Mount Etna from Taormina

[BeccaBean]

Can anyone recommend a good day trip / half day trip to Mount Etna from Taormina where we can walk, get some good views and visit a lava cave but not get the cable car to the top? Needs to be suitable for an 8 year old. Thanks!

The cablecar doesn't go to the top. It goes halfway up and the walks start there.

Why don't you want to get the cable car?

There's multiple options advertised in the town, but no public bus so you need to book a tour. I saw tour groups there but we were driving.

Have a look at Get Your Guide website - or as mentioned by PP there are loads of trips offered locally.

Oh, I thought you could do walks before the cable car.

I have an irrational fear of cable cars.

We booked through tourofsicily.com and had a great day, the driver picked us up from our hotel (we weren’t staying in Taormina though) and took us to Etna and we had a good few hours to explore. If you don’t fancy going to the top on the cable car and walking the rest, there are lots of walks around the car park / visitors centre, our kids preferred those walks where we were on our own.