Cantania or Taormina/Mt. Etna

[ama]

We will be going on our first Mediterranean cruise in mid June and have never been to Catania/Sicily before. Would you recommend exploring Catania on our own or visiting Taormina/Mt.Etna on a private tour?

 

We are a family of 7: 3 adults, 2 seniors (mom has some mobility issues, can't walk for long periods of time), 2 children (4 and 7 yr old). We tend to prefer private tours or explore the port on our own (provided its "easy" enough to do).

 

Prior to this cruise stop, we will be spending 2 back to back full days with private tours in Rome and Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano. I'm wondering if we will be completely burnt out to do another full day tour. Any advice? Right after this stop, we will be in Valleta, Malta - which we will most likely do on our own.

 

Based on some initial research, it looks like Catania is a port that we could also do on our own. What is the best way for our party of 7 to get into town? Does Celebrity provide a shuttle? Otherwise, I'm assuming taxi ride?

 

Taormina sounds lovely and seems like more people recommend going here then exploring Catania, so I'm torn. In Taormina, we'd be interested in viewing the theatre and walking around the town/shopping. Mt. Etna sounds really interesting as well. So, I think I might have found a private tour that will take us to both places for the day, and stopping at some other scenic points. Any recommendations on tour operators?

 

Any recommendations on what we should do? Explore Catania on our own? Or utilize another private tour to visit Taormina/Mt. Etna? Thank you!

[ariannasstuff]

IMHO, Catania does not hold much for kids. The better plan is what you originally suggested... spend time at Mt. Etna and time at Taormina. Another idea, is to take the infamous "Godfather Tour" which takes you to Savoca where the Sicily scenes were shot. Two very good tour operators in Sicily are SicilyLife and RomeInLimo.

 

Whatever you choose, you will enjoy. Sicily is amazing!

[Alex71]

As Ariannasstuff said, Catania itself does not have too much to offer. We stayed there, did the HoHo bus, and regretted it. In retrospect, we would have done Taormina. At the port we saw many vans / shared taxis, that took people to Taormina and back for 15 EUR pp.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Alex71

[ama]

Thank you both! We have decided to go with Mt.Etna and Taormina. :)

[General Max]

Thank you both! We have decided to go with Mt.Etna and Taormina. :)

 

You might just want to consider doing just one of these based on the time element.

[sunshine nana]

We want to visit the WWII museum in Cantania. Has anyone gone there recently? How do we get there from the ship?

[General Max]

We want to visit the WWII museum in Cantania. Has anyone gone there recently? How do we get there from the ship?

 

The easiest way would be to take a taxi. This will save you some time.