This is one of our day trips from Messina port. The tour starts with a visit to Castelmola Sicily, a picturesque village just above Taormina. Here you can enjoy a beautiful landscape, with a wonderful terrace overlooking Mount Etna, the highest volcano in Europe, and the magnificent bay of Giardini Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily. After a stroll in the medieval village of Castelmola Sicily, we will get to the beautiful Taormina. We will go along Corso Umberto, the ancient Roman Street Valeria. You can enjoy typical things to do in Taormina: the historic center with a tour guide or on your own, the Greek-roman theatre (the ancient theatre of Taormina, optional), the old churches and monuments, the most exclusive shops, the pastries, and ice cream shops to taste local products and treats. This Taormina excursion also includes lunch in one of the typical restaurants, to try the specialties of Sicilian cooking.
The Virgin of Letter is the Patron Saint of Messina.
This fountain represents the God of the seas: Neptune.
It is an impressive temple, the second in size for the churches of Messina
An ancient and beautiful village situated on the top of Taormina.
One of the two gateway of Taormina. Called in this way because is situated in front of Catania.
The Cathedral Fortress, as the Cathedral of Taormina was defined, was built around 1400 on the ruins of a small church from the Middle Ages and dedicated to San Nicola di Bari.
Together with the third wall, whose remains are still visible on the right side up to the castle, it delimited the part of the city defined as 'fifteenth-century village'.
Piazza IX Aprile is Taormina's most elegant "living room". Characteristic are the outdoor bars and artists who paint portraits and landscapes.
The second gateway of Taormina and in front of it you can see the city of Messina.
Piazza Duomo is situated in the historical centre of Taormina and is the meeting point from where the visit of Corso Umberto I, the main street, starts
Our representatives will meet you inside the port, at GATE 5. They will hold a sign with your name and a flag with our company logo: a LION HEAD. FOR GUESTS THAT ARE NOT CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS: The meeting point at our office DISCOVER MESSINA SICILY, located in Via I Settembre, 110, 45 minutes before the tour.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Taormina & Castelmola With Lunch lasts about 7 hours. The itinerary has 10 stops.
Prices start at $160 per person for this Sicily experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There are 3 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. Our representatives will meet you inside the port, at GATE 5. They will hold a sign with your name and a flag with our company logo: a LION HEAD. FOR GUESTS THAT ARE NOT CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS: The meeting point at our office DISCOVER MESSINA SICILY, located in Via I Settembre, 110, 45 minutes before the tour.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 15 participants.
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.5 out of 5 across 11 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by DISCOVER MESSINA SICILY.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
I booked a small group tour. I got a text from the tour company at 7:43 am that I could join a different small group at 7:30 or continue on a scheduled tour at 8:30 with 25 people. Not much of a choice at that point and it was too late to book anything else.
So much fun spending the day visiting Castelmona, Taormina, the Greek theater and Messina with time for shopping and cannoli recommended by the fabulous Margerarita! We learned so much history, sampled almond wine, had delicious cannoli, spectacular views and a comfortable ride start to finish!
Tour was very scenic and well coordinated. Our guide Serena was the best. Looked out for my husband who has a walking issue. However we did not get a lunch provided but time to buy our own
The views of the coastline and Mount Etna from both Castemola and Taormina were breathtaking. Outstanding quality and clean bus. Driver was exceptionally careful- most appreciated. Our guide Elisa shared a lot of great information but needs to work on her diction when speaking English and slow down on walking tours to make sure everyone is keeping up. I enjoyed talking to Pablo who gave me several good tips. This excursion was a great value.
Nice small group tour, 3 families total. I forgot tour guide’s name, something like Margarita. Brought us to the two little towns, guided tour in beginning with free time for eating and shopping.
From booking until the day of our trip this was an excellent company to deal with, regular txts prior to our trip keeping us updated with pick-up / collection point. Emanuela our guide was polite and professional from the word go, very informative with regards to what we were seeing and where we were going. The entire trip was excellent this was due to both our guide ( as mentioned) and our driver. I would definitely recommend this trip and tour company when in Sicily
Not worth the time or money. The tour description is deceptive. We thought it would be ancient sites/architecture but you spend the entire Taormina in a packed city with the occasional church you see from the outside. Castelmola was a cute village on a hill but the Roman ruins are not included in the tour. The tour guide gave virtually no information on ancient history, architectural knowledge, or actual knowledge of the history of the sites. Her accent was so thick it was truly hard to understand her plus you’re in a crowded city half the time with poor quality speaker/headphones that I could not hear anything she said once we arrived in Taormina. You basically pay for a ride to and from the port. You’re much better of getting a private driver or staying closer to the port.
We did Castelmola and Taormina + the Greek theater (without the included lunch) as a cruise excursion, and ended up going to the same restaurant since others in our tour were already going there. Both towns are beautiful! There was a good balance between the guided tour and free time in both places. Mariarita was a great guide, making accommodations for people and herding the kittens quite well. 😅 If you’re doing the included lunch, just note that the restaurant does cooking lessons so it was busy and quite slow (especially if you order pizza) - but it was really tasty. Also I don’t think the Greek theater was particularly great - if the weather is right you’ll get a really cool view of Mount Etna, but otherwise it’s not as interesting as any other Greek or Roman theater you can see in other places (they still host shows there so they had these ugly white plastic chairs covering the lower levels), and definitely not worth it if you’re there on a super hot day when you can’t even enjoy yourself and take your time wandering the premises.
Thank you for your kind comment! I'm happy you enjoyed the beauties of the island. Hope to see you again in the future! Kisses, Mariarita
Excellent tour. Our guide Chiani was wonderful. She had a great knowledge of the history of the area. Lunch was four courses with wine at this delightful restaurant in Taormina. Definetly recommend.
We enjoyed very much of this beautiful trip to Taormina and Castelmola, and the included lunch in this tour was absolutely fabulous. We thought the appetizer was the main course, and it surprised us with a tasty main course and the ice cream for desert. We love our two lovely lady tour guides, they are very good.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taormina & Castelmola With Lunch | 7 hours | 4.5 (11) | $160 | |
 Taormina and Castelmola Tour from Messina | 6 hours | 4.8 (806) | $109 | View |
 Full Day Taormina and Castelmola Tour with Messina Shore Excursion | 7 hours | 4.8 (282) | $137 | View |
 Messina Private excursion Taormina and Castelmola | 4–7 hours | 4.9 (176) | $172 | View |
 Catania Shore Excursion: Catania to Taormina and Castelmola | 5–6 hours | 4.6 (42) | $153 | View |
 Best Sicily Taormina and Castelmola Tour from Messina Port | 5–6 hours | 4.8 (25) | $72 | View |
 Mt. Etna and Taormina village full day tour from Catania | 9 hours | 4.8 (1,316) | $112 | View |