stacycakes1 Posted November 22, 2010 #1 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Has anyone done the beach thing while docked in Messina Sicily? We though it would be nice to take that day to relax a bit being the rest of the trip will be so crazy. There is one beach excursion offered by Carnival but it is way expensive and would prefer to find something on our own. Would love it if there was a day resort we could go to that provides beach chairs, etc... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euro cruiser Posted November 22, 2010 #2 Share Posted November 22, 2010 The problem with finding a beach near Messina is that you are in a shipping channel, so you've got to go quite a bit south, or across the island to find a beach. Here's what I'd do: I'd try and book a hotel room on the beach on the other side of the island from Messina, along the waterfront between Villafranca Tirrena and Milazzo. A room for the day would be quite inexpensive, and grant you access to the beach as well as a private bathroom and place to change. Here's one resort that offers shuttle service from the bus station in Messina: http://www.labaiadiulisse.it/labaiadiulisse/eng/home.html I should say that I have not employed this strategy in Sicily, but have done it successfully here in the States. The desk clerk sometimes looks at you a little funny when you check out five hours after checking in ... but when you are beachfront that kind of thing happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christa521 Posted January 7, 2011 #3 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I've read that the beaches in Mortelle are nice, particularly Lido dei Tirreno. Mortelle is only 7.5 miles north of Messina, so this seems ideal...I hope someone who has been there or has some knowledge on the topic might chime in. My fiance and I are stopping in Messina on our honeymoon in June and would love to take a beach day there if it's possible. We haven't looked into day resorts yet but that's definitely what we'll be looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubofhockey Posted January 7, 2011 #4 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Just about every Carnival Med itinerary includes Palma de Mallorca. Isn't that a better port to do the beach? We are doing Mt Etna & Taormina when we get to Messing and going to the beach at Palma Nova or Magaluf when we get to Palma de Mallorca. Messina just seems like too good of a port to pass up for a beach day. Maybe I am missing something about Palma de Mallorca. I just didn't see anything there, other than the beach, that really stood out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare teacherman Posted January 7, 2011 #5 Share Posted January 7, 2011 We did a "Godfather Tour" with SicilyLife. Hooked up with 3 other couples on our Roll Call. It was one of the best tours we have done. I think there would be better places to do a beach day, like maybe the Caribbean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucyintheskywithdiamonds Posted January 21, 2011 #6 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have the same question. i'm hoping there's a beach close to port Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gailjen Posted June 2, 2013 #7 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Just bumping this up Also looking for a local beach as near to Messina port as possible, also details and approx cost by train/bus, there will be 4 of us so sometimes taxi's work out cheaper.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladywendolyn Posted June 7, 2013 #8 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Has anyone done the beach thing while docked in Messina Sicily? We though it would be nice to take that day to relax a bit being the rest of the trip will be so crazy. There is one beach excursion offered by Carnival but it is way expensive and would prefer to find something on our own. Would love it if there was a day resort we could go to that provides beach chairs, etc... Thanks! There is a beautiful town you can reach by train... Here us the info.. For either option, you must first get from the cruise terminal to the Messina Centrale station. When coming out of the port terminal building, take a left and keep walking. You will pass a large Martini sign and a gas station. When you see the Messina Maritima building, turn right, walk 150 m, then turn left. The train station will be in front of you. The Train- if you take the train, you must get off at the Giardini-Naxos station, which is a small seaside village with beaches. To get up the hill to Taormina, you can take a taxi or a bus. The bus is 1.20 euros. There should be one every 30 minutes. The bus terminal is a 5-10 minute walk to the pedestrian area of Taormina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kautostar Posted June 14, 2013 #9 Share Posted June 14, 2013 There is a beautiful town you can reach by train... Here us the info..For either option, you must first get from the cruise terminal to the Messina Centrale station. When coming out of the port terminal building, take a left and keep walking. You will pass a large Martini sign and a gas station. When you see the Messina Maritima building, turn right, walk 150 m, then turn left. The train station will be in front of you. The Train- if you take the train, you must get off at the Giardini-Naxos station, which is a small seaside village with beaches. To get up the hill to Taormina, you can take a taxi or a bus. The bus is 1.20 euros. There should be one every 30 minutes. The bus terminal is a 5-10 minute walk to the pedestrian area of Taormina. Thanks, we might give that a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perbinder Posted June 14, 2013 #10 Share Posted June 14, 2013 There are no beaches nearby that are easy to get to. The options we had was 1. Hire a car for 35 euros for the day and travel over to the other side of the island 2 stay on the ship. The ship was empt so we had the pools to ourselves until 3pm. Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdooley Posted June 15, 2013 #11 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Can you rent a car near the port? Where do you find a tour of the island for 35 euros? Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdooley Posted June 15, 2013 #12 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Sorry, misread the previous post about the car hire. Where is the car rental near the port? Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perbinder Posted June 15, 2013 #13 Share Posted June 15, 2013 When I was looking there were 3 car hire agencies all which were bookable online. Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtahCruiser67 Posted July 17, 2013 #14 Share Posted July 17, 2013 If you're just looking for a place with sand, a chair, and an umbrella, there is a private beach in Messina about 3km from the port. We just got back from a cruise with a stop in Messina. We tried to get on the Carnival beach excursion to Giardini-Naxos but it was sold out. The tourist desk in the port put us on to this local beach option. You should ask them for specifics as you leave the boat. To get there, take the tram (right outside the cruise port) all the way to the end of the line. (We made the mistake of walking. Don't try that.) I think the last stop is called the Museum stop, but you'll know you're there because it's the end of the line. You'll have to walk another quarter mile or so, but eventually you'll see it on the right. You will see several "public" beaches as you walk, characterized by lots of small boats, locals, and a fair amount of garbage. Keep going and look for a beach-side restaurant connected to the beach access point. It should be noticeable due to the chairs and umbrellas, which the public beaches do not have. This is not a five-star beach nor the French Riviera, but for 5 Euros you get access to a chair and umbrella and the view is actually quite pleasant, looking out across the strait. I'd give it a good 2 stars, 3 on a nice day. I'm sure there are nicer beaches farther from town, but this one was good enough for us. Quiet, safe, and clean. They also have a pool, which we didn't try, but apparently you must have a swimcap (can be rented) and it sounded like the water was pretty chilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingtide Posted August 23, 2013 #15 Share Posted August 23, 2013 We also did the beach in Messina. We were a party of 8 and we took a taxi and he took us on a 10 min. ride along the beachfront to the public beach for 20 Euros (one way). It was nice - the water was clean and the views were very beautiful. There were some jellyfish in the waters but it did not deter anyone from going in. The water was not as warm as in Nice, Monaco or Mallorca. There are shops nearby to get snacks all along the waterfront and the locals were very friendly. Definitely, there are better beaches elsewhere but it was a pleasant and relaxing day which is what we were aiming for. The hop-on-hop-off tours also take you to a private beach for very cheap - I believe 5 Euros per person (more if you also want a tour of the city of Messina) which seems like a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tartatin Posted August 26, 2013 #16 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Hello, We have been to Mortelle beach last July. We took a cab and he drove us to one of the private manage location there where you can have for a fix price chairs, umbrellas, changing rooms & toilets. The taxi driver came back 4 hours later to drive us back to the boat. There was a small restaurant where we had a nice homemade lunch made with fresh vegetables from the lady's garden. The place was clean and we had a nice day swimming & relaxing. The beach was really nice, long walk. There are many of these private locations and some of them have outside pools also. Many families were sharing taxi to get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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