Mount Etna half-day tour

Highlights

• A car and driver reserved for your group, 5 hours
• The south-side road, through the lava flows
• The Silvestri craters on foot, at about 1,900 m
• Cable car to 2,500 m, optional
• A stop for Etna honey and pistachio
• Start in the morning or at 14:00

About this tour

Itinerary

1. Pickup

   Your driver meets you at your hotel or address, or at Catania port if you arrive by ship, at the time you chose.

2. Up from Nicolosi

   The south-side road, with photo stops on the lava fields.

3. Silvestri craters 1h 30min

   From the Rifugio Sapienza square you walk around the craters on your own, along the marked paths, with entry paid on site.

4. Cable car, if you wish

   An optional ride up to 2,500 m, with the ticket paid on site.

5. Etna produce 30 min

   A stop at a honey and pistachio producer: tastings and purchases are extra.

6. Return

   Back to where you were picked up.

Good to know

• On the south side the road ends at the Rifugio Sapienza square, at about 1,900 m, the base of the cable car; the refuge building itself is currently closed. From the square you visit the Silvestri craters on foot, on your own, along the marked paths.
• Entry about 5 euro per person, every day 8:30-17:00 (Etna cable car website, October 2026), paid on site.
• Etna cable car (official site, read on 20 October 2026): from the square at 1,923 m to the upper station at 2,500 m, about 54 euro per person return, every day 08:30-16:45, last ride down at 17:15, if the weather allows.
• The "Tour 3000", about 82 euro per person, adds the 4x4 up to the highest point the authorities allow, with alpine or volcanological guides: it takes about two and a half hours and must start by 15:15. You pay on site.
• Above about 2,500 m access depends on the volcanic alert phase: the summit craters only with authorised alpine or volcanological guides, when the phase allows. Under notice no. 2 of 12 October 2026 the phase is pre-alarm and the summit-crater zone is closed.
• Your driver does not go above the square, and nobody can promise the summit, lava or a visible eruption.
• It is colder up there than on the coast: bring layers and closed shoes. The cable car company advises against the ride for people with heart or breathing conditions, high blood pressure, and in pregnancy; windbreakers and boots can be hired at the 2,500 m station.
• Your driver drives, waits for you and suggests stops and timings, but does not guide inside sites and monuments.
• Entrance tickets, the cable car and tastings are not part of the tour price: you pay for them yourself, on site or online.
• Pickup at your hotel or address at the time you choose: in historic centres the car comes to your hotel where traffic rules allow, otherwise to the nearest point, agreed beforehand.
• Arriving by ship at Catania port? Pickup is at the cruise terminal exit or the port gate agreed at booking. Add the ship name and the all-aboard time, and plan the return with a margin.
• Private tour: the car and driver are for your group only, up to 8 people. The price is per group, not per person.

Pickup

Pickup at your hotel or address (Catania, Acireale, Aci Trezza, Taormina, Giardini Naxos, Catania port). Add the exact address in the booking notes.

Frequently asked questions