Catania or Aci Trezza: Where Should Your Trip Start?

Two boat departure points on a map of the Catania coast, one in the city port and one at Aci Trezza

Catania port: more tours, more time sailing to reach the isles

Catania’s harbour isn’t a single dock. Boat trips leave from several separate piers within it: Blu Marina and Club Nautico Catania on Via Cardinale Dusmet, Caffè del Porto, Vecchia Dogana, and the Ognina harbour a little further along the coast, home to its own small fleet. All of them sit close enough to central Catania that getting to the boat rarely takes more than a short taxi or walk from a hotel in the historic centre.

That range of piers is also why most of the tours on this site, and most of the variety, run from Catania: full-day trips with lunch, private charters, sunset sails, aperitif cruises and the fishing-tourism trip all depart from somewhere around the port. The trade-off is that part of every one of these trips goes to reaching the Cyclops Isles rather than being there. On the Boat Trip with Aperitif, Prosecco and Snorkeling, for example, the published itinerary runs to roughly five hours, and the sailing legs up the coast to Ognina and back account for about ninety minutes of it, alongside guided stops at the Ulysses Caves and Aci Castello before the boat ever reaches Aci Trezza.

Aci Trezza and Aci Castello: on the water in minutes

A smaller number of tours start right where the others are heading. The Boat tour to Aci Trezza with the chance to see dolphins and the Boat Excursion to Acitrezza with the Faraglioni and Snorkeling both meet on Via Lungomare Dei Ciclopi, the seafront promenade at Aci Trezza, and both run for two hours with almost no transit built in. Aci Trezza is technically a frazione, a hamlet, of the comune of Aci Castello, which is why addresses for these meeting points are often printed as “Aci Castello” even though the promenade itself is Aci Trezza’s own seafront. The marine protected area’s outer zone, Zone C, which carries the fewest restrictions, includes the harbour of Aci Trezza itself, so a boat can be on the water and among the Faraglioni within minutes of leaving the dock, no coastal sail required first.

Two more tours use a second meeting point nearby: the Gulf Scuba Diving Tour with Marine Biologist and its snorkelling counterpart both meet at Etna & Sea Excursions on Via Provinciale in Aci Castello, and the Dolphin Monitoring Sailing Experience with Marecamp meets a little further along at Onda Blu Pontili on Lungomare Scardamiano. All of them put you inside the marine protected area almost immediately, without a coastal sail first.

Getting to Aci Trezza if you’re staying in central Catania

Aci Trezza sits roughly 9 to 12 kilometres from central Catania, depending on how it’s measured: about 9 km as the crow flies, closer to 11.6 km by road. A taxi typically takes around 13 to 15 minutes and, per one routing aggregator, costs somewhere in the region of €32 to €41, though that figure is indicative rather than an official tariff, so it’s worth confirming with the driver before you set off.

The AMTS city bus network also runs there. Line 534 connects Catania and Aci Trezza by way of La Scogliera and Aci Castello, and line 434 covers a longer route from the Stazione Centrale through Aci Castello to Aci Trezza, about 14.4 km over roughly 51 stops. Timetables and frequency have varied over time, so it’s worth checking the current schedule on the AMTS site rather than assuming a fixed interval, and building in some buffer before your boat’s departure time, since these are small operators without a staffed port office to ask if you’re running late.

Which tours leave from where

From Catania port: Boat Trip with Aperitif, Prosecco and Snorkeling (Blu Marina), Sail Tour of Cyclops Coast with Sicilian Aperitif (Caffè del Porto), Sunset Sailing Tour with Aperitif (Caffè del Porto), Full-Day Boat Trip to the Cyclops Nature Reserve with Lunch (Caffè del Porto), Coastline Sailing Trip 6hr with Aperitif and Lunch (Club Nautico Catania), Private Sailing tour along Catania & Cyclops coast (Vecchia Dogana), Sailing Tour with Aperitivo and Prosecco, at no additional cost (Catania harbour), Sunset Dinner Sailing Tour (Vecchia Dogana), Fishing Tourism in Catania (Port of Catania).

From Aci Trezza and Aci Castello: Boat tour to Aci Trezza with the chance to see dolphins, Boat Excursion to Acitrezza with the Faraglioni and Snorkeling, Gulf Scuba Diving Tour with Marine Biologist, Boat Tour & Snorkeling at the Cyclops Islands with Aperitif, and Dolphin Monitoring Sailing Experience with Marecamp.

One tour doesn’t fit either list cleanly: the Private Sailing tour along Catania & Cyclops coast leaves from the Vecchia Dogana in Catania but sails on to Aci Castello and Acitrezza, with the route worked out between you and the operator.

So which should you book

If you’re staying in central Catania without a car, booking a Catania-port tour keeps things simple: no taxi or bus beforehand, and several of them, like the aperitif and snorkelling trip, narrate the coast on the way up, which turns the transit time into part of the experience rather than dead time. If you’d rather spend as much of your trip as possible actually among the Faraglioni, or you’re staying nearer Aci Trezza or Taormina already, a tour like the Boat tour to Aci Trezza with the chance to see dolphins gets you on the water in minutes and keeps the whole two hours focused on the stacks, the sunset light and a possible dolphin sighting, rather than the approach.

Frequently asked questions

Is Aci Trezza the same place as Aci Castello?

Not quite. Aci Trezza is a frazione, a hamlet, within the comune of Aci Castello, so they share a municipal address even though Aci Trezza has its own distinct seafront and harbour. Boat-tour meeting points on the Aci Trezza promenade are often listed under “Aci Castello” for this reason.

How do I get from Catania to Aci Trezza without a car?

The AMTS bus network runs there directly, on line 534 by way of Aci Castello or the longer line 434 from Stazione Centrale, and a taxi takes roughly 13 to 15 minutes. Build in extra time before your boat’s departure, since these are small operators, not a staffed terminal.

Do Catania-departure tours actually reach the Cyclops Isles?

Yes, most of them. Tours like the aperitif and snorkelling trip sail up the coast past Ognina and Aci Castello before reaching Aci Trezza and the Faraglioni, so the isles are part of the route, just not the starting point.

Is it worth staying in Aci Trezza just for the boat trip?

Only if you want to minimise transit time specifically. Aci Trezza is a small, historic fishing village in its own right, documented as the setting for Verga’s novel “I Malavoglia” and Visconti’s film “La terra trema”, so there’s reason to visit beyond the boat trip alone, but Catania makes a fine base if you’re also seeing the city.

How much of a Catania-departure trip is actual sailing?

It varies by tour and itinerary, but on the aperitif and snorkelling trip’s published route, the sailing legs to and from Ognina run to roughly ninety minutes of a five-hour trip, with the rest split between guided stops along the coast and the time spent at Aci Trezza itself.

Check dates for the Boat tour to Aci Trezza with the chance to see dolphins above, or read Which Catania Boat Trip Is Right for You? and Aci Trezza Boat Tour for more on the tours that leave from this side of the coast.

Catania or Aci Trezza: Where Should Your Boat Trip Start?