We will be staying in Taormina for three days and would like to spend perhaps a half day 'touring' Mount Etna. Is that enough? How to best do it? (We will not have a car until we leave Taormina).

Mike

Go to the tourist office in Taormina; they will have information about tour companies that "do" Mount Etna.

As much as I normally shy away from organized "tours", I think it is by far the best way to do this. We explored the possibility twice while there and couldn't come up with a logical way to do it on our own, with or without our own car. I regret "boycotting" the idea of taking a tour, as we missed our opportunity by doing so.

My friends and I stayed in Taormina for 4 nights in September 2005. We took a SAT tour to Etna from Taormina that left around 8:00 a.m. and we left Etna around Noon. That was the perfect amount of time to take the lift to the top (or at least as far as they will let you go) and then take a guided tour with a guide. If you are planning on hiking up the mountain solo or with a guided tour then an organized bus excursion will probably not work - make sure you arrange a car in advance to pick you up because taxis are not generally available at Etna. I wouldn't recommend hiking the mountain unless you are in really good shape. We booked the SAT Etna excursion with the help of our hotel but there are tour offices throughout Taormina. SAT's website is: www.sat-group.it. We took an all day island excursion with SAT from Taormina as well. One bit of advice - if the tour says it is leaving at 8:00 a.m.- it really means its leaving at 7:58 a.m. After a late night out in Taormina my friends and I were literally chasing the bus down the road the next morning....

thanks for the response folks!