Etna Volcano: South Side Guided Summit Hike

Recommended by 97% of travelers

Catania, Italy

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

6 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Reach the dramatic summit of Europe’s highest active volcano with this guided hike to the peak of Mount Etna. Join a volcanologist guide for a two-hour walk up across the lunar landscape of lava fields, passing lava flow channels, side craters, and hissing steam and smoke vents along the way. Take in views of the surrounding Sicilian countryside and coastline from your 3,000-meter (11,000-foot) perch.

A scenic hike to the summit of Mount Etna with a volcanologist guide
Cable car or 4x4 bus (own expense) to the trail at 2,900 meters (9,500 feet)
Safety helmet, hiking boots, poles, windbreakers, and gloves provided
Stop to rest and snap photos of the bird's-eye views during the hike

What's Included

Helmet
Trekking boots
Insurance and Volcanological Guides
Trekking sticks

Bottled water

Bottle of water
Snacks

Snack and food
Cable car and 4x4 jeep tickets (65€ per person) to be paid locally

€65.00 per person
Pick up transfer service from Catania or around
Wind jacket

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Ashàra Etna & Stromboli Guides
Piazzale Rifugio Sapienza, 95030 Nicolosi CT, Italy
Departure from Piazzale Rifugio Sapienza at our Ashàra's Info point located close to Terrazza dell'Etna Restaurant

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.8:00 am

What To Expect

Itinerario Crateri Sommitali

Valle Del Bove

Mount Etna

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
People have to be in a perfect physical conditions. The level is medium-high
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Nathan_S

Loved it! A fascinating experience. We were a little disappointed that we couldn’t go to the summit because of unsafe conditions (too much vapor and gas coming out of the main crater), but there was still a lot to see elsewhere on the mountain from past erruptions —craters, lava flows, lava lakes, lava tubes, lava bombs, spatter cones. António was an excellent guide. He was very knowledgeable about volcanology. We covered about 10 km on foot, a lot of it on uneven ground, so you definitely need to be ready for some hiking.. I highly recommend this tour.

Reviews

4.9

based on 312 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

I loved this Mt. Etna tour

Nathan_S, Nov 2025

Fantastic Volcano Hike

David_W, Sep 2025

Fantastic! Our guide Max was very professional and engaging taking us to the summit craters and explaining history and geology of the volcano, all while keeping us alert to the dangers of an active volcano. The hike is strenuous going up so you need to be in somewhat good shape. It’s more challenging on the decent as the soil on the trail is slippery, maybe approx 8 km in total. You will experience an active adventure most people will never see in their lives.

Tour Mt Etna with a great guide

Susan_L, Nov 2024

Antonio was an excellent guide blending knowledge of vulcano science with a great tour of the landscape and Etna history. He had great energy and was fun to be with. Highly recommended

Worthwhile, fun & physically challenging learning experience

Susan_C, Oct 2024

We are very glad we signed up for this tour of Mt Etna. Our guide, Antonio was a knowledgeable, energetic geologist who was very respectful of the power of Mt. Etna! He clearly conveyed the dangers of this active volcano and detailed the benefits of the volcanic soil for the region. The tour was a rigorous climb, but we took frequent breaks and hiked slowly up the black soil landscape. (Be sure to wear dark colored clothing!) It was fun meeting all the other tourists from all over the world! It was a fun group!

Amazing adventure with an amazing guide

Nicole_M, Oct 2024

This was a wild adventure. Absolutely loved it. Highly recommend. Tour guide was amazing. Even without getting right to the summit or seeing lava, this tour is a solid 10/10 must do. You’ll have a blast. Surprised is wasn’t as intense of a challenge physically as I expected. But bring a good lunch, lots of water, good windbreaker, long pants, tall socks, a neck sock or scarf, and a thin hat. Thin gloves too if you’re a bit of a wimp like me. And solid big shoes. The wind is insane and you’re walking in a lot of deep sand and gravel.

Awful logistics & planning by the provider

Ari_Y, Sep 2024

The practical side of the hike and the tour guide’s (Fabio) knowledge & attitude were excellent but the tour logistics were awful. After booking, we received a WhatsApp message with all the details and arrived early (after a very long journey). We were then told there wasn’t enough space with the tour company (Ashàra) so they had outsourced our booking to another company (Aitne) for a later tour. When we tried to discuss this with Aitne, they said it was”wasn’t their problem” as we hadn’t booked directly with them.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Good evening Ari, We are sorry for this feedback but I think this review is dictated by your frustration because nothing went wrong that day. Of course, you booked with us but as we often work together with the other agency, for a reason of internal organization (not space) we simply ''moved'' you 2 and also another couple to the other agency. Same tour, same knowledgeable guides, same equipment and day spent wonderfully...I don’t understand what went wrong, except maybe what you ate the night before

The best way to discover Vulcan Etna

Lukas_G, May 2024

beautiful environment with a competend guid. A good fitness level is required but other wise a simple walk

VERY HARD, but interesting and overall rewarding experience.

Frank_T, Apr 2023

OK, this reviewer is 67 yrs old, but in good shape and accustomed to hiking - this is a HARD hike. Steep, uneven and at times slippery surfaces. You need good hiking shoes and I strongly recommend hiking poles. Be prepared..that’s all I’m saying. Bring lunch- you can buy a sandwich, etc at the Refugio before starting. You will stop for lunch near the top of your hike. It’s a welcome break and allows you to recharge before one final climb and then heading down. We enjoyed our guide, Philippo, and thought he did a great job of showing us the mountain. Strenuous, but well worth it.

Great experience... guide...

Gwynne_S, Oct 2022

Great experience... guide was very knowledgeable and kept us safe. Would recommend this tour to others.

One of the most thrilling experiences.

Jorge_T, Sep 2022

I really want to thank the Whole Team at Ashàra Volcanological Guides we had a great experience It was my first time doing this type of activities, and It was all managed on time and with great professionalism, they provided us with the necessary equipment, and made sure we felt safe. They even managed to book a drive to pick us up in such short notice. I want to thank Simon our Guide, because he shared great knowledge in volcanology, shared interesting facts about Mount Etna with us, and guided us with his great Leadership skills. I was having second thoughts on doing the last crater path since I am a little scared of heights and he was very caring and made me feel safe and helped me finish this tour. Awesome experience. I was so proud and happy when I came down.

Great adventure

Stefan_K, Jul 2022

Hiking close to the „fresh“ lavastreams, the views in the old craters and finally the experience of such a tour and the knowledge of Massimo to explain everything

Great tour

Aathmika_K, May 2022

Marco and Angelo were great tour guides - they shared a lot of information, looked out for the whole group and helped when I was a little slower than the rest of the group. The company was very responsive and helped book a transfer to Catania to the start of the tour. The group was great and it was nice to do more of a hike than the other tours involving the cable car and then taking a jeep. Would recommend!

Great experience

Wendy_S, Apr 2022

The vulcanologist guide was very knowledgeable. The hike was quite rigorous, very windy and cold, but stunningly beautiful. The group size was a little too large, meaning you have to push to the front to hear the guide or miss out on the information, but this seemed true of all the guided groups.

great experience

Jeanfrancois_B, Jun 2025

be in good physical shape and able to withstand the max altitude of 3000m Provide warm clothing hat and gloves

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Una de las mejores experiencias de la vida

Asier_E, Jul 2024

Estuvo espectacular. Es verdad que tuvimos suerte, pudimos ver el volcan erupcionando y la climatologia nos ayudo para ello. Los guias muy majos, especialmente Max que estuvo con nosotros. Una de las mejores experiencias que hemos tenido en la vida, simplemente fascinante.

Randonnee très abordable,...

gay_a, Apr 2024

Randonnee très abordable, Fabio était attentionné et donner régulièrement des informations interessantes.Nous garderons de beaux souvenirs en famille de cette expérience.

Mega tolles...

Barbara_F, Apr 2023

Mega tolles unvergessliches Erlebnis. Wir waren bei Minus 10 grad und Schnee auf dem Gipfel. Die Aussicht auf Catania, Meer und Wolken war einzigartig

Super Erlebnis

Mario_C, Jun 2022

Ich dachte mir am Anfang. Man wird hoch Wandern und wieder runter. Nix da. Ich habe einen Super Einblick zum Ätna bekommen und wirklich sehr viel gelernt. Nun sehe ich dieses Wunder aus einer ganz anderen Perspektive. Absolut Top Guides. Danke an Fabio und Massimo. Absolut Empfehlenswert.

Zuerst warm dann kalt

Roland_S, May 2022

Great organization. Ich war überrascht am anfang nur einen van als sammelpunkt zu zu sehen. Es stellte sich aber heraus das die tour guids richtige profis sind. Wir sind nicht die uebliche touristen route gegangen und es ist auch etwas herausfordernt. Also gutes schuhwerk unbedingt. Wird gratis angeboten und macht auch sinn. Es war anfangs ein t-shirt tag. Angenehm und klare sicht bis ins tal. Danach wechselt das wetter schnell und ich war froh haube. Handschuhe und extra jacke mitzuhaben. Zum glueck gab es ein paar hot spot um sich wieder aufzuwaermen. Das ist natuerlich ungewoehnlich wenn einige meter unter der erkaltende erde noch heisse laver ist. Es war ein toller ausflug und selbst mit hohen gasaktivitaeten konnten wir auf 3000 m. Wir waren eine der wenigen gruppen da wir richtige vulkanologen haben. Max ear super also ohne risiko eine tolle tour.

Sehenswert und toller Guide!

fberger1986, Sep 2019

Wir hatten einen tollen Tag auf dem Ätna mit Massimo! Wir trafen morgens am ausgemachten Treffpunkt auf Max. Wir könnten dort direkt kostenlos parken und er erklärte uns die Tagesroute. Dazu bekamen wir kostenlos Wanderstiefel und Stöcke. Sonstige Kleidung kann man bei ihm ausleihen für geringe Kosten. Gute Kleidung ist wichtig, oben zieht der Wind stark und die Sonne ist auch nicht zu unterschätzen. Die Kosten für die Seilbahn und die Fahrt mit dem Bus (50€)sind separat, war aber angegeben! Den Kauf erledigte er schnell und problemlos für uns. Anschließend ging es nach oben und er zeigte uns in einer tollen Führung die verschiedenen Krater und den Umständen entsprechend den aktiven Krater aus sicher Entfernung aber mit bester Sicht! Wir waren einige Stunden unterwegs aber es wurde nie langweilig! Tolle Bilder und viele Infos zur Historie inbegriffen. Wir können die Tour absolut empfehlen, es war ein toller Tag mit tollem Guide, würden wir jederzeit wieder machen!!

Response from Host, Sep 2019

Danke für die Bewertung. Wir freuen uns, dass alles gut gelaufen ist und Sie fanden unsere Tour interessant und nützlich, unsere Informationen und unsere Dienstleistungen. Vielen Dank, dass Sie uns Ashàra anvertrauen. Wir freuen uns auf weitere Ausflüge. Auf Wiedersehen