Siracusa to Taormina?

[fishiecrackers]

Hello! Our cruise has switched from a port day in Messina to now docking in Siracusa. Our previous plan was to go to Taormina and I would still like to do that if logistics work out. Royal Caribbean has an Explore Taormina excursion that is 5.5 hours, which takes you to Taormina and then you explore on your own (Google Maps shows about a 1.5 hour drive each way but idk how accurate that is). This will be our second port day after a verrrrrrrrry busy week in Italy before the cruise begins, so I'm tempted to just book that and let RC deal with the logistics and we can relax. But is that long enough for Taormina? I don't want to shortchange ourselves. It would also be nice to be able to sleep in and just leave when we want to instead of being locked into the ship excursion. We could do the bus or train but it seems logistically a lot more difficult than our other ports because it's so far away.

 

We could also forget about Taormina and just walk around Siricusa and Ortigia.

 

Thoughts from anyone familiar with this particular cruise experience? We are in port on a Wednesday in June, from 8am-6pm. Thanks!

Edited December 29, 2022 by fishiecrackers

[edinburgher]

We tendered right into the heart of Syracuse close to the bridge which leads to the Ortigia area. Being mostly flat, Syracuse itself and Ortigia are very walkable and we initially followed the walkway all along  the outside of the Ortigia area with the sea on one side before heading in to wander the small narrow streets. Also explored some of the modern town.  Had thought we might visit some of the archaeological area but  ran out of energy.  It was a very pleasant day and there is certaibly more than enough to occupy you for a day even at a slower pace.

 

A couple of hours in Taormina might be enough to see the main highlights, really mostly the Theatre, the main street and the views of Mt Etna from the gardens. Should you have a lunch break, that would eat into your available time as would getting from the coach parking  up into the old town, and getting back to the coach again  as the parking area is not in the old town itself, consequently your optimistic couple of hours could be less than that.

 

Can only suggest you look at tourist/travel info websites such as Tripadvisor for info and pictures of both, and see which appeals to you most before deciding.

[cruisemom42]

Siracusa has a lot to offer. Ortygia is a bit similar to Taormina in that it is a smallish but lovely town where tourists like to wander. It doesn't have the views of Taormina, but if I was stopping at Siracusa, I'd choose to stay there.  It's actually less common for ships to stop there, so just consider it an unexpected but happy surprise.

 

The broader vicinity of Siracusa has quite a few Greco-Roman era ruins, they are scattered over several different locations, so if you're interested in seeing those it may be more efficient to book a tour (either private or with the ship) that includes some transportation.

 

[fishiecrackers]

Thank you both for your input. While it will be a bummer to be so close to Taormina and skip it, I think we're leaning that way. We'll have our 3 teenagers with us and I think we'll be ready for a day to sleep in and do things on our own timeline. We weren't going to do the Greek Theater, but just enjoy the town, the pastries & granita, and a beautiful coastline, maybe kayak or sail to some sea caves. I think we can get all/most of that in Ortigia, so it seems a waste to spend 3-4 hours of our day in a bus doing an excursion.

[edinburgher]

 just enjoy the town, the pastries & granita

 

You can very definitely do all of that in Syracuse and of course the local cannolo/cannoli and granita di limone are typlically Sicilian and can be easily found.  Sicilian lemons are really quite famous and considered by some to be the best.

 

We can vouch for the tastiness of the cannoli in Syracuse, but sorry, we had both cannoli and  granita di limone in Taormina.

[euro cruiser]

On 12/28/2022 at 9:10 PM, fishiecrackers said:

Royal Caribbean has an Explore Taormina excursion that is 5.5 hours, which takes you to Taormina and then you explore on your own (Google Maps shows about a 1.5 hour drive each way but idk how accurate that is). . . But is that long enough for Taormina? I don't want to shortchange ourselves.

 

I spent a little less than a week in Taormina a few years ago, the town itself is quite small and the only real "site" is the Greek theatre, which takes about an hour to see thoroughly.  The rest is shopping and views, so I think five and a half hours would be fine.

[fishiecrackers]

On 1/22/2023 at 6:33 AM, euro cruiser said:

 

I spent a little less than a week in Taormina a few years ago, the town itself is quite small and the only real "site" is the Greek theatre, which takes about an hour to see thoroughly.  The rest is shopping and views, so I think five and a half hours would be fine.

That includes driving time, so I think you end up with about 2 hours in Taormina.