Catania to Naples - Best Flight option?

Check also EasyJet, they fly non stop CTA-NAP although not sure if they fly on the dates and times you are traveling.

Naples is not far from Rome by train. So consider also the possibility of flying to Rome and then taking the train, if such option is cheaper and more convenient in terms of times (ITA has only 3 flights a day from FCO to NAP, but there are trains every half hour or even less).

ITA Airways, RyanAir, and Aeroitalia fly non stop from CTA to FCO.

There is also the option to take a train, which will take approximately 7.5 hours. Trenitalia shows a train leaving Catania Centrale at 8:52 am arriving at Naples Centrale 4:17 pm on March 6. Supereconomy seats in 2nd class less than 30 Euro.

Actually the train suggested by Mary is not a bad idea. Door to door it would take just an hour or so longer than the flight.

Flying at 10:20 means you should get to the airport by 9am, therefore leaving no later than 8:30 from your Catania hotel (more or less the time you'd need to leave to take that train).
If you arrive at Naples at 14:20, you should get to the city center by 15:00-15:20. That is only about one hour earlier than the train would arrive at Napoli Centrale.

The train sounds like a good option, and if I'm not mistaken there are some nice views of the Mediterranean from the train.

I certainly appreciate the suggestions. Actually, the train might be more relaxing. I'll check all the airlines mentioned. This might be a silly question, but....how does the train get from Sicily to the mainland? I thought there was only a ferry for cars. Honestly, I've searched and can't find the answer. Also, where is the best place to book train tix?

Actually, the train might be more relaxing.

Trains are in general a lot more relaxing compared to flying.

This might be a silly question, but....how does the train get from
Sicily to the mainland?

There are no silly questions. The answer is by ferry, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0-s-8sS1v0

Also, where is the best place to book train tix?

https://www.trenitalia.com

That's incredible! Thank you, Badger. I did a search asking my question and the youtube video or the "ferry" didn't come up. I wondered if there was a tunnel. That's great to see the video because it is a little hard to imagine! BTW, I've found (per seat61.com) here are three companies that sell train tickets: Trenitalia, Italiarail.com, and thetrainline.com. The latter two provide a bit better English and work in conjunction with Trenitalia.

The other companies (other than Trenitalia) are resellers (travel agencies), which may sell only limited options and maybe with a fee, so buy directly from Trenitalia, they are the ones operating the trains.

@Roberto, First, thanks for the plane vs. train analysis. Second, according to seat61.com, only thetrainline.com charges a small fee. Per seat61 (I didn't copy all of the info)
Option 1, buy at Italiarail.com
You can buy Trenitalia tickets at www.italiarail.com in €, £, $, Ca$ or Au$ - to book in US$ click here.
ItaliaRail are a well-established US-based agency who link directly to Trenitalia's ticketing system. They don't sell tickets for Italo.
Italiarail books the same trains as Trenitalia's own website, but in plain English with no quirky translations. You can use familiar English place-names such as Venice or Florence.
Italiarail shows a whole day's trains in the search results and can book up to 20 people at a time. Trenitalia's own website only shows a couple of hours-worth of trains at a time and can only book up to 5 people at a time.
Option 2, buy at Thetrainline.com
Thetrainline also connects to Trenitalia's system to sell tickets in plain English at the same prices as Trenitalia, in €, £, $, Ca$ or Au$, overseas credit cards no problem, small booking fee.
For an extra €2, you can choose your seats from a seat map on Trenitalia high-speed & intercity trains.
Thetrainline.com has two key advantages:
First, it sells tickets for Italo as well as Trenitalia, so you can compare times & prices for both operators.
Second, it also links to the French, Spanish, Swiss, German, Austrian & Benelux national ticketing systems so you can book train tickets across much of western Europe together all in one place.

That's incredible! Thank you, Badger. I did a search asking my
question and the youtube video or the "ferry" didn't come up. I
wondered if there was a tunnel. That's great to see the video because
it is a little hard to imagine!

It's the only ferry route in Europe that carries passenger trains. They used to be very common, and until a few years ago there were two ferries that carried passenger trains between Germany and Scandinavia, but now there is only the Messina strait ferry left. There is talk about a bridge though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Messina_Bridge

BTW, I've found (per seat61.com) here are three companies that sell
train tickets: Trenitalia, Italiarail.com, and thetrainline.com. The
latter two provide a bit better English and work in conjunction with
Trenitalia.

Trenitalia is the company that actually runs the train. I see no reason to buy the ticket from a ticket reseller. The Man in Seat 61 is a great source of knowledge for train travel, but he's very quick to recommend buying tickets from 3rd parties, something I do not agree with.

@Badger That is very interesting information about the train/ferries and also "seat 61." As long as I understand the trenitalia reservation page, I'll go that route. Tack så mycket for explaining things even further.