Travel Guide: Taormina, Sicily

Taormina, Sicily has exploded in popularity over the last few years due to the setting of the popular show, White Lotus, which, I, admittingly, have never seen, even after visiting Taormina. Regardless of the television show, Taormina, Sicily is a beautiful island located off the coast of Italy. After spending a few days in Taormina, I was blown away by the amazing scenery, incredible vistas, and perfect weather. Taormina an ideal relaxing beach destination but also has plenty of options for history and more adventurous travel. Here is some key facts about Taormina before planning your visit!

When to Visit:

Due to its location in Southern Italy, the weather in Taormina gets extremely hot and dry in the summer and is pretty mild in the winter. June – August are the hottest months of the year and temperatures can reach above 100 degrees Farenheit. These months are also the most popular times to visit Europe which means more crowds and higher prices for accommodations. If you do not travel well in the heat, I would recommend visiting Sicily during the shoulder months such as April- May and September-October. The rainiest months of the year are January, October, November and December.

Things to do/Top activities in Taormina:

Explore Taormina

For our first day in Taormina, we spent the day exploring the center of Taormina. We visited the Villa Comunale di Taormina, which is a peaceful garden in the heart of Taormina as well as Corso Umberto, the main pedestrian street in Taormina. Corso Umberto is filled with restaurants, cafes, and boutique stores. While there are a few designer stores such as Dior, many of the shops are more local and native to Sicily.

Another popular activity in Taormina is to visit Teatro Antico di Taormina, an amphitheater located right in Taormina. The Teatro has the most amazing views of the surrounding areas of Taormina and has stunning architecture from the Greek-Roman Era. While we did not opt for a tour, there are tours in a variety of different languages that walk through the history of the Teatro. It is definitely worthwhile a visit while you are in Taormina.

Half Day Mount Etna Tour

One of the most popular things to do when in Taormina is to visit Mount Etna, an active volcano that you can see from all of Taormina. For our second day in Taormina, we opted for a half day tour through Sicily Active to hike up Mount Etna. The tour picked us up at our hotel around 8:45 and we returned around 3pm, which is a half day tour. For the tour, we drove up 2000 m to hike up some of the ridges of the craters of Mount Etna and its volcanic eruptions. If you choose to do the hike, I would make sure you have appropriate footwear since the hike does get a bit steep in some areas. After the hike, we stopped for lunch at a “Chalet” located on the mountain. Overall, we really enjoyed our experience, and our tourguide was very knowledgeable. Another tip if you decide to visit Mount Etna: it gets REALLY hot in Sicily, so I would recommend starting the hike as early as possible. While it will be a bit cooler on the top of the mountain, it was hot in June so I can’t really imagine how it is in July and August.

Beach and Isola Bella

The third day, we spent relaxing at our hotel pool in the morning. In the afternoon, we took the path down to the public beach near Isola Bella. From Taormina, there are stairs that will take you directly to the beach. It took about 20 to 30 minutes to walk both ways. There is an option to take a cable car both directions if you do not want to walk to the beach. At the beach, there are a few restaurants, beach cafes, and companies where you can go snorkeling.

Where to Eat:

1. Al Saraceno: The restaurant is located high above Taormina and has the most incredible views of Etna, Taormina, and the Mediterrean Sea. The best way to get to Al Saraceno is to take the stairs from Taormina center (about 20 minutes). This was our favorite restaurant in Taormina!
2. Trattoria Da Nino: This restaurant is located in Taormina but right on the outskirts of the main town center. The menu was typical Sicilian cuisine and focused on meat and pasta. Our food was fantastic and the service was good. We really enjoyed our dinner here, and I would recommend eating here if you are in Taormina. The pistachio and shrimp pasta was very good, and pistachios are known to be local to Sicily!
3. Gambero Rosso: Another restaurant located in the heart of Taormina. This is a perfect restaurant if you are looking for pizza or pasta.
4. Licchio’s Coffee and Food: We ate here on our first day. This is a good option if you are looking for something quick to eat. It is located right in the heart of Taormina. While the restaurant does look a bit “touristy,” we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and taste of the food. The restaurant does also accommodation options for those with food allergies such as gluten free.
5. Bar Trinacria: If you are looking for a coffee, a quick snack, or granita (a Sicilian specialty of a frozen fruit drink), this is a good option located right near Costo Umberto and the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It is perfect to take in all the scenery of Taormina.

Is Taormina Expensive?

Based on our experience, we found Taormina to be a bit more reasonably priced than other parts of Italy such as Amalfi Coast.

I hope this guide is helpful to plan your trip to Taormina. For more detailed itinerary and recommendations, please feel free to reach out via the Contact Us page or by email: Sasha.pulde@traveledge.com