Need Advice Taormina to Catania & Sicily Trains/Buses

[Juvesgirl]

We are sailing on a cruise out of Messina, Sicily. After the cruise, we are spending one night in Taormina. The next day, we fly from Catania to Rome. We need to figure out how we will get from Taormina to Catania. Our flight leaves Catania airport at 4:55pm on July 31.

 

Taxi seems too expensive, so I have narrowed it down to bus or train.

 

Train: From what I understand, the train station is not near Taormina town, so we would have to take a taxi from our hotel with our luggage to the train station. We could take a 14:02 (2:02pm) train getting to Catania at 14:44 (2:44pm) or a 14:38 (2:38pm) train getting to Catania at 15:25 (3:25pm). I think the 14:02 would be better. I understand the train doesn't go to the airport, so I would need to then take a bus/shuttle to the airport.

 

Bus: The bus leaves from Taormina town, so we can either walk with our luggage or take a short taxi ride. The bus leaves Taormina 14:00 (2:00pm) and goes straight to the airport arriving 15:25 (3:25). There is also an earlier bus at 12:45pm, arriving 14:10 (2:10pm), but since we have only one night in Taormina, we were trying to maximize our time.

 

Even though the trip is longer, I prefer the bus because it goes straight to the airport. I am just a bit nervous because I feel like it is more likely for there to be traffic delaying the bus than for an issue with the train (there are no train strikes planned as of yet for that day!).

 

Any opinions?

 

Also, questions re: trains. In addition to the above train option, we plan to take the train from S. Agata di Militello to Messina Centrale the day our ship leaves 7/23. We also plan to take the train from Messina Centrale to Taormina the day our ship arrives 7/30.

 

First, someone mentioned that if you purchase train tickets in advance, they are less expensive. Is that true for regional Sicily trains? Are they much less expensive?

 

Second, do train tickets ever sell out? Should we buy in advance to avoid not being able to get on the train?

 

Third, if you buy the tickets in advance and you miss the train, do you have to buy a whole new ticket for the same route at a later time? I believe you can use a later ticket for an earlier time, but have to pay the difference.

 

You can't buy more than 7 days in advance for regional trains, so I need to find out if I have to try to purchase the tickets while on the ship. I can't purchase them yet online.

 

Finally, question re: bus. If we do decide to take the bus from Taormina to Catania, it doesn't seem you can purchase those tickets in advance online. We only get into Taormina the day before we need the bus ticket - do you think that is too late to book the bus ticket at that time? Do we even need to purchase the bus ticket in advance?

 

Sorry for all of the questions!!! Any help/advice is appreciated.