One Day on Sicily

I would say Mount Etna (unless you've seen many other volcanoes, in which case better Taormina), but does your cruise company provides tours? It'll be easier than trying to o make necessary arrangements or find buses yourself.

So many magnificent choices! You can't go wrong! My suggestion/s for you, though, would depend in part on how much time you actually have. How early in the morning can you be off the ship? Do you have to be somewhere - a ship, a plane - by a certain time in the evening? Will you be spending the night in Sicily before departing the next morning or is this just an 8-hour or so window of opportunity?

Unfortunately, we arrive at 8:00 in the morning and leave about 5:00 the same day. Of course, the cruise ship does offer excursions, but having a hard time deciding what to choose. We have seen a number of volcanos (one practically in our backyard - Mt. St. Helens), and our favorite on the Island of Hawaii , so probably not on the top of our "to do" list. Would like to see Catania, but not spend an entire day there. Any other towns/cities we should consider? Thanks.

My absolute favorite place on that side of the island is Ortigia, the historical island part of Siracusa. It's about a one hour train trip there, and is also approx. a 50 euro taxi ride (also about one hour). If you are willing to risk the return trip (I don't know about traffic going into Catania in the late afternoon), some six hours spent strolling around Ortigia, having a drink in the Duomo piazza, walking through the food market, then down along the waterfront, seeing inside the amazing Duomo (has also been a Greek temple and a mosque), and eating fabulous seafood would be my idea of a perfect short day. You would want to get the name and number of a taxi to call to take you back to Catania at a given time. Taxis don't just roam around. If you would like the name and number of the taxi guy that we used in Ortigia a couple of times, including going to the airport, then private message me. Or: arrange for the guy who drops you off in Ortigia to pick you back up at a given time and place.

With the extremely limited time you have, I’d stick to one of the ship’s excursions. If it is going to be late returning, the ship will wait, if you’re on your own, it won’t. In my opinion, there’s very little to see in Catania, but it’s ok to walk around for a few hours. Taormina is crammed full of cruise ship tours during the day. If you can get to Ortigia, Syracusa, 40-50 minutes south of Catania, that would be my suggestion.

With such a short time, in Catania I would visit the fish market, Duomo and there’s an excellent WWII museum covering the invasion of Sicily by Allied forces. Right next door isaCinema Museum. Most likely visiting those and taking a Mt. Etna tour would fill your time.