We are going to visit Sicily at end of April/early May. Expect to mostly be in shorts or cargos and t-shirts. But we want to go to the top of Mt. Etna. I'm thinking we'd have to have some very different clorthing to go up to the crater area. Is it very cold up there in early May? Would we need sweatshirts/jackets/ gloves??
Posted by
5 posts
Just get a sweater/wind jacket. We wore shorts and a jacket in early April and it was not too cold.
Don't forget sunglasses, the lava sand will constantly hit your eyes when windy!
Posted by
Washington, DC
248 posts
I think the weather is variable. We were there around an April Easter a few years ago. The wind was blowing so hard that my husband almost lost his glasses and knit cap. We certainly wanted jackets and gloves that day.
Posted by
new york
511 posts
It's often FREEZING!!!! Long pants, gloves and hats along with sweater or fleece. MY trips have all been in April or May and I am never warm enough up there.
Sometimes when I do this trip, I bring along an old sweater or fleece from home that has seen better days. I wear it to Etna and then give it away at the hotel to a cleaning person, if it's in somewhat decent condition.
Posted by
Chicago
2184 posts
We just visited Etna a couple weeks ago, and to ascend past where the normal tour vehicles are stopped around 6000 feet, you'll need to be accompanied by a registered volcanologist, and be prepared to be hiking from there, and/or be on an off-road vehicle. Dress at 6000 and below was for wind and about 50 degree weather--this was when at sea level in Taormina the temp was about 65.
Posted by
5878 posts
Tangent: You don't expect to need long pants and a long sleeve shirts in early May? Maybe I am much more cold intolerant, but in several regions of southern Italy later in May, I always found evenings rather cool. Maybe Sicily is drastically warmer?
Posted by
3106 posts
We were there in early May. It was miserably cold and wet. Make sure you have a rain coat, layers and water resistant pants. I had cotton ankle pants and got totally drenched. They did not dry. Fortunately my daughter was better prepared than me and let me wear the extra leggings she had brought.
We were unfortunate with the weather.