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Taormina sits two hundred metres above the sea and spends all day looking at it.
Everything about the town encourages this. The Corso runs along a shelf in the hillside, the gardens hang off the edge of it, the Greek theatre is arranged so that the stage has the coast and Etna behind it, and every terrace, bar and hotel room is priced according to how much of that view it holds.
What almost nobody does is go down and get in it.
The cable car takes three minutes and drops you at Mazzarò, and from the little beach there the coast opens out in both directions: coves cut into the rock, a bay with an island in it that is joined to the shore by a spit of shingle you can walk across when the sea is low, and a series of grottoes along the cliff face that are only reachable from the water.
That is a whole second half of Taormina and it costs less than dinner.
Isola Bella, and the walk that only sometimes exists
The island in the bay below the town is a nature reserve now, a lump of rock covered in Mediterranean scrub with a small villa on it, and it is the picture on every postcard of this town.
You can walk to it, sometimes. A narrow spit of pebbles connects it to the beach and is above water at low tide and in calm conditions and is gone at other times, so people who plan a day around walking out there are sometimes disappointed. There is a small entrance charge for the reserve itself.
From a boat you get the version that actually works: the island from the seaward side, which nobody photographs, and the water around it, which is protected and clear and shelves off into deep blue about twenty metres out.
The grottoes
The cliff below Taormina is limestone and full of holes.
The Grotta Azzurra here is the best known and is not the Capri one; it is smaller, a wide low cave where the light coming through the water throws blue up onto the roof, and boats go in rather than transferring you to a rowing boat. There is the Grotta dei Piccioni, the pigeon cave, and a series of unnamed ones between Mazzarò and Capo Sant Andrea that the small boats duck into for a minute at a time.
None of them is an hour of your life. Together they are the reason the coast trip is better than a swim off the beach, and the run between them, along the base of the cliff with the town somewhere invisible above you, is the part I would go back for.
Which boat, and when
- The bay tour with snorkelling. Two to three hours out of Mazzarò or Giardini Naxos, covering Isola Bella, the grottoes and a swim stop. The boat tour with snorkelling is the standard version and the one most people want.
- The sunset cruise. This coast faces east, which means the sun sets behind the mountain rather than over the water, and the effect is different from the Amalfi Coast: the cliff goes into shadow early and Etna, inland and much higher, holds the light for another twenty minutes after everything below it has gone blue. On a clear evening you watch a volcano turn pink. The sunset cruise is worth the evening.
- A private boat. Fewer people, and it lets you go further south towards Capo Sant Alessio or north to the Alcantara mouth. Worth it for four or more. A private Taormina boat tour with lunch is rated 4.8, though from a small number of reviews, so it is a smaller operator than the two above.
Timing here is not the same as on the Tyrrhenian side. This is the Ionian coast, it is more sheltered than the Amalfi Coast, and boats run more reliably in shoulder season. The season is roughly April to the end of October and July and August are extremely busy without being noticeably calmer.
The wind that matters is the one off the strait to the north. When it blows, the coves at Mazzarò get choppy and the grottoes stop being pleasant, and it tends to arrive in the afternoon like everywhere else.
Prices, as of September 2026
A shared two to three hour bay tour with a swim: roughly forty to seventy euros a head. A sunset cruise with a drink: fifty to eighty. A private boat for half a day: from about three hundred and fifty, which for four people is the best value on this list.
The cable car down to Mazzarò is a few euros each way and runs until late in season. The Isola Bella reserve has a small separate entrance fee if you walk out to it, and the beach at Mazzarò is a mix of free public sections and paid lidos, as everywhere in Italy.
Two things to check before booking. Whether the tour leaves from Mazzarò, directly below the town, or from Giardini Naxos, which is fifteen minutes away by bus or taxi and is where a lot of the cheaper boats are based. And whether snorkelling gear is provided, because on the cheaper tours it is not.
Doing it as part of a day
The good version of a Taormina day, if you have one:
Theatre first thing, when it opens and before the light goes hard. Corso and the gardens through the middle of the day. Cable car down at about three, boat at four, back on the water for the last of the light with Etna doing its trick behind you.
That order works because the theatre is unbearable at midday, and because the sea in the late afternoon is warmer than it is in the morning and the boats are quieter once the day trippers have gone back up the hill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do boat tours leave from in Taormina?
Most leave from Mazzarò, the bay directly below the town, reached by the cable car in about three minutes. Some cheaper operators are based at Giardini Naxos, which is fifteen minutes away by bus or taxi. Check which your booking names, because the difference matters at the start of a hot afternoon.
Can you walk to Isola Bella?
Sometimes. A narrow spit of pebbles joins the island to the beach and is walkable at low tide in calm conditions, and underwater at other times. There is a small entrance charge for the nature reserve. From a boat you see the seaward side, which is the better half and which nobody photographs.
Is the Blue Grotto at Taormina the same as the one on Capri?
No. Taormina has its own Grotta Azzurra below the cliffs, which is smaller, and boats go into it directly rather than transferring you to a rowing boat as they do on Capri. It costs nothing extra on most tours.
How much is a boat tour in Taormina?
Checked September 2026: a shared two to three hour bay tour with a swim is roughly forty to seventy euros a head, a sunset cruise fifty to eighty, and a private half day boat from about three hundred and fifty. Ask whether snorkelling equipment is included, because on the cheaper trips it is not.
Can you see Etna from the boat?
Yes, and it is the best reason to take the sunset trip. Etna sits inland and much higher than the coast, so it holds the last light for about twenty minutes after the cliffs have gone into shadow. On a clear evening it turns pink above a coast that has already gone dark.
When is the best time of year?
April to October, with the fullest schedule from June to September. This is the Ionian coast and is more sheltered than the Amalfi Coast, so shoulder season boats run more reliably here than they do on the west of Italy. The afternoon wind is the thing that spoils the coves.
Read also: The Greek Theatre in Taormina | The best beaches near Taormina | The Complete Guide to Taormina
