Taormina DIY

[envy4u]

Is it walkable to go from the ship to the main part of town? Also, where are the cable cars located and cost? I understand that this town is very doable on your own. Any suggestions on the must sees or do would be helpful. A cannoli is the first thing on my list with an espresso :)

[dsrdsrdsr]

I don't think Taormina is a port. Our ship docked further east (Messina?) and to get to Taormina would have meant a train journey, then a long climb up the hill (presumably that's where the cable car comes in). We found that to be one of the times when a ship's excursion is better.

 

As for the sights, start at one end of the old town, walk the whole length of the town to the theatre, and back again. That's about it. Maybe try one of the very narrow side street. It's a small place, but very interesting.

[euro cruiser]

You can see where the cable car begins and ends on this map of Taormina: http://www.virtualsicily.it/public/piantine/taormina_arch.jpg

 

If you make a google map using these coordinates you'll find the piazza where the base of the cable car is located: 37.855096, 15.300278

 

If you arrive by train it's really not walkable to the cable car. It's not so much the distance (a mile and three-quarters) but the fact that there are no sidewalks and minimal shoulders along the road.

Edited January 17, 2015 by euro cruiser

[Trevor Fountain]

Ships visiting Sicily usually dock at either Messina or Palermo. I have been to both ports, but only visited Taormina from Messina. There are loads of cabs at the port, and negotiating a fee for the day is easy.

[cruisemom42]

Some smaller ships dock at Giardini Naxos, which is much closer to Taormina -- perhaps that is where the OP's ship will be....

[envy4u]

We are tendering in from Taormina so my question is can we walk from the ship in to town or do we need to take a taxi or ship shuttle?

Edited January 18, 2015 by envy4u

[Alan2504]

We are tendering in from Taormina so my question is can we walk from the ship in to town or do we need to take a taxi or ship shuttle?

 

You'll be tendered into Giardini Naxos, where the tender docks there are usually taxis and vans, take a taxi or share a van to get to Taormina, it's the easiest way, other option is to walk into Giardini Naxos and catch a bus.

If you use a taxi and you are going to be coming back around lunch-time or so pre-book your return with the taxi, as around lunch-time taxis seem to disappear and are few and far between at Taormina, we ended up taking the cable car down to Mazzaro and found it was easier to get a taxi there plus it was nice to wander around this beach resort too.

[marazul]

We are tendering in from Taormina so my question is can we walk from the ship in to town or do we need to take a taxi or ship shuttle?

 

Taormina is not on the shore. It is not a port. It is up a mountain. Some ship schedules list the port as Taormina since that is the main attraction in the area. As others have indicated, you are probably tendering into Giardini Naxos which is the closest port. There is no way you can walk into Taormina from there. Look up Taormina in Google maps and you will see where it is.

Edited January 19, 2015 by marazul

[cruise kitty]

Hi, we took the bus to Taormina, if you're docked at Messina, keep in mind there's the fast bus (40 or so minutes) that takes the highway straight to Taormina...

 

Then there's the slow bus that stops at every single little possible stop on the way there... & takes two hours... be sure to take the correct bus :)

[euro cruiser]

From the port at Giardini Naxos to Corso Umberto, the main drag of Taormina, is more than three and a half miles on foot along the same road that the train station is on, which has no shoulders and no place to walk in many places.

 

There is a bus from near the port (there is a stop on Via Consolare Valeria, aka SS114, near the intersection of Via Dalmazia) to Taormina, info at Interbus: http://www.interbus.it/Home.aspx

[lvnthdrm]

Cruise Kitty,

 

I was thinking of booking the ships excursion from Messina into Taormina as we only want to wander around the town, have some lunch ect, but would be happy to catch the local bus like you did. Did you have any problems getting back to the ship. Strange question, but apart from the obvious, how do we know the fast bus from the slow one ?Do you know how often they run ? We will be there on a Saturday. Thank you in advance.

[cruise kitty]

Cruise Kitty,

 

I was thinking of booking the ships excursion from Messina into Taormina as we only want to wander around the town, have some lunch ect, but would be happy to catch the local bus like you did. Did you have any problems getting back to the ship. Strange question, but apart from the obvious, how do we know the fast bus from the slow one ?Do you know how often they run ? We will be there on a Saturday. Thank you in advance.

 

Hi, the bus schedule is posted where you buy the bus tickets, the building to buy tickets is kitty corner to the area where the buses are at, the schedule will show departure & arrival times, so you'll be able to tell which bus takes hours...

 

My best piece of advice is to buy your return ticket as soon as you arrive in Taormina, & then show up for the return bus a good half hour before it's scheduled to leave... it was standing room only on our return, absolutely packed...

 

Regarding frequency, we missed the fast bus by 5 minutes... along with many others, we took the next bus, left about 25 minutes later, we should have waited for the next fast bus (about an extra hour later, if would have got us there at the same time :) chalk it up to learning experience.

[realtrip]

Ships visiting Sicily usually dock at either Messina or Palermo. I have been to both ports, but only visited Taormina from Messina. There are loads of cabs at the port, and negotiating a fee for the day is easy.

 

Do you have any idea of the cost for this? That sounds like it would be super easy.

[Tennant]

We have a private tour when we dock in Taormina. We are thinking of having our driver drop us off in town for dinner on the way back. Are there taxis easily available to get back to the ship? We do not dock in Messina, we dock at the port very near Taormina.

[euro cruiser]

The only place I actually saw a taxi stand was at the bus depot on Via Luigi Pirandello, but there were several taxis there.

 

If your ship is departing that evening and you have a "hard" return time (have to get there or else) I would go to the taxi stand first and arrange to be picked up at the restaurant at a specific time, or else I would ask the maitre d' at the restaurant to call and arrange a taxi.

[Maksim]

Thank you all for the comments and recommendations. I am trying to draw a conclusion and recommendation for us. Based on everything, what is the easiest way to see this port: take a taxi once we get off the tender boat, or book a tour? Is there a lot to see in Taormina? If there are difficulties with transportation (either bus or taxi), perhaps it's just better to book a tour? I would prefer to do it on my own, but don't want to get into the situation of a crowded bus or not finding our way back to the ship. Please advise.

[euro cruiser]

I think it somewhat depends on where you tender to. Taormina itself isn't all that large. The main "attraction" is the Greek theater, which is interesting. After that Taormina is mostly about views and shopping. It is a resort community, after all.

 

As long as your ship isn't more than an hour away by bus or train I'd be comfortable DIY in this port.

Edited June 19, 2015 by euro cruiser