Does anyone know if there is a chance to take a gondola ride to Etna that day. It seems a shame to come all that way and not go up the mountain?
Posted by
Connecticut
692 posts
See this travel forum link about a poster’s experience
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/cable-car-to-mt-etna
Posted by
Southern Oregon
627 posts
We didn’t have time for that on our Etna day, unfortunately. You can hike a bit of the way during the couple of hours we were there. We took the tour in 2022 so perhaps things are different now?
Posted by
CA, USA
1245 posts
when we were there fall 2023 we spent perhaps an hour on the volcano, then took the bus back down for a winery tour and lunch. So perhaps the itinerary changes a bit year from year since a previous post reports spending more time. You might want to call the office and ask what they will be doing in 2024.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2660 posts
The tour does go partway up the mountain, and it was interesting, but I'm not sure going up further would be worth doing.
Posted by
Seattle suburbs
71 posts
In Sept 2023 we drove up and it was so crowded. Tons of buses from cruise ships. Plus it was so cold. Go prepared for the wind. Didn’t find much to see or remember.
Enjoy your travels.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8965 posts
As I recall, Mt Etna was a stop on the way between Siracusa and Taormina, not a lot of time. it's close enough to Taormina that you could arrange a day trip to go up further.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
102 posts
On our 2023 tour we were told not to take the Gondola as we did not have enough time to get up and down for our planned stop. We did hike out to a couple of former volcanic vents.