The summit area of Etna at 3357m is restricted. You can get to the crater rim at 2900m reachable from Rifugio Sapienza at 1910m. Most people take the (30€) cable car from the rifugio to an elevation of 2500m from where it is possible to hike up. From Catania there is a bus (4€) to Rifugio Sapienza (some 40 km from the city). When I visited beginning of December there already were several centimeters of snow on part of the route. So take good shoes.

We spent only a few days in Catania, Taormina and Siracusa, so we didn’t have enough time to take a trip to the mountain. But we saw it from a distance from Taormina and Catania, too. It’s majestic with its snowy mountain peak! We must return and next time we will visit it.

Great place! It was really cold and winded so funicular didn't work. But you can have some special bus to climb to 2500 Meters. Absolutely worth. Amazing view from this height throw the snow and ice clouds Below you and piece of sea at the bottom.Take warm clothes !

Excellent, once in a lifetime experience. The bus cost €30 to a certain point. Then the cable car cost another €50 to 2500 metres or €78, I think to the top. 3230 metres approximately. There was snow on the mountains and the sun was shining brightly. The volcano is active.

We booked a guided morning hike on the northern slopes of Etna through Sicily Adventure in Taormina. Our guide Daniele was fantastico! Made the experience much more enjoyable than it would have been. Morning hike included about an hour of walking (spread out over about three hours), information about the geology, botany, and zoology of the mountain, and a lunch at a chalet (very good for an additional 15 euros). Highly recommended.

Cable car was a must but 50 euros each the views are spectacular. Cafe at top of mountain serving coffee and sandwiches. Very very windy and cold as snow at top so take coat but you can hire coats and boots at the top.

Mount Etna provides good views of the surroundings and the ash-covered terrain is impressive. However, at 50 euros each, the cable car ride up the mountainside is very expensive, about double what would be reasonable and there is very little in the way of information or displays once you arrive. To see the crater you must then pay another 28 euros for a bus to the top.

Our first full day in Sicily was up Mount Etna. A cable car up to 2100m, followed by a jeep ride and walk up to 2750m overlooking Ox Valley some 1000m below (5km wide and 7km long). Mount Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe at 3357 metres - although the height changes with each eruption. The last eruption was only November 2022. It was a great experience but extremely cold. Hiring coats for 5 euro each was a great idea. Cloud cover just seconds after some pictures taken meaning experience not so good for others.

I didn't look it up enough, I did not know but you can drive with your own car to the refuge, see the lower carters and then pay to take the chairlift to go to 2000m . You can pay even more to go higher. In case you don't know, you cannot go to the very top for safety reason. We only went to the first craters because it was too foggy to go higher. Nice view already.

Etna is a fabulous experience and a big part of our trip to this area. But the price of cable car + 4x4 bus + guide to 2750m is now €256 for 2 adults and 2 children (€78 per adult, €50 per child). Our guide was excellent but the tour was short; maybe 20 minutes. Breathtakingly expensive. They say you cannot walk unguided above 2500m. Next time when the kids are a bit older we will walk as much as possible!