Taormina

[googalini]

My family abd I are debating between taking a ship excursion vs a private tour for Taormina. While the private tour offers convenience and flexibility, it also costs more. The ship's tour promises approximately 4 hours of free time in Taormina. It is supposedly a one-hour trip each way from the port of Messina to Taormina and back.

 

Can anyone advise if 4 hours is enough time to see the major sites in town, e.g., Greek Theatre, churches, shopping, etc, and also get down to the beach area?

 

Also, are all the major sites within walking distance of each other?

 

Last but not least, the private tour also offers a stop in a town above Taormina called Castelmola. Has anyone been there? Is it worth a look?

 

Thanks for your help.

[luvdasea]

I think there is enough time on the Carnival tour. I was going to do that if I couldn't get a small bus together. Unfortunately we are full.

I looked up that Castelmola-seemed alittle too risque for my kids. Google the bar there and you'll see what I mean.

[lambs2]

My family abd I are debating between taking a ship excursion vs a private tour for Taormina. While the private tour offers convenience and flexibility, it also costs more. The ship's tour promises approximately 4 hours of free time in Taormina. It is supposedly a one-hour trip each way from the port of Messina to Taormina and back.

 

Can anyone advise if 4 hours is enough time to see the major sites in town, e.g., Greek Theatre, churches, shopping, etc, and also get down to the beach area?

 

Also, are all the major sites within walking distance of each other?

 

Last but not least, the private tour also offers a stop in a town above Taormina called Castelmola. Has anyone been there? Is it worth a look?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

 

Four hours is plenty of time to see all the sites in Taormina but not for getting down to the beach area as you have to take a tram and then a bus and rely on the public transportation system. I wouldn't risk that while on a ship's tour as you might very well get stranded! :eek: They wanted us to stay up in Taormina and not wander more than the few tourist streets there which are mostly all pedestrian. We took the ship tour because we only had a less than six hour port stop and wanted to be absolutely sure we got back to the ship in time. Otherwise, we would have gone to Taormina on the train and/or buses on our own like we do in most European ports. If you want to do all that you mention you are much better off going with the privately arranged tour, IMHO.

[Jade13]

My family abd I are debating between taking a ship excursion vs a private tour for Taormina. While the private tour offers convenience and flexibility, it also costs more. The ship's tour promises approximately 4 hours of free time in Taormina. It is supposedly a one-hour trip each way from the port of Messina to Taormina and back.

 

Can anyone advise if 4 hours is enough time to see the major sites in town, e.g., Greek Theatre, churches, shopping, etc, and also get down to the beach area?

 

Also, are all the major sites within walking distance of each other?

 

Last but not least, the private tour also offers a stop in a town above Taormina called Castelmola. Has anyone been there? Is it worth a look?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

We had to make this same decision and the ships tour for two is cheaper than the private which I was told was 1 hour each way to Taormina. Which private tour company says they have time to take you to another town? We have to be back at our ship at about 1:00pm for a 2:00pm departure.

 

Another comment is that I know others on a ships tour last (to another location) and they said multiple tours were over an hour late getting back but of course the ship waited.

[lambs2]

Another comment is that I know others on a ships tour last (to another location) and they said multiple tours were over an hour late getting back but of course the ship waited.

 

But the ship WILL NOT wait if you are on a private tour! A very important factor to keep in mind.

[googalini]

I appreciate everyone's feedback. The private tour we are considering is through RomeinLimo, which gets good reviews here on Cruise Critic and is actually the co we are using for Florence/Pisa b/c we don't particularly like the ship-sponsored tours for Livorno port.

[Jade13]

I appreciate everyone's feedback. The private tour we are considering is through RomeinLimo, which gets good reviews here on Cruise Critic and is actually the co we are using for Florence/Pisa b/c we don't particularly like the ship-sponsored tours for Livorno port.

 

Why would you used a Rome based company for Sicily vs a local company? Just curious.

 

I would use a Sicily based company for Sicily.

[Hlitner]

If your tour only includes Taormina, you are practically tossing money over the cliff. Taormona is a wonderful town, but its also a very small village that only has two important streets. One street (the main street) is about 1/2 mile long and is lined with some cafes, shops (most of these close about 1:30 or 2 for the afternoon siesta), and a great hotel with views (at the far end). We once saw a tour group walking down this street with the guide pointing out the boutique windows (I am serious). The other shorter street (it runs off to your left as you enter the square just inside the town entrance) also has a few shops, but its main attraction is the Greco-Roman Amphitheater. Anyone can enter this theater (there is an admission fee) where you can sit in the old seats and look at the amazing view (you can see the sea beyond the stage). Although you do need transportation (private, cruise ship, or on your own) but a guide can be an expensive "handholder" in this town.

 

 

Hank

[barbels]

Hank is right. We took Celebrity's Taormina on your own bus. A guide is not necessary there. If you do go to Taormina make sure you do your shopping early. Most of the stores close for lunch.

[Jade13]

If your tour only includes Taormina, you are practically tossing money over the cliff. Taormona is a wonderful town, but its also a very small village that only has two important streets. One street (the main street) is about 1/2 mile long and is lined with some cafes, shops (most of these close about 1:30 or 2 for the afternoon siesta), and a great hotel with views (at the far end). We once saw a tour group walking down this street with the guide pointing out the boutique windows (I am serious). The other shorter street (it runs off to your left as you enter the square just inside the town entrance) also has a few shops, but its main attraction is the Greco-Roman Amphitheater. Anyone can enter this theater (there is an admission fee) where you can sit in the old seats and look at the amazing view (you can see the sea beyond the stage). Although you do need transportation (private, cruise ship, or on your own) but a guide can be an expensive "handholder" in this town.

 

 

Hank

 

Hank, a ships tour seems to be the only way to go with HAL with 2 persons when we are docking in Messina and need to be back by 1:00pm. I wish we had a cheaper "on your own" option but I hear a lot of folks just leave the guide and find out where to meet the bus. I am told the drive is an hour each way.

[lambs2]

Hank, a ships tour seems to be the only way to go with HAL with 2 persons when we are docking in Messina and need to be back by 1:00pm. I wish we had a cheaper "on your own" option but I hear a lot of folks just leave the guide and find out where to meet the bus. I am told the drive is an hour each way.

 

 

That was exactly our situation on the HAL Veendam last May. There really was no other choice because of the time restaint. If you take the ship tour and want to see the best place of all in Taormina, The Greco-Roman Theater, then be sure and find your tour guide when it is time to go in there because she buys the tickets for those on the tour and if you buy them yourself it is 6 or 7€ each.

[Hlitner]

Hank, a ships tour seems to be the only way to go with HAL with 2 persons when we are docking in Messina and need to be back by 1:00pm. I wish we had a cheaper "on your own" option but I hear a lot of folks just leave the guide and find out where to meet the bus. I am told the drive is an hour each way.

 

Many cruise lines offer a less expensive "tour" option which simply includes bus transportation to Taormina. If HAL has decided to not offer this option (we personally like HAL) than you are absolutely right in booking that tour.

With a 1 pm departure, there is no way I would do that on my own (and we do almost everything on our own).

 

Hank

[Jade13]

Many cruise lines offer a less expensive "tour" option which simply includes bus transportation to Taormina. If HAL has decided to not offer this option (we personally like HAL) than you are absolutely right in booking that tour.

With a 1 pm departure, there is no way I would do that on my own (and we do almost everything on our own).

 

Hank

 

It is a 2:00pm departure, so aim is to be back at 1:00pm. Celebrity apparently has an "on your own" option that last time I looked was $45.00 while HAL's tour with guide is up to about $75.00 (we are a little less since we paid last year before prices went up). Celebrity has better prices on their tours (but HAL may overall have some more unique ones).

 

Last year we know people on HAL who did the "Godfather Tour" and the bus was back after the 2:00pm departure time and others were even later. I love HAL and the itinerary is perfect with the exception of this short Messina stop. I wish we had a full day so could go up the slops of Mt Etna too. They only offer one or the other in the 4-5 hours of course.

[Jade13]

That was exactly our situation on the HAL Veendam last May. There really was no other choice because of the time restaint. If you take the ship tour and want to see the best place of all in Taormina, The Greco-Roman Theater, then be sure and find your tour guide when it is time to go in there because she buys the tickets for those on the tour and if you buy them yourself it is 6 or 7€ each.

 

I would hope they would go to the Theater first but I bet this tour is so popular that the buses/guides rotate. Btw, do you recall how many buses to Taormina last year? I know you were on a smaller ship but I imagine 5-7 buses to this one destination. It is what it is.

[Tamara2cruise]

Greetings all,

 

Our scheduled Messina stop is from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm. Ideally we'd like to do Taormina on our own so have just a little time to linger at the beach, eating a casual picnic lunch, after touring the town. It appears that taking the train would probably work best for us. Do you agree? Does anyone know if train transfers are necessary to get from Messina to Taormina?

 

Tamara

[Tamara2cruise]

A slightly revised question to you all, as I just found the following post:

 

Taormina

You can do it on your own. It's a good 15 minute walk from the ship to the train station (or you could probably get a cab), and about 1 hour to Taormina Giardini. Once you get to Taormina Giardini, check the return schedules posted on the wall in the station, then catch the blue bus to Taormina. Unless you are in excellent shape, avoid walking up the hill to Taormina - trust me!! I did it - never again! Once you get to the city you can wander around for a few hours, then make your way to the bus depot and head back to the train and Messina. It's really a nice train ride along the coast. Here is the link so you can get an idea of the times and fares.

http://www.italianrail.com/italy_railway_schedules.html

 

My revised question:

 

In Messina port from 8am to 6pm.My DH and I are in great shape (we're long distance runners) and love, absolutely love to walk and hike. Doing an 8 - 10 mile walking day while on vacation in Europe actually gets us excited! So, with this in mind, am I correct that we could get off the ship, walk to the train station, catch train from Messina to Taromina stop and then walk up the hill from Mazzaro to Taormina? Love, love, love this option if so!

[lambs2]

A slightly revised question to you all, as I just found the following post:

 

Taormina

You can do it on your own. It's a good 15 minute walk from the ship to the train station (or you could probably get a cab), and about 1 hour to Taormina Giardini. Once you get to Taormina Giardini, check the return schedules posted on the wall in the station, then catch the blue bus to Taormina. Unless you are in excellent shape, avoid walking up the hill to Taormina - trust me!! I did it - never again! Once you get to the city you can wander around for a few hours, then make your way to the bus depot and head back to the train and Messina. It's really a nice train ride along the coast. Here is the link so you can get an idea of the times and fares.

 

http://www.italianrail.com/italy_railway_schedules.html

 

 

 

My revised question:

 

In Messina port from 8am to 6pm.My DH and I are in great shape (we're long distance runners) and love, absolutely love to walk and hike. Doing an 8 - 10 mile walking day while on vacation in Europe actually gets us excited! So, with this in mind, am I correct that we could get off the ship, walk to the train station, catch train from Messina to Taromina stop and then walk up the hill from Mazzaro to Taormina? Love, love, love this option if so!

 

 

If you have that long a stop in Messina, I would say GO FOR IT! DH and I are also great walkers (not up to your standards though, we just consistently walk about 5 miles every day) and would have loved do what you suggest using the local transportation. We had researched doing this and I am sure it is very possible to accomplish. We had a time problem, but it looks like with careful planning (be sure and leave about 2 hours at the end in case of any glitches) that your plan is very doable, IMHO! Have a wonderful time!

[Tamara2cruise]

Lambs (I felt silly typing that! :) )

 

Thanks for the "go for it!" vote. We will - there is something about putting in a little sweat-equity that just makes my enjoyment of travel all the more meaningful. Plus, the opportunity to meet and greet those who actually reside in the area while we're on train or traversing streets often results in lovely little exchanges of humanity

 

Tamara

[BBWC]

In Messina port from 8am to 6pm.My DH and I are in great shape (we're long distance runners) and love, absolutely love to walk and hike. Doing an 8 - 10 mile walking day while on vacation in Europe actually gets us excited! So, with this in mind, am I correct that we could get off the ship, walk to the train station, catch train from Messina to Taromina stop and then walk up the hill from Mazzaro to Taormina? Love, love, love this option if so!

 

We just did the walk up to Taormina although our ship anchored in Giardini. From the Giardini Naxos train station go to the right about 1/4 mile, the trail starts on the left, there is a small sign. It is just below the hotel with the glass elevators. Taormina is not that high, so not a very far walk, approx. 15-20 minutes.

[Crusin6]

Well, if Stefano from Romecabs recommended them, they will be good! Stefano did our tour and transfers in Rome last year and will again this year.

 

Btw, my DH is from the Mt Etna area and that is why I am sorry we will not have time to go to Mt Etna because of the short stop this year. It will be our second time to Sicily and still no stop there. I guess we will be back again.

We won't be going to DH's hometown outside of Palermo either. We didn't like the prices and/or itiniery of other ships who called at Palermo so we chose the Freedom and Taormina instead. He is not too upset anyway as he was 4 when he left so he is quite American. I have been to my grandparents town in Sicily so I think that it is important to go back to the dirt you came from. Maybe next time we will visit.;)

[JsMom2]

A slightly revised question to you all, as I just found the following post:

 

Taormina

You can do it on your own. It's a good 15 minute walk from the ship to the train station (or you could probably get a cab), and about 1 hour to Taormina Giardini. Once you get to Taormina Giardini, check the return schedules posted on the wall in the station, then catch the blue bus to Taormina. Unless you are in excellent shape, avoid walking up the hill to Taormina - trust me!! I did it - never again! Once you get to the city you can wander around for a few hours, then make your way to the bus depot and head back to the train and Messina. It's really a nice train ride along the coast. Here is the link so you can get an idea of the times and fares.

 

http://www.italianrail.com/italy_railway_schedules.html

 

 

I checked the link above, which was very useful. When I priced the r/t train for my DD and myself it came to 82 USD. We have a Tarormina On Your Own excursion (transportation to and from only) through RCI for 78 USD.

[jwds]

I checked the link above, which was very useful. When I priced the r/t train for my DD and myself it came to 82 USD. We have a Tarormina On Your Own excursion (transportation to and from only) through RCI for 78 USD.

 

This site connects to Raileurope which is a very expensive way to purchase Italian train tickets. trenitalia.com shows a fare of 3.60 euro one way. This is the Italian train system site. There would be no need to purchase tickets in advance.

 

With your limited time the train may not be the best option but is certainly doable. If you should do the train have euro cash to use in the ticket machines, I've never been able to get U.S. credit cards to work in them.

[dseides]

Does anyone have an opinion on which beach is better - Giardini-Naxos or Lido Mizzaro We have 10 hours in the port, so we are thinking about going to one of these beaches.

[Crusin6]

My family abd I are debating between taking a ship excursion vs a private tour for Taormina. While the private tour offers convenience and flexibility, it also costs more. The ship's tour promises approximately 4 hours of free time in Taormina. It is supposedly a one-hour trip each way from the port of Messina to Taormina and back.

 

Can anyone advise if 4 hours is enough time to see the major sites in town, e.g., Greek Theatre, churches, shopping, etc, and also get down to the beach area?

 

Also, are all the major sites within walking distance of each other?

 

Last but not least, the private tour also offers a stop in a town above Taormina called Castelmola. Has anyone been there? Is it worth a look?

 

Thanks for your help.

Hi goog,

I think I mentioned to you already that we are doing private in Taormina, booked thru Rome in Limo. We are 6 so it is more economical, I think, but who knows with the E and $ so crazy. Anyway DH is Sicilian born so we want the back roads type of experience, we want to stop at some obscure churches and such. Our tour is also bringing us up to Mt. Etna, weather permitting.550 E for the day tour and I guess a 10% tip. Sheesh. Why do we feel so obligated?

See you at the meet-n-greet!

addicted

[family_cruiser]

My family abd I are debating between taking a ship excursion vs a private tour for Taormina. While the private tour offers convenience and flexibility, it also costs more. The ship's tour promises approximately 4 hours of free time in Taormina. It is supposedly a one-hour trip each way from the port of Messina to Taormina and back.

 

Can anyone advise if 4 hours is enough time to see the major sites in town, e.g., Greek Theatre, churches, shopping, etc, and also get down to the beach area?

 

Also, are all the major sites within walking distance of each other?

 

Last but not least, the private tour also offers a stop in a town above Taormina called Castelmola. Has anyone been there? Is it worth a look?

 

Thanks for your help.

Hi,

 

We rented a car from Argus Rentals since we are two adults and two children. I believe that it will cost about $80 for the car for the day. It is not a difficult drive from Messina to Taormina. Expedia.com had lots of info on Taormina.

 

I believe that we are on the same July 9th Carnival cruise.

 

Cindy