Italy

According to the rome2rio website, there's an hourly bus that takes almost 4 hours, or a train/bus combo. Alternatively, you could see whether flying into Palermo and out of Catania ('multi-city' or 'open jaw', NOT 2 separate one-way flights) might work for you.

Google maps says about 211 km and 2.5 hrs by car. Of course picking up, getting gas and dropping off adds a lot more time. Trenitalia has trains that take as little as 3 hours. I think there's also bus service.

Have you considered flying from Catania to Rome, then to your home destination from there?

Enjoy your trip!

We used Easy Jet flights into Palermo and out of Catania. Both cities are on opposite ends of the island. If you are doing a tour I would assume you want to go into Palermo and out of Catania. The return to Palermo is a bit more difficult. Train, bus, and at least when we went there last year, there were no flight connections.

A lot depends upon where you are flying in from and returning to. Are you visiting other Italian cities?

Hope some more knowledgeable Sicily specialists will chime in.

Thank you, I'm learning. This would be the 11-day Rick Steve's tour starting from Palermo and ending at Catania - if the logistics can work out.

Rick

It's always fun to learn some new travel skills!

We did this tour in November. We flew US to Rome (on Delta) and then Rome to Palermo (on Alitalia). We did the return journey Catania to Rome (on Alitalia) and then Rome back to the US (on Delta). It's easy to do this. Instead of looking at round trip tickets on an airline's website, look for a multi-city option. That allows you to see times, prices, etc., to fly into one city and out of another one.

It's a wonderful tour! You'll love it!

Book your flights out on the same ticket. If you book separately and there's a delay, you could miss your transatlantic flight with no recourse. Catania is more likely to have delays that other airports because of Etna - just a little ash spewing and it shuts down the airport.

Although Palermo is a larger city, Catania has the larger airport, with more flight options. So, booking flights from the US to Palermo and then from Catania back to the US, all on one ticket, is no harder than booking roundtrip US to Palermo. To find these flights, use the "multi city" or "multiple destinations" option on Kayak, Skyscanner, Google Flights, Delta, etc.

However, whether you leave Sicily from Catania or Palermo, it may be difficult to get home the same day. You may have to overnight somewhere on the European mainland to catch your US-bound flight the next day. Again, if you're going to do this, Catania will have more options.