# Etna

Europe's highest active volcano: you climb it by cable car and 4x4 to almost 3,000 m, on foot with a guide to the craters, circle it on a narrow-gauge train and taste it in the wineries on its northern slope.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sicily/etna · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## How do you get there from Spain?

Fly to Catania, with direct flights from several Spanish cities. The airport is at the foot of the volcano: from there it's under an hour by car to Nicolosi and the Rifugio Sapienza, on the southern slope.

## How do you get around?

By car, mostly. Etna has two main access points: the south, via Nicolosi to the Rifugio Sapienza and the cable car, and the north, via Linguaglossa. The Circumetnea circles the volcano by train from Monday to Saturday and lets you see the villages on the west and north slope without driving.

## What do you need to book?

The excursion to the craters with a guide and, in season, the cable car. The wineries receive visitors only by reservation. Bear in mind that everything above 2,500 m depends on the weather and the volcano's activity: don't leave it for the last day.

## Where to sleep and eat?

Three bases of different character. On the southern slope, the Rifugio Sapienza is a 20-room hotel at 1,910 m, on the same esplanade as the cable car and the guides. On the eastern slope, Case Perrotta is an organic agriturismo in a former convent and its wine press, in Sant'Alfio. On the north, Shalai is a 19th-century palace in Linguaglossa with a spa and a Michelin-starred restaurant.

For eating, Cave Ox, in Solicchiata, combines Etna cooking, wood-fired pizzas and a wine cellar among the northern vineyards; the Ristorante Veneziano, at the entrance to Randazzo, is a family house of mushrooms and black pork; and the restaurant at Case Perrotta serves the long weekend meal with produce from the estate.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Aeolian Islands (a 79.2 km), Val di Noto (a 96.5 km)

## Qué hacer
- **Etna summit craters with a volcanology guide** (5 h 30 · 8 km · Fit people, from age 7 · Desde 130 € per adult): Access to the summit is regulated and you can only go up with authorised guides. When the volcano is active or the weather is bad, the area is closed and the excursion is replaced by a lower one.
What it is and why do it
Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe, and its summit changes shape with every eruption. This excursion is the only way to look into the craters at the top, at more than 3,300 metres, where the ground is hot, fumaroles rise and the smell of sulphur fills everything. On a clear day you can see a good part of Sicily and the Ionian Sea.
It is run by the alpine and volcanology guides of the Gruppo Guide Alpine Etna Sud, based at the Baita delle Guide at the Rifugio Sapienza. They decide each day how far you can go up, depending on what the volcano is doing and the authorities' rules.
Important: the summit may be closed
In November 2026 the guides warn that the summit craters are closed. If they are still closed on the day you book, you are moved to the Etna 3000 excursion, which stays lower down. Book knowing that this can happen and that the decision is almost always taken at the last minute.
Who it suits
Anyone who walks confidently in the mountains and can stand five or six hours at high altitude, in cold and wind. No mountaineering experience is needed: the guides provide the equipment and the path is ash and lapilli, with no climbing sections. Children from 7 years old pay a reduced rate, but only if they are used to walking a lot.
It is not for you if you are pregnant or have cardiovascular problems, asthma, severe hypertension or anxiety: the guides advise against it. Nor if altitude affects you badly: at 3,300 m it is harder to breathe.
Getting there
The meeting point is on the esplanade of the Rifugio Sapienza, on the southern slope, above Nicolosi. By car you go up from Catania via Nicolosi and park on the esplanade itself. Without a car, there is a bus from Catania, but it has few departures a day and you should check that it gets you there in time for the 8:30 or 9:30 departure.
When to go
It runs when the summit is open and the weather allows. In winter the upper part is usually snowy and conditions change quickly; summer and early autumn offer more days when it is possible. Take the first departure: clouds tend to form over the summit from midday.
What it costs
€130 per adult and €120 for ages 7 to 14, with return cable car, 4x4 on the way up, boots, socks, jacket, helmet and guide. You only add the journey to the Rifugio Sapienza and the food you bring.
If it is cancelled or the weather is bad
In bad weather or volcanic risk the guides may cancel or interrupt the excursion. If it becomes Etna 3000, you still go up to the high zone by cable car and 4x4. If nothing goes up, next to the Rifugio Sapienza you have the Silvestri craters, extinct cones that can be walked round in a short time with no entry fee.
- **Etna cable car and 4x4 ride up to 3,000 metres** (2 h 30 · All ages · Desde 54 € per person): It is the simplest way to see Etna from above without doing a mountain hike. It is cold at the top almost all year, even in August.
Why go and who it suits
From the Rifugio Sapienza, at about 1,920 m, the landscape is already volcanic: black flows, extinct cones and little else. But what changes the visit is going up. The cable car takes you to 2,500 m above the recent lavas, and with the Tour 3000 you continue in a high-wheeled 4x4, or in a snowcat in winter, to the highest altitude the authorities allow, 3,000 m. There you walk for a while with a guide around the Torre del Filosofo area and the craters of the 2002 eruption, with the summit smoking in the background.
It suits families, older people who walk normally and anyone who wants to feel the height of Etna without five hours of climbing. It is easy in difficulty. It is not for you if you have heart or breathing problems, high blood pressure or are pregnant: at that altitude the air is thinner and the operator advises against it.
Which option to choose
Cable car only (€54). You go up to 2,500 m, take a walk around the upper station and come back down. It makes sense if you are with small children or short of time, or if the day is clear and the view is enough for you.
Tour 3000 (€82). Includes the return cable car with Fast Track, the return 4x4 or snowcat and an alpine or volcanology guide. The ticket is open for the whole day, between 8:30 and 15:15, and the visit lasts about two and a half hours. The guides speak Italian, English and French. It is the option worth taking if you have come all this way.
To reach the summit craters you have to do the guided walking excursion, a different and much more demanding activity.
Getting there
The cable car station is on the esplanade of the Rifugio Sapienza, in the municipality of Nicolosi, on the southern slope of the volcano. You drive up the Etna Sud road and park on the esplanade. There is a bus that goes up from Catania, with few departures a day: check the timetable before counting on it.
When to go
It runs all year, except when the wind, the weather or the volcano force a stop. In winter the climb from 2,500 m is by snowcat and snow covers the ash: it is a different excursion, just as beautiful and colder. In summer it can be hot below, but at the top the temperature drops a lot.
The best thing is to go up early. Clouds tend to cover the upper part from midday, and the first hours have shorter queues at the ticket office.
What it costs in total
€54 for the cable car alone or €82 for the Tour 3000, per person. If you don't have suitable clothing, boots, windbreakers and poles can be rented at the top. Add the journey to the Rifugio Sapienza.
If the weather is bad
In strong wind the cable car stops. In that case, next to the Rifugio Sapienza you have the Silvestri craters, two extinct cones that can be walked round in a short time with no entry fee, and the road down to Nicolosi runs between lava flows.
- **Silvestri Craters, next to the Rifugio Sapienza** (45 min · Everyone · Independent · free): The Silvestri Craters are the cones left by the 1892 eruption on the southern slope of Etna, at about 1,900 m, right beside the road and opposite the Rifugio Sapienza. You can walk round them and up to their rim in under an hour, with no guide or entry fee. It is the first contact with the volcano for anyone with children or who does not want to go higher.
What you see and why it matters
The eruption began on 9 July 1892 and lasted 173 days, until 29 December. It opened a row of five craters between 2,025 and 1,800 m, and its lava flow ran about 7 km down the slope. The two main cones, the Upper and the Lower, were named that same year after the volcanologist Orazio Silvestri, who studied the eruption.
From the rim you look into the craters, with their reddish and black walls of scoria, and around you see a landscape of lava and lapilli with almost no vegetation. To the north, the summit of Etna, often with its plume of steam; to the south, on clear days, the Catania plain and the sea.
The walk
The provincial road SP 92, which climbs from Nicolosi and descends towards Zafferana Etnea, passes right between the two cones. From the car park, climb the marked lapilli paths to the rim of the cone you choose, walk round the crater along the top and come back down. The ground is loose volcanic sand: you go up slowly, but without difficulty. Allow about 45 minutes for one of the cones and a little longer if you do both.
Walk only on the marked paths: the ash gives way and off the paths you spoil the landscape.
Getting there and parking
By car, drive up from Catania through Nicolosi following the signs for Etna Sud and the Rifugio Sapienza, along the SP 92. At the top you park on the esplanade of the Rifugio Sapienza, next to the Funivia dell'Etna station, a few steps from the craters. Without a car, check whether there is a regular bus from Catania to the Rifugio Sapienza on your travel date and what time it returns; if it does not fit, organised excursions from Catania come up here.
When to go
All year, in good weather. At 1,900 m it is a lot colder than on the coast: in winter there may be snow on the cones and on the road, so have your car prepared. In summer, go early or at the end of the afternoon: the black sand burns in the midday sun. The wind often blows and fog can roll in within minutes.
In the afternoon the low light on the lava is the best for photography. As there is no shade or water, always carry a bottle.
Facilities
Next to the car park, on the Rifugio Sapienza esplanade, there are bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and toilets. The Funivia dell'Etna and the guides to the summit craters and the Valle del Bove leave from there.
With children and dogs
It is the volcanic excursion made to measure for children: short, safe and very visual. Wear closed shoes, because volcanic sand gets into sandals and scratches. With a pushchair you cannot go up to the rim, but you can move around the flat area of the car park. Dogs are allowed, on a lead; the scoria is rough on their paws.
- **Guided trek into the Valle del Bove** (6 h · Fit people · €80 with cable car, equipment and guide): The Valle del Bove is the great depression on the eastern slope of Etna: about 7 by 4.5 km, enclosed by walls between 400 and 1,000 m high, down which many of the volcano's lava flows run. With the guides of the Gruppo Guide Alpine Etna Sud you go up on the cable car, look over the edge, descend into its interior by a sand channel and cross the lava of the 1991–1993 eruption, far from the cable car crowds. It is a full day in the mountains: about 6 hours and €80 with everything included.
What it is and why it matters
The Valle del Bove was formed by several successive collapses of the volcano's slope and by erosion; one of the first left a debris deposit at Milo that is dated between 7478 and 7134 BC. Its floor is covered with recent lavas, such as those of the long 1991–1993 eruption, and on its walls you can see, in layers, the oldest rocks of Etna. Going down into it is walking over lava of different ages, with the caldera walls around you and the summit craters above.
The guided excursion

Meeting. At 8:45 at the Baita delle Guide, on the esplanade of the Rifugio Sapienza, at 1,910 m. Departure at 9:30.
Cable car up. The Funivia dell'Etna leaves you at about 2,500 m.
The edge of the Valle. You walk to the ridge and look at the caldera from above, with its walls and the lava floor.
The Canalone delle Rina. You descend by this channel of volcanic sand to the floor of the Valle, a long descent over loose sand.
The 1991–1993 lava. You cross the flow across the floor of the depression.
Piano del Vescovo. You come out at about 1,700 m and return to the Baita delle Guide at around 16:00.

The price of €80 per person includes the cable car tickets, trekking boots, socks, jacket, helmet and the guide service. A minimum of 8 people is needed for the group to go.
Difficulty and who can go
The guides rate it 4 out of 5. It is not technical, but it is long and demanding: six hours on volcanic terrain, above 2,000 m, with a long descent over sand and stretches over uneven lava. You need to be in good physical shape. It is not suitable for pregnant women or for people with cardiovascular problems, severe hypertension or anxiety. For minors, the guides ask that you check when confirming.
What to bring
Food for the day, gloves, a hat, a waterproof windbreaker, long trousers, sunglasses and sun cream. The guides advise against contact lenses because of the ash. They provide the rest of the equipment, boots included.
When to go
The departure depends on the weather and the volcano's activity: the guides may cancel or interrupt the excursion because of bad weather or volcanic risk. In winter snow covers the upper part and changes the conditions; ask the guides what can be done on your travel date. At the top the temperature is much lower than in Catania, even in summer, and fog can arrive quickly.
Getting to the meeting point
The Rifugio Sapienza is at the end of the road that climbs from Nicolosi on the southern slope. You get there by car and park on the esplanade. Next to the esplanade are also the Silvestri Craters, which you can walk round if you arrive early.
How to book
Book on the Gruppo Guide Alpine Etna Sud website, on the excursion's page, or on +39 095 791 4755 and at info@etnaguide.com. The guides have other departures, such as the summit craters, a sunset excursion or one for families.
- **Circumetnea train around the volcano** (4 h · Everyone): The Ferrovia Circumetnea is a narrow-gauge train that circles Etna on the west and north, among lava flows, pistachio groves, olive trees and vineyards, through villages such as Adrano, Bronte, Maletto, Randazzo and Linguaglossa, to Giarre and Riposto on the coast. It is public transport, not a tourist train: you travel with local people, for little money and without booking. It does not run on Sundays or public holidays.
What it is and why it matters
The line opened in sections between 1895 and 1898 to link the villages on the volcano's skirts with Catania and the port of Riposto. It has a 950 mm gauge, is not electrified and reaches its highest point at 976 m, near Rocca Calanna. From the window you see how the landscape changes around the volcano: fields of black lava, the sciare, near Bronte, the pistachios that make the village famous, the vineyards of the northern slope between Randazzo and Linguaglossa and, always, the summit of Etna to one side.
How it works today
The service is no longer what it was, and it is worth knowing before you go:

The train does not leave from Catania. The section between Catania Borgo and Paternò closed in June 2024 and is covered by buses along the SS 121. Since 16 March 2026 the section from Paternò to Santa Maria di Licodia Sud also runs by bus. The train now starts at Santa Maria di Licodia Sud.
There is no train that goes all the way round. Since 2021 the service has been split: one section goes as far as Randazzo and another runs from Randazzo to Giarre and Riposto. Some trains terminate at Adrano or Bronte.
Monday to Saturday. The company's trains and buses do not run on Sundays or public holidays.

The railway timetable in force since 16 March 2026 and the bus timetable from 5 October 2026 are published as PDFs on the Ferrovia Circumetnea website. Download them before you go and check the connections at Randazzo: it is what decides whether the plan works.
A half-day or full-day plan

Catania – Santa Maria di Licodia. Replacement bus from Catania, via Paternò.
Santa Maria di Licodia – Bronte. Train between olive groves and lava; Bronte is the pistachio town.
Bronte – Randazzo. The highest section, among old flows, with the volcano very close. Randazzo, with its medieval lava-stone old town, deserves a stop for lunch.
Randazzo – Riposto. Along the northern slope, among vineyards, to the Ionian coast. From Giarre or Riposto you return to Catania on the coastal train or by bus.

For the full circuit, with changes and stops, count on a whole day. If you only have half a day, the stretch from Randazzo towards the coast through the vineyards is the most rewarding; combine it with a visit to the northern slope wineries.
Tickets
Out-of-town tickets are bought at the company's ticket offices and points of sale; the website publishes the list. Fares depend on the section. The company allows bicycles on the train with their own fare, useful if you want to cycle a stretch of the slope and come back by train. Groups have separate conditions.
When to go
All year, Monday to Saturday. In autumn, at harvest time, the vineyards of the northern slope are in full activity. In summer travel in the morning: the heat is oppressive while waiting at stations.
With children
Children like the little train and the lava landscape. Bear in mind that changes between bus and train and the waits can become long: bring water and something to eat.
If you want to get closer to the volcano, the Silvestri Craters are on the southern slope, next to the Rifugio Sapienza, but the train does not go there.
- **Winery tastings on the northern slope, in Castiglione di Sicilia** (2 h · Adults): On the northern slope of Etna, between Passopisciaro and Castiglione di Sicilia, the vines grow on black stone terraces over ancient lava flows, at altitudes that elsewhere in Sicily would be mountain country. The wineries receive visitors by reservation: you see the vineyards and the cellar and taste the Nerello Mascalese reds and the Carricante whites, the wines of the Etna denomination.
What it is and why it matters
Etna was one of the first designations of origin in Sicily, recognised in 1968, and its production is spread over villages on the volcano's skirts such as Castiglione di Sicilia, Randazzo and Linguaglossa. What makes it different is the soil: volcanic sand and rock from lava flows of different periods. On the northern slope the plots are identified by contrade, the old localities, and each has its own character depending on the flow it sits on.
A visit here is, above all, a walk among vines on lava, with the volcano above you.
Two wineries with visits

Planeta, Sciaranuova estate. The estate is in the Sciaranuova contrada, at about 850 m, among flows from 1614. It grows Carricante, Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Pinot Noir and Riesling. It offers several experiences: a vertical tasting of Etna, a journey through old vintages, a wine tasting with breads and cheeses, a cooking class at the winery and a wine, art and landscape experience. Planeta's website lists each experience separately, with its own booking.
Cottanera, contrada Iannazzo. A winery on Strada Provinciale 89 in Castiglione di Sicilia, offering tasting itineraries to get to know the house, the territory and its winemaking tradition, in an informal, family-friendly setting. Book by phone on +39 391 393 9073 or by email at winetours@cottanera.it.

Neither publishes prices on its experiences page: you confirm them when booking. Allow about two hours for vineyard, cellar and tasting.
Getting there
Both wineries are on the road that runs along the northern slope between Randazzo and Linguaglossa, through Passopisciaro. The practical way is to drive from Catania or Taormina. If you are going to taste at more than one, sort out who drives or hire a transfer: there are winding roads between one winery and the next.
Without a car, the Circumetnea runs along the northern slope between Randazzo and the coast; if you are going by train, ask the winery when booking how to get there from the nearest station.
When to go
All year, by reservation. The grape harvest, between late September and October, is the busiest time in the vineyards; spring brings green vines and mild temperatures. In winter it can be cold and foggy at that altitude, but visits continue by reservation.
Who goes and what to bring
The tastings are for adults. Bring comfortable footwear for walking among the vines, which have volcanic sand and stone underfoot, and a layer: at 800 m it gets cool in the afternoon. If you are seriously interested in wine, ask when booking for a tasting by contrada or of old vintages.
How it fits into your day
Combine a morning at a winery with Randazzo, the medieval village built of lava stone, or with a train ride along the northern slope. If the volcano is what you are after, the southern slope concentrates the excursions: the Funivia dell'Etna and the summit craters with a guide leave from the Rifugio Sapienza.

## Dónde comer
- **Cave Ox, restaurant, pizzeria and wine cellar in Solicchiata** (Restaurant, Solicchiata, Castiglione di Sicilia, €€). Qué pedir: the fusilloni with Bronte pistachio, the Etna bistecca by weight or a pizza from the wood-fired oven, with an Etna red from its cellar.
- **Ristorante Veneziano, mushroom and black pork cooking in Randazzo** (Restaurant, Randazzo, €€). Qué pedir: the Delizie dello Chef, twelve small starters for €22, and then the mushroom soup or the tagliolini alla boscaiola.
- **Case Perrotta restaurant, Etna farm-stay cooking in Sant'Alfio** (Restaurant, Sant'Alfio, €€€). Qué pedir: the house delights with fried items, the maccheroni al ragù with aubergine and baked ricotta, and the grill served on a roof tile.

## By plane: Fly to Catania and hire a car to the volcano
Catania is the gateway to Etna: there are direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Seville, and the airport is at the foot of the volcano. From there, the Rifugio Sapienza and the south-slope cable car are about 45 minutes by car, and Linguaglossa, on the north slope, about 40 minutes from Catania on the motorway towards Messina.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Shalai, hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant in Linguaglossa** (Small hotel): Shalai is a small hotel inside a former 19th-century stately residence, in the centre of Linguaglossa, the village on Etna's northeast slope from which the road to Piano Provenzana climbs. It has 13 rooms and suites, an intimate spa and the restaurant of chef Giovanni Santoro, born in the village, who won the Michelin star in 2015 and keeps it in the 2025 guide. It is the bed for those who come to Etna also to eat and drink well: the wineries of Castiglione di Sicilia and Passopisciaro are a quarter of an hour away.
The house and the rooms
The building belongs to the Pennisi family, who commissioned the renovation from the architects Lucia Papa and Paola Mariotto. It preserves the original 19th-century tiles in the bar corner and, upstairs, a lounge with frescoed vaults. The same painted vaults cover the two junior suites: one with a private terrace, of 18 m², and another with a balcony, both for three people at most.
The rest are rooms of simple lines, white and bright: a Deluxe with a shared small terrace for three, a Superior with a balcony, two under the roof (a double and a Family Executive for four), an 18 m² twin or double, a 16 m² double for single use and a 14 m² single with a balcony. All have a scent of their own, of orange, which the hotel has created for its spaces.
The spa and the restaurant
To reach the spa you cross a small inner garden. The circuit lasts an hour and includes a sauna, Turkish bath and a hydromassage tub with salt water instead of chlorine, with a herbal tea at the end. It opens by reservation from 9:30 to 13:00 and from 15:00 to 19:30, and the website says it is now for the exclusive use of whoever books. There are body and face treatments with Comfort Zone products.
The restaurant alternates fish from nearby markets and meat from local farms selected by the chef's family butcher's, with some vegetable-only dishes. The Michelin Guide mentions four tasting menus and an à la carte menu; the best-known dessert is Lumìa, made with lemon. The cellar is in the premises next to the hotel and the lounge bar serves sweet wines and spirits. The website does not publish the restaurant's hours or prices: book a table on its online system or by phone.
Getting there and what is nearby
From Catania airport it is 58 km: A18 motorway towards Messina, Fiumefreddo exit and the 120 road towards Randazzo as far as Linguaglossa. The hotel reckons 40 minutes to Catania, 20 to Randazzo and 25 to Taormina and to Etna North. With prior reservation it arranges transfers. The website does not mention private parking.
From here you have the tastings at the north-slope wineries and the Linguaglossa station of the Circumetnea train to hand. For the cable car or the summit craters with a guide, which leave from the south slope, allow more than an hour by car.
- **Rifugio Sapienza, hotel at 1,910 metres beside the Etna cable car** (Hotel): Rifugio Sapienza is the building you see in every photo of Etna's south slope: a mountain hotel at 1,910 m, on the esplanade where the Nicolosi road, the car park, the lower cable car station and the guides' hut all end. It has a hotel, restaurant, pizzeria and bar. Sleeping here serves one specific purpose: being up there when the first cable car goes up and before the cars and coaches from Catania arrive, or seeing the extinct cones at sunset, when the esplanade empties.
The rooms
There are 20 doubles, triples, quads and quintuples, with simple wooden furniture, a private bathroom with shower or bath, television and free wifi. Those on the upper floors are attic rooms. The hotel highlights the views over the coasts of Sicily and Calabria. The four- and five-bed rooms suit families or groups who come to hike.
Rooms are booked on the booking engine of its website. The website does not publish prices, check-in or check-out times, or whether breakfast is included: ask when you book. Nor does it say whether it closes for any season.
Eating and what is on the esplanade
On the ground floor is the restaurant, serving Sicilian cooking with local produce, with a pizzeria and bar; they take table bookings on WhatsApp on the same number as the hotel and have the menu on a separate website. The shop sells craft beer, Etna wines, pistachio pesto, jams, honey and liqueurs. From the Rifugio itself you can book guided excursions and hire bicycles.
A few steps away are the Funivia dell'Etna and the Tour 3000, the Baita delle Guide, from where the excursion to the summit craters and the trek to the Valle del Bove leave, and, across the road, the Silvestri Craters, which you walk round on foot for free.
Getting there
By car, from Catania on the 120 road and via Nicolosi: the Rifugio reckons about 45 minutes. There is parking on the esplanade. Without a car, the AST bus leaves Piazza Giovanni XXIII in Catania at 8:15 and arrives at 10:15; the return leaves around 16:30 and the return fare is about €6.60, at the ticket office or on board. Check the timetable on the AST website before you go, because it changes with the season.
At this altitude it is cold almost all year and in winter it snows: bring a coat even if it is hot in Catania, and in winter have your car ready for snow.
- **Case Perrotta, organic farm stay in Sant'Alfio, on Etna's east slope** (Country house): Case Perrotta is an organic farm stay in Sant'Alfio, on Etna's east slope, at about 800 m, halfway between the Ionian Sea and the volcano. From the estate you see the sea and the summit craters. It is a country house for those who come by car and want to sleep among olive and chestnut trees, have breakfast on what the estate produces and have a restaurant at home at the weekend. It is 40 km from Catania airport and 10 km from Giarre-Riposto station.
Two buildings with history
The rooms are in two nearby buildings. La Casa was first a convent: when it became a farming estate, the monks' cells became the family's home, where they came in summer and for the grape harvest. Today it has five large rooms with barrel vaults, each named after a flower.
Il Palmento is the winery, built around the middle of the 19th century for treading the grapes and carrying out the first fermentation of the must, and it worked until 1990. It keeps the marks of that work and houses another five rooms with wooden ceilings, named after fruit trees of the estate.
All have their own heating, a bathroom with bath or shower and hairdryer, minibar, kettle with tea, coffee and chocolate, satellite television and a safe. The soaps are made from olive oil and are sold in the estate shop. There is free wifi and a book-swap corner.
Breakfast, restaurant and experiences
Breakfast is a continental buffet from 8:30 to 10:00 with produce from the estate. The restaurant serves regional cooking of Catania and Etna with what they grow, wild herbs and old recipes of the monzù, the cooks of noble houses. It is open at lunchtime on Saturday and Sunday, from 13:00 to 14:30, and for dinner from Friday to Sunday, always by reservation; closed on Monday. It has its own restaurant page.
The house organises excursions on Etna, oil tastings, Sicilian cooking classes, herb-gathering outings and the Treno dei Vini dell'Etna, a train journey through the wineries.
Getting there and what is nearby
You need a car: the estate is about 40 km from Catania airport and 10 km from Giarre-Riposto station, the nearest. Reception is open from 9:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00; at weekends, without a midday break. Check-in is from 17:00 and check-out until 11:00; if you need another time, ask.
From here, the Valle del Bove and the Zafferana slope are close, and the Rifugio Sapienza with the cable car is reached by mountain road.

## As a family: Etna with the family

Children understand a volcano when they step on lava. With them, the southern slope is the easiest: the Rifugio Sapienza has extinct cones next to the road and the cable car goes up without any walking.

### What works best
The Silvestri Craters, free and in under an hour

The cable car and the Tour 3000, to see the upper part without a long walk

The Circumetnea train, to go round the volcano among villages and pistachio groves

### Where to sleep
Nicolosi, half an hour from the Rifugio Sapienza

### Where to eat
Arancini and granita in Catania; pistachios from Bronte

### Keep in mind
It is cold at the top all year round: warm clothes for everyone

The crater excursion has a child price for ages 7 to 14, but it is very demanding

### Qué hacer as a family
- Etna cable car and 4x4 ride up to 3,000 metres
- Silvestri Craters, next to the Rifugio Sapienza
- Circumetnea train around the volcano

## With teenagers: Etna for teenagers

An active volcano with fumaroles is a plan that convinces any teenager. If they are fit, the climb to the craters is the experience; if not, the Tour 3000 stays close.

### What works best
The summit craters with a guide, at more than 3,300 m

The Tour 3000, by 4x4 or snowcat

The Valle del Bove, to walk inside the caldera

### Where to sleep
Nicolosi, to set off early

### Where to eat
A sandwich for the summit; arancini on the way back

### Keep in mind
The climb to the summit takes five or six hours at high altitude

It can be cancelled because of volcanic activity: have a plan B

### Qué hacer with teenagers
- Etna summit craters with a volcanology guide
- Etna cable car and 4x4 ride up to 3,000 metres
- Guided trek into the Valle del Bove

## Consejos

### Go up in the morning
Clouds usually cover the summit from midday.

### Bring a jacket even in summer
At 3,000 m it's cold and windy.

### Leave a spare day
If the summit is closed because of activity or wind, you can try another day.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### Can you climb to the summit?
Yes, with a guide. The excursion to the summit craters costs from €130 and takes about five or six hours.

### How much does the cable car cost?
€54 return to 2,500 m, or €82 with the 4x4 and the guide to near 3,000 m.

### Is there anything free?
The Crateri Silvestri, next to the Rifugio Sapienza, can be walked round on foot with no entry fee.

### Does the Circumetnea train run on Sundays?
No. It doesn't run on Sundays or public holidays.

### Where should I stay?
At the Rifugio Sapienza, at 1,910 m, for the cable car and the craters; in Linguaglossa, at Shalai, for the northern slope and wineries; at Case Perrotta, in Sant'Alfio, for the eastern slope; or in Catania if you don't have a car.