July 2023
The Beaches of Taormina and Isola Bella – 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.
There are two ways to get down to the beach from Taormina – there is a path down with stairs and a cable way. The cableway costs 3 euro for each direction, the stairs are free. Both offer wonderful views but the stairs are unobstructed by glass and people, and give more variety on the way. It is the best of both worlds to take the stairs down and take the cableway up. But do yourself a huge favor – when you go down the stairs, purchase your cable way ticket either at the top or the bottom in the morning. The line for getting a ticket – and really getting on the cable way – is very long in the evening when most people are done their beach day and ready to return to their hotel for the night. Having your ticket in advance means you can skip the ticket portion of the line and get in line for the cable way only. I assume the same is true for the morning – for those that wish not to or cannot take the stairs, the line is longer in the morning waiting for the cable car at the top.
On the stairway down, there are several scenic viewpoints and terraces to enjoy. As the sun began to rise out of the ocean and into the sky, everything along the shore line glistened.
When we reached the street, we followed the signs for Isola Bella and continued down. Isola Bella is one of the main reasons tourists flock to Taormina. Originally owned by Florence Trevelyan who turned the island into a sanctuary full of plants and bird species, the island is now owned and operated by the government and there is a 4 euro entrance fee.
Even at our 9AM arrival, the small beach area around Isola Bella was getting crowded with people claiming their beach spot for the day. This area is all pebble and stone beach but that does not seem to bother anyone. There are also several lidos, or beach clubs, in this area if you want more. 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.
We walked to Isola Bella and it was unfortunately closed for maintenance. I am unsure why they picked the most popular time of the year for tourism to do maintenance work since it is 4 euro a person to enter the area. We were looking forward to morning bird watching here but something to look forward to for another trip.
Since we had time, we set up a blanket in the shade and enjoyed the view and water for about a half hour. The inlet here is really a perfect spot for families and kids to enjoy the water safely. I can only imagine how many people were going to visit today attempting to grab a spot on the beach.
We booked a lido for the rest of the day and it was about a half hour walk from Isola Bella. We wanted to make sure we spent every minute we could there. The walk to the lido gave us the opportunity to check out the coastline here and everything that was going on – there is so much to see and do in Taormina.
Read about our experience at Tao Beach Club here!
After an incredible day, it was time to return to Taormina. We walked back towards the cable car and waited in the line for tickets and then the cable car. All in, it took us a half hour to get back to the top. We did the math while in line and the timing of walking or waiting in the cable car line was probably about the same except the walking would be far more sweaty and strenuous. In situations like these, we usually do pick the walk but since we just did the walking to and from the Lido, we were cool to wait. But had we purchased a ticket in the morning, our wait would have been cut in half.
If you are visiting Taormina in the summer time, I highly recommend booking a lido for your trip and I would absolutely recommend Tao Beach Club. Exploring this area is a must do for your Taormina itinerary!
