You may drive at your own pace along the coast to visit small hillside villages, inland along the Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, or book a tour with any of the many Tourism Agencies in the city.

As for day tours, the Aeolian Islands Day Trip is a good one. All tours leave Taormina by coach and travel by motorboat around the UNESCO-listed islands.  Most of them allow free time to swim and/or visit the villages of one or two islands.  The Mount Etna Day Trip is also one of the most wanted.  Wear comfortable clothes, walking shoes or boots and sunglasses and, even in summer, take some warm clothing or a jacket for it should be cold up there.

Climbing Mount Etna by Urban

A road trip is a good option too.  The small village of Forza D’Agro is only 13km (10 miles) away from Taormina and along with Savoca is one of the locations where the movie The Godfather was filmed.  Only after the 60s of the last century the village of Forza D’Agro could be reached by car. Until then it could only be reached by a mule path. Nowadays there are still stone paved lanes that are impassable by car.

 Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata Forza D’Agro

Only 13km away from Forza D’Agro the village of  Savoca  is another unavoidable destination if you’re a fan of the Godfather saga.   You should visit the Chiesa di San Nicolo, take the usual photo in front of the Bar Vitelli and have some delicious pasta fatta in casa for lunch at Ristorante del Parco, strada provinciale l 19, next to the Convento dei Capuccini.

Bar Vitelli  Savoca

Another nice day trip is to grab the car and drive along the Etna, enjoying views of the Mediterranean and the volcano on both sides.  The route begins in Taormina and from there drive 30km between vineyards , orchards and olive trees to the town of Linguaglossa, founded on a lava stream in 1566. The view gets more and more astonishing as we approach Randazzo, situated at the northern foot of Mount Etna. From Randazzo you may go back to Taormina the same way or venture into the hills to visit Castiglione di Sicilia, one of the most beautiful villages of Italy, just 17km away from Randazzo and 30km from Taormina.

Lunch at Trattoria San Giorgio ed il Drago, Randazzo, Piazza San Giorgio 28