At the hotel we organize various activities with experienced guides that provide all the equipment

SCUBA DIVING AND SNORKELING:

Beautiful scenery with caves, canyons, siphons and archaeological sites for diving of varying degrees from those suitable to beginners and children to those for the experts.

CANYONING AND RAFTING IN THE ALCANTARA GORGES: exciting activities between the lakes and waterfalls with the thrill of being carried by the current in a natural water-slide, from the easier ones to do safely even with children to the extreme ones.

HORSE RIDING: in the woods of Etna or on the beach at the mouth of the river Alcantara

We book golf courses on the slopes of Etna (a scenic 18-hole course open throughout the year which you may reach in roughly twenty minutes by car).

Giardini Naxos is in the middle of a stretch of the Ionian coast where are gathered some of the most extraordinary natural and artistic beauty of Sicily: starting from the hotel, Taormina with its Greek Roman theatre is 3km, the nature reserve of Isola Bella 3km as well, the Alcantara gorges 14km, the Valley of Agrò with its medieval villages 20km, the Riviera of the Cyclops 30km, the summit of Mount Etna 40km and Siracusa (110km) that after the recent opening of the new highway can be reached within an hour's drive.

And in Giardini Naxos Palladio Hotel occupies a very convenient location to move around: right in front of the hotel there is the bus stop to the railway station Taormina-Giardini Naxos (where all trains start for Messina, Catania, Siracusa and Agrigento) to Taormina (they pass every 20 minutes), to Catania, Messina and the towns of their provinces. The highway toll is just 1km away and is at the intersection of two highways (the Palermo-Messina stretching along the Tyrrhenian coast and the Catania-Palermo passing from the inside).

If you want to explore on your own, at the hotel you may rent a car, a scooter or a mountain bike or get around using public transport: you can always rely on us to help you arrange personalized itineraries, to provide maps and any indication on trains, buses, museums schedules, etc.

If you prefer to rely on guided tours at the hotel you can book a wide variety of excursions with professional guides to all major localities of Sicily: Etna, the Alcantara Gorges, Siracusa, Agrigento, Palermo, Monreale, Piazza Armerina, Caltagirone, the Aeolian Islands. We organize group excursions by bus or individual tours by car or off road by jeep, trekking on Etna with the guidance of a geologist and adventure trails for canoeing and rafting in the Alcantara Gorges: from the easier ones to do in complete safety even with children to the extremes, enogastronomic tours with visit to the Etna wineries.

A journey through time among the many Sicilies

This is an area particularly rich which concentrates in itself the many contrasting faces of Sicily: from hotel Palladio within a range of a few kilometres you pass from the tourist Sicily, with advanced equipment, nightlife and trendy shops to a popular Sicily, at times fixed in the past, set in a wilderness virtually untouched and right here, more than in other areas, coexist, overlaying or interlocked, the Greek Sicily, the Arab-Norman Sicily and the baroque Sicily.

Because to get to know Sicily in this area you should not visit only the splendid, mundane and enchanting Taormina with its wonderful Ancient Theatre, little Castelmola with its narrow streets and the wonderful panorama given from the ruins of the Castle, the majestic volcano Etna surrounded by lush forests and the basalt prisms from the Alcantara Gorges with their scenic waterfalls that are described in every guide.

But Also Medieval towns perched on the mountains (Forza d'Agrò, Castiglione di Sicilia, Savoca, Casalvecchio Siculo), fishermen towns (Aci Trezza, Aci Castello, Santa Maria la Scala and Capo Mulini), and abandoned near a river shore, a splendid Basilica of an amazing Byzantine-Arab-Norman architecture (Temple of the SS. Pietro and Paolo d'Agro in Casalvecchio Siculo). And then Arab-Norman fortresses and castles (in Calatabiano, Aci Castello, Castiglione di Sicilia, Forza d'Agrò, Randazzo, Bronte), churches and palaces of the phantasmagoric Sicilian Baroque (Acireale, Siracusa and Noto), nature itineraries that offer incredible views (Valle d'Agrò trails, the Etna Park Reserve, Mouth of the River Alcantara, Path "Le Gurne") or over the coast marked by prehistoric volcanic eruptions and by huge stone cliffs (La Timpa).

BOAT TRIPS: to see the bay of Giardini dominated by green hills and the volcano, the rugged coast of Taormina with its Cape and the cliffs, Isola Bella and the underwater tunnel that lights up and makes turquoise the waters of the Grotta Azzura.

ETNA ITINERARIES: if you prefer to visit it on your own read our individual routes and we shall provide directions and maps.

At the hotel we organize group tours or individual excursions off road by jeep or trekking in the Park   of Etna, with the guide of a geologist to explore the slopes between forests and lava flows, to enter caves originated by old solidified rivers of lava (lava tubes)  or get to the top to lean over the central crater.

Individual half day Excursions

The Riviera of the Cyclops:

The scenographic coast with cliffs originated from underwater eruptions. A Norman fortress and the docks of the fishermen.

The Alcantara Valley:

The inland Sicily, following the paths of the river among extraordinary natural scenery, medieval towns, castles and fortresses.

The “Valle d'Agrò”:

Over the top of the mountains of the picturesque coastline, villages that take you back in time, treasures of Arab-Norman architecture and magnificent views.