Visiting Taormina Lidos and Our Day at Tao Beach Club - Taormina, Sicily

July 2023

Visiting Taormina Lidos and Our Day at Tao Beach Club – Taormina, Sicily

Toarmina is the perfect spot to enjoy a beach vacation. The town sits above the sea but below along the coastline is full of beaches, including the famous Isola Bella. While Isola Bella is great to visit, there are more comfortable ways to enjoy the beach and there are plenty of options to do so.

There are both public sections of the beach though most of the sand is taken by private beach clubs called lidos. Lidos vary in amenities but all have an entry fee that includes an umbrella and two beach chairs, and typically have options available to pay for food and drinks. Some are more luxurious and have cabanas, beach service, towels, and other amenities. After looking through reviews, I booked Lido Tao Beach Club which included an umbrella and two beach chairs for 70 euro. We selected this one as it was more private with far less chairs than the larger lidos nearby. Booking your spot ahead of time is highly required as space is limited at each lido. My biggest reason for selecting this one was it was more private than some of the larger lidos nearby. Due to the demand for this beach, I would definitely recommend booking a spot at one of the lidos over the public spaces. Booking ahead of time is highly recommended as space is limited at each lido.

Lido Tao is located on the north side of Mazzarò in Spisone which is further away from the Isola Bella area and took us about 30 minutes to walk there from where we started the morning. We arrived at Tao Beach Club just past the 10AM opening – we wanted to make sure we got every minute of our time there and we stayed here until closing at 6PM. Our beach chairs were set up in the last row of three rows total and we were on the boardwalk which was great as our stuff and selves did not get sandy constantly. And the beach chairs were so far apart from the other guests – Tao could have crammed more chairs into the area but it definitely elevates the experience by not being on top of each other. The beach area is beautiful and the water was refreshing but definitely warm enough for swimming which we did throughout the day to cool off.

Tao was full of amenities to take advantage of:

Full bar and restaurant with beach service or terrace service
Towels for each guest
Cabana option
Outdoor showers
Bathrooms with showers and supplies
Water activities that can be booked such as jet ski
Massages available for booking
Wifi
Private beach
Seating option on a boardwalk

Like most tourist destinations in Europe, there are numerous people trying to get you to buy something – a necklace, a towel, sunglasses, you name it. If you make eye contact, they swarm you very quickly. No matter which beach club you are in, these people make their way through the beach chairs on a continuous loop. They never made us feel unsafe necessarily, but it was a nuisance that you should know exists. Many people left all their belongings at their chairs to swim without seeming too concerned about their stuff being stolen.

To say we enjoyed the day would be an understatement – it was an amazing time at Tao beach club. It was definitely the more luxurious beach club in the area and it was well worth the price. Starting at 70 euro for the chair and umbrellas, that is 35 euro a person for an 8 hour rental. And you do not need to spend any more money once you are there if you do not want to. We got a few drinks and food while we were there and while it was more than we would pay elsewhere, it did not break the bank. And I will say, the food and drinks we ordered were all very good – I would have been disappointed with the higher price tag if the quality was poor.

Tao Beach Club was wonderful and we recommend it to everyone visiting Taormina. While it may be more than some of the others, the fact that you get a more private and less crowded experience is well worth the extra price. And since we stayed all day, I think we definitely got our money’s worth and thought it was a great value.