RCL's "Mt. Etna Scenic Drive" excursion--how long do you spend hiking at the Craters?

[mikeerdas]

I typically hate paying for excursions (most ports I easily do myself). What is the "Mt. Etna Scenic Drive" excursion like, and how much time are you able to spend walking around the Silvestri Crater area? Is it a 15 min to 30 min affair, then back in the bus / mostly driving all day? Or are you able to spend at least an hour or more at Silvestri Crater? I realize you don't summit on this trip (and the weather might be bad in late September when I'll be there), but it wouldn't be worth it to me to simply hop out of the bus for 15 to 30 mins. Would rather do Taormina on my own (e.g. no excursion, just the public transport bus) and leisurely enjoy the town.

 

This is the only excursion I see listed with RCL. Is there a local tour company I should check out on my own for Mt. Etna excursions? And what might the weather be like at Silvestri Crater in late September?

[euro cruiser]

In case you haven't come across it, this is a tremendous site on visiting Etna: http://www.etnaexcursions.org/

 

Also, you might get more responses to your question about the RCL excursion if you cross-post on the RCL board, if you haven't already.

[mikeerdas]

We spent 60 minutes at Silvestri Craters (~2000 meters high) on RCL's excursion to Mt. Etna. Plenty of time for me to walk around and nice for my wife as she is not a hiker.