Taormina · With kids
WITH KIDS
A volcano, a swimmable island and a Greek theatre — Sicily's east coast packs a lot into short drives.
Isola Bella
A tiny island joined to the beach by a shingle spit at low water, with snorkelling around the rocks and a nature reserve to walk. Ages 5+.
Mount Etna
Jeep and cable car tours from Rifugio Sapienza reach the crater zone; under-eights are better off at the Silvestri craters. Warm layers even in August.
Teatro Antico
A Greek theatre with Etna framed in the gap where the stage wall collapsed. Twenty minutes for children, longer if a rehearsal is on. Ages 6+.
Gole dell'Alcantara
A basalt gorge half an hour inland where children wade in freezing water between black walls. Wetsuit boots hire on site. Ages 6+.
Steps, hills and cable cars
Taormina is stepped lanes closed to cars, so buggies struggle. The cable car saves a two-hundred-metre descent to the beach; dinner starts at 7.30pm.