Where to stay on the Etna east and south slopes depends on what you want to see from the window: vineyards, the volcano or the Ionian Sea. This side of the mountain is closer to Catania and the coast than the north, and its towns, from Milo and Zafferana Etnea to Trecastagni and Viagrande, sit among vineyards, citrus groves and old side cones. These seven addresses run from a winery estate to a Michelin-starred palmento.
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In this article
How we chose these hotels on the Etna east and south slopes
Three rules cut the field. Every property is on Expedia, so you can book it through the links below and see the same rates we did. Every one sits in the wine towns of the east or south slope, or on the lower ground between them and the sea, within a short drive of the cellars. And every one had enough guest reviews, or a verifiable outside source, for us to say something specific about it.
We left out the estates already covered in our Etna wine resorts round-up, so the two lists do not overlap. Prices below are “from” rates: the lowest nightly rate Expedia showed us for each property, which will move with your dates.
Milo, Zafferana and Santa Venerina
The east slope faces the sea and catches its rain, which is why it is white-wine country. Milo is the only commune whose wines can be labeled Etna Bianco Superiore, a white made with at least 80 percent Carricante, and the Etna DOC consortium lists the producers who make it. Zafferana Etnea is a few minutes south by road, and Santa Venerina lies lower down, closer to the coast.
1. B&B Villa Loriana — Milo
Villa Loriana is the way to sleep in Milo itself, the village that gives Etna Bianco Superiore its name. The house is built in the dark lava stone of the mountain, with tall arched windows, on Via Salice, and the cellars of the village, Barone di Villagrande among them, are a short drive away.
It offers more than most bed and breakfasts: there is a restaurant on site, full breakfast is included and there is a rooftop terrace. Guests rate it 8.8 out of 10 across 58 Expedia reviews, and from $96 a night it is one of the least expensive ways into Milo’s white-wine country.
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2. Airone Wellness Hotel — Zafferana Etnea
Airone is the most conventional hotel in this list, and that is its strength: a full-service spa with two hot tubs, a restaurant, a bar and a pool terrace that looks down over the lights of the coast at night. It stands on Via Cassone in Zafferana Etnea, the town on the road up to Rifugio Sapienza and the summit craters.
With 295 Expedia reviews averaging 8.6 out of 10, it is also one of the best-documented properties here, and buffet breakfast is included. From $118 a night, it makes an easy base for the wineries of Milo to the north and for a day on the volcano.
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3. Tenuta San Michele — Santa Venerina
Tenuta San Michele is the one address here where the wine is made on the property. It is the estate behind the Murgo wines, at about 500 meters between the volcano and the Ionian Sea, with a historic cellar dating from 1860 alongside a modern winery, and it also produces olive oil, honey and jams.
The rooms are simple, some with kitchenettes, and the draw is everything around them: a pool and a hot tub, a restaurant serving local cooking, buffet breakfast and the estate’s own bottles at the table. Guests rate it 9.6 out of 10 across 51 Expedia reviews. From $159 a night.
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Book it
Small houses, busy autumn weekends
Most addresses on this side of the mountain have few rooms, and the harvest weeks and the October Sundays of Zafferana’s food fair fill them first. If your dates are fixed, it is worth seeing everything available around Zafferana Etnea on one screen before you choose.
Toward the sea: Giarre and Riposto
Below Milo the slope runs down through citrus groves to Giarre and Riposto on the coast. The vineyards thin out here, but the distances stay short: the east-slope cellars are a drive up the hill, and the beach is a few minutes the other way.
4. Agriturismo San Leonardello — Giarre
San Leonardello is a working organic farm, run by the Calabretta sisters about three kilometers from the sea, and one of the farm stays at the foot of Etna picked by Gambero Rosso. Guests sleep in restored farmhouses, each with its own entrance, and breakfast is built around the farm’s own citrus and fruit.
Dinner is a set menu, served if you book it in advance, and there are cooking classes, bike rental and a pool among the trees. It is not a wine estate, so tastings mean a short drive up to Milo or Santa Venerina. Guests rate it 9.2 out of 10 across 47 Expedia reviews. From $145 a night.
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5. Zash Country Boutique Hotel — Riposto
Zash is the reason many travelers come down to this stretch of coast. The hotel occupies an old palmento, the stone winery where grapes were once trodden and fermented, in a citrus grove between the volcano and the sea, and its restaurant is built around the former fermentation vat.
Chef Giuseppe Raciti’s kitchen holds a Michelin star, as the hotel’s own site notes, and pairs its menus with wine from the house cellar. There are 17 rooms and four villas, each with a private pool, and Expedia guests rate it 9.2 out of 10 across 115 reviews. The lava-stone spa was closed for renovation at the time of writing, so ask before you book if it matters. From $335 a night, it is the most expensive stay in this list.
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The south slope: Trecastagni and Viagrande
The south-east slope faces Catania and is the closest side of the mountain to the airport. Trecastagni and Viagrande sit among extinct side cones, and Viagrande is home to Benanti, one of the families that put modern Etna wine on the map.
6. Etna Royal View — Trecastagni
Etna Royal View is a small guesthouse in Trecastagni, and from its balconies and terraces the view runs down the slope to the coast. It has no vineyard of its own; for wine, the cellars of Viagrande are a few minutes away.
Breakfast is cooked to order and included, there is room service, and the hotel can arrange a 24-hour airport shuttle, which is useful on a slope this close to Catania. Guests rate it 9.6 out of 10 across 41 Expedia reviews. From $107 a night.
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7. Grand Hotel Villa Itria — Viagrande
Villa Itria is a large, full-service hotel in Viagrande, built for conferences as much as for holidays, and that shows in the facilities: a spa with an indoor pool, a health club, a Mediterranean restaurant, a bar and room service.
It has the most reviews in this list, 390 on Expedia averaging 8.2 out of 10, and it is the least expensive, from $85 a night. Choose it as a practical base close to Catania and to the Benanti cellars, rather than for charm.
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When to book on the Etna east and south slopes
The east slope is the greenest side of the mountain, and it is pleasant for more of the year than the north. Spring brings green vines and open wineries; autumn brings the harvest of Carricante and Nerello Mascalese, usually from late September into October. On the Sundays of October, Zafferana’s Ottobrata food fair fills the town and the roads around it.
Summer is hot near the coast and milder in Milo and Zafferana. Most properties in this list are small, so for harvest weekends book two to three months ahead; midweek stays are easier to find.
Getting there
Catania airport is the gateway. Viagrande and Trecastagni are the closest towns to it, and San Leonardello, near Giarre, is under half an hour by car. The A18 motorway runs up the coast to Giarre, and from there the roads climb to Milo and Zafferana. A car is close to essential for tastings; our guide to renting a car for a wine trip in Europe covers insurance, drink-driving limits and what to ask at the counter.
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Choosing between them
If you want to sleep where the wine is made, Tenuta San Michele. For a once-in-a-trip dinner, Zash. For a spa and a view over the coast, Airone; for a farm stay with a pool, San Leonardello. In Milo itself, Villa Loriana, and close to the airport, Etna Royal View or, if price matters most, Villa Itria.
These are the hotels on the Etna east and south slopes we would book first. For the rest of the mountain, start with our Mount Etna wine country guide; for a stay on a larger wine estate, see our Etna wine resorts, and for Castiglione, Linguaglossa and Randazzo, our guide to where to stay on the Etna north slope.
Prices are “from” rates, indicative and set by our booking partners: they change with dates and availability, so check the current rate on Expedia.
