Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
run to/from Messina (€4.20, 1½ hours, hourly Monday to Saturday, twice Sunday),
Catania (€4.80, 1½ hours, 14 daily Monday to Saturday, eight Sunday) and Castelmola
(€1.80, 15 minutes, at least seven daily).
CAR & MOTORCYCLE
Taormina is on the A18 autostrada and the SS114. The historic centre is closed to nonres-
ident traffic and Corso Umberto I is closed to all traffic. You can hire cars and scooters at
California Car Rental
( 094 22 37 69;
www.californiarentcar.com
; Via Bagnoli Croce 86; Vespa per day/week
€35/224, Fiat Panda €64/300)
near Villa Comunale. Reckon on €30/60 per day for a Vespa/Fiat
Panda.
Some top-end hotels offer limited parking, otherwise you'll have to leave your car in
one of the two car parks outside the historic centre: Porta Catania or Lumbi. Both are
within walking distance of Corso Umberto I.
TRAIN
Taormina's train station is 2km downhill from the main town, making the train a last re-
sort. If you do arrive this way - there are direct trains to/from Catania and Messina -
catch the Interbus service (one-way €1.50) up to town. It runs roughly every 30 to 90
minutes, less often on Sunday.
WORTH A TRIP
GOLA DELL'ALCANTARA
Located 15km inland from Giardini-Naxos, the
Gola dell'Alcantara
(
www.terralcantara.it/en
; admission €8;
8am-sunset) is a vertiginous 25m-high natural gorge bisected by the freezing waters of the Alcantara river (the
name is derived from the Arabic
al qantara,
meaning bridge). Characterised by its weirdly symmetrical rock
formations - created when a red-hot lava flow hit the water and splintered the basalt into lava prisms - it's a spec-
tacular sight well worth searching out.
The gorge is now part of the Parco Botanico e Geologico Terralcantara, which is within the Parco Fluviale
dell'Alcantara regional park. It's out of bounds between November and March due to the risk of flash flooding,
but is open during the rest of the year. To get to the bottom there's a lift near the car park or a 224-step staircase
some 200m or so uphill from the lift. Once down by the river, you can hire waders to splash around in the icy wa-
ters or simply sunbathe on the surrounding banks. There are also 3.5km of nature trails in the area. For further de-
tails contact the
park office
(
094 298 50 10) .
