Taormina is a little town of the eastern Sicily, positioned on a hill with a view of the volcano Etna on one side and of Calabria on the other side.
Summer season is coming up and few English friends are ready for a holiday in my beloved country, I’ve decided to write the first post on one of my favourite Italian places and that I can call home: Taormina.
As you might already know I’m from Catania, but since I was 6 I spent every summer in Taormina.
It’s not very easy to write about places that you know very well, but I’m giving it a go. I’ve prepared a nice map on Google mymaps to make things easier for you, is at the end of the post.
Let’s start with some tips:
When to go, but most important when not to go?
Taormina is a holiday destination for foreigners, Italians, but first of all for Sicilians, so if you’d like to enjoy a bit of calm, cafes, bars and restaurants not too crowded, try to avoid July and August. It can be very hot as well!
Taormina in full summer season can be a nightmare.
I’d definitely suggest May and September as the best months to visit. Warm weather and not too many people. Bear in mind that the worst days are also the weekends in May, June and September.
How to get there?
In Sicily, unfortunately, you need a car.
Don’t forget that in Taormina and surroundings, big parkings are not free and parking in the streets are for residents only.
There are two big pay parking, one in Porta Catania and one in Porta Messina, in August is very common to queue to get in. There is another smaller pay parking in Mazzaro (by the sea), from here you can reach Taormina with the cableway (3 euro per person one way).
With public transport is it possible to reach Taormina town by bus or Taormina sea side by train (the train station is closer to Giardini Naxon than Taormina).
How long to spend in Taormina and surroundings?
Taormina can be visited in one day including some time spent by the beach. If you’d like to discover also the surroundings I’d suggest to spend 2-3 days in the area. Booking accommodation in Letojanni or Giardini Naxos and use it as a base to travel around the eastern Sicily could be a good and cheaper idea, Taormina can be very expensive.
If you have any questions and you need more info not mentioned in the post/map, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to reply 🙂
Enjoy my Sicily!
Currently considering a week in Taormina towards the end of October. We are slow travellers and like to get to know a place by spending some time there. Are there any hiking opportunities around Taormina or should we be somewhere else for this? We love to walk the local area and would perhaps catch a bus to somewhere and then walk back for 3 hours. We don t particularly like the crowds but usually find a place can be heavily touristed but get off the beaten track by a few hundred metres and you are all alone.
Hi Sofia, sorry for the late reply. Lots of things are going on, and we had a break from the website. We hope you had a lovely time in Taormina. Tell us your impressions 🙂