Getting to Sicily

Getting to Sicily, it’s easier than you think.

We all know that Sicily looks like the football being kicked by the toe of Italy, and maybe that’s a good metaphor, but in actuality many people from the mainland of Italy and the world love to travel to Sicily for a variety of reasons. It could be the food, culture, history, sites, wine or many other interesting reasons. The point I’m getting at is that because of all that Sicily has to offer, there are many different ways to get here. We’ll start with the most common ways and work our way down the list.

By Air

The major airports in Sicily are located in Palermo (TMO) Falcone-Borsellino Airport, Catania (CTA) Fontanarossa Airport and Trapani (TPS) Vincenzo Florio Airport also known as Birgi with a smaller regional airport in Comiso (CIY) that is mostly served by Ryanair, Air Malta, Lufthansa, Air France and Alitalia. The nearest airports to the Ragusa / Modica area are in Comiso and Catania.

By Train

Train travel within the EU is both inexpensive and convenient. Getting to Sicily by train is easy and it allows you to see much of the countryside, avoid long airport lines and have unlimited baggage allowance. So relax and not worry about lost luggage or getting there hours before departure to clear security. To me, this is an excellent way to get to Sicily. Trenitalia is Italy’s national carrier and they offer hundreds of destinations to choose from. Also be sure to check out TRAINLINE for many different options for not only Sicily but nearly all of Europe. A very good source of information about traveling to and from London can be found at www.seat61.com as well as www.europeanrailtimetable.co.uk Once you get to Sicily by train you can then take a bus or rent a car or scooter for your local travel.

By Sea

Ferries sail from several locations in Italy to Sicily and even from Malta and Tunisia. Ferries from Southern Italy are:

• Liberty Lines - Fast hydrofoils to Messina from Reggio Calabria
• Meridiano Lines - Car ferries from Reggio Calabria to Messina
  
• Caronte & Tourist - from Villa San Giovanni to Messina
  
• Other Ferry Lines:
• Grimaldi - Palermo from Salerno, Livorno and Tunis
  
• Grandi Navi Veloci - Palermo from Genoa, Naples, Civitavecchia and Tunis
  
• Siremar Ferries - from Naples to Milazzo and the Aeolian Islands
  
• TTT Lines - Naples to Catania
• Virtu Ferries - Malta ferry to Pozzallo, just North of Modica
  
• SNAV - from Naples, Civitavecchia, Genoa to Palermo