around $172 per person, not a flat fee for the boat. A group of four pays about four times what one traveller would; it doesn’t get cheaper per head as your group grows, the way a flat-rate charter would.

For comparison, the same group of four on the shared Faraglioni boat excursion would pay about $228 in total, and on the Catania appetizer cruise about $300 plus boarding fees. The private tour for four is about $688. What that difference buys is the caves, the lunch, the pickup and the privacy.

When It’s Genuinely Worth It

• A celebration. An anniversary, a honeymoon, a special birthday: having the boat to yourselves changes the day.
• Families with young children who don’t want to keep pace with a group. The operator asks that small children sit on a parent’s lap during the trip.
• Anyone who specifically wants the sea caves. It’s the tour that most reliably includes them.
• Travellers based in Taormina who’d rather be collected than drive down the coast.

When It Isn’t

• Solo travellers and couples on a budget who mainly want the Faraglioni and a swim. The Aci Trezza short tours, from $17 to $29, deliver the view and a dip for a fraction of the price.
• People prone to seasickness, with heart conditions, or with limited mobility. The operator lists all three as not suitable, because the trip involves swimming from the boat into caves.
• Anyone who wants to sail. This is a traditional motor fishing boat. For a sailing yacht, see the Cyclops Coast sailing tours.

Before You Book

The operator asks for a few details when you book:

• a WhatsApp number, for coordinating pickup and meeting
• any heart problems or other serious health conditions
• food allergies, and whether anyone is vegetarian
• whether anyone suffers from seasickness

Bring sunglasses, swimwear, beachwear and biodegradable sunscreen. You’re swimming in a protected marine reserve, and the operator asks for it specifically.

Morning or Evening?

A daytime departure gives you the warmest part of the day for swimming in the caves and leaves your evening free. The 18:30 departure swaps midday heat for evening light over the coast and Etna, and the meal on board becomes an early dinner at anchor. Guests on the evening trip mention the sunset light as a highlight.

Other Ways to Get a Private Boat

The Aci Trezza Odyssey tour also offers a private boat at a scheduled time. It’s a shorter, simpler trip past the Faraglioni and Aci Castello without the lunch or the caves, but it’s a much cheaper way to have the boat to yourselves for a proposal or a family photo.

Still weighing it up? See which Cyclops Coast tour is right for you? or compare every tour side by side.

Ready to book your own boat? Check availability above.