Arranged for a 6 person private tour with Mario Astone from Messina. His brother Ignacio picked us up at the cruise pier. He was prompt, friendly and his vehicle was spacious and in excellent condition. He was extremely knowledgeable. Gave us a choice of sites and recommended skipping Mt. Etna because of the heavy overcast. A wise decision since it turned into rain later. We drove to the site where the Godfather was filmed. Fortunately, for us, a rock slide happened on the main road and we had to detour on a very small back road. We were able to do this, but the tour bus from the ship was not. We had the little village all to ourselves and it was delightful. From there we went to Castelmora to walk around and eat lunch. It is far above Taormina and much nicer. Too difficult for most of the bus tours to reach, leaving it more pristine. If you go, buy your gifts here, they are less expensive. After lunch, went to Taormina, it's nice but very tourist oriented. Ignacio then took us back to Messina and showed us the memorials and the bell tower. He spent roughly 7 hours with us and charged 55 Euro each. Although a bit high, we definitely felt we got our money's worth and recommend these guys highly.