Rifugio Sapienza

An incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience! We started our adventure at Rifugio Sapienza, located at 2,500 meters. Here, you'll find plenty of tour representatives eager to sell you packages, typically priced around €100 per person. However, you can also explore on your own. The cable cars (€68) will take you up to 2,900 meters, but for those feeling adventurous, you can trek up on foot by either following the road or taking a more direct—and faster—route straight up the hill. At 2,900 meters, you'll have the option to pay €26 for a bus and tour guide to take you up to 3,100 meters. Although they may tell you that going beyond 2,900 meters without a guide isn’t allowed, we saw plenty of people challenging themselves by continuing on their own. It’s as simple as following the road up, and the views are absolutely worth the effort. We decided to pay for the bus to 3,100 meters, where the tour guide gave a brief tour before leading us back to the bus. Instead, we chose to venture off on our own to fully immerse ourselves in the stunning surroundings before catching a bus back. Overall, I highly recommend trekking it without a tour guide. The experience is more authentic, the views are magnificent, and there’s no real need for a guide. Just follow the path, and let the breathtaking scenery unfold before you.

We are here only 2 nights. They cleaned room and replaced towels and soap. Restaurant food excellent. I had pork shank, porcini mushrooms and salad and bottle beer. We took a guided tour in Mt. Etna. Worth it. 9.30am to almost 3pm.

Tourist place with cable car station to go up the volcano. I recommend to come early in the morning and try to pass as many tourist groups as possible. 4x4 ticket to go up the mountain from 2.500m to 3000m is highly recommended!

Excellent location: great place to hike Etna, very close to the cable car. Great restaurant inside. Very friendly people. Reasonably clean rooms. Rooms and the amenities are basic, but fit for the purpose. Strange Sicilian habit present here as well- no lids on toilets.

We only had lunch there; we did not spend the night. After our trekking to Mount Etna, food felt delicious, although we suspected that prettymuch any food would have felt delicious at that moment... the service was good and looks like the best restaurant in the Etna explanade

If you wish to reach this place from Catania with lower costs, there is a public bus from Piazza Papa Giovanni XXIII, every day of the week, once a day. I noticed that Google Maps does not know this information, so the mafia of tourist agencies did their job very well. Sadly nowadays, tourist = cash-cow.

A great place to stay eith friendly staff. Rooms are basic but very clean. The cleaning staff tidied up the room daily and folded my clothes!! Fresh sheets daily! Very nice.

This is the main spot for your stop to the top of Etna. The entire place is black because of the volcanic eruptions through the years. Many gift shops, a nice restaurant and a hotel. From there you can take a lift to the 2500m stand where you can take a bus to the 2900m top. The parking is mostly free, even though we saw some signs for paid parking. We didn't see price, but 90% of the place was open space free to park. The lift is expensive but it's worth it. 50 euro for adults and 30 euro for children between 5 and 10 years just to get to 2500m spot and back. Also 28 euro for the bus from 2500 to 2900m, but last bus was at 15:45 so we missed out chance. The last cabin on the lift back is at 17:15. Apparently it's also a ski resort in the winter which was a great suprise for us. If you want to see a real crater there's one just at the end of the parking - free to visit, nothing more than 100m walking.

Good service, great food. Enjoyed the mixed fried appetizer which had a variety of delicious choices. My Etna pizza was delicious and tasted so fresh. This location is right in the Mt Etna touristy area, but was easy to get a table. Great prices as well.

Great food. Great service. Perfect feast for hiking a mountain. Thank you for your hospitality. House wine is the best. Mushroom ravioli was delicious.