Taormina and Messina Private Tour with Sicilian Cannoli tasting

Wonderful experience, unforgettable tour! Sonia’s passion and expertise made the discovery of the history and legends of the place truly fascinating. The itinerary was perfectly organized, with the right balance between guided explanations and free time to explore on our own. The gastronomic part was also extraordinary: thanks to her recommendations we enjoyed lunch in an authentic local restaurant and ended the day tasting the best cannoli in the area. A complete experience that combines culture, tradition, and local flavors: highly recommended!

Sonia was an amazing guide. The tour was informative and flexible. For my first time in my family’s homeland I couldn’t ask for a better experience!

We usually don’t do tours, but I’m so glad we did this one. It was the perfect mix of history, legends, and free time to explore. Taormina is just beautiful. Our guide Sonia was so helpful on finding a resturant and the perfect place to eat cannoli.

We had a wonderful day while in the port of Messina! Our host, Sonia provided us with a great overview of the area while driving to Taormina where we all enjoyed some shopping and a true Italian meal! Sonia made sure to ask about our interests for the day and adjusted the schedule to make sure we experienced all we wanted to. After finding out that I had a tree nut allergy, she sent me a text in Italian that I could show at any eatery to make sure I was able to accurately convey what I couldn’t eat. Our driver expertly maneuvered the narrow streets where we felt safe and comfortable. We enjoyed visiting several key sites in the city with Sonia expertly conveying their history and significance to the area. We ended the day with a delicious cannoli. Highly recommend this experience for any family with teens or young adult children (ours were 19 and 21) as there’s a little bit for everyone! We will fondly remember our time here!

We had a truly memorable day exploring Sicily on our tour, and our guide Sonia was absolutely wonderful and driver was super efficient. Sonia was welcoming, knowledgeable, and made the whole experience smooth and enjoyable from start to finish. In Taormina, Sonia gave us helpful tips so we could make the most of our free time. We walked the charming streets of Corso Umberto, enjoyed incredible views from Piazza IX Aprile, and had a delicious granita and brioche at the famous Bam Bar — a real highlight! After Taormina, we stopped at a the Cathedral of Messina to see the incredible astronomical clock and fountain. We ended the tour with a perfect final stop — authentic Sicilian cannoli at a local pastry shop. Sonia was organized, upbeat, and passionate about sharing her culture and history. We're so glad we had her as our guide and would highly recommend this tour to others visiting Sicily!

Our group of five took this tour from our cruise ship in Messina. Our guides were Filippo and Serena, with Filippo driving while Serena talked about the sights we would be seeing and the background of the area. We meet at the terminal at 8:30 and returned to the ship by 4:30 for our 5 pm departure. Upon our arrival, we walked through an entrance to the walled city. We made plans to meet Serena at the other city gate and we were on our own. First we visited the Roman theater, which is still in operation and is available to see for a small fee. After that we took our time strolling through the beautiful streets of Taormina, shopping, and enjoying some gelato. We had a delicious lunch of pasta at a small restaurant outside the walled city, which Serena had recommended. Before leaving, Serena took us inside a small museum, explaining some of the artifacts there, and pointed out a couple other places we may have missed. When we returned to Messina we made three stops, one was to see the Messina Cathedral. Serena had attended a school nearby so she enjoyed telling our group about the cathedral with its intricately painted ceilings and the nearby bell tower. Our last stop was to taste the best cannoli you can imagine. One of our group has Italian heritage and had tasted many a cannoli. Even he thought this was the best ever. It was the perfect ending to a very special day. We thanked our hosts for the day, Serena and Filippo, and said our goodbyes at the ship terminal. This excursion fits well with a day at port. We had enough time to enjoy Taormina without feeling rushed and still have enough time for a few sights in Messina. I highly recommend this tour.

Our private tour of Savoca, Messina, Castelmola, and Taormina with Erika and Filippo was truly a wonderful experience! We saw such amazing sights and tasted excellent wine and cannolis. Erika gave us great insights to the history and culture and guided us to places we would never would find on our own. Filippo drove expertly through the narrow lanes and mountain curves. A wonderful way to see this part of Sicily!

Our guide Serena was wonderful and our driver Francesco was excellent, we spent the day seeing many beautiful sights of Taormina and Messina, including Isolabella. It was a wonderful day.

I recommend Filippo is a very good guide, serious and responsible .sure we will return, and the tasting of the cannolo is very rich.thanks

Our group of 9, ages 9-69, really enjoyed this tour. Our guide, Filipo, met us right at the port; it could not have been easier to find him! He was very personable with excellent English and a comfortable van. We enjoyed his information as we drove to Taormina and also enjoyed the free time to explore (and eat!) in Taormina on our own. And the cannoli! None of us were cannoli fans heading in to the tour but these were nothing like the ones we'd had back home-- so delicious! A wonderful way to explore the Messina area for the day.