Taormina or Rome?

My vote would be for Taormina and saving Rome for a time when you can stay longer. I have taken the off season Sicily tour twice, the first itinerary included Taormina (2013). It's a lovely small town in a gorgeous setting and I think there is enough to do there to keep you busy for the extra days, if you want to be busy! If you don't, it's a wonderful place to just relax and enjoy the scenery!

Agree with Andi. Save Rome for later when you have more time. Taormina will be a great place to wind up your tour.

Rome has much more things to do/see and Taormina is tiny/compact compared to Rome...but since you're already in Sicily and you've only got 2.5 days, I'd just stick to Taormina. I don't think there's enough to do there for 2.5 (full) days unless you walk every little side street and go into every shop (the main drag is less than a mile), but you can always take a side trip to Mt. Etna or Giardini Naxos, etc for one day if you feel like you can pack more in. I was pretty much satisfied with seeing Taormina over 7 hours or so I was there. It's definitely a good place to wind down and it's very easy access back to Catania (if you're flying back from there).

I'd definitely stay on Sicily for the extra time.

2-1/2 days sounds like a lot of time in Taormina, which is gorgeous but small, so I'll mention that Acireale is supposed to be nice. I didn't have time to go. It's about half an hour from Taormina-Giardini Naxos by train. You might also find a one-day bus tour going to an inland destination the tour didn't hit.

I agree, Taormina would be a nice place to wind down.

Our first taste of Italy was in Taormina, after connecting at Rome Fiumicino to Catania. And I found out eventually, of course, that Taormina (as well as Sicily) isn't really Italy at all, it's much more exotic and cool.

We spent our first four nights in Taormina before flying to Florence, and while I suppose one could traverse the Corso Umberto and see the Teatro Greco in one day, it was very nice to chill, take a cooking class and also do the 'Godfather Tour'. I know, how touristy, but just seeing the medieval villages of Castelmola, Forza D'Agro and Savoca where the movie was shot included sights & vistas I haven't experienced since in my travels all over the Italian mainland. We also visited possibly the creepiest catacombs I've ever seen near Savoca, in the fog, on that tour as well. Great memories.

So there's plenty to do, as well as enjoy more of the Sicilian cuisine, which is also my favorite.

I love them both. Normally I'd agree and say spend the time in Taormina since you're already there, but do look at flight connections before deciding. You may have to spend a night in Rome before your flight back home to Philadelphia (I did, but I was on separate tickets). In that case, you can spend all the extra time in Rome, or some in each.

And yes, Taormina has few "sights" compared to Rome, but it's a great place to just hang out. Before I went, I wondered why people like Greta Garbo and Tennessee Williams spent months at a time there; now I know. If I could afford it, I would too.

I'm with Harold. Roma is my favorite place in the world, but I would spend the 2.5 days in Taormina.