We will be arriving at 8am and departure will be 6 pm. Would like to take a tour of Taormina and Castlemoro with small amount of time left to see Messina. Can’t seem to get a handle on tours. Don’t care for a bus tour maybe van with 8 people max.
Do you have any recommendations?
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2473 posts
hey hey bsmccallum1
welcome to the forum/board
when is this cruise, how many people? even though 8am arrival will you be able to get off ship at that time or later.
register with cruisecritic.com (free). it's a great site to see what's out there. i would look for private taxi tours, email what i was looking for and some of them would offer ideas. we always wanted small, 4-8 people, to share cost. they would email the plan and cost for the tour not per person, was very adament about getting back to port before departure. we would reserve and pay day of tour, usually after with a tip.
find your ship and roll call. look at posts and if anyone posted about messina port. after you have found what you like, post it on forum if anyone interested, first come first serve, after you've got the people email back taxi company to reserve it. we have done this on the few cruises we have been on and really enjoyed it instead of a crowded bus/shore excursion. they decide where you go, how many "minutes" at stops since many get kickbacks.
any questions just ask, don't know what other ports you will stop at (docked or tendered). really pay attention to the where the port is and how far away from the town. (for instance rome/civitavecchia: is a little over and hour to rome, finding transportation/shuttles and time it takes. venice: ravenna/chioggia/trieste 1-3 hours away. florence: la spezia or livorno is couple hours away from florence)
that's what cruise lines say but you really need to pay attention exactly how far main cities/towns are.
cruisemapper.com
another great site to look up your ship, date in port and how many others ships in port to see how crowded it will be. many wanting to do the same thing see same place and how crowded train will be. hope this helps and enjoy your cruise
aloha