Etna or Taormina?

We have one day in Sicily - docking in Messina. I have read multiple reviews of shore excursions and my question is:

Should we do Mt. Etna and Taormina excursion or just the Taormina on Your Own excursion? From what I have read, both are great places to visit but I am concerned that Etna will be more time consuming and may cost us time in Taormina which I really, really want to see. Have seen volcanoes on Maui and the Big Island...is this really worth the trip and cost to do Etna? Thanks for ANY advice you can give!

We did the Mt Etna tour with winery visit (on Carnival)...it was fascinating and a lot of fun.

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Thank you!!!

From Messina, 4 of us, grabbed a taxi that agreed to drive us to Taormina, and, WAIT, until our return.

This is a common practice among taxi drivers.

Cars and, taxis are not allowed on the streets of Taormina. They wait out front of town, and, the cab drivers talk among themselves.

This is a great visit for a day. And, upon our return, you have time to walk around Messina before boarding the ship which is right there.

Four people in a taxi,sharing the cost is very cost effective, and,I do not remember if the taxi driver charged us for waiting.

One word of advise....be sure to take a photo of your driver, or the cab license plate or, both, to be sure to catch the correct driver to go back to Messina....

This is a great tour visiting Taormina...Great views of Mt.Etna from there, and, nice restaurants in town..

It is a total walking town. Great photo ops at the town square.

We can highly recommend Taormina. Have been there a few times and always enjoy it.

Here´s a link to a review, or better the day in Taormina, which might give you some ideas: http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Holy-Land-Cruise-01/Holy-Land-Cruise-02/holy-land-cruise-02.html

Enjoy!

From Messina, 4 of us, grabbed a taxi that agreed to drive us to Taormina, and, WAIT, until our return.

This is a common practice among taxi drivers.

Cars and, taxis are not allowed on the streets of Taormina. They wait out front of town, and, the cab drivers talk among themselves.

This is a great visit for a day. And, upon our return, you have time to walk around Messina before boarding the ship which is right there.

Four people in a taxi,sharing the cost is very cost effective, and,I do not remember if the taxi driver charged us for waiting.

One word of advise....be sure to take a photo of your driver, or the cab license plate or, both, to be sure to catch the correct driver to go back to Messina....

This is a great tour visiting Taormina...Great views of Mt.Etna from there, and, nice restaurants in town..

It is a total walking town. Great photo ops at the town square.

AWESOME INFORMATION! Thank you so much!

So agree with MiamiNice

Taormina! If you have been to Hawaii and "done' the volcanoes there, don't spend time at Mt. Etna.

We were on the Celebrity ship about 2 weeks ago and Sicily was a new port for us. So glad we saw Taormina. A lot of charm, the place just feels good. Wish we had stopped in at Hotel Metropole.

Looks great. Did have a cannoli. Our taxi driver knew of a non touristy bakery and we got a few pasteries.

A great day!

Linda

We also saw Stromboli volcano. What an amazing sight. We asked when we would pass it. It was about 6 pm. We got great photos.

Sure glad we saw it. Ask when your ship will pass it and try to see it.

Linda

So agree with MiamiNice

Taormina! If you have been to Hawaii and "done' the volcanoes there, don't spend time at Mt. Etna.

We were on the Celebrity ship about 2 weeks ago and Sicily was a new port for us. So glad we saw Taormina. A lot of charm, the place just feels good. Wish we had stopped in at Hotel Metropole.

Looks great. Did have a cannoli. Our taxi driver knew of a non touristy bakery and we got a few pasteries.

 

A great day!

Linda

THANK YOU! That makes great sense to me!

We also saw Stromboli volcano. What an amazing sight. We asked when we would pass it. It was about 6 pm. We got great photos.

Sure glad we saw it. Ask when your ship will pass it and try to see it.

Linda

Thank you for this tip...will definitely do so!

Taormina is a beautiful town.

Etna is a mountain. That's really about it. I did a combo tour and would have been better off spending more time in Taormina and then some back at the port, which was Messina. You have that chance. Take it.

Taormina is delightful. The view from up there is not to be missed. We were in Sicily for a week once and drove all over. Mt Etna was not anywhere near the top of the best places we saw.

The other side of the coin....we did the Godfather tour last year. Stops in Taromina, Savoca and a late lunch in Castelmola. Wonderful scenery along the way, Savoca was cool, Taromina was a lot of shops and restaurants and not all that different from so many other towns we have visited in the Med so this fall we are doing a day tour to Mt. Etna and then lunch in Castelmola again. Yes, we have been to Hawaii and their volcanos but Mt. Etna will be new to us.

I tend to agree with Mr Click. We did the Gidfather tourto Savoca, Castelmola and Taromina in the past. We are cruising to Messina again in October and will combine Aetna and Taromina. There will certainly be sufficient time to see both, and even walk through the entire town of Taromina, see the Ampitheatre, stop for a snack, browse the shops and have a timely return to the ship. If you have not done the Godfather tour, I would recommend it as you still have a great view of Etna while lunching in Taromina.

Just back from a Med cruise that went to Catania in Sicily. We did a private shore excursion with Sicily Shore Tours which went to Taormina and Castelmola. Our driver recommended a restaurant overlooking the sea where we had a delicious lunch. He took us on a tour of Catania on our return. Excellent tour and excellent driver. Highly recommended. You'll do much better with a private excursion with 6-8 people than you will in a big bus with lots of people. I think the cost was around 45 Euros/pp for this 7-hour tour.

Our first visit to Sicily (via Celebrity Equinox); we joined a CC Roll Call group and went to Taormina (& other places) with Sebastian

Web Site here: www.sicilywithsebastian.com

Sebastian was BRILLIANT!!! one of our favourite tours to date, he was amazing.

Our second visit to Sicily (via Celebrity Constellation) - we did Mt Etna and a Winery Visit via: http://www.taxirobertomirabile.com

We enjoyed ourselves very much (especially the winery!!!); but have to say, Taormina (& Castelmola) tour with Sebastian couldn’t be matched.

Have done both. First time we did Etna and Taormina, the second time just Taormina.

If you've seen a volcano in Hawaii, check that off of your bucket list and spend the day in Taormina. There isn't much to do on Etna, besides walking around the crater, and visiting the small gift shop. And it can be really cold (elevation)! Also, the bus ride to Etna takes a bit of time, time that I'd rather spend in Taormina.

Ships tour to Taormina was excellent. It is a long ride but we saw and learned so much...breathtaking views along the way..

On arrival at Taormina, the tour was partly organized, part on your own with meet up point at the end. We started with the tour but our .guide spent a bit too much time at the outdoor theater so we went out our own....saw a wedding at the chapel, lots of great shops with pottery, art work, gardens, ...places to eat..Truly a memorable day.

Ship does pass by with volcano views., try not to miss it

.I'd rec Taormina tour

We were on a Collette Travel land tour of Sicily two years ago. One day we went to Taormina, and another day we took an optional excursion to Mt. Etna. I can't evaluate any issue of how much time is involved going to and from the port, since we were on a bus going to both places and did not go to the port.

Having said that, hands down, we would recommend Taormina. First of all, you might run into high winds on the mountain, as we did, and thus miss out on some of what you might otherwise see. But even assuming you don't, it is just a volcano, and if you have seen one, you have seen something very similar. We really enjoyed our time in Taormina, and would love to go there again if the opportunity presented itself. The town was fun, and the amphitheatre was very impressive.

[EDIT]: I misread your original post and didn't realize that you would be in Taormina either way. I still think I would opt for Taormina on your own, to ensure that you have enough time there, rather than taking the extra time and expense to include the volcano. [END EDIT]

Tom & Judy

We have one day in Sicily - docking in Messina. I have read multiple reviews of shore excursions and my question is:

Should we do Mt. Etna and Taormina excursion or just the Taormina on Your Own excursion? From what I have read, both are great places to visit but I am concerned that Etna will be more time consuming and may cost us time in Taormina which I really, really want to see. Have seen volcanoes on Maui and the Big Island...is this really worth the trip and cost to do Etna? Thanks for ANY advice you can give!

I loved the Taormina on my own. My hubby and I had to have a cannoli there (where they were invented), I still dream about them and have never had one as delish as there (and I have had quite a lot!).

I guess it depends on your likes.

One other word of advice, if you buy something expensive in Taromina and want to get your VAT back at the airport, do not put the "goods" in your checked bag, check in and then go to the VAT refund window. We made that mistake in Barcelona last year and "No Goods, No Refund".......

Combine Taormina with Castelmola and skip Messina's sights, Messina and the street of Messina can be seen perfectly from the ship, no effort needed. :)

Taormina on Your Own was a wonderful excursion. The village is so picturesque and makes for a relaxing stroll.

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The other side of the coin....we did the Godfather tour last year. Stops in Taromina, Savoca and a late lunch in Castelmola. Wonderful scenery along the way, Savoca was cool, Taromina was a lot of shops and restaurants and not all that different from so many other towns we have visited in the Med so this fall we are doing a day tour to Mt. Etna and then lunch in Castelmola again. Yes, we have been to Hawaii and their volcanos but Mt. Etna will be new to us.

Taormina has one of the most beautiful Greek theaters anywhere with the amazing ocean view and Mt Etna view as well. Maybe you don't get that with a quick stop on a Godfather tour, but it's a pretty cool place and worth the 10 euro cost of admission.