Divora VOLCANOS OF ITALY

DISCOVER THE CULTURE & CUISINE OF THOSE LIVING AROUND
THREE ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN SOUTHERN ITALY

Mount Vesuvio | Mount Stromboli | Mount Etna

JuLY 1 to 10, 2025
Beginning at $6,000 per person all inclusive

Italy has the most active (and dormant) volcanoes in Europe. The Italian peninsula has been geologically active for tens of thousands of years, with three volcanos currently emitting lava, steam or both, accompanying millions of people living at their feet. These three volcanoes are the stars of our culinary adventure: Vesuvio, Stromboli and Etna. All are in southern Italy and absolutely fascinating.

Obviously, active volcanos in Italy are natural monuments with plenty of space separating the craters from the people (so far so good, since Pompeii happened!). Vesuvio is considered the most dangerous of all of the active volcanoes in the world, though, as it is located just 10 kilometers north of the city of Naples (which houses 3 million people). This is the one that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum (and other settlements) back in 79AD. Stromboli, on the other hand, is a little island comprised of the top 1/3 of the volcano, which emerges from the bottom of the sea. It has been constantly erupting for 2500 years. Two little fishing villages are located on this small island, which we will have the pleasure of visiting on our adventure. Etna is the largest of the three active volcanos with seasonal snow at the summit, but constantly erupting lava from its 5 craters at the same time, perfectly visible from all around eastern Sicily.

These natural monuments can (and should!) be visited, because they are absolutely interesting, imposing and incredible. Guided tours are lead by experts in the field of volcanology and knowledgeable about the beautiful trails and viewpoints along the way. The people who live around the active volcanoes have become accustomed to the tremors and the possibility of a major eruption. They have embraced the fear and have turned it into something useful. They have learned to live for the day, and to utilize the volcanic soil as the unique terroir that it is, producing out of this world tasting tomatoes, wine, olive oil (and much more).

Join me!
We will visit 3 active volcanos in southern Italy
and will meet the people living at their base

10 days, all-inclusive, incredible
JuLY 1 to 10, 2025

* VOLCANOS OF ITALY
(Special tour)

Culture and cuisine of those living around three active volcanos in southern Italy

July 1-10, 2025 (10 days)
Beginning at $6,000 per traveller

(4 travelers minimum for guaranteed departure)

INCLUDED

Transportation via air, sea and land as we move from one volcano to the other
Lodging in cities and villages throughout our 10 days together
Most meals and excursions as planned by Divora (leaving room for you to dine and explore on your own)

NOT INCLUDED

Your flight to Italy (we will meet in Naples on July 1)
Any meal and excursion you’d like to do on your own during your free time
Personal shopping (plenty of mementos to collect from each location)
Gratuities/tips to your guides, servers and drivers (always appreciated)
Your flight back to the USA (our adventure ends in Catania, Sicily on July 10)

ADVENTURE TIMELINE

Subject to slight modifications. The actual timeline of our 10-day volcano culinary adventure will be revealed around 1 or 2 months prior to July 1. It will definitely look very much like the tentative timeline below:

Summary:

July 1: Meet in our hotel in Naples to explore the city/villages and hike Mount Vesuvius
July 4: Hop on the ship to sail to the volcanic island of Stromboli to live among fishermen and hike Mount Stromboli
July 7: Hop on the ship to sail to Messina (Sicily), stay in Taormina to hike Mount Etna and the explore surrounding countryside

IN DETAIL:

• July 1: Meet in our hotel in Naples at 3:00pm (3 nights)

  • July 1: Meet up, check in, unpack, enjoy a simple and quick dinner and rest for the night

  • July 2: Breakfast is served

    • Our private driver will take us to Mount Vesuvio (our very first volcano on our adventure) for our morning hike. We will bring a packed lunch and plenty of water. Weather and volcanic conditions permitting, we will hike to the crater to view it from very close. We will be at the merci of nature and guided by our expert guide. We will eventually descend the volcano and will be whisked away by our private driver back to our hotel in Naples

    • We will clean up, rest up and meet a few hours afterwards for a very special dinner by the sea. Dinner will be in Sorrento where fishermen have procured fish and have lived under the shadow of the volcano for centuries. We will talk to the local fishermen about their lives under the volcano, while we dine on their fresh catch of the day, and sip on local volcanic soil grown wine. We will end the night with limoncello hand made with volcanic soil grown lemons (this area is famous for their citrus!) and will have free rein in Sorrento for a few hours before we are driven back to our hotel in Naples

  • July 3: Breakfast is served

    • We will explore the ancient ruins of the city of Pompeii (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to get a first hand archaeological insight over what it may have been like to live (and be buried in 79AD) under Mount Vesuvio. The tour takes around 4 hours. Once finished, our private driver will drive us to the beautiful historic center of Naples, where you will enjoy a free afternoon dong what you would like to do (shopping, drinks, museums, etc…). We will meet back up at a pre-designated location where our private driver will pick us up to take us to our hotel, so we may rest and shower. Dinner is back in Naples later that evening

  • July 4: Leave Naples and head to the volcano-island of Stromboli via ferry (2 nights)

    • Breakfast is served and checkout is at 10:00am

    • Our driver will be ready to take us to the port, where we will catch our 2:00pm ferry to the incredibly unique volcano-island of Stromboli. The sea-track lasts 4 hours under normal conditions, so bring a book and relax and enjoy the ride. We will arrive in Stromboli around 7:00pm. We will check into our rustic hotel and will enjoy dinner, then a good night’s sleep

    • Stromboli is part of Sicily and it is a small active volcano-island. The entire island is the volcano… with two small fishing villages on both sides of the cone. The volcano is temperamental and in constant state of eruption (since 2500 years ago). We will see the lava glow at night and the steam and ash plumes during the day. This is a rustic island with not very many amenities (there are no street lamps at night in the villages - so we must bring our own flashlights) - more about Stromboli later

  • July 5: Breakfast is served

    • We will venture to the volcano and and will hike to the crater (weather and conditions permitting) with the aid of our tour guide. There views from above are incredible, well worth the effort, plus, with luck, we will be able to see lava burping our of the ground! There is a high probability that we will be wearing hardhats once we approach the crater above… we would not want to catch a hot stone in the head ;) It will be an incredibly unique adventure followed by…

    • Lunch at either one of the safety refuges along the hiking train or down below in the little fishing village (it all depends on how much time we end up spending at the summit. Regardless, we will be able to sit comfortably, take our boots off and enjoy a delicious meal prepared by the local fishermen, with a refreshing drink or two

    • The remaining hours of the day will be free for you to do as you wish. We may be tired and might want to go to the beach to relax, or we may want to take a nap in our rooms. It is totally up to you as the afternoon is open. Dinner will be served at a local restaurant later that evening

  • July 6: Breakfast is served

    • The is a very relaxing day, after such a strenuous (albeit incredible!) hike to the top of the volcano the day before. I will make sure you are relaxed and not pressured int doing anything you would not like to do. Anyone who would like to go to the beach and then have lunch at a local fisherman’s establishment, can certainly do so. We can picnic on the beach or enjoy a simple meal at a fisherman’s establishment. We can have a cold beer or wine, or not. I will have an abundance of goodies to choose from for us. You may also choose to explore the little vintage on your own. No problem at all. This is your morning and afternoon, so do as you please

    • In the later afternoon, we will venture to the second village on the other side of the island-volcano, only reachable by boat. We will hitch a ride with a local fishermen who will drop us off for an aperitivo (happy hour) and will pick us back up for a sunset ride back to our original village. This is a great way to see the smallest of the two finishing villages and it’s incredibly tenacious inhabitants, as well as to get a beautiful fish-eye’s-view of the volcano, at sunset… beautiful

  • July 7: Breakfast is served (in the village at the local bar)

    • We will pack up and catch our 12:45pm ferry off island and onto our third active volcano: Etna on the island of Sicily

    • The ferry Stromboli to Messina takes approximately 1.5 hours. Once we arrive in Messina around 2:30pm, we will grab a quick street food lunch that we can gobble up along with a coffee and gelato if you’d like (I usually do ;) before we are picked up by our private driver. We will be driven to our final volcano on our adventure: the mighty Mount Etna (we will spend 2 nights in the beautiful city of Taormina nearby). It is the largest of the stratovolcanos or Europe and it is in constant state of eruption. She erupts gently every day, with the occasional big burst of energy that may obfuscate the sky with steam and ash (the last time Etna blew up in a dramatic way was in April of 2021). Before we head down the road though, we will stop for a classic Sicilian street food lunch so we may enjoy some of the delicious street food culture right away (and feel satiated for our long drive south)

    • Messina to Taormina by car takes around 1.5 hours, passing along the northeastern flank of the island of Sicily. We will watch the volcano getting closer and closer on its eastern side, passing by olive groves and vineyards along the volcano’s base, until we reach the beautiful UNESCO city of Taormina. An Ancient Greek then Roman then Sicilian town perched on top of cliffs overlooking the blue Mediterranean on one side, and Mount Etna on the other

    • We will spend 2 nights in the beautiful city, enjoying the preserved Roman ruins, the food culture in the historic city center and the dramatic views of Mount Etna (which I hope will be erupting while we are there so we may see her in all her glory)

    • Check into our hotel will be as soon as we arrive around 6:00pm. We will settle in, relax, go to bed early… whatever you’d like. I have nothing planned for this first day in Taormina because we will have travelled rather far (first by ship then car). After check in, you are free to do as you like ad eat where you like. I will most likely be at our hotel bar having a cocktail and a plate of pasta (you are welcome to join me!) ;)

  • July 8: Breakfast is served

    • Let’s explore Taormina together. We will take a quick tour of the ancient Roman city with the amphitheater and sweeping views of Etna and the Sea, then we will venture into the historic center of the city for our lunch. The afternoon can be spent shopping and visiting museums or simply walking around piazza and streets, on our own. Nothing organized on this day, to give you time to enjoy yourselves and the scenery. We will meet back up at our hotel around 7:00pm where we will be ready to be driven to a beautiful vineyard at the base of the vulcano, to wine taste and enjoy a delicious dinner overlooking the vulcano. We will be then driven back to our hotel where we can do as we please. This is definitely a relaxing, wonderful day (because the following day will be filled with action!)

  • July 9: Breakfast is served

    • This will be an in credible day filled with activities! Prepare for a somewhat early departure (around 10:00am) to meet our expert Enta volcano guide. We will be driven to the volcano by our private car where we will meet our guide and will venture up into the volcano (which is a national park, of course), to see it up-close. This is a hike and an experience which requires a bit of strength and stamina as we will be hiking upwards for a bit… If all goes well, we will get to see into Etna’s crater, and certainly the sweeping views of the Sicilian coast and country surrounding the mountain. Our expert guide will teach is all there is to know about the geology and history of the area, and we will enjoy the fresh clean air.

    • Once we make it back down to “base camp” we will rest up, replenish our fluids, and let our adrenaline settle a bit, before we are driven to our hotel. At our hotel, we will certainly freshen up and relax for a while. No stress and no rush. Simply take your time to shower, take a nap, grab a bit to eat… whatever you like. We will have had a fabulous day of hiking Etna so we will deserve to rest as much as we want

    • This is our last evening together! Time flies. I propose having one final delicious and rewarding special Sicilian dinner in a piazza in the city center so we may reminisce of our 10 days together around the various active volcanoes, and so we may laugh, hug and plan our next adventure ;)

  • July 10: Breakfast is served

    • Check out is at the regular 11:00 time. We will regroup in our lobby around that time, with all of our luggage, to then head to Catania (another beautiful Sicilian coastal city) in our private car. Catania is where the main airport is for us to take our flight back to Rome. You are welcome to fly anywhere you’d like, but most flights usually generate from Rome, so flying Catania to Rome is a good idea. We can all be on the same flight and then you go your own way once in Rome (I will help you determine the best ways to leave Rome and fly either back to the US on onto more European countries). I apologize in advance if you see me tear up when we leave once another… I love my travelers!

WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE

July 1-10, 2025 (10 days)
Beginning at $6,000 per traveller

- Pre-trip planning sessions, emails, phone calls, get-togethers…
- Pre-trip authentic Italian dinner in Portland Oregon during which I will present our official adventure timeline
- Welcome gift bag with wonderful and useful items for the adventure
- Private lodgings in hotels or apartments throughout the entire trip (10 days / 9 nights)
- All transportation as needed during our itinerary (private car, taxi, tram, train, flight, boat, etc)
- Most breakfasts, dinners and lunches (leaving room for free time for you to dine on your own)
- Wine tasting and food pairing in one beautiful vineyard in Sicily
- Select wines for each of our meals together, of course
- Excursions to the three volcanoes (hiking with tour guides)
- Plenty of time in the itinerary for you to enjoy on your own (so you can explore the sites as you wish)
- Myself as your local expert, translator, facilitator and organizer
- Journalistic photography throughout the trip
- Online gallery of images delivered post-trip for you to view and order beautiful prints

TO NOTE:

This is an active adventure (pun intended haha) among active volcanoes
There will be hiking involved, up and down trails that may be rugged and of uneven terrain
You must bring hiking boots and clothing, and have the ability to participate in hikes and somewhat strenuous activities
Besides the hiking portion of our adventure, we will enjoy restaurants, walking around the various cities and villages and wine tastings