Catania Airport to Taormina: bus, train, taxi or private transfer

Getting from Catania Airport to Taormina is, for most people, one direct bus, and the real question is whether that bus fits your luggage, your landing time and the size of your party. The airport lies 5.5 km south-west of Catania city centre, and Taormina is a hill town on Sicily’s east coast, so the choice is between a shared coach to the town’s bus terminal, a train with extra legs at both ends, a taxi from the rank, or a car booked in advance.

This guide compares all four using the airport’s and the operators’ own published timetables, fares and rules.

The short answer

The direct bus: Etna Trasporti and Interbus

Two operators run this route, and their departures interleave in a single timetable on the operators’ search: Etna Trasporti (line ET07, Taormina - Catania - Apt Fontanarossa) and Interbus (line IN14). The single fare is the same on both: €7.00.

How often. For Friday 9 October 2026 the timetable lists 36 departures from the airport stop (our count), the first at 07:15 and the last at 22:45. Reading the same timetable, after the 07:45 buses leave every 15 minutes until 11:45, then every 30 minutes from 12:15 to 18:45, then hourly from 19:45 to 22:45. On Sunday 11 October there is no 07:15 or 08:00, so the first bus is at 07:45; there is one extra departure at 12:00, and the afternoon and evening pattern is the same. Timetables change with the season, so check the one for your date.

The route. The bus is not non-stop. It calls first in Catania city at the Via Archimede bus station (the 07:15 is due there at 07:30), then at Viale della Libertà and Piazza Michelangelo, before heading to Taormina. There it stops at Capotaormina and Tombe Bizantine and terminates at Taormina Terminal Bus on Via Pirandello. The whole run is timetabled at 85 to 90 minutes (our calculation from the departure and arrival times): the 07:15 is due at the terminal at 08:40, the 10:15 at 11:45. The operator’s departure board at the airport stop on 25 September 2026 showed each Taormina service with a duration of 85 minutes.

Tickets. Etna Trasporti asks passengers to buy the ticket before going to the stop: online, in the Etna Trasporti app, or at an authorised ticket office. At the airport that office is run by SEIM on the arrivals forecourt (Piazzale Terminal Arrivi), open 06:00 to 00:15 Monday to Friday and 07:00 to 00:15 on Saturday and Sunday. Without a valid ticket you will not be allowed on board.

A few rules are worth knowing before you land:

• Tickets are in the passenger’s name and cannot be passed to someone else.
• You are asked to be at the departure stop at least ten minutes before the bus leaves.
• If your flight runs late, you can change the departure time on your ticket free of charge, as long as you do it at least thirty minutes before the original departure. The day cannot be changed.

Luggage. The fare includes one piece of hand luggage and one hold bag, and the hold bag must be no larger than 50x40x25 cm and no heavier than 20 kg. You can also bring a small musical instrument or a folded pushchair, and bicycles are accepted if taken apart into two pieces and packed in a bag. Electric scooters are not carried, even folded or without the battery. Valuables and electronics must not go in the hold. If you are carrying a large suitcase, measure it against that limit before you plan on the bus.

Coming back. The return buses leave from the same terminal on Via Pirandello, where Etna Trasporti has a ticket office open 07:00 to 01:00 every day. The terminal’s departure board for 25 September 2026 listed airport buses until 22:45, each shown with a duration of 85 minutes. For a flight, pick a bus that leaves you a comfortable margin.

The train: three legs, not one

There is no railway platform at the terminal. Catania Aeroporto Fontanarossa station is about 600 metres away, reached on foot along a pedestrian path, or by the AMTS shuttle bus, which runs every 10 minutes from 4:30 a.m. to 10:40 p.m. for €1.00. From that station, the airport says, regional trains to Taormina run hourly.

The train does not deliver you into Taormina itself. The station is Taormina-Giardini, the name used by RFI, the Italian rail network, and the bus operators list their stop there as GIARDINI - Stazione FS. Taormina is a hill town, so the last leg is another bus: Etna Trasporti and Interbus run from that stop to Taormina Terminal Bus many times a day, most runs timetabled at 10 minutes, for a €1.10 single.

On the way back, the airport points out one trap. A Trenitalia ticket to Catania Aeroporto Fontanarossa does not include the shuttle. For train and shuttle on one ticket, choose Catania Aeroporto Fontanarossa Bus as your destination, at a Trenitalia station or on the Trenitalia website.

This guide does not quote a rail journey time or fare: check both with Trenitalia for your date. What is clear without them is the shape of the trip. With luggage, it is a walk or shuttle, a train, and a hill bus, each with its own wait. It suits travellers who prefer rail or already hold a rail pass. For most arrivals, the direct bus is simpler.

Taxis at the airport

The taxi ranks are at the exit of the Arrivals level. Licensed taxis of the Municipality of Catania are white, with a TAXI sign on the roof and the licence number shown on the doors, on the rear and inside the car.

The airport is unusually direct about the alternative. Any other vehicle waiting at the exit may be driven by someone without the proper licence, and the fare they ask could be higher than, or otherwise different from, the one set by the Municipality of Catania. Its advice is to ask the authorised staff about the fare before you get in.

The airport does not publish a fare to Taormina, so we do not quote one here. If something goes wrong during the ride, note the taxi’s CP number (the public service licence number on the doors) and send a complaint to the Municipality of Catania using its form.

Which option suits your trip

• One or two people, landing in daytime, with bags within the limit: the bus. It is €7.00 a head and 85 to 90 minutes to the terminal, with no change.
• Landing late in the evening: on the October timetable, the last bus leaves the airport at 22:45. A delayed evening flight can leave you at the stop after the last departure. A pre-booked car has no last departure: it comes at the pickup time you booked and waits 60 minutes free.
• A family of four: four bus singles come to €28.00 by our calculation (4 × €7.00), and each hold bag still has to fit 50x40x25 cm and 20 kg. Compare that with one vehicle for the whole party, chosen for your luggage.
• A hotel away from the terminal: the bus ends on Via Pirandello. The terminal’s departure board lists local buses on to Castelmola and Mazzarò, which means another change with your bags.
• Rail travellers: the train works, provided you are ready for the shuttle at one end and the bus up from Taormina-Giardini at the other.

The private transfer

On LocalsRide you enter the route, the date and time and the number of passengers, and drivers who take bookings on that route send offers showing the vehicle and a price, with a star rating from past passengers once the driver has completed rides. You choose one and pay online, so no cash is needed at pickup. The price of the accepted offer does not change, and it includes tolls and taxes.

Once you accept an offer, the driver comes for the pickup time you booked, and airport pickups include 60 minutes of free waiting from then. You can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before the pickup. Child seats and a note about your luggage go in your request, so drivers see them before they make an offer, and each offer’s details show the vehicle’s luggage capacity: check it if you are travelling with a pushchair or several suitcases.

The practical gain over the bus is the last stretch. The car goes to your hotel rather than to the bus terminal, your luggage is matched to the vehicle you pick instead of a 50x40x25 cm hold limit, and the departure time is your landing time, not the next slot on a timetable. For two people travelling light in the middle of the day, the bus is the sensible answer. For a family, a late flight or a hotel off the bus route, see what offers there are for your date before you fly.

Checking a transfer for your date

Whether you get offers on this route depends on the drivers available on your date. Enter your flight time and your Taormina address and see whether offers arrive before you count on a car. If none do, the direct bus above is the dependable option. For other Italian airports and routes, see our Italy destinations page.