Exclusive Taormina And Messina
Exclusive Taormina and Messina
After meeting your professionally trained guide, set out on the one hour drive to Taormina. Perched on the side of a hill overlooking the sea, this town has a delightful character. Upon arrival, your walking tour will begin with a brief exterior visit to the famous 15th-century Palazzo Corvaia. This building, indicative of the architectural style of the period, is adorned with classic double windows.
Your guide will take you to scenic lookouts of Mount Etna and the Bay of Naxos, point out the municipal buildings and the maze of staircase "streets" that intertwine in this predominantly pedestrian only hillside town.
You will then have approximately one hour of free time to grab a coffee or hot chocolate or explore the many shops that line Corso Umberto, Taormina's main street. As well as being a resort town with boutiques of European fashion, you will also see many shops that offer the local Sicilian pottery.
For guests up to the climb, during the free time, your guide will lead an optional tour of the impressive Greek Theater, known for its stunning location. This Roman-style theater was reconstructed in the 2nd century AD. It has marvelous acoustics which allow performances of classical plays to still be held in the theater. To reach the theater requires climbing several uneven, steep stone steps. To access the upper part of the theater also involves climbing uneven steps. For those willing to do it, you will be rewarded with impressive views. Guests wishing to visit the theater are responsible for their own admission which is approximately 10 EUR.
After free time, you will meet your guide at the designated location and walk back to your vehicle. From here, you will drive back to the city of Messina for a brief orientation. With a history dating back to the 8th century B.C. Messina has been sacked, seized, or conquered by Carthaginians, Memertines, Goths, Arabs, Normans and English to name a few, but their spirit was never defeated. In more recent times, the city was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 1908, which killed over 60,000 people and destroyed most of the ancient architecture. Further damage was added by the massive Allied air bombardments of 1943, which caused thousands of deaths.
Your driver will take you along Messina's main street, the Via Garibaldi. You will see the Vittorio Emanuele Theater, the Town Hall, the church of Catalani, the Court and the university. Before returning to the ship, a photo stop will be made at the Cathedral Square to view the church, the Orion Fountain and the world's largest Astronomical clock, with more than 33,000 gears and moving parts. Guests wishing to remain in the downtown area will be responsible for their own transportation back to the pier.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
About Shore Excursions Group
About Us
Shore Excursions Group is the market leading and world's largest shore excursion company. Since 2008, we've provided cruise passengers with higher-quality, lower-priced, and smaller group shore excursions from a portfolio of nearly 4,000 tours in over 300 ports. Over the last 16 years, we've delivered more than 4.6M excursions with a 4.7 out of 5 star rating from more than 47k reviews.
Exceptional travel experiences are created by exceptional people. Our incredible team of cruise and travel experts has more than 100 years of combined industry experience, and we work in close collaboration with a network of exceptional tour operator partners dedicated to providing personalized and immersive excursions to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world.
Our excursions are higher quality, lower priced, and travel in smaller groups averaging just 12 guests per departure, allowing our guests to truly connect with the local culture and enjoy a more enriching travel experience. Our website provides a personalized shopping experience highlighting the top-rated and most popular excursions in each port of call with authentic photos, videos, and reviews from other guests.
Our proprietary itinerary search technology makes booking easy by displaying the excursions guaranteed to work for your ship's scheduled arrival and departure into each port of call. We also feature hand-curated multi-port packages with the top-rated excursion for each port bundled together at an additional discount.
Our Unique Approach
While the cruise lines and other companies also offer excursions, we are the experts and our experience and approach set us apart. Our exceptional excursions travel in smaller groups and visit more interesting and authentic locations, using more personalized tour guides.
Our team uses a comprehensive approach to select the leading guides and best tour providers around the world. Every excursion is carefully curated and closely monitored through quality control and customer feedback.
In today's fast paced world, vacations are an important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and discover new and interesting places - and our portfolio of the highest quality tours was created to provide authentic and rewarding travel experiences on your next trip.
High quality service is very important to travelers and leads to better experiences with higher satisfaction. We encourage you to call us, so our experts can answer your questions and help you select the best excursions for your cruise.
Our Exceptional Tours
Our priority is providing cruise guests with exciting and enriching tours with personalized service and smaller groups.
Our small group tours range from 2-12 people - far less than other tour companies with larger tours up to 50 people. We also offer outstanding private excursions - exclusive experiences for only you and your group with options to fully customize your tour.
Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean.
Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece.
Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France.
Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our Guarantee
We stand by our excursions, and we're committed to meeting your expectations. Our team and our guides are dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences, which we've achieved consistently over many years and millions of tours. To the extent you are in any way dissatisfied with the experience we deliver, we will work to resolve your concerns - up to and including a full refund of your tour price. For more information visit the Shore Excursions Group website.
