Taormina and Castelmola from Messina Shared Group Tour
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Sicily, Italy
- 4 to 6 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Make the most of your time in Sicily on this immersive, small-group shore excursion. Over the course of just half a day, you’ll venture to Taormina (and will discover top landmarks like its Greek amphitheater), will visit the hilltop village of Castelmola (renowned for its impeccable scenery), and will finish with a walking tour of Messina’s historical city center. Port pickup and drop-off, and round-trip minivan transit, make logistics seamless and stress-free.
- Visit Taormina, Castelmola, and Messina, in the space of just half a day
- Round-trip transit from the port makes getting around simple
- Discover Taormina and Messina’s key historical landmarks
- See panoramic views of Taormina, Mt. Etna and beyond from Castelmola
What's Included
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Driver/guide
- Transport by air-conditioned coach/bus, minivan
- This is a shared tour. According the number of bookings the group can be of 28 people
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Arranged start time
Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
- 04/01/2017 - 12/31/2029
Monday - Sunday : 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Itinerary
Sicily4you (Pass By)
Porta Catania di Taormina (Pass By)
1
Taormina
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Castelmola
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Messina (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 5 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Infant seats available
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- At time of booking, Hotel guests must provide the name of Hotel
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative tour or full refund.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 28 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 142 reviews
RngRhonda_C, Apr 2026
We will definitely use this service again. Booking via Viator was very easy and easy to reach when I had a question, and the tour manager patiently explained all the possibilities, which reassured us before the trip. The arrangements and coordination were excellent, the drivers were great, and the tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. We truly enjoyed the trip.
Andrea_P, Dec 2025
10/13/25 - This tour was fabulous! Castelmola and Taormina were incredibly beautiful! Our tour guide, Sam, was fun and knowledgeable. He even stayed around after returning to Messina to take those of us that wanted to go to the main square and told us all about the astronomical clock and cathedral. I would definitely go back and would do this tour again! Thank you for an incredible day on the island of Sicily!
Darrel_M, Nov 2025
Communication prior to the tour was excellent. Mike was a very good driver/guide. We found his claim to be the worst driver in the company unbelievable, hahaha. The Mercedes van was comfortable, and Mike filled the driving time with interesting history and insights into life in Sicily. Our visits to Castelmola and Taormina were very relaxing and featured beautiful views. People looking to book should know that your time in these towns is “free time” rather than guided touring. It was a perfect day for us, and Mike even pointed out a perfect spot to get a cannoli when he dropped us off back in Messina.
Ginger_R, Nov 2025
I loved the tour and the time in the little towns. They made the trip for me because it totally felt like Italy. The streets, shops, people and oh the food!! And let’s not forget the views!!
jrstubbins, Oct 2025
This was a great tour to the beautiful hilltop village / town Castelmola and Taormina. Some spectacular views in Castelmola and some great shopping in Taormina. Sam our guide and Orazio our driver looked after us very well and we would highly recommend this excursion when in Messina.
Jill_C, Oct 2025
Our guide was extremely kind and knowledgeable.. she gave good suggestions but allowed us free time to explore.
sesselman, Oct 2025
The time spent in each location was perfect. The van was comfortable as well. Michael was very knowledgeable of Sicily.
Dan_F, Oct 2025
This was a perfect day tour in Sicily! Our guide Salvo was very knowledgeable and shared information about the history of Sicily, foods to eat, and of course, information about each of the sites we visited. He fielded all of our random questions as well. It was nice to get to Taormina ahead of the cruise ship excursions to enjoy the town before 100s of people descended on it. It was also nice to have free time at both locations to enjoy some food and take pictures. On the way back to Messina, I managed to catch a quick nap. A perfect day in Sicily!
ROBERT_C, Sep 2025
Everything as expected; Italian. Torrential rains, part of the tour had to be cancelled. Great tour guides and clear instructions. Highly recommend the tour and Sam the tour guide
Constance_T, Sep 2025
Great tour. This area is soooo beautiful! Highly recommend this tour!
Good trip and beautiful location.
Alla_F, Sep 2025
Michael, our guide was amazing - Friendly, perfect balance of tour guide and humour… made for a comfortable and easy ride to see 2 beautiful historic cities…. Recommend!!!
Kenyan_T, Sep 2025
My wife and I had a great time with Sam who was a fantastic tour guide. He was very professional, and knowledgeable. He shared detailed information about the history of Messina and the surrounding cities. He was truly great. Would highly recommend for any cruise passengers who wish to do a lot in a short amount of time. After the tour, Sam took us to one of the oldest church’s in Italy right near the port.
Jo_S, Aug 2025
Excellent trip. Beautiful towns to visit with excellent shops, cafes, restaurants and stunning views. Michael, our guide, was brilliant - really informative with a great blend of facts and humour! Would highly recommend 👌
Cathy_L, Aug 2025
Wow!!! We were on the cruise ship Celebrity constellation and choose to book this tour through Viator and we were thrilled we did. We were personally met by our guide and driver Michael at the dock and his knowledge of the area was exceptional. He took us directly to Taormina so we could eat the tour buses which gave us the opportunity to take photos without the crowd crush. This is a much better way to tour these 2 beautiful villages in a personable way. Thank you mixhaely
Swapna_K, Aug 2025
Our tour guide was a wealth of information. He knew so much about Siciliy and the history. The town of Toarmina is absolutely gorgeous. The theater is beautiful, but I could have skipped it and spent more time in boutiques and cafes. The town of Castle Mola is beautiful, but again, I could have spent more time just wandering around Toarmina. What a beautiful area.
Timothy_C, Aug 2025
Bring your best camera, your hand sanitizer and wipes. Walking amount is reasonable and self-directed. If you have issues with high altitudes, this may not be advisable.
Betsy_H, Jul 2025
Unfortunately, high winds caused the cancellation of this tour. However, the communication was great.
Cristina_M, Jul 2025
We had a fabulous time and tour with salvo and Gino our driver. Salvo is very knowledgeable and informative about Taormina history and Sicily in general! It was a perfect day. Heading back to Messina was very long as there was a highway accident. But salvo keep us informed all the way. We have enough time in both castelmola and Taormina and Messina to enjoy their qualities well done salvo
Alexandria_C, Jun 2025
Michele was a fantastic tour guide! He was so kind, funny, and gave us a lot of great information about the history and culture of the places we visited. He recommended the best places to eat and where to get a great cannoli!
Randall_S, Jun 2025
Well organized tour of Taormina and Castelmola. We started and ended on time steps from the Messina cruise port. Enjoyed hearing about Sicilian history and culture during our transit as well as seeing the beauty of the area. Michele was fantastic and very personable. Do understand this is not a guided tour after arriving to the destinations. You should have a planned itinerary prior to arriving in Taormina/Catelmola. Regardless, I highly recommend this as an alternative to what the cruise lines offer if you would like a few hours on your own to self explore.
Heidi_V, Jun 2025
Great experience and beautiful scenery. Guide was very informative and friendly. We recommend this tour
stuart_y, Jun 2025
Great tour with our guide Michael who had a good knowledge of the area. We we're on a cruise ship and Michael was waiting for us at the exit gate holding a sign with our name on. Taormina and Caslemola are beautiful towns and we'll worth the journey, we had an hour free time at Caslemola and two hours at Taormina. The whole experience was around 6 hours and we were back to the port around 15.00 in plenty of time for all aboard at 17.30.
There were 6 of us on the mini bus and it could have taken 8 very modern bus with good air con and and comfortable seating.
Calley_C, Jun 2025
This trip is exactly what it says! Takes you to both places gives you free time to explore in both! Guide assistant guide and driver did a fantastic job! He explained so much on the way to sites! GREAT DAY!! Thanks so much!
Alan_W, Jun 2025
We had a wonderful time today. We absolutely loved Taormina—so beautiful!
We are also very grateful for Michael our tour guide. His explanations were so helpful in understanding about Sicily, the people and the local culture. Great English communication skills, and very friendly.
Kerri_T, Jun 2025
This was a great way to see different parts of Sicily. We got enough time to walk around, shop & have some snacks. Our guide, Michael, was perfect!
Jacquie_C, May 2025
Excellent tour, especially Castelmola! Knowledgeable tour guide and both cities were beautiful where we could enjoy a delicious food experience
chrissievasili, May 2025
The young tour guide we had was very knowledgeable and very nice. We were impressed with his enthusiasm and passion with the history.
Holly_B, May 2025
We had a really wonderful tour with excellent driver and great tour guide! I forget his name but he was a young university student and his English was very good. He gave us good historical information and some fun personal stories about his family. He was so considerate and had a peaceful demeanor even with some of the crazy tourism surrounding us. The only problem we had was that the meeting point was right outside the port and although the location was convenient there were swarms of people trying to sell all of the cruisers tours and taxis in our faces so it made it difficult to find the one tour with a sign with our name (and other names) on it. This was a very stressful and hectic 15 minutes of trying to locate them, but once we found them everything was smooth sailing. I would suggest a meeting point a block away from the chaos.
sheryl, May 2025
Had a good guide. He seemed to enjoy his job and knew the history well. It rained hard almost the entire time. So it made it hard to walk around. I was glad we brought our raincoats and umbrella. The problem was the very narrow streets at times the van had to pull over to allow the oncoming traffic to pass many times. I would have liked more time to walk around Taormina. Loved this is a small group tour.
Mike_D, May 2025
Sam was our guide and very knowledgeable and entertaining. The two cities were fun to visit. Lots of dining and shopping options
From $175.09
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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