How to Get from Italy to Sicily (and Vice Versa)
· Updated · BootsnAll
Yes, Sicily is part of Italy. But ask a Sicilian where they're from and you'll hear "Sicily" before you hear "Italy." The island only joined the new Italian state in 1861, after centuries under a string of foreign crowns, most recently as half of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled from Naples (there's more in this brief introduction to Italian history). The island-first attitude never really left.
Practically, "Italy to Sicily" means crossing about 3 km of water at the Strait of Messina, and there is still no bridge. The latest bridge project was approved in principle in 2025 and recommitted to by the government in 2026, but construction has not begun, and the builders' own target for opening is 2034. Until then, every trip to Sicily ends with a plane or a boat. Trains and buses get there too, but only because they drive onto a ferry.
This page covers the trip from anywhere on the mainland, so it deals in how the system works rather than one route. Reverse everything for the trip back.
The short answer
- From Rome, Milan or anywhere north: fly. It's about an hour from Rome and under two from Milan, and advance fares often undercut the train.
- From Naples: take the overnight ferry to Palermo, book a cabin, and wake up in Sicily. Flying is quicker; the ferry is the better trip.
- From Calabria (the toe of the boot): drive or walk onto the 20-minute Strait of Messina ferry. No booking needed.
- If you love trains: take the one that rolls onto a ferry. It's slow and it's a genuine one-off.
| Option | From Rome, roughly | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Flight | about 1 hour in the air | Almost everyone north of Naples |
| Train (ferried across) | most of a day, or overnight | Rail fans, sleeper fans |
| Long-haul ferry | overnight from Naples; 20+ hours from Genoa | Travelers bringing a car |
| Coach | about 13 hours to Palermo | The tightest budgets |
Flying from Italy to Sicily
For most people this is the answer. Sicily's two big airports are Catania (CTA) on the east coast, the gateway for Taormina, Etna, Syracuse and the southeast, and Palermo (PMO) in the northwest, which is handier for Palermo itself, Cefalu, Trapani and the west. Trapani and Comiso have smaller airports with far fewer mainland routes, so check their schedules before you plan around them.
Pick the airport by where you're going on the island, not by which fare is ten euros cheaper. Sicily is big, and Catania to Palermo is about a three-hour drive.
In 2026 these airlines fly the mainland to Sicily routes, with more added in summer:
- ITA Airways (which replaced Alitalia in 2021): Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate to both Catania and Palermo.
- Ryanair: the widest network, including Rome Fiumicino, Milan (Bergamo and Malpensa), Bologna, Turin, Venice, Pisa and Naples.
- Wizz Air: Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Bologna, Turin and Venice.
- easyJet: Milan Malpensa and Naples.
- Aeroitalia: Rome Fiumicino. Volotea: Florence, plus Naples to Palermo.
Rough flying times: Rome to Catania or Palermo about an hour to an hour and a quarter, Milan to either about an hour and three quarters to two hours. Fares move with demand like any airfare, and August and Easter are when the island fills up with Italians going home, so book those dates early. There's more on fares to Catania and Palermo and on airfare to Sicily in general.
Taking a Ferry from Italy to Sicily
There are two very different kinds of ferry here.
The Strait of Messina crossing. If your last stop on the mainland is in Calabria, this is the easy one. Caronte & Tourist sails from Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria to Messina, and the Villa San Giovanni crossing takes about 20 minutes. Boats run day and night, you normally just turn up, and you can drive on or walk on. It's cheap compared with every other option on this page.
The long-haul overnight ferries. These leave from Naples, Salerno, Civitavecchia (Rome's port), Livorno and Genoa, mostly for Palermo, with some sailings to Catania and Messina. The main companies are Tirrenia, GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci) and Grimaldi Lines, which runs Naples and Livorno to Palermo. Civitavecchia to Palermo sails only about once a week, so don't assume there's a boat every night from every port. Operators and timetables change by season, and Ferryhopper shows who sails each route this year and what it costs.
Naples to Palermo is the classic: you board in the evening and dock in the morning, which saves you a night's hotel. From Genoa or Livorno you're looking at close to a day on board. Prices depend on whether you take a seat, a cabin or a car, so compare the full cost of the options you'd actually book. A deck seat on an overnight crossing sounds romantic until about 2 a.m.; spend the extra on a cabin.
Taking the Train from Italy to Sicily
This is the strange and wonderful one. Italy still ferries whole trains across the strait. Southbound, the train rolls onto a ferry at Villa San Giovanni, crosses to Messina and rolls off again, then splits into a Palermo portion and a Catania and Syracuse portion. Northbound it works in reverse, with the two halves joining up at Messina. The crossing takes about half an hour, and you're allowed off the train to go up on deck for the view of Calabria and Sicily. Do it. Just note your carriage number so you can find your way back.
Two kinds of train make the trip, both run by Trenitalia and listed on its Sicily connections page:
- Intercity day trains from Rome to Palermo and Syracuse. New trains that can run on overhead power, diesel or batteries began on this service in June 2026. Expect most of a day on board.
- Intercity Notte night trains from Milan, Rome and Naples to Messina, Palermo, Catania and Syracuse, with sleeping compartments. You board in the evening and wake up in Sicily, which makes the length of the trip feel a lot less painful.
Fares on these long trains are priced a bit like airfares, so the cheapest seats and berths go early. You can also take a train only as far as Villa San Giovanni, walk onto a Caronte & Tourist ferry, and carry on from Messina by local train or bus. There's more on taking the train in Italy here.
Is it worth it? From anywhere north of Naples a cheap flight beats the train on time and often on price. Take the train because you want the experience, or take the sleeper so the journey costs you no daylight. From Calabria, the train is simply practical.
Driving from Italy to Sicily
Sicily is one of the places in Italy where a car really pays off: the interior hill towns, the Greek temples at Agrigento and Selinunte and the southeast baroque towns are all much easier with one. You have two ways to get it there. Drive the length of the mainland and take the short Caronte & Tourist ferry from Villa San Giovanni, or put the car on a long-haul ferry from Naples, Salerno, Civitavecchia, Livorno or Genoa and sleep on the way.
The A2 motorway from Salerno to Reggio Calabria is toll-free, which softens the long drive south. From Rome to Villa San Giovanni, plan on a full day behind the wheel. From Milan, the overnight ferry from Genoa saves you roughly 1,200 km of driving each way.
Two practical points. Check that your rental contract allows the car on a ferry, since some companies restrict it or charge extra. And many people fly to Sicily and rent a car at Catania or Palermo airport instead, which is often cheaper than a week of mainland rental plus the ferry. Read up on driving in Italy before you go, especially the ZTL traffic zones in Palermo, Catania and Syracuse.
Taking the Bus from Italy to Sicily
Italy now has national coach networks, and two of them run long-distance buses to Sicily that cross the strait on the ferry. FlixBus lists three buses a day from Rome to Palermo in 2026, with the fastest taking about 13 hours, from about 17 euros booked early. Itabus runs from Rome and Naples to Palermo, Catania and Messina. There's more on long-distance buses in Italy here.
It's the cheapest way to get to Sicily, and the least comfortable. If you can sleep sitting up, go for it. If you can't, a sleeper berth or a ferry cabin costs more and is worth every euro.
Now that you're in Sicily...
Here are a few links to help you plan the rest of the trip:
- Sicily travel guide
- Top 10 Things to Do in Palermo
- Hiking or skiing on Mount Etna
- 5 Favorite Hikes in Italy
- 10 Movie Locations in Italy You Can Visit
photos, top to bottom, by: Allie_Caulfield, Dan Bock, Hermes, japrea, Salvatore.Freni, Daveness_98