Day trips from Taormina
Castelmola is fifteen minutes by bus, Savoca an hour, and Etna needs a whole day and organised transport.
- Castelmola
- €4, about 15 min
- Savoca
- €6, about 1 h
- Etna
- from €45, a full day
Three directions lead out of Taormina and each needs a different day: Castelmola and Savoca by bus, Etna on a tour. The order runs from the nearest.
Nearest, half a day
Castelmola is a village on the hill above Taormina. You take the Interbus bus, Interbus bus, direct, about fifteen minutes each way; a return ticket is €4. Allow half a day.
The village from The Godfather
Together with Forza d'Agrò, Savoca stood in for Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972); Bar Vitelli, which still runs, is where Michael asks Apollonia's father for permission to meet her. The village is also on the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy. The Interbus bus takes about 1 h, a return ticket is €6, and the visit itself needs half a day.
A full day, on a tour
From Taormina the easiest way up Etna is an organised bus excursion, organised bus excursion (no direct public transit). The drive one way takes about 2 h driving one way (with stops), and the tour costs from €45. Allow a full day; the tour goes up to about two thousand metres.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which day trip from Taormina is the nearest?
Castelmola: Interbus bus, direct, about fifteen minutes each way, return ticket €4.
Can I reach Etna by public transport?
Not directly: organised bus excursion (no direct public transit), tour price from €45.
How long does the trip to Savoca take?
The bus takes about 1 h each way; allow half a day for the visit.
Ready for Taormina?
Where to next
The best time to visit Taormina
→Spring and early autumn suit Taormina; summer is hot and packed, and in winter some stops shorten or close.
Catania · 45 km
→Black Baroque built from lava stone, a fish market behind the cathedral and a volcano at the end of the main street.
How well does Taormina suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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