Tour to Taormina where you can visit its famous sites like the Greek theater, the Cathedral and Mount Etna and Giardini Naxos bay. Continue with a transfer to the town of Castelmola and head back to Messina.
Posted By : anchorgal02
We enjoyed our private tour of Taormina, Castelmola and Messina—this was one of our favorite stops on our cruise. The tour provided enough variety to keep our kids (11/13) engaged and felt as though we had ample time to explore. We arrived by cruise ship and easily found our tour guide, Sam, across the street from the cruise port. We took a short walk to find our driver, Dino and had a nice, clean van. It was nice to have both a tour guide and driver for the day—Sam did a great job of explaining the sites/history and Dino was able to make some stops so we could get some great photos. We started in Castelmola, which is a lovely little town with some great views. We were able to explore the shops for about 30 minutes and get a snack there. We had gelato from a great little bakery by the church and enjoyed wandering the streets. Sam and Dino dropped us of in Tamorina—which is bigger and more crowded—this is not a guided tour, but we had several hours to explore the town, shops and grab lunch. (If you’re a White Lotus fan, make sure to look for some sites from season 2). Two of us went to the Greek theater—this was 12E/adult, free for kids. If you’re interested in history it was neat to see, but we did a quick 15 min walk through—not sure if you need to spend too much time there. (They were insistent on seeing an ID at the ticket office—so make sure you have a passport or license). Finally, we ended in Messina and had some time for a quick tour of the Astronomical clock, cathedral and town square. We brought some cash for tips but were able to use Apple Pay/credit card pretty much everywhere.
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Posted On : 2024-07-02 13:06:13 
Posted By : Debbie A
Miriam was fabulous! So knowledgeable and really made our tour exceptional! The driver was also excellent. Highly recommend this tour.
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Posted On : 2023-08-26 04:12:16
Posted By : AustinAggie2014
Michael was a great host and tour guide. He met us on time and in his nice, comfortable Mercedes van.
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Posted On : 2022-11-15 11:03:48
Posted By : rimaSC
Michele picked us up at the ship and gave us a wonderful tour. He was friendly and knowledgeable. We were taken to Taormina and Castelmola and given as much time as we needed to tour both towns. On the way back to the ship he stopped at a shop where we could buy absolutely delicious cannoli. Don't hesitate to use this company.
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Posted On : 2022-11-06 09:42:20
Posted By : Sheryl_L
Not a “tour”, just an over priced driver. He was nice but his English was poor. He offered no info about the area and couldn’t answer any of our questions. Picked us up at cruise port and drove to first stop. Put us out and said see you in 2 hrs. Drove to second stop, put us out, see you in 1 hr. Drove us back to cruise port. This 6 hr “tour” lasted 4.5 hrs. Disappointed.
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Posted On : 2022-06-23 05:17:54 
Posted By : dalyanfan56
We took this tour which was very good. We booked from the UK unsure of arrival time and pickup point, katia was very helpful and reasured us all would be well even gave us the mobile number of the driver incase of any problems which put our mind at rest. Michael was there to pick us up in a nice clean Mercedes van which had free wifi and bottled water. He was a fantastic guide and a very safe driver.very informative about the places of interest, he was friendly and courteous which made the day a very good experience. We would recommend Sicily4you and would definitely book them again.
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Posted On : 2019-05-12 12:13:24
Posted By : loveontario
Messina was one of our ports on our Mediterranean cruise. We like small tours rather than the ship's bus tours. The small tours are more personalized, more efficient use of the limited time in port and cheaper than the ship's tours if you arrange to tour with a few other people (we posted this tour on Cruise Critic as 6 people made the cost more reasonable). The van was very comfortable, our guide was excellent (she used a mic in the van which was much appreciated) and we felt like we saw so much. Our first stop was the cathedral in Messina as it was too early to head to Castelmola. The cathedral is definitely worth seeing even if you have seen the cathedrals in the other ports. What makes the Messina Cathedral unique is its beautiful automated astronomical clock tower. At noon a complex system of counterweights, leverages and gears, determines the movement of the gilded bronze statues located in the façade. They are related to the civil and religious traditions of the city (as explained by our guide). Even if you are not there at noon, the tower is amazing. Once inside the Cathedral, we were in awe of the elaborate ceiling.
From Messina we headed to Castelmola (wonderful views) and Taorminana. The tour was a nice mix of structured time with the guide providing us with history of the area and free time for exploring both Castelmola and Taorminana. Thank you Sicily4You for a very enjoyable day!
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Posted On : 2018-11-17 12:53:15
Posted By : MDJ7719
We did a 6 hour tour of Taormina and Castlemora last week as part of a cruise stop. There was some confusion at the port as to pick up, but once we got it figured out, our group of 7 rode on a Mercedes minibus van that was very comfortable. Our driver and guide, Kara, took us to Castlemora first where we had some time to walk around, then to Taormina where we had two hours to check out the Greek Theater, walk around, and grab a quick lunch. Kara provided enough info in the van before each stop (I guess guides are not allowed to come with us). Drinks were suppose to be included but they didn't have any, but when we were picked up from Taormina, they had gotten some waters for us. We made a final stop in Messina to the clock and to get some canollis at a place Kara had suggested. It was a great day and a lovely place. I would definitely recommend Sicily4you and would use them again!
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Posted On : 2018-08-01 15:36:11
Posted By : Louis B
We had a private tour and the guides and where they took us was out of this world. I considered it quite reasonable considering we had the van and guide for most of the day to ourselves
Posted By : Lourves_V
First impression with the tour was not pleasant. We book for a Spanish Tour ended up with an English tour in a very uncomfortable station wagon. Even Cecilia, the tour guide speaks spanish, explanations were taken too long and boring the other couple that join the tour. They should be more honest -- by selling bilingual tour ...
Once we started rolling and appreciating the beauty of the area, we start enjoying the tour. Catelmola is small town where the clock seems to had stopped. It's an amazing town that reflects culture of the area. You can appreciate Mt. Etna. Taormina is also an amazing place. A must see.
We had lunch at the Cyclope. Excellent fresh food.
Tour guide did not walk with us through Castelmola and Taomina. She did so on the way out of Taormina and Messina. In Messina we visited two churches - the original one just outside and the one built to replace it. Ended up having a nice snack - at local bakery.
Wear confortable shoes and fresh clothes and be careful with the language.
