Etna by Jeep from Catania: Lunch Included, Vegan Menu on Request

Pick-up is between 8:00 and 8:30, near your hotel or accommodation in Catania, and the environmental guide travels with you in the Jeep for the whole day rather than meeting you at the top. Arrival on the mountain takes about an hour. The first stop is a lava flow cave, entered with torches and helmets handed over by the guide. Then a short break at the bar at 2,000 metres, where there are souvenir shops if you want them, before the two-hour walk in the Silvestri Craters area, on a path across old lava flows. The walk is graded to the group. Having an environmental guide along means the pace gets set by whoever is slowest rather than by the schedule, which is what makes this workable for people who would not call themselves hikers. At 12:30 there is a tasting of Sicilian products and a light lunch. A vegan or vegetarian menu can be requested when you book, not on the day. Boots and jackets are for hire at 5 € each, worth knowing in advance: at 2,000 metres the weather is not the weather in Catania. Return is around 14:00 to 14:30. One condition applies to cruise passengers: if fewer than four people are booked, the tour runs as a private one, with a supplement of 100 € payable on the day.