Sicily

As far as I know there are no ferries from Catania or Taormina (it would need to be Giardini-Naxos, because Taormina's on the side of a hill). The ferries cross at the narrowest point, which is between Messina on the Sicily side and Villa San Giovanni on the mainland.

I've only passed through Calabria, so I don't have a personal recommendation for that region. I believe Tropea is popular. Whether it's more than a nice beach, I don't know.

The Sicily tour is rather short, so my first thought would be to spend more time there. The tour skips the handsome Baroque towns in the southeast--Ragusa, Noto, Modica and Scicli.

Calabria is stark and beautiful but not an easy place to navigate without private transportation. Having said that I did stay in Reggio Calabria for a couple of days last year. It was base for a day trip to stilo to see the byzantine catolica di stilo. I took the costal train to monasterace marina then a bus. Had a couple of anxious moments trying to find the bus stop and scheduled but the seeing the church was well worth the effort. Gerace is another place I wanted to visit but couldn't find a bus route. Along the same train line there are several seaside towns/villages that may be worth a look. From everything I have read and seen the interior of Calabria is unspoiled and picturesque if you can get there.