Can you drive from Rome to Sicily

From Sicily to Rome is a long drive (about 11 hours) and involves a short ferry ride. See www.viamichelin.com to help plan driving time. What other parts of Italy did they want to see? It could make sense to again fly from Sicily to the next major destination, even if that means renting two different cars; see www.skyscanner.com for flight prices.

In December 2012, we visited Rome for a week, then flew to Sicily (Palermo), rented a car (www.europcar.com), drove around Sicily (narrow, twisty streets in towns, so the smallest possible car that accomodates passengers and luggage works best), then took the car ferry from Messina back to the Italian mainland, where we turned the car in several days later.

We stayed one night Castrovillari, Calabria, and would like to return to see more of that part of Italy. There was a lot of construction on the highways (which really were high, elevated hundreds of feet above the valley floor in some cases), so there were some traffic slowdowns in some places. It's scenic and enjoyable, but driving the length of Southern Italy might not be the best use of their last 6 days if they want to see Rome, and flying can be cheap and fast. Driving allowed us to see the Greek temples at Paestum, on our way to Naples/Sorrento, and we didn't drive all the way back to Rome.

If the only place on mainland Italy they are going is Rome, they should just fly to and from Sicily, and rent a car just for the Sicily portion. It's a very long drive from Rome to Sicily. From Rome Fiumicino Airport, there are 9 flights a day to Palermo Airport and 11 flights a day to Catania Airport - on Alitalia alone! There are even some flights (many on Ryanair from Rome Ciampino Airport) to Comiso airport, which is right next to Ragusa (although I don't know about car rental options there).

If you are booking a flight within Italy on Alitalia:

1) Use their International site with the English language option; this is MUCH cheaper than using the US site.

2) Book as soon as you know your plans. The tickets start out cheap, but go up as the flight fills - sometimes way up, if it's a popular time or day.

As for the car rental, we needed an automatic and a car that was large enough to hold all our luggage in the "trunk" (actually a hatchback with a covered compartment), out of sight. We ended up renting a Fiat 500L through Kemwel, which had by far the best rate; our actual car came from Hertz in downtown Palermo. We did not find the car too large to drive in Sicily, and indeed a smaller car would not have held our luggage out of sight. If you can drive a stick shift, you will have both a greater assortment of car sizes you can choose from, and a greater number of pick up locations (and, of course, it will also cost less).

The drive down to Sicily from Rome is a long and stressful one. The autostrada from Rome to Naples is heavily trafficked, and the stretch south of Naples has been under construction for about 30 years (for real!). Much better to fly. Also, driving in and out of Rome itself can be a bit of a nightmare.

While Alitalia flies regularly, also take a look at the low cost carriers. I know that Easy Jet flies Rome/Palermo and I believe others do too.

Hope this helps!

I didn't mention it earlier, but easyJet was how we flew between Rome and Palermo. The Palermo airport is actually several miles west of the city, and since we were heading west from the airport anyway, didn't consider picking up the rental car downtown. Europcar got us the best deal on our car, but the rest of the plane seemed to be German tourists, and they all lined up at the Sixt (a German rental company) desk.

No one has said this yet- but we were in rome last week for four days and nights before driving to amalfi. We all thought it was at least a day too long to be in rome. I don't know your daughters age- but I would think hard before being there six days

For God's sake, tell them to FLY!
The following airlines fly from Rome airports (FCO or CIA) to Sicily's airports (CTA, PMO, TPS, CIY, in order of traffic volume)
ALITALIA
EASYJET
MERIDIANA
RYANAIR
VUELING

I also agree with the previous comment that 6 days in Rome are excessive, while 6 days in Sicily are not sufficient to see the island (it's huge and full of historical places to see). If it were my trip, I would limit my stay in Rome to no more than 4 nights (or even just 3) and devote the remaining 8 or 9 nights to Sicily. Also, to save time and hotel changes, they should try to go to Sicily first thing. Maybe they could by a ticket directly to PMO or CTA (via Rome) with Alitalia and go there straight from the US. If they fly to PMO, they won't need the car while in Palermo, they can rent after they visit Palermo to head out in the countryside.

Rome could easily fit a 2-week full schedule of attractions, visits and activities, as long as you aren't the sort of person who thinks "it ain't very famous it is not worth my time".

I cringe at the suggestions 6 days is "too much" time to spend there.

Unlike Andre', I think you can visit Rome in a day.

Morning: Vatican Museum+San Peter's
Lunch on the go.
Midday to Early Afternoon: Ancient Rome Ruins (Colosseum, Forum, Palatine, Constantine Arch, Caracalla)
Late Afternoon-Early Evening: Pantheon then dinner in the historical center.
Late evening after Dinner: Walk the historical center (Piazza Navona, Trevi, Piazza di Spagna, etc)

You are done.
Next!

Have to throw my vote in with Andre L that 6 days isn't too long for Rome. Depending on your interests, you will barely scratch the surface in that amount of time. We spent 6 days there on the last trip (my third visit to the city) and even with skipping things done previously, we still didn't have enough time!!

0_0 Wow.

I could stay in Rome forever. But if your daughter and fiance want a change, there are a couple of daytrips by bus or train that are convenient: Orvieto (long day but short train ride, a little more than an hour), Castel Gandolfo, Frascati, Tivoli, Ostia Antica. With a car, they could get to Pompeii and back in a day.

I would fly back from Sicily, since as noted it's a long drive. If they do decide to drive, they could spend a night in Tropea (on the coast near the toe of the mainland) and further up stop at Paestum for another overnight (beautiful temples, good small museum, nice beach), or spend a couple of days on the Amalfi Coast. I can suggest a small hotel on the Coast with gated, free parking if you like. This drive would still leave a few days for Rome itself. From Tropea to Paestum is about 4 hours, then another two hours to the Amalfi Coast, and about two to three more to Rome. The other two hours of an 11-hour drive would be from Sicily to Tropea (and that short ferry ride can take a while because the car ferry often also takes trains and buses).

Ditto Roberto!!! "Tell them to fly." They will throw away at least 3 days(!) driving. It will take an hour to cross the three miles from the toe of Italy to Messina waiting for a ferry. There's nothing to see sight-wise except the Amalfi coast, and once in Sicily the roads down the coast curvy and congested to put it mildly! My wife and I did the train from Rome to Taormina, 40 miles south of Messina, and it was agonizing - an hour an 45 minutes to cross the 3-mile straight, they put the entire train on a ferry then another 20 minutes putting the train back together again.
They can fly to and from Catania very cheaply from Rome, for less Euros than the cost of petrol for the car trip, and no permanent psychological problems to boot.

Are these cheap flights are really 'cheap' once you factor in the luggage? I assume most of these cheap flights only allow you to carry a small backpack?

"Are these cheap flights are really 'cheap' once you factor in the luggage? I assume most of these cheap flights only allow you to carry a small backpack?"

It depends on the airline and their particular rules. That's part of why I flew Alitalia between Rome and Sicily; they allowed my carryon (which is the full size allowed across the Atlantic) and one checked bag for "free" (i.e., included in the ticket price).

The baggage fees on the budget airlines aren't that high, if you book and pay for your bags before the flight. Where they really get you is if you wait until you get to the airport. Our regular poster Ken says he always estimates high and pays for more luggage rather than less at the time he books his ticket, just to avoid problems.