Messina tour to Taormina

Has anyone found a tour company that does a day trip to Taormina from the port of Messina for a reasonable price?

We did a customized tour of Taormina and surroundings with RomeInLimo in October which was excellent. €550 for a group of eight.

The highlight in Messina is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Messina "which contains the biggest and most complex mechanical and astronomical clock in the world. Designed by the firm Ungerer of Strasbourg it was inaugurated in 1933 and is the city’s main attraction even today. At noon a complex system of counterweights, leverages and gears, determines the movement of the gilded bronze statues located in the façade. The mechanism moves every day at 12.00am and lasts 12 minutes."

Other than that, everyone recommends we go to the nearby town of Taormina. "The climate is a dream, its position, perfect panoramas, monuments and luxurious flora and fauna render Taormina a location admired by all who visit it. The city lies on a terrace, with a view of the ancient Greek Amphitheater against a backdrop of citrus groves with Mount Etna engulfed in the glory of the Ionian Sea beyond."

Consider simply setting up transportation each way and explore Taormina on your own! We booked it here: https://www.tourshuttle.com/EN/ITALY/transfer_Messina-Port_Taormina.html

Our minibus leaves from Cathedral Square near the Cathedral of Messina at 12:30 pm (following the noon performance) and heads over to Taormina for the afternoon. Travel time is a 49 minutes each way (call it an hour). Drop-off at Ancient Theatre of Taormina. Pick-up at 17:00 (5:00 pm) at Ancient Theatre of Taormina. Arrive port before 6:00 pm

Cost is 126 Euros each way / 252 Euros roundtrip.

That’s 31,50 Euros per person for an 8-person van.

(plus E10pp for admissions and E3pp driver tip).

I organized a little group (6) and we took a shuttle and explored on our own. It was very easy. This is the email for pricing maurizio.vita@libero.it

It was very very inexpensive. (like 30 euro each return)

Thanks folks. That give me a couple of options

I rented a car from Avis just down the street from the dock fully insured for $60eu in October. It was a very easy drive on the highway. I had googled a paid parking lot which provided a shuttle into town. We drove to Castelmola and spent 90 minutes there and spent a about 3 hours in Taormina. I think it took less than a hour to drive there but I factored 2.5 hours for the drive back and managed to see the clock and church in Messina as well.

I would recommend it if you have 8 hours in port. There was 4 of us so the cost was minimal.

I rented a car from Avis just down the street from the dock fully insured for $60eu in October. It was a very easy drive on the highway. I had googled a paid parking lot which provided a shuttle into town. We drove to Castelmola and spent 90 minutes there and spent a about 3 hours in Taormina. I think it took less than a hour to drive there but I factored 2.5 hours for the drive back and managed to see the clock and church in Messina as well.

 

I would recommend it if you have 8 hours in port. There was 4 of us so the cost was minimal.

This sounds very nice. I would like to do the same.

Can you share where is the paid parking lot? Also where does the shuttle go?

Thanks in advance.

.

http://www.gotaormina.com/en/taormina/parking.html

We drove up to Castelmola on the hill first and parked in a paid lot 50 yards from the town. We then drove back down the hill to a parkade called Lumbi. It holds a lot of cars and is secure. They shuttle you up the hill to Taormina. The streets are too narrow for parking cars. Just make sure you program everything in your gps before leaving Messina. I input everything before reaching Europe.

We used Sicily with Mario and went to both Taormina and Castelmola. There were eight of us. Nice roomy van and great driver. We went for cannolis in Messina on the way back to the ship. Highly recommend.

http://www.sicilywithmario.com/

And we used sicilywithsebastian.com. Our driver was Gianni for what that is worth. The price was reasonable for a group of 8.

A couple of notes: Gianni is NOT a licensed guide but for this tour he did just fine. We were all very pleased and tipped accordingly.

Also, Diane who arranged the tour paid a deposit of EUR79 ... the balance due on the day in cash was EUR310 for a group of 8.

Mura