RS Sicily tour - Mt. Etna

We've been on that tour twice. The first time, we actually did go up on Mt Etna. The second time, no.

We did on the first RS Sicily (winter) tour I took but that was 4 years ago. One the more recent one, we had amazing views from various stops along the route but didn't actually visit the volcano. You could call the tour office and ask the question. I have always found the staff to be most helpful. (edit: sorry to repeat-I need to be reading more carefully!).

Thank you for your replies. Good idea to call office. Did you enjoy the excursion on the volcano? Perhaps there is enough time when close by to arrange to go up on my own.

Yes, Carol, we did! It was an interesting ride up and then walk around the safe places. There was a small cafe where we were offered a taste of a special "volcano" drink. It was potent!

Carol, when we were there it was snowing, blustery, and terribly cold. None of us was dressed for that! But it was a unique experience, so I'm glad we had the opportunity.

You can rent winter parkas and pants at the cafe hut level. After that you either take a large 4x4 to the next level, or keep hiking. It’s really in 4 stages: regular transportation to the ariel tram lift, tram lift to the hut, 4x4 to the top, walk up the rest of the way,

It could be an optional stop. On the MyWay Alpine tour, Zugspitze was on the itinerary as an "in-between" stop like Etna is listed. The reason is the variability of conditions. Sometimes it's clear on the Zugspitze so it's worth stopping for a few hours for some lovely views. If it's shrouded in cloud, the tour would have just moved on for more time in our next town. My own experience (early May) was that the day I chose to drive to up Etna, it was enveloped in clouds, no views going up, fog on the descent.

Thank you for your responses very helpful! I will be in the Mt Etna area the first week of April. Guess could be rainy and cold or could be sunny you never know. I have been lucky with my early Spring travels so far to encounter pleasant weather. Also wondering what it will be like to be in Sicily for Easter........

Oh my gosh, Carol. The 2nd tour we were there covered both Palm Sunday and Easter and it was one of the best travel experiences I have had in all my travels. We went to a lovely community Church of England church service on Palm Sunday in Palermo before the start of our tour. Each small town we visited on the tour had celebrations of some type in the evenings, usually a parade featuring the townspeople, guilds' bands, and "floats", all very joyful. Good Friday was the exception in Ragusa-sombre with one of the floats featuring a crying Madonna with a handkerchief in her hand, wiping away her tears. It was so moving. We were in the tiny village of Scicli for Easter Sunday; not listed on the itinerary but a village our guide likes and wanted us to visit. It was an amazing day long celebration and one I will never forget-fireworks, everyone dressed in their finest to parade through the town, and everywhere joyousness at the significance of this special day for the Sicilians. I think you are very lucky to be visiting Sicily at this very special time of year! Good planning!!

We were on this tour in November (just a couple of months ago), and we did not go up Mt. Etna. In fact, we were lucky to even get a good view due to the weather while we were there.

Oh boy now I am getting really excited about this trip! Thank you again for your responses.