Mount Etna, Europe’s highest (3,323m) and most active volcano, is the dominating landmark of Sicily’s east coast. With its constantly changing landscape, exploring Etna provides a great day out visiting some of the craters.
There are guided excursions available from various locations or visitors can drive themselves up the slopes to various points on each side of Etna or the Park Headquarters located on the south side in Nicolosi.
There is a cable car (Funivia) at Rifugio Sapienza (south side) at 1,900m which takes visitors up to 2,500m and then connects with a 4x4 tour bus to continue the journey up to 2,800m where there are guided tours to some of the craters.
Alternatively you can experience the majestic volcanoes landscape by train starting in Catania and travelling in a loop around Etna’s base.
We recommend visiting Etna in the morning to allow plenty of time for this experience.
The cable cars operate from 9am-5:30pm April to November.
From December to February it is possible to ski or snowboard on the slopes of Mount Etna (snow fall dependent), the cable cars and ski lifts are open 9am-3.30pm and ski equipment can be hired on site.
