We're docking in Messina, 12-8pm. What we read about Messina leaves us with the feeling we need to get out of town and visit somewhere else. Do you have any ideas of where we should go with this limited time? We love antiquities (no shopping).
Thank you for your thoughts/ideas.
Posted by
Washington DC
28453 posts
I think Taormina is the obvious solution. You can get to Giardini-Naxos by train in less than an hour, then you take the shuttle bus up to Taormina. There may well be direct buses from Messina to Taormina as well. Taormina is intensely touristy but very beautiful, and it has a Greek theatre.
If you don't want to share the space with 3/4 of your cruisemates you could research Milazzo (on the northern coast) to see whether it sounds more congenial. I haven't been there.
I spent an in-transit night in Messina, and it is by no means a dreadful place. I agree that it wouldn't make my Sicilian Top Ten.
You may get more creative options on a forum targeted at cruise passengers.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I'll second Taormina. It is indeed where everyone goes from Messina, but even the crowds can't ruin the magic (at least for me).
The largest online cruise forum is Cruise Critic, but it can be hard to navigate. Here's their Taormina page (scroll down under "Find a Taormina (Messina) Hotel", and pick the tabs Info, Things To Do, and Shore Excursions): http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=82
Here's their Italy Ports forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595
You should also look into the book Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports. This has details of what's involved in seeing each port on your own, so you can decide if you want to do that, or go with a ship's tour. You can also use the Roll Call on Cruise Critic for your ship, where you can meet others on your sailing, to set up a private tour with a small group.
Posted by
Asbury Park, NJ
1 posts
I purchased Rick Steve's Mediterranean Ports but Messina, Sicily is not included. The book has a wealth of information otherwise. If you search MESSINA on this site you will fine Andy's blog.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
We found a market not far from the port area. Bought a purse there which I still use all these years later. Then we rode the hop-on/hop-off for a tour of the city. No doubt if you google "things to do" something of interest will come up.
You dock from 12 to 8pm but you will not have the full 8 hours to do what you decide to do., as you probably know. Closer to 6.