Etna North or South Side?

Most guided Etna tours use the south side, where Rifugio Sapienza and the only cable car on the volcano are; the north side, at Piano Provenzana above Linguaglossa, has no cable car and is climbed by 4x4 or on foot.

You rarely choose the side directly. You choose a tour, and the tour, the wind and the day’s ordinance choose the side. Several operators say outright that they may switch.

See dates for the south-side trek →

The two sides at a glance

Etna Sud: Rifugio Sapienza and the cable car

The south side carries most of the tours we track, for a simple reason: it has the infrastructure. Rifugio Sapienza, at about 1,910 m, is the last point on the volcano you can reach by car or bus, along the SP 92 from Nicolosi. From there the Funivia dell’Etna, the only cable car on Etna, climbs to about 2,500 m; a return ticket is €54 adults and €31 children (to 10; under 5 free). The “Tour 3000” ticket adds the 4x4 bus and a guide for €82, as published for 2026.

Above the cable car, guided groups ride a 4x4 to about 2,900 to 3,000 m and walk from there. The listings name the stops: Torre del Filosofo at about 3,000 m, the Barbagallo crater, the edge of Valle del Bove, and on summit days the Central Crater and Bocca Nuova.

Tours that name the south side or its landmarks include:

• Summit and cable car tours that ride the cable car: Sicilying’s summit hike, Aitne Med’s crater trek, Ashàra’s 3,350 m trek, the Etna Guides 3,000 m trek, and Etna Touring’s tours from Ristorante La Cantoniera Etna. See Etna summit tours and Etna cable car tours.
• Hikes past the Silvestri Craters into Valle del Bove, ending at Rifugio Sapienza, such as Etnaround’s trek. See Etna hiking tours.
• Sunset tours that finish at Piano Vetore or the Silvestri Craters, such as Red Etna’s sunset tour, which stops at Rifugio Sapienza. See Etna sunset tours.

The Silvestri Craters, the extinct craters beside Rifugio Sapienza at about 1,900 m, are the south side’s free walk, though since October 2025 the landowner has charged a €5 entry ticket, with locals exempt.

Etna Nord: Piano Provenzana

On the north side the asphalt ends at Piano Provenzana, at about 1,800 m. The Mareneve road climbs to it from Linguaglossa through pine forest. Beyond that you continue on foot or in off-road vehicles; there is no cable car.

The north side carries a recent scar. In the night of 26 to 27 October 2002, a row of eruptive cones opened and destroyed the historic tourist facilities at Piano Provenzana within a few hours; the centre was rebuilt. Guide Vulcanologiche Etna Nord’s trek walks those 2002 craters for $40 in about 3 hours, with stops the listing names as a hotel buried by the lava flow, the 1911 cones and the 2002 fissure.

North-side tours we track:

• SAT Group’s upper craters tour by 4x4, $90, meeting at the Etna Travel Service office at Piano Provenzana, which says it reaches up to 2,900 m. You make your own way to the meeting point. See Etna jeep tours.
• Etna tour excursion’s jeep and trek, $90, which drives from Zafferana to North Etna above Linguaglossa and the Grotta delle Nevi cave, with shoes, jacket, hat and gloves lent.
• Noema’s half-day wine tasting, $67 from Taormina, at a winery in Linguaglossa. See Etna wine tours.

When the side changes on the day

Your booking names a meeting point, not a guarantee. Etna Touring’s listings say, in capitals, that “the guide reserves the right to change the itinerary and the starting side (south or north) at any time, depending on ground and wind conditions”. Ashàra warns it may change “the time or meeting points/side” and asks guests to stay reachable. Aitne Med’s listing quotes a north-side parking fee of €3 a day, a sign that its groups use both sides. And Sicilying keeps the right “to change the means of transportation used to reach the planned altitude”.

That is the honest answer to north or south: book the way up you want, keep your phone on the day before, and expect the guide to pick the side that is open and sheltered. How high anyone may go is decided on the day by the comuni’s ordinances on INGV’s advice, on both sides. For the rules, read can you hike Etna without a guide.

Which side suits you

• You want the summit craters: in practice, usually the south side. Most summit tours we track ride the south-side cable car first; two, etnahikers and Trip on Top, start at Piano Provenzana on the north side and go up by Unimog 4x4, with a €60 cash fee.
• You want a 4x4 to high altitude without the cable car: the north side’s 4x4 tours from Piano Provenzana.
• You are driving yourself: both bases are reachable by road. Rifugio Sapienza has the cable car; Piano Provenzana is the end of the Mareneve road.
• You are on a wine day: the tastings in the listings are in several towns, Linguaglossa and Zafferana Etnea among them; the side matters less than the tour.

The money works differently: on the south side the cable car and 4x4 are often paid in cash on site, while the two north-side 4x4 ascents (SAT Group and Alternativetna) include the vehicle in the price; the north-side summit treks charge €60 in cash for the Unimog. See how much an Etna tour costs, and if you are choosing a base town, Etna from Taormina or Catania.