Taormina to San Stefano di Camastra
 

Dear Fodorites

I would like your advice on the easiest - and fastest - way to travel from Taormina to San Stefano di Camastra. We will be based in Taormina but I read that SSdiC has a good variety of ceramics at much lower prices than you can find in Taormina, and would like to go there to do some shopping.

Unfortunately we have to rely on public transport.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Are you sure you want to spend 3.5 to 4 hours to get there and an equal amount of time to get back?

If you go to

www.trenitalia.com

and enter Taormina as point of departure and San Stefano di Camastra as destination, you will see the schedule - which involves a change in Messina Centrale.

By bus, it's even longer - also with a change in Messina. For the bus, you have to enter Mistretta as destination; San Stefano seems to be a "suburb" of Mistretta.

www.interbus.it

Thanks for the information Eloise. No - now I am not so sure. I suppose I will have to buy ceramics in Taormina!

chiarachiara,
Rent a car & drive it. It's worth it. We went 13 years ago & still have the ceramics! They have shop after shop piled to the cieling of the stuff-much cheaper than anywhere else in Italy,(after all, they make it there), & you can negotiate (haggle) the prices. They will also wrap it up in bubble wrap so you can take it home in your luggage-we did, all the way to NYC. While they wrap it, you can enjoy the local trattoria with great antipasti & fresh caught fish grilled to order-one of the best (and cheapest) meals we had the whole time we were there. We were the only tourists in the place. Good Luck, Mark.

Thank you Mark! I must confess - the ceramics haunted me - all I needed was a few encouraging words like yours!

A car is an option - although I am not comforable driving in Italy.

Another option I am considering now is splitting my time and stay a few days in Palermo. According to the train schedule I will be able to reach "ceramic heaven" easier and with a shorter train trip.

Sorry for typing error - I am not "comfortable" driving in Italy!