Questions: Celebrity "Taormina City on Your Own" or ??

[llarsen]

Hi,

We will call on Messina next September on a Saturday on the new Ascent, 8:00am-6:00pm

 

We have visited Taormina in the past and took a nice private tour which also included Castelmola and Savoca. (We have no interest in visiting Mt. Etna).

This time, we would like to just visit Taormina on our own and take our time walking around having lunch there.

 

There is a Celebrity tour "Taormina City on Your Own" that is 5hrs long (including travel time). 

Pros: Takes us to our destination and back to the ship on time

Cons: $90pp (can take train/bus for about $6 per person) plus small cost for taxi or bus to town.

 

There is a 9:15am train to Taormina-Giardini, but then we need a bus or taxi (preferred) to Taormina and I'm not sure how available they are? I'm more worried if they will be available on the way back?

 

The Viator tours all seem to include other towns or are very expensive.

The bus from Messina appears to leave at noon (too late) 

 

Questions:

Has anyone taken the Celebrity "Taormina City on Your Own" tour that can share their experience?

Did you have plenty of time in Taormina?

Would you recommend it?

 

Has anyone taken the train on their own from Messina to Taormina-Giardini and then a taxi or bus up to Taormina?

Can you share your experience?

Was it hard finding taxi or bus at Taormina-Giardini or from Taormina to the Taormina-Giardini train station?

 

 

Thanks for any advice or replies!

 

[hcat]

I think the Cekeb tranportation is a good idea..It's not that close to the port. That On Your Own will make sure you get back on time!

 

You will have time to do your own thing..sightsee, shop, lunch etc  We went on a full guided X tour.  It becane a bit boring so we let the guide know we were going off to lunch and would meet the group in time for the bus Others did the same..on our own wouldd have been great!

[cw2go]

The train station is quite a hike uphill and that'll cost you time. I have done the transfer via ship, had about 3 hours for lunch and to explore the theater/shops. We enjoyed our day and loved Taormina! 

 

Patty 

[TourDeCruise]

We took the Taormina on Your Own which included plenty of time for walking around town and going to the Roman-Greek amphitheater.

[Jeremiah1212]

I've done it both ways. Once by private vehicle for six people which I believe was around $400. Very expensive for the travel time involved but obviously the quickest and most luxurious. The second time we did the train and took a cab to the cable car station. I want to say there is also an orange bus that does the trip up to Taormina for only a few euros. I avoid ship tours at all costs and I'm not one to shy away from winging it a bit, but this one is very easy to DIY even though it may seem complicated at first. 

[saffy12]

$90 per person seems very expensive solely for transportation!  

It's been more than 10 years since I went, but we used a private tour with Sicily by Mario - he was great!  We did a little bit more driving around/touring in the morning and he brought us to a wonderful place for lunch (the restaurant was built into the cliff, overlooking the water), then dropped us in Taormina to walk around on our own before bringing us back to the boat.  We had a shared tour with others on our roll call, so there were like 7 of us total, and I'm sure we didn't spend that much (of course, that was 10 years ago!).  

 

You might want to check into a private tour guide like that and see what they can do for you.   Just to not be part of the cattle call of the big bus group.  There is a place for a big tour, but at that price, I'd want to get something more.  

[Essiesmom]

Both times we did the Taormina tour the bus dropped us at a parking garage and there was no need for further transport into town.  Both trips were from Catania, one Celebrity and one HAL.  EM

[barneyboy]

https://www.sightseeing-experience.com/messina-taormina-shuttle-bus/
 

 We used this company earlier this month when we were in Messina on Celebrity Reflection and didn’t have any problems. 

[dock]

Personally I’d pay for the convenience through X.
We’ve done it and I found the time was enough. 

[dreamboat43]

We did the "on your own" tour with Celebrity and it was great!  No need for a tour guide really.  We had plenty of time for lunch and walking around Taormina.  

 

[canuck059]

We took the train on our own from Messina to Taormina-Giardini.  There was a bus waiting at the train station that we took up to Taormina for ~€2.  It let us off just outside the city gate Porta Messina.  On the way back, we just walked down the trail to the train station (You can see it on Google Maps....it starts just outside the public gardens).   Everything went smoothly and it was ALOT cheaper than the cruise line excursion.

 The schedule for the bus can be found here: https://www.interbus.it/taormina/  Search for Taormina to Giardini.  There looks to be a bus every 30 min.

[Loracpin2]

On 9/29/2023 at 11:12 AM, llarsen said:

Hi,

We will call on Messina next September on a Saturday on the new Ascent, 8:00am-6:00pm

 

We have visited Taormina in the past and took a nice private tour which also included Castelmola and Savoca. (We have no interest in visiting Mt. Etna).

This time, we would like to just visit Taormina on our own and take our time walking around having lunch there.

 

There is a Celebrity tour "Taormina City on Your Own" that is 5hrs long (including travel time). 

Pros: Takes us to our destination and back to the ship on time

Cons: $90pp (can take train/bus for about $6 per person) plus small cost for taxi or bus to town.

 

There is a 9:15am train to Taormina-Giardini, but then we need a bus or taxi (preferred) to Taormina and I'm not sure how available they are? I'm more worried if they will be available on the way back?

 

The Viator tours all seem to include other towns or are very expensive.

The bus from Messina appears to leave at noon (too late) 

 

Questions:

Has anyone taken the Celebrity "Taormina City on Your Own" tour that can share their experience?

Did you have plenty of time in Taormina?

Would you recommend it?

 

Has anyone taken the train on their own from Messina to Taormina-Giardini and then a taxi or bus up to Taormina?

Can you share your experience?

Was it hard finding taxi or bus at Taormina-Giardini or from Taormina to the Taormina-Giardini train station?

 

 

Thanks for any advice or replies!

 

We never wanted to visit Mt. Etna either. But I can tell you that when we visited Taormina a few years ago and sailed out of port in the dark, the highlight of the entire 11 night cruise was standing on our port side balcony on the Silhouette and watching her erupt.

[EnjoyTravel]

On 9/29/2023 at 11:12 AM, llarsen said:

Hi,

We will call on Messina next September on a Saturday on the new Ascent, 8:00am-6:00pm

 

We have visited Taormina in the past and took a nice private tour which also included Castelmola and Savoca. (We have no interest in visiting Mt. Etna).

This time, we would like to just visit Taormina on our own and take our time walking around having lunch there.

 

There is a Celebrity tour "Taormina City on Your Own" that is 5hrs long (including travel time). 

Pros: Takes us to our destination and back to the ship on time

Cons: $90pp (can take train/bus for about $6 per person) plus small cost for taxi or bus to town.

 

There is a 9:15am train to Taormina-Giardini, but then we need a bus or taxi (preferred) to Taormina and I'm not sure how available they are? I'm more worried if they will be available on the way back?

 

The Viator tours all seem to include other towns or are very expensive.

The bus from Messina appears to leave at noon (too late) 

 

Questions:

Has anyone taken the Celebrity "Taormina City on Your Own" tour that can share their experience?

Did you have plenty of time in Taormina?

Would you recommend it?

 

Has anyone taken the train on their own from Messina to Taormina-Giardini and then a taxi or bus up to Taormina?

Can you share your experience?

Was it hard finding taxi or bus at Taormina-Giardini or from Taormina to the Taormina-Giardini train station?

 

 

Thanks for any advice or replies!

 

Yes - we did the Taormina City on Your Own tour just last month.  The experience was fine - basically it's transportation to/from the town.  The driver did point out some highlights as we were driving.  After arriving, you take the elevator (or stairs) to the plaza outside the parking structure and arrange to meet at a certain time for the return trip.

I thought the time in Taormina was too short.  Not enough time to walk around, see sites, have something to eat/drink, and/or shop.   I mentioned this to one of the staff at the future cruise desk, and she said they hear that all the time. 

I hope that's helpful.

 

[llarsen]

13 hours ago, canuck059 said:

We took the train on our own from Messina to Taormina-Giardini.  There was a bus waiting at the train station that we took up to Taormina for ~€2.  It let us off just outside the city gate Porta Messina.  On the way back, we just walked down the trail to the train station (You can see it on Google Maps....it starts just outside the public gardens).   Everything went smoothly and it was ALOT cheaper than the cruise line excursion.

 The schedule for the bus can be found here: https://www.interbus.it/taormina/  Search for Taormina to Giardini.  There looks to be a bus every 30 min.

Hi! Thanks for the information.

Can you give me an idea for what time you took the train from Messina to Taormina-Giardini? And what time you returned? Also, did you walk to the Messina train station? Thank you!

 

[llarsen]

10 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

We never wanted to visit Mt. Etna either. But I can tell you that when we visited Taormina a few years ago and sailed out of port in the dark, the highlight of the entire 11 night cruise was standing on our port side balcony on the Silhouette and watching her erupt.

Yes! When we were there ash was floating down everywhere and Taormina was covered in black soot and white ash. But to see her erupting especially at night would be really something to see!

[llarsen]

On 9/29/2023 at 10:52 AM, barneyboy said:

https://www.sightseeing-experience.com/messina-taormina-shuttle-bus/
 

 We used this company earlier this month when we were in Messina on Celebrity Reflection and didn’t have any problems. 

Thanks so much! This is much more reasonable than the Celebrity transfer!

Was the pick up point in Messina easy to find?

Did you feel 3 hrs in Taormina was enough time? Thanks again!

[barneyboy]

6 hours ago, llarsen said:

Thanks so much! This is much more reasonable than the Celebrity transfer!

Was the pick up point in Messina easy to find?

Did you feel 3 hrs in Taormina was enough time? Thanks again!

Yes the pick-up point was easy to find - about 10 minutes walk from the port. When we arrived early there was nobody there from the tour company but there were a few other passengers waiting and after about 5 minutes the minibus arrived. 
Another hour in Taormina would have been good but we had a walk around the streets, had coffee and cannoli and visited the Botanical gardens. 

[canuck059]

8 hours ago, llarsen said:

Hi! Thanks for the information.

Can you give me an idea for what time you took the train from Messina to Taormina-Giardini? And what time you returned? Also, did you walk to the Messina train station? Thank you!

 

The train station was about a 10 min walk from our ship.  We caught the 9:15 train to Taormina and arrived there at 10:00.  A bus was waiting in the parking lot at the train station and left ~15 min later.  We then caught another bus from Taurmina to Castelmola.  After admiring the view for ~30 min we walked down the Sentiero dei Saraceni back to Taurmina.  We wandered down the main street, visited the Teatro Greco and Villa Communale.  From there it was ~30 min walk back down to the train station.  We took the 4:10 train back to Messina and had enough time for a quick look at the Cathedral and clock tower in Messina on the way back to the ship for a 5:30 all aboard.

If you aren't interested in going to Castelmola, you would have 4 1/2 hours in Taurmina and maybe a bit more if you took a taxi back to Taormina-Giardini rather than walking.

Edited October 1, 2023 by canuck059

[Loracpin2]

9 hours ago, llarsen said:

Yes! When we were there ash was floating down everywhere and Taormina was covered in black soot and white ash. But to see her erupting especially at night would be really something to see!

 

It really was.  While we were standing on our balcony watching the eruption I could only think of one thing. First to provide some history, both my maternal Grandparents (they didn't know each other at that time) and their Families came from the Naples area of Italy. They entered the U.S. through Ellis Island in NYC in the very early 1900"s, ultimately met as adults and married. 

 

When I was a young girl, my Grandmother told me stories that when she was very young Mt. Vesuvius erupted and they all had to run from their homes with bed pans on their heads to protect them from the lava and ash. The night we stood on our Silhouette balcony watching Mt. Etna erupt and saw the red lava coming down, all I could think of was my Grandparents and their Families running with bed pans on their heads to protect themseves from burning.

[llarsen]

13 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

 

It really was.  While we were standing on our balcony watching the eruption I could only think of one thing. First to provide some history, both my maternal Grandparents (they didn't know each other at that time) and their Families came from the Naples area of Italy. They entered the U.S. through Ellis Island in NYC in the very early 1900"s, ultimately met as adults and married. 

 

When I was a young girl, my Grandmother told me stories that when she was very young Mt. Vesuvius erupted and they all had to run from their homes with bed pans on their heads to protect them from the lava and ash. The night we stood on our Silhouette balcony watching Mt. Etna erupt and saw the red lava coming down, all I could think of was my Grandparents and their Families running with bed pans on their heads to protect themseves from burning.

Wow. That is a touching story of your Grandparents. I couldn't imagine going through that. We deal with earthquakes in CA, but an erupting volcano would be so scary. My Great Grandparents came from Sicily, settled in New Orleans, then moved to Los Angeles in 1910. I searched for their records and almost felt like I knew them by the time I found their birth records 🙂

[llarsen]

15 hours ago, canuck059 said:

The train station was about a 10 min walk from our ship.  We caught the 9:15 train to Taormina and arrived there at 10:00.  A bus was waiting in the parking lot at the train station and left ~15 min later.  We then caught another bus from Taurmina to Castelmola.  After admiring the view for ~30 min we walked down the Sentiero dei Saraceni back to Taurmina.  We wandered down the main street, visited the Teatro Greco and Villa Communale.  From there it was ~30 min walk back down to the train station.  We took the 4:10 train back to Messina and had enough time for a quick look at the Cathedral and clock tower in Messina on the way back to the ship for a 5:30 all aboard.

If you aren't interested in going to Castelmola, you would have 4 1/2 hours in Taurmina and maybe a bit more if you took a taxi back to Taormina-Giardini rather than walking.

Thank you for all the detailed information!!! This is so helpful! I think we would skip Castelmola and just relax in Taormina a bit longer. We like to do our own thing in ports but have had some unexpected situations at times, but I guess that's all in the fun of it. I will look for some taxi phone numbers to have on had just in case, lol. Thanks again! Beautiful photos! 🙂

[Loracpin2]

4 hours ago, llarsen said:

Wow. That is a touching story of your Grandparents. I couldn't imagine going through that. We deal with earthquakes in CA, but an erupting volcano would be so scary. My Great Grandparents came from Sicily, settled in New Orleans, then moved to Los Angeles in 1910. I searched for their records and almost felt like I knew them by the time I found their birth records 🙂

Thank you!🙂

[Loracpin2]

7 hours ago, llarsen said:

Wow. That is a touching story of your Grandparents. I couldn't imagine going through that. We deal with earthquakes in CA, but an erupting volcano would be so scary. My Great Grandparents came from Sicily, settled in New Orleans, then moved to Los Angeles in 1910. I searched for their records and almost felt like I knew them by the time I found their birth records 🙂

My Paternal Grandparents came from Sicily. Story goes when my Neopolitan Mother met and married my Sicilian Father both sets of Grandparents weren't happy. Then when the Grandchildren (me first then my Brother) came along.....everything was perfect on both sides of the Families!!!😍