What to See Around Taormina

After the theatre, head down to the coast. Isola Bella, the small island and nature reserve below Taormina, is the obvious next stop, and the easiest way to see it this winter is from the water. The park announced that the island is closed for maintenance from 2 November until about 15 December 2026, but boats still run along the coast around it.

Our pick is the Isola Bella and Blue Grotto boat tour: about an hour, about $25 per person (checked November 2026), 4.8/5 from 219 reviews, and it starts from a lido in the Isola Bella area, so you need no transfer to Giardini Naxos. It never lands on the island, which matters less this winter with the island shut. One caution from reviewers: the skipper’s English can be minimal, so treat it as a scenic ride with a swim stop, not a guided tour. Our review has the detail.

The main sights near the theatre

Bus fares are ASM’s tourist fares. The park prices come from the park’s multi-site list, which may not be current: a 2026 guide gives €6 for Isola Bella. Confirm before you go.

Isola Bella, Mazzarò and the beaches

Taormina town sits on the hill, and its beaches are below it at Mazzarò and Isola Bella. Isola Bella has a small beach, and one guide says you can reach the beach and look at the island from outside without a ticket. The island itself is a reserve with its own ticket, listed at €5 full and €2.50 reduced on the park’s price list.

The quickest way down is the Mazzarò cable car from the Via Pirandello area of town. It costs €8 single, €15 return or €20 for a day pass, runs every 15 minutes, and its winter hours are 8:00 to 20:00 (8:00 to 1:30 in summer). The ride takes about 3 minutes. It lands at Mazzarò, the next bay along from Isola Bella; we have no confirmed walking distance between the two. Last winter it closed for maintenance from 12 January to 28 March 2026, and the 2026–27 dates are not announced yet, so check ASM before you plan on it.

From the railway station, Trenitalia sells the ASM bus to Isola Bella with your train ticket for €2 extra: pick TAORMINA – ISOLA BELLA as the destination. The summer Sea Line bus along the coast ended on 31 October 2026.

The aperitif trip has more reviews (4.4/5 from 880), but it starts in Giardini Naxos, not below Taormina, and several reviewers say the aperitif was a small glass of prosecco and a biscuit. The full-day cruise is a summer trip; our November check found nothing before June 2027.

Castelmola, the village above

Castelmola is a separate village on the hill above Taormina. It looks close, about 1.1 km in a straight line, but the road winds for about 7 km. The ASM Linea Verde bus runs between Castelmola and Taormina, about 10 to 20 minutes, and from 1 November 2026 all its trips run every day, holidays included. Ignore the “15-minute walk” you may read online: that is straight-line maths. A marked hiking loop is listed at 8.26 km and 2 hours 45.

Several day tours include Castelmola. From Messina, the private Taormina and Castelmola tour gives about 1 hour there; from Catania, the Castelmola trips on the Catania page include it, and the guided Taormina and Castelmola tour gives 2 hours there, with almond liqueur at Bar Turrisi on the main square.

In town: Corso Umberto, gardens and an evening

Corso Umberto runs about 800 m to 1 km between Porta Messina and Porta Catania, and the turn up Via Teatro Greco to the theatre leaves it near the Porta Messina end. The Odeon and Roman Baths are free park sites in town. The Castello di Taormina appears on the park’s list at €10. The theatre has very little shade, and one travel site recommends the Villa Comunale gardens as a cooler stop afterwards; we could not confirm their hours.

Two paid options suit the rest of the day. The Sicilian cooking class starts at 10:00 near Porta Messina, about $117 per person (checked November 2026), 4.8/5 from 326 reviews. The sunset walking tour with rooftop aperitif costs about $157 per person, takes a maximum of six, and rates 5.0/5 from 23 reviews. Its route covers Corso Umberto, the Odeon and the churches, not the theatre.

Giardini Naxos and Etna

The Naxos Archaeological Park and Museum in Giardini Naxos is run by the same park as the theatre. It is listed at €5, and Taormina.it gives hours of 9:00 to 16:45; the ASM Linea Gialla bus links it with the town. For Etna, the day trips start from Catania, and the Catania page compares them.

For the bus and cable car connections from the station and the coast, read how to get there; to book the boat trip, check dates.