We'll be in Sicily next month and are hoping to go up Mt. Etna. Everyone I know who has tried has not made it (usually due to bad weather.) Has anyone been? Can you describe the logistics? From the little info I can find it sounds like you drive to a Refugio, then take a cable car, then a 4WD vehicle, then hike the rest with a guide. Does this sound right?? It it doable by a (sturdy) 8 year old? thanks in advance!
Posted by
georgetown, tx, usa
6 posts
info from frommers italy
Visitors will have to decide whether to ascend Mount Etna from the northern or southern approach. We prefer the north-facing side, partly because it's cooler, more beautiful, and much richer in wildflowers that thrive in the volcanic soil. The north side is also more heavily forested. The south side, because of the eruptions during the last decade, is mostly covered with barren-looking lava flows. Its access routes are more crowded, and its views less appealing. Nonetheless, many visitors to Catania come up Etna's south side.
If you decide to come up the north side, simply take the highway to its end, Piano Provenzana, which stops at a complex of Alpine-inspired chalets selling souvenirs. During the heat of a Sicilian summer, they appear visibly out of place, but in winter, because of the high altitude (2,700m/8,858 ft.), they function as the centerpiece of a small-scale but thriving ski colony. The ski facilities include five downhill ski lifts and a network of cross-country ski trails.
It is from this artificial-looking alpine hamlet of Piano Provenzana that you buy tickets for bus excursions to the top of Mount Etna. The round-trip lasts 2 hours and cost 40€ ($48) for adults, 30€ ($36) for children younger than 12. Departures are whenever business merits, but in summer, buses leave usually every hour.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/mtetna/3215010001.html#ixzz0I9YtM4U9&D
Posted by
georgetown, tx, usa
6 posts
more on mt etna from frommers italy
The bus tours are loaded with biocurious, bioconscious folks from throughout Europe, especially France, who shoot away on their cameras as the specially equipped bus (more like an armored car) winds its way laboriously uphill, through gravel beds and rocky gullies, past barren, lichen-covered gray-green landscapes. Frankly, it's not all that exciting. At the top, the bus parks near a seismic exploration station, which is mostly abandoned, and visitors walk a bit farther to a point near the top, across gravel-covered landscapes of great brutality. There's no fire and brimstone to see -- if there is, and if the crater is active, all bus trips are immediately discontinued. Note that visibility is poor on cloudy days; it's also generally clearer in the mornings.
In Taormina, CST, Corso Umberto I 101 (tel. 0942-626088), organizes tours to Etna, offered Monday to Friday in summer. The cost is 70€ ($84) per person. The office is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 7:30pm; closed on Saturday October to April.
A road around the foot of the volcano takes you through magnificent country where the rich soil has spawned many plantations and vineyards. Pistachio trees and prickly pears are commonplace. If you're driving around Etna in the morning, you can usually see the volcano, although it is often hidden in mist after lunch.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/mtetna/3215010001.html#ixzz0I9Z7E3XL&D