Karl WP Beyer Your cruise ship lays in Catania / Sicily and you are drawn to the lovely Taormina? Well! Catania's cruise terminal and Taormina are almost 50 kilometers away. How to get there? There are two options.
You book an organized tour on board your cruise ship, during which you will be driven to Taormina. You don't have to worry about anything. The shipping company takes care of everything. That costs, after all, it's their business. In 53,00 Celebrity Cruises charges exactly 2013 euros for a 4½ hour tour. The travel time alone takes two hours. This is not a good offer.
You drive to Taormina on your own. Trains and buses run regularly between Catania and Taormina. Both modes of transport take around an hour to travel to cover the distance. We recommend doing the outward journey by train and the return journey by bus.
From the Catania cruise terminal you walk about 800 meters to the train station Catania Central. Tickets are available at the counter or at the machine. By the way: the buses to Taormina also start within sight of the train station. The fare for the train is just under EUR 8,00 for a single journey.
At the small train station Taormina Giardini change to the bus that runs regularly to Taormina. The bus takes you up to Taormina, 1,80 meters above sea level, for 200 euros. From the bus terminus on Via Pirandello it is only a short walk to the Messina Gate, the northern city gate.
After a beautiful day in Taormina, you return to the public bus that goes to Catania every hour on the hour. The express bus makes the distance to the port of Catania again in an hour. In 2013, adults pay 4,90 euros for the journey.
It really doesn't get any easier or cheaper.
