Messina

Top Messina activities

Top Messina landmarks

Messina trip ideas

Full Day Taormina and Castelmola Tour with Messina Shore Excursion

Messina, Italy

Messina Shore Excursion Full Day Taormina and Castelmola Tour

Likely to Sell Out

From $120.41

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

7 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Messina, Sicily

Messina Taormina excursions

from $142.30

Price varies by group size

Messina, Sicily

Messina and Taormina City Tour from Messina - Private tour

from $87.29

Messina, Sicily

The Godfather Movie Tour from Messina

from $84.21

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

While your ship is in Messina, see more of Sicily on a half-day trip to Taormina. Take a guided tour of this historical city, including a stroll along Corso Umberto, once an ancient Roman street, and a visit to the Greco-Roman Theater. Plus, sample Sicilian delicacies, admire views of Mt. Etna and Giardini-Naxos bay from Castelmola, and on return to Messina, check out this ancient port’s highlights. Port and Taormina pickup and drop-off included.

Explore Taormina and Castelmola on a shore excursion
Learn about the area's history from your tour guide
Enjoy free time to explore on your own
Round-trip transportation from the Messina cruise port included

What's Included

Transport by air-conditioned bus
Professional guide
Live commentary on board
Port pickup and drop-off
Entrance ticket to the Greek roman theater

Food and drinks
Gratuities
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

THE PICKUP TIME IS SETTLED 30 MINUTES AFTER THE DISEMBARKATION. Example: if your ship arrives at 8:00 AM the pickup time will be 8:30 AM; if the ship arrives at 9:00 AM the pickup time will be 9:30 AM, and so on.

What To Expect

La Madonnina del Porto (Pass By)

Fontana di Nettuno (Pass By)

Chiesa di S. Francesco all'Immacolata (Pass By)

Castelmola

50 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Quattro Fontane di Taormina (Pass By)

Duomo di Taormina (Pass By)

Corso Umberto

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Ancient Theatre of Taormina

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Porta Catania di Taormina (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infant seats available
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Stroller accessible
May be operated by a multilingual guide
Personal food and drinks allowed.

Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
Near public transportation
Walking in Taormina is over paved and cobblestone surfaces, some of which are sloped. The Greek Theater requires climbing steep uneven stone stairs to enter and numerous steps inside.
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

112 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 112 reviews

Sophia made the tour.

William_M, May 2024

Had a wonderful guide named Sophia who was very informative and very nice. Tour was well organized and on time. We would recommend this tour.

Great experience

Kim_B, Apr 2024

One of the best tours we've had the pleasure of taking- Wonderful guide, sunny and warm- good views of Mt Etna.

Outstanding

Andrew_K, Mar 2024

What an amazing trip! Both towns were incredible and exemplified a blend of both the beauty of nature and architectural marvel. Mariarita is truly a gem with her knowledge, passion, and expertise, as well as her positive energy. Our driver was expert in maneuvering the narrow windy roads. A fantastic, memorable day.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Dear Andrew, thank you so much for your kind review! it was a pleasure sharing with you that day! Warm regards, Mariarita

Taormina and Castelmola a must

Rene_N, Nov 2023

What an incredible day we had visiting Taormina and Castelmola! We were totally unprepared for how we would be blown away by the beauty and charm of these ancient villages! Katia was an amazing guide: knowledgeable, personable, enthusiastic! Really made us want to return to Messina to discover more of Sicily’s charms. Thanks for a memorable visit!

Exceptional Experience

CindyY, Nov 2023

Sara and Jacamo had a great understanding of the history and geology of the area. The tour of the Greek Theatre was exceptional. And, Sara even translated her mom’s cannoli recipe for us. Outstanding Day!

Great cities, but too many people in the excursion

Amanda_T, Nov 2023

My biggest issue with this excursion is that we were told on the phone that the group wouldn’t be more than 8 people, instead 5 buses showed up and we were 4 of close to 300 people. Not what we had in mind. The tour guide also did everything in English and Spanish so it felt like she was rushing through the information so it was hard to understand. Outside of those two things it was a good way to see the two towns.

Tour would be great if audio and timing better

Kat_B, Oct 2023

Elisa was a very knowledgeable tour guide. The bus driver was excellent - cannot believe how he navigated us and kept us safe. The stops on the tour were great ones to see and views were spectacular. The issue we had with this tour was two fold First the bus. The bus had not been cleaned after last tour - trash was around. We had to sit in the back and the carpet there was a true trip hazard. The audio on the bus was bad. We told Elisa twice we could only hear about 1/2 to 1/3 she was saying because of either the microphone or speaker. At points it hurt my ears. They could not fix it. Luckily when walking around we had another audio device which worked. Second was congestion leading to a timing issue. We had to wait well over 30 minutes for the elevator to take us from parking up to street level. This put Elisa in a rush. Often she would be moving on without all of us with her. We thought from the time we gained entrance to the the ancient theatre we would have at least 2 hours to tour it and the street of Taormina - it was just about 90 minutes - which included walking back.. It left us very little time and with trying to grab something to eat near impossible. I was very disappointed not to be able to hear our tour guide and to lose time waiting on an elevator.

Fun day

Julie_T, Oct 2023

We enjoyed our day. Taormina is beautiful. Tour was well planned and organized. Our tour guide, Gabriella, was fantastic.

Great tour and beautiful!

anthony_a, Sep 2023

Great group, not too big. They were patient with us, my wife is on a cane from a car wreck years ago but they made I’d easy on her and us with ramps instead of all stairs! Great sites and beautiful towns and views. Got back in plenty of time for our cruise.

A bit to touristy for our liking

Nicholas_Z, Jul 2023

I was very disappointed in this tour. We were taken up the side of a mountain in a bus that many times I thought we were gonna drive off the edge because we were going so fast to this town at the top. Once at the top I realized it was just a tourist trap. There were a few restaurants and stores filled with cheap gifts as well as the penis bar which I wish I had a heads up on before I brought my young daughters into. Its literally a bar that everything is a penis. I am not prudish at all but it was definitely a shock to my kids. From there we went to Taormina which was a decent place to shop for gifts with some nice restaurants. Overall I would have chosen a different tour to explore this area.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Dear Sir Thank you for sharing your opinion regarding our tour. We need to inform you that the entrance to the bar you mention is not mandatory and each guest can decide to get inside or not but we cannot hide the existence of this attraction in the destination that you visited. As far as regards the driver, we can assure you that all of them have a good knowledge of the area and they have good driving capacities and none of them would ever put the life of our guests in danger. We are sorry if your experience was not satisfying and we will make sure to give a better explanation of this destination in advance to our guests in order to make sure that they will enjoy each moment.

The tour was lovely....

Daniel_Y, Jul 2023

The tour was lovely. Sofia did her best w the drive so we would have enough time for all things Aaaaaaaaa

Castelmola was worth the trip

Derrick_R, Jul 2023

The small bus ride to Castelmola was very cool. The skilled bus driver takes you up one of the smallest and windiest roads I’ve ever seen to one of the coolest small villages you will ever see. The view is stunning and every street and alley is picturesque. My only complaint was that we didn’t get enough time to relax and enjoy the town more. After Castelmola, the bus takes you back down the hill to Taormina which is nice but it is very crowded with tourists and gift shops. Our guide, Mariarita, was informative about the plazas, churches and ancient theatre. We spent a little over an hour on a guided tour and then had free time to roam.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Dear Derrick, I'm so glad to receive your opinion. Hope we will meet again in the future. thank you so much, Mariarita

Great tour

Yanet_P, Jul 2023

Great tour!! Both places are Beautiful, Taormina was the best for us. So much to see, shop and eat. Very hot in July though

Fantastic experience!

Ruth_O, Jul 2023

Beautiful excursion with so much history. Tour guide was so informative. Would recommend taking this tour, it was one of our favorites.

Discover Messina - Excellent Tour Guide

Jesse_S, Jun 2023

Sabrina was excellent! She was professional, fun, and has great knowledge of Taormina! It was a Sunday when we went on our tour and we attended Catholic Mass service in Taormina and had to give up the tour of the Roman Stadium in order not to hold the rest of the group. Well, when we exited the church one hour later, she was right outside waiting for us to give my wife and I the tour of the stadium which we thought we were not going to see. What an awesome tour guide! Thank you Sabrina!

A good introduction the this area of Sicily.

RobertB_F, May 2023

Our tour guide, Sabrina nd her assistant Manuella, did a great job of telling us about this area of Sicily. She shared a lot of history and information and showed us the key highlights of both the towns we visited We had lots of time for shopping and walking through the towns and although Castelmola is very tiny, it is worth it to take the walk up to the castle for the views of the surrounding area. We also enjoyed the Italian pastry that we were given and the taste of the almond wine. A good tour and good guides! We have one suggestion. It would be helpful to have audio guides both in the bus and while walking around.

Rained on our parade

Nick_B, May 2023

Customer service at Discover Massina was exceptional. After a scheduling mix up on my part Catia rearranged for us to travel an another date. The tour was canceled due to heavy rains . Thank you Catia for all your efforts. We will tour Taoramina with you In the future. Great support and help

Response from Host, May 2023

Dear Nick It was a pleasure being helpful and we are thankful for your kind words! Whenever you will decide to be our guest, it will be a great honor for all of our team to guide you to the discovery of our beautiful land. Catia

Breathtaking views

Charles_W, May 2023

Castemola was rich in tradition and the views were spectacular. Taormina has beautiful shops, great restaurants and breathtaking views.

Great tour and beautiful villages

Dennis_P, Nov 2022

Katia was very knowledgeable and fluent in English. Loved having the mini bus take us to the top of the hill so we had a less up hill climb and more time to visit this quaint little villages

Tour

Cjet, Nov 2022

Both places were fun to explore. The areas had so much history and the buildings were interesting. Great tour guide.

...