Jon and I made a bit of a last-minute decision to visit Sicily recently. With Covid-19, travel plans have to be flexible and change on a dime. Once we decided on Sicily, I dove right into research mode. There are so many amazing things to do and see in Sicily, so I’ll be writing a guide to Palermo and Taormina soon. But the number one thing I put on my list was hiking Mount Etna.
Mount Etna is Europe’s only active volcano. And when I say active, I mean ACTIVE! The volcano is constantly steaming, and lava eruptions are an everyday thing. In fact, when we saw Mount Etna erupting from our hotel, our waiter just shrugged and said “Mount Etna.” It happens that often. In fact, BBC travel claims that Mount Etna is the most active volcano in the world!
Mount Etna is so active because it sits in the middle of the Mediterranean where the African tectonic plate is bashing into the European plate. Etna has so much carbon dioxide built up inside that it can’t resist bursting from time to time. Our guide likened it to a bottle of Coke with a bunch of Mentos dropped inside.
It was definitely one of my favorite moments on our trip, and below I’m sharing all the details for hiking Mount Etna. If you ever get the chance to do it, don’t pass it up!
If you’re looking for a quieter Italy trip, check out this guide to Amalfi, Italy.
Xx, Kelsey
WHERE WE STAYED
I’ll do a full guide on our time in Taormina, but I think it’s important to include areas to stay when talking about hiking Mount Etna. The active volcano is situated between Catania and Taormina. It takes around an hour+ to drive from either to the cablecar on Mount Etna. We personally enjoyed staying in Taormina which is a bit smaller, but I’ve also heard great things about Catania. We stayed at Unahotels Capotaormina which had a great private beach and infinity pool.
OUR TOUR GUIDE
I did a lot of research before we went as to whether we needed to do a guided tour. The short answer is YES. Hiking Mount Etna comes with risks. Since the volcano is so active, it’s important to have a guide who can make sure you visit safely. Plus, it ensures you get all the history and facts that make Mount Etna so facinating.
A personal connection linked us up with Saro of Our Sicily. Saro is a freelance tour guide who grew up in Sicily. He was incredibly knowledgable, friendly, and made sure we had the best experience. Saro does small tours (max 6 people), which means you’ll get a very personal experience. For us, it was 90EUR a person and totally worth it.
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation to Mount Etna was probably my biggest concern since we didn’t have a car in Taormina. I had read so many sites that said it was very difficult to get to the base without your own car. Thankfully, Saro picked us up at our hotel and saved us so much hassle.
THE HIKE
Hiking Mount Etna wasn’t as difficult as I expected, but it’s also not a walk in the park. We did this tour, but there are options for all ages and levels. With our guide, we took a cable car up to 2,500m. The cable car isn’t super cheap, but that’s because they’re always having to rebuild it when the volcano erupts.
Once up at 2,500m, we hiked up another 300-400m. From there we could see old lava flows, craters created by various eruptions over the years, and the summit of Mount Etna. Our guide didn’t take us up to the summit, as it’s too dangerous and actually illegal. But we got to see it smoking and steaming from a little ways away.
While we were up there, Saro pointed out steam on the left side of the summit. He said he didn’t like it, and the next night we saw lava coming from that spot from our hotel! Check out the close up shot of the next night’s eruption below from our guide.
One of the coolest parts of the hike was hiking into the crater from the 2001 eruption. The crater was still steaming, and we were able to warm our hands in the steam while stopping for a snack and sweet wine.
THE GEAR WE NEEDED
It’s important to be prepared for hiking Mount Etna, especially since the nearby towns are very beachy. Up at the top of the volcano is pretty cold and very windy. I wore leggings, a long sleeve workout top, and a fleece jacket. In the end I had to borrow Jon’s windbreakers because it was so windy at the top of the crater.
Our guide brought hiking boots for us, so we didn’t end up with gravel in our sneakers. He also brought poles which we needed to hike up to the top of the crater and extra windbreakers for the wind. I recommend bringing your own backpack with water bottles as well.
THE COOLEST THINGS WE LEARNED
I honestly love learning new things, and this experience was ripe with new knowledge. My favorite things were:
- Ladybugs flourish at the top of Mount Etna where there is very little life. Pick up a rock and you’re likely to find a bunch of them hiding underneath!
- Mount Etna erupts in many different ways, but often the lava oozes out really slowly. Our guide made a joke about standing next to a lava flow and snacking on an arancino while it rolled by.
- Some of the rocks that have shot out of Mount Enta in the past are literal cannonballs. We saw these perfectly round rocks littered all over the volcano. I’d hate to get hit with one of those.
- When Mount Etna erupts, it often erupts in a line. This creates a series of craters you can see all the way from the summit to Catania.
WOULD WE DO IT AGAIN?
Heck yes! Mount Etna was such an amazing experience, especially when we saw it erupting the night after we were up there. Just make sure you find a good guide who can take you up safely. But it’s totally worth every minute.
