Where Do Catania Boat Tours Leave From? Catania Port, Ognina and Aci Trezza

The departure points on one map

Read from south to north, the piers run up the coast in this order. Each row gives the meeting address printed on the GetYourGuide listings in October 2026.

The Aci Trezza addresses carry the Aci Castello postcode because Aci Trezza is a village within the comune of Aci Castello. For the full list of which tour uses which pier, and the trade-off between starting in the city and starting at the islands, see our Catania or Aci Trezza guide.

The three main Catania boat-tour departure areas

Look through enough Catania boat tours and you will see a run of names that sound alike: Catania harbour, Port of Catania, Blu Marina, Ognina, Porto di Ognina, Aci Trezza, Port of Acitrezza. They are not interchangeable.

They form a line up the coast: Catania port, then Ognina, then Aci Castello, then Aci Trezza. The Faraglioni dei Ciclopi and Lachea Island sit just off Aci Trezza, and that geography explains most of the differences between the tours.

1. Catania port: best if you want the journey to be part of the tour

If you are staying around Catania’s historic centre, the port is the easiest place to board. Most of the longer sails leave from one of four piers along Via Cardinale Dusmet, the road that runs along the waterfront below the old town.

The five-hour Coast of Ulysses trip, sold on GetYourGuide as the Boat Trip with Aperitif, Prosecco and Snorkeling, meets at Blu Marina on Via Cardinale Dusmet. Its operator, Papa Sail, describes the route north from Catania past Ognina, the Ulysses Caves and Aci Castello to Aci Trezza, with snorkelling, stand-up paddleboarding and an aperitif there, before sailing back to Catania. That is a different day from boarding at Aci Trezza itself.

What the journey looks like

Leaving the port, you watch the city give way to the black lava shore north of Catania. Depending on the tour, the route runs along the Catania waterfront, past Ognina and the Grotte di Ulisse, under the castle at Aci Castello, to Aci Trezza and the Faraglioni, and back.

Why choose Catania port?

The trip to the Cyclops Islands becomes part of the outing, and you see more of the coast. This works best on a sailing boat: if you are booking four or five hours under sail, spending some of that time sailing up from Catania makes sense.

Catania port suits first-time visitors, couples, sailing fans, anyone staying in central Catania without a car, half-day trips, tours with an aperitif, snorkelling or a paddleboard, and anyone who wants Aci Castello and the Ulysses coast as well as Aci Trezza.

Less suitable for

Someone whose only goal is to see the Cyclops Islands and swim there for an hour. Sailing all the way up and back would use more of the booked time than you need.

How convenient is Catania port?

From the old town it is the easiest of the departure areas. The port lies along the southern edge of the historic centre, below Via Cardinale Dusmet, and Catania’s tourist office starts its seafront walking route there, heading north along the waterfront towards Ognina.

The exact pier still matters. “Catania port” is a large working harbour, not one jetty. The four tour piers sit close together, but finding the right one can take a few minutes, and the Sail Tour of Cyclops Coast with Sicilian Aperitif, for example, tells you to enter through the Dogana gate and look for the Club Nautico dock.

Practical rule

Don’t tell a taxi driver “Porto di Catania” unless your booking gives nothing more precise. Use the pier name and address on your ticket.

The piers inside Catania’s port

Four piers handle the Catania-port tours on this site.

What is Blu Marina?

You will see Blu Marina again and again in Catania sailing listings. It is a marina on Via Cardinale Dusmet, inside the port and a short walk from the city centre, and it is where the five-hour Coast of Ulysses sail boards. If your ticket says “Blu Marina, Via Cardinale Dusmet”, you are boarding in central Catania, not in Ognina or Aci Trezza.

Caffè del Porto and Club Nautico Catania

Caffè del Porto, on the Banchina Centrale off Via Cardinale Dusmet, is the meeting point for the $50 Cyclops Coast sail, the Sunset Sailing Tour with Aperitif and the Full-Day Boat Trip to the Cyclops Nature Reserve with Lunch. Club Nautico Catania, on the Banchina Dogana, is where the six-hour coastline sail and the private Guided Sunset Sailing Trip with Aperitif & Prosecco board.

Vecchia Dogana

The Vecchia Dogana, the old customs building at Via Cardinale Dusmet 2, is the meeting point for the four-hour Cyclops Coast cruise, the sunset dinner sail, the Private Sailing tour along Catania & Cyclops coast and the Sailing Tour with Aperitivo and Prosecco, No Additional Costs.

2. Ognina: the middle ground between Catania and Aci Trezza

Ognina is still part of Catania, but it sits further north on the waterfront, where the tourist office’s seafront route ends after San Giovanni Li Cuti. Its small harbour feels very different from the city port: fishing boats, smaller pleasure craft and lava rock, with no cruise ships.

For a boat trip, that position helps. Ognina lies between central Catania and Aci Trezza, so the first stretch of the run north is behind you before you board.

What leaves from Ognina?

None of the GetYourGuide trips we track currently boards in Ognina, though some private boats work from the harbour, so check the meeting point on any listing you find. The shortest public option just north of the city is the Boat tour to Aci Trezza with the chance to see dolphins: two hours to the Faraglioni with a swim stop, $57 per person (4.9/5 from 105 reviews), meeting on the seafront promenade at Via Lungomare Dei Ciclopi 173 in Aci Castello.

Is Ognina the same as Catania port?

No. Ognina is in Catania, so a trip from there does leave “from Catania”. But it is not the central port on Via Cardinale Dusmet; they are separate harbours.

Marketplace titles often name the city and not the harbour, so a trip sold as “from Catania” can board in Ognina or Aci Castello. That isn’t wrong: “Catania” names the city, not the harbour.

Always inspect these fields before paying

Before you pay, look for the meeting point, the meeting address, the departure harbour and the map pin the operator supplies. They matter more than the title.

Why choose Ognina?

It is a good compromise. You still sail along the Cyclops Riviera, but less of the trip goes on the city coast south of Ognina. That suits a two-hour trip: you reach the Faraglioni without spending most of the time getting there and back.

Ognina suits two-hour trips, people staying in northern Catania, and travellers who want more time near Aci Trezza without boarding there.

Potential drawback

If you are staying around Piazza Duomo or Via Etnea, Ognina is less convenient than the central port. Allow time for a taxi or bus to the marina.

3. Aci Trezza: best for maximum time around the Cyclops Islands

If the trip you have in mind is Faraglioni, Lachea Island, snorkelling and a swim, Aci Trezza is the most efficient place to start. The volcanic stacks are right in front of this small seaside town, so you don’t spend the first part of the trip sailing towards them; you board beside them.

That is why many of the cheapest and shortest boat trips in the Catania area leave from Aci Trezza. The two-hour Boat tour to Aci Trezza with the chance to see dolphins ($57, 4.9/5 from 105 reviews) meets at Via Lungomare dei Ciclopi 173 on the seafront promenade, and the family-run 45- and 90-minute trips board at the Aci Trezza pier.

What can you see from an Aci Trezza departure?

Depending on the route:

Faraglioni dei Ciclopi

The volcanic sea stacks just offshore, the centrepiece of the Riviera dei Ciclopi.

Isola Lachea

The largest island of the small archipelago off Aci Trezza.

Cyclops Islands marine protected area

Where most swimming and snorkelling trips spend their time in the water.

Aci Castello

A short way south, with its castle on a black lava outcrop.

Capo Mulini

Some longer trips from Aci Trezza head north towards Capo Mulini.

The big advantage is that almost the whole trip goes on this stretch of coast.

Is Aci Trezza in Catania?

No, and listings cause confusion here. Aci Trezza is not central Catania. It is a coastal village in the comune of Aci Castello, north of the city. Booking sites often file Aci Trezza trips under “Catania” because Catania is where most visitors stay, so a “Catania Cyclops Islands boat tour” may still ask you to make your own way to Aci Trezza.

What about Aci Castello?

Aci Castello’s castle is one of the best moments on the boat route between Catania or Ognina and Aci Trezza, and most Cyclops Coast tours sail past it without stopping to board. A few do meet in Aci Castello itself: the three-hour Boat Tour & Snorkeling at the Cyclops Islands with Aperitif ($63, 4.7/5 from 93 reviews) and the Gulf Scuba Diving Tour with Marine Biologist both meet at Etna & Sea Excursions, Via Provinciale 23, in Aci Castello, not in Aci Trezza, despite their Catania branding. Our Aci Castello by boat guide covers the castle from the water.

How do you get from Catania to Aci Trezza?

Aci Trezza is roughly 9 to 12 km from central Catania, depending on how you measure it.

Public bus

AMTS city buses run from Catania along the coast to Aci Castello and Aci Trezza, line 534 among them. Timetables change, so check the current one on the AMTS website on the day; a timetable copied into a travel article can be months out of date. Leave plenty of margin: a 10 a.m. boat is no time to rely on a bus due at 9:53. Our Catania or Aci Trezza guide has the bus routes and taxi times.

Taxi

The simplest choice if several of you are travelling together or the boat leaves early, and far less stressful when you need to be at a particular pier before boarding closes.

Rental car and parking

Possible, but parking near the Aci Trezza seafront can be the hard part on busy summer days, and the same goes for the streets around Catania’s port. Unless you need the car for the rest of your trip, don’t hire one just to reach a boat.

Catania port vs Aci Trezza: which is better?

This is the comparison most visitors need.

Choose Catania port if

You want the boat journey itself.

Choose Aci Trezza if

You want the Cyclops Islands themselves.

Catania port vs Ognina

Both are in Catania; the difference is where on the coast your trip starts. The central port gives you the longest sail, the easiest walk from the old town and more of Catania’s coast, and it is where the half-day sails start. Ognina gives you quicker access to the Cyclops Riviera, a small-harbour feel and a more efficient two-hour route.

For a five-hour sail, lean towards the central port. For a two-hour cruise, Ognina makes more geographical sense.

Ognina vs Aci Trezza

Choose by how much time you want to spend reaching the sights. Leaving Ognina still gives you a short coastal run. Leaving Aci Trezza puts you straight among the sights.

Choose Ognina if

You want to approach Aci Trezza from the sea.

Choose Aci Trezza if

You want to start swimming or sightseeing almost at once.

Which departure is best for a 90-minute tour?

Aci Trezza. Ninety minutes is not long. Starting beside the Faraglioni, it is plenty for a compact sightseeing trip with a swim stop, like the Cyclops Coast Boat Tour with Swim Stop ($28, 4.3/5 from 6 reviews). Start further south and much more of the time goes on travelling.

Which departure is best for a half-day tour?

Catania port. Four or five hours is enough time to make the coastal run worthwhile, and the half-day sails from the port use it to take in Ognina, the Ulysses coast and Aci Castello before the swim at Aci Trezza. Our half-day vs full-day guide compares the lengths.

Which departure is best for sunset?

Choose the boat and the route first. Most sunset sails leave from Catania’s port: the Sunset Sailing Tour with Aperitif from Caffè del Porto and the Sunset Dinner Sailing Tour from Vecchia Dogana, where the evening sail itself is the point. From Aci Trezza, the 2-Hour Dolphin Watching Boat Trip at Sunset runs from 5 to 7 p.m., but it has only three reviews so far. Our sunset boat tour page compares them.

Which departure is best for snorkelling?

Aci Trezza, if snorkelling is the priority, because the protected coast is right beside you. A Catania departure still makes sense when snorkelling is one part of a longer sail: the five-hour Blu Marina trip includes guided snorkelling and paddleboarding at Aci Trezza after sailing north past Ognina and Aci Castello.

Think of it this way: from Aci Trezza you book a snorkelling trip with a boat; from Catania you book a sail that includes snorkelling. It isn’t absolute, but it is a useful shortcut. Our snorkelling tour page lists the trips.

Which departure is best for cruise passengers?

Usually Catania port, if the meeting point and timing fit your ship’s schedule. Cruise ships dock inside the same port as the Via Cardinale Dusmet piers, while getting to Aci Trezza and back adds a road journey at each end. A port-area sail that returns to the same pier keeps things simple. For the full port-day picture, with Taormina and Etna, see Catania shore excursions for cruise passengers.

Check the exact marina all the same: a tour sold as “from Catania” that boards in Ognina is not the same as one boarding at Blu Marina. Leave a wide margin between the tour’s return time and your all-aboard time, because the sea can delay a return.

Do tours pick you up from your hotel?

Don’t assume so. The shared trips on this site use a fixed meeting point at the pier, and none includes hotel pickup. If pickup is included, the booking says so; otherwise plan to reach Blu Marina or the other port piers, the Ognina harbour, Aci Castello or Aci Trezza yourself. This matters most for Aci Trezza, because the trip may be filed under “Catania” even though boarding is outside the city.

How early should you arrive?

Aim to reach the meeting point 20 to 30 minutes before departure, unless the operator says otherwise. At an unfamiliar harbour that buffer matters: you may need to find the right pier, call the skipper, find the boat, use a bathroom, change your shoes, sign a form and hear the safety briefing. A small boat cannot always wait for someone standing on the wrong side of the port.

A common booking mistake: confusing the route with the departure point

A title like “Catania – Aci Trezza – Cyclops Islands Cruise” does not tell you where you board; the place names may describe the route. A “Catania Cyclops Coast tour” may leave from Ognina, and a “Cyclops Islands boat trip from Catania” may be sold to people staying in Catania but meet in Aci Trezza. Scroll down to the meeting point every time; that line matters more than the title.

Another trap: “Catania” used loosely in titles

Marketplace listings are not always consistent. The two-hour sunset trip to Aci Trezza carries Catania branding and boards on the seafront in Aci Castello. The three-hour snorkelling trip with an aperitif carries Catania branding and meets on Via Provinciale in Aci Castello. That is no reason to avoid either trip; it is a reason to read the final booking instructions.

Where should you stay if boat tours are a priority?

Stay in central Catania if

You want restaurants, nightlife, historic sights and the most to do beyond boating. It also puts the port piers within walking distance.

Stay around Ognina if

You prefer the seafront and plan to take a short cruise from there or spend more time on the northern Catania coast.

Stay in Aci Trezza if

Your trip is mainly about the sea. You can walk to the harbour in the morning and be among the Faraglioni minutes after leaving. It suits a slower coastal stay more than a city break.

Can you walk between the harbours?

Don’t treat them as one marina. Catania port, Ognina and Aci Trezza are separate departure areas spread north along the coast. Catania’s tourist office reaches Ognina only at the end of a seafront route that starts at the port and runs past several districts, and Aci Trezza is a separate village further north again. Find out 30 minutes before sailing that your boat is in Aci Trezza while you stand at Catania’s port, and you will miss it.

What about Capo Mulini?

Capo Mulini lies north of Aci Trezza. A few trips from Aci Trezza run that far. For a first-time visitor it is a point on the route more than a place to board.

What about San Giovanni Li Cuti?

San Giovanni Li Cuti is an old fishing quarter on Catania’s waterfront, on the tourist office’s seafront route between the port and Ognina. You may pass it on the way north, but none of the tours in this guide board there.

Which harbour has the best scenery?

Aci Trezza has the most dramatic view at departure: the Faraglioni are already in front of you. Catania has the best progression, from city harbour to lava coast, castle and sea stacks. Ognina is the most atmospheric small harbour, with the strongest fishing-port feel of the Catania departures.

Which departure gives you the best Mount Etna views?

No harbour can promise the classic volcano backdrop: what you see depends on haze and cloud, and Etna often makes its own cloud. The shape of the coast gives good Etna views from the water off Catania, Ognina and Aci Trezza alike, especially in the evening. Don’t book only because a listing shows a perfectly clear Etna; count a clear view as a bonus.

Do Catania boat tours return to the same harbour?

The shared trips on this site are round trips. The Coast of Ulysses sail leaves Catania, visits Aci Trezza and returns to Catania, and the Aci Trezza trips come back to Aci Trezza. A tour named “Catania – Aci Trezza” usually describes the route, not a one-way transfer, and won’t leave you in Aci Trezza unless the listing says so.

Can you take a boat from Catania to Aci Trezza instead of a bus?

A sightseeing trip can sail from Catania to Aci Trezza, but it will bring you back to where it started; these are not ferries. If you just need to get to Aci Trezza, go by road. If you want to see the whole coast between Catania and Aci Trezza from the sea, the longer sails from the port are ideal.

How departure point changes the price

Aci Trezza has cheap short trips because the boat doesn’t have to run several kilometres up the coast first: 45 to 90 minutes from the Aci Trezza pier costs $17 to $28 per person. A Catania sail sells you four or five hours on board, a longer route and extras such as snorkelling, a paddleboard, food or prosecco, for $50 to $77 per person plus a cash fee of up to €20. Don’t compare a $28 Aci Trezza trip with a $77 Catania sail as if one operator charged nearly three times as much for the same thing. Our guide to Catania boat tour prices breaks the costs down.

How departure point changes the experience

From Catania port, the coast is the journey: you watch the geography unfold. From Ognina, the coast is both journey and destination: you start closer but still arrive by sea. From Aci Trezza, the destination starts at once, because you are already there.

Our choice by traveller type

What to check on your ticket

Before you leave your hotel, confirm five things: the harbour, the exact pier or marina, the meeting address, the time you must arrive and the operator’s phone or WhatsApp number. Take a screenshot of the meeting-point details before you set off. At a harbour, “I’m here” can still mean several hundred metres from the right boat.

Frequently asked questions

Where do Catania boat tours depart from?

Most leave from one of three areas: Catania’s port on Via Cardinale Dusmet, the Ognina harbour or Aci Trezza, with a few meeting in Aci Castello. Check the meeting point, because a tour sold as “from Catania” does not always board in the central port.

Where is the main Catania boat-tour meeting point?

There is no single one. Inside Catania’s port, tours meet at four piers on or off Via Cardinale Dusmet: Blu Marina, Caffè del Porto, Club Nautico Catania and Vecchia Dogana.

Do boat tours leave directly from Catania?

Yes. Most of the sails, sunset trips and full days leave from Catania’s port and sail north towards Ognina, Aci Castello and Aci Trezza.

Do all Catania boat tours leave from Catania port?

No. Some leave from Ognina, Aci Trezza or Aci Castello instead.

Is Ognina part of Catania?

Yes. Ognina is on Catania’s northern waterfront, but its harbour is separate from the central port. Catania’s tourist office treats them as separate points on the city’s seafront route.

Where do Cyclops Islands boat tours leave from?

From Catania’s port, Ognina, Aci Castello or Aci Trezza. Aci Trezza is quickest, because the Faraglioni and Lachea Island lie just offshore.

What is the best departure point for the Faraglioni?

Aci Trezza, if you want the most time around the Faraglioni.

What is the best departure point for a sailing tour?

Catania’s port, because the sail north along the volcanic coast is part of the trip.

Is there public transport from Catania to Aci Trezza?

Yes. AMTS city buses, line 534 among them, run from Catania to Aci Castello and Aci Trezza. Check the current timetable before you travel.

Can I walk from central Catania to Aci Trezza?

Not sensibly for a timed boat trip: it is roughly 9 to 12 km away. Treat Aci Trezza as a separate place and take a bus, a taxi or a car.

Do tours from Catania drop you off in Aci Trezza?

Usually not. Shared sightseeing trips return to the harbour they left from unless the listing says it is one-way.

The bottom line

There are three departure areas. Catania’s port gives you the full sail, past Ognina and Aci Castello to the Cyclops Islands. Ognina is the compromise: you start closer to Aci Trezza and still cruise up the coast. Aci Trezza gives you the most time at the main sights, which suits short sightseeing, swimming and snorkelling trips. Whatever you book, remember that the word “Catania” in a tour title doesn’t prove the boat leaves from central Catania, so check the meeting point before you set off.

Check dates for the Boat Trip with Aperitif, Prosecco and Snorkeling above, or read Catania or Aci Trezza: Where Should Your Boat Trip Start?, Cyclops Riviera Boat Tours and Aci Trezza Boat Tour.