We are planning to drive from Sicily to Sorrento and have booked a rental car to take the Messina To Villa San Giovanni Ferry (the company confirmed we could take the car on the ferry). We need a car registration number to book the ferry tickets, however, we won't have the registration number until we pick up the car. Does anyone know if need to book the ferry tickets in advance, or if it is possible to get tickets 2-3 days before the travel date?
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Following! If I find any new information I will post it also.
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I traveled back and forth across the straight last September on the Caronte & Tourist ferry with a rental car. There is no need to book the tickets in advance--I purchased mine the morning of departure.
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We too just drove up and on the next ferry.
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I'm looking for information on this too! Does anyone know how long it takes to board / de-board the ferry with a rental car? How much total time should be budgeted for the crossing?
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The ferries depart every 40 minutes during the day (a little less frequently overnight), but the actual journey time is about 20 minutes (i.e. pushing off from the dock to arriving at the other side). So the other 20 minutes are spent loading/unloading. On one trip, I was one of the last cars to board, so there was essentially no wait to depart...but I had to wait for all of vehicles ahead of me to go before getting off the boat on the other side. Conversely, on another trip I was one of the first in line to board, but still had to wait for rest of the boat behind me to board.
To be safe, budget about an hour for the crossing, since you may get caught in some traffic congestion in the towns after you disembark.