Paestum to Sicily

About 5+ hours by train with several train changes (travel time doesn't include time waiting for train transfers). You can check rome2rio.com for alternative types of transportation, time, distances and approximate costs. The ferry from Villa San Giovanni to Messina only takes a few minutes, but the cars, buses and train carriages get loaded onto the ferry and then have to be unloaded, and that takes some time.

From Messina to Palermo, the train takes about 3 hours and the bus takes a little less than that. You could backtrack to Naples and take the ferry, but that journey is about 9 hours.

So, yes, it can be done in a long day. I've done it both ways. If I had to leave from Naples, I would fly into Palermo or Catania.

Thanks! The website that you provided is also helpful. If by train, do you have to purchase multiple tickets or would one ticket allow you to get from A to Z? (Understand that there are multiple transfers. Just wondering if it involves purchasing a ticket with each transfer.)

We did that in reverse in December 2012, going from Sicily to Paestum, but were driving a rental car, and were specifically visiting Castrovillari, in Calabria (highly recommend hotel & restaurant Locanda di Alia!), which required the better parts of two days. We'd considered the train, but opted for car.

We originally flew to Palermo, Sicily from Rome, with a fast, cheap plane ride on easyJet. They fly between Naples and Catania, so if you took public transportation from Paestum to Naples (or Rome), you could continue by air to Sicily, maybe quicker than taking a train all the way.

Appreciate the feedback. Since we would be continue to head south from Paestum to Sicily, we thought it best to go by land. How was your driving experience in southern Italy and Sicily? (Our concern are the narrow roads on the coast.)

As for as flying, we are considering flying from Palermo to Rome (for departure to the US). Will check out easyJet. Thanks for the tip.

" we are considering flying from Palermo to Rome (for departure to the US). Will check out easyJet. "

For Palermo to Rome, there are multiple airline choices; look at Skyscanner for all the options: http://www.skyscanner.com/

If you're checking luggage, consider Alitalia, as one checked bag is included in the price of your ticket, so it may not cost more than a "budget" airline. If you are booking a domestic Italy ticket on Alitalia, use their International site, which shows lower price options than their US one.

And unless you have a late flight from Rome to the US and you feel very lucky, you will need to fly from Palermo to Rome the day before. Security for flights to the US takes some time, so you can't have a tight connection on separate tickets and count on not missing your plane.

You buy one journey, Paestum to Palermo for example. You will be issued multiple tickets if a segment of the journey is on different types of trains, such as a combination of freccie and regionale. One ticket will be issued for one type of train, even if you must change trains at different stations. You will pay once for the entire journey, the train company will figure out how many tickets to issue.

If you don't buy e-tickets in advance, the regionale ticket(s) must be validated at the little boxes near the track.

In southern Italy, we actually were driving the Autostrada inland, not along the coast. In some cases, the highway was way above the valley floor below (don't look down if heights are a problem), but the roads were in good condition, and well designed. Actually, in December, there were lots of constructions zones, with orange cones and signs in many places, and sometimes traffic was limited to a single lane, with lowered speed limits. That time of year, the traffic was pretty light, and even the Mercedes and Audis had to go the speed limit and stay in line with the rest of the cars.

On Sicily, the roads weren't necessarily brand-new, but the highways were in very good shape, and the signage was sufficient and easy to follow (we used paper maps and road signs, not GPS). There was no traffic problem (again this was late December). In towns, however, the streets were often very narrow, sometimes one-way, and around the holidays, there was traffic, especially at night. Finding a parking spot was sometimes a challenge, so having the smallest car possible that will still accommodate your passengers and luggage is advisable - more maneuverable and easier to park in tight spaces. In particular, Erice, Caltagirone, Agrigento, and Taormina presented some driving challenges, but we made it thru without a scrape, and it added to the Sicilian experience! South of Eboli and on all of Sicily, there were no tolls or tollbooths, which was nice, too. :-)

Haven't been to Caltagirone yet, but Erice, Taormina and Agrigento have public parking outside the city center. You can take a bus up to the centro storico in each town.

Thanks, Harold. They Skyscanner website is really helpful. Appreciate the tip on Alitalia and checked bags.

Thanks Zoe for the additional information on the train tickets.

Appreciate the feedback on driving conditions in Italy and Sicily. We are considering driving through the Baroque hill towns (e.g. Noto, Modica) from Syracuse. Has any one had experience driving in this area?

Re: driving hill towns in Sicily, roads are very good to towns but streets in the historic center can be very narrow and lots of them may be one-way (senso unico). Best to use a public parking lot on the periphery and walk around the towns.

I guess I neglected to mention Modica earlier - it was one of our favorite places in Sicily, and we hope to return some time! Don't miss the chocolate at Antica Dolceria Bonajuto! We arrived in town just after it got dark (at it got dark early in late December) and crawled along the one-way streets in the high town, making it down to the low town where we'd reserved a B&B room (the Lonely Planet Guidebook has excellent lodging recommendations throughout Sicily), and found a great restaurant and . . . the chocolate! Another challenging town to drive in, except the main drag in the low town was no problemo.

Earlier in the day, stopping in Noto, we got yelled at for trying to park in front of a house - no signs prohibiting this, and there were other cars all up and down the street, and we weren't parking in a driveway or in front of a door, but we moved on and found another parking spot, to avoid an international incident.

Zoe, I concur with the narrow (and sometimes confusing) streets within the town centers. We found this on our last trip to Italy. We are only renting a car to get to the hill towns, and places that are not accessible by public transportation. "Bus-sing" and "train-ing" will be our primary modes of transportation.

Cyn, thank you for your hearty endorsement of Modica. Lonely Planet's guidebook does make it sound charming, along with the other 4 Baroque hill towns. Its great to hear from someone who has had first hand experience. Appreciate the tip on the ice-cream parlor as well. By the way, do you have any recommendation to stay in Modica? Also, Syracuse, Catania and Palermo, assuming that you also visited these cities?

Thanks.

su_lim2000: My VERY detailed trip report for my spring 2014 Sicily visit, including my accommodations in Palermo and Siracusa (both of which I'd use again), is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

Suzzana, we spent 5 nights in Siracusa on the island of Ortigia, at the Mini-hotel B&B Spiraglio, and I warmly recommend it. We had a spacious room and generous bathroom, with a nice breakfast every morning prepared by our excellent hostess Rita. It's fun to wander around the old city; lots of places to eat and things to do. Rita even drove us to the bus station at the end of our stay, to catch our bus to the airport.

Not sure if you are also looking for lodging in Agrigento, but we had a great time at Le Casette di Lu, off a pedestrian street Via Atenea in the old town. Very generous breakfast included, comfortable beds, and small but adequate bathroom.

Have a great trip!

Suzzana- we actually just passed thru (or near) Palermo, Syracusa, and Catania. In Modica, I'd have to research the exact name of the place 2 years ago, but it was in the most recent Lonely Planet book at the time. It was a B&B on Corso Umberto I, a magnificent building that had been in the owner's family for generations. Outstanding breakfast, comfortable bed, quiet room, excellent price in December. Let me know if you need more details.

Cyn,

Would it happen to be Villa Quartarella (Modica), a Lonely Planet recommendation? I just made reservation there. It looks absolutely charming from its website.

Ciao,

Suzzana

Not sure that's where we stayed, but you'll have a great stay in a great area.

In Palermo I stayed in Palace Centrale. It really WAS an old palace! It was very close to all the sites and we walked everywhere. We got a great deal on Booking.com -- if at all possible get the breakfast included option. The palacial diningroom that serves a full breakfast buffet was breathtaking, as is the rooftop restaurant. You'll need to check about parking there, or return the rental car at the airport and take a taxi to the hotel.

I agree that you need to spend the night before your flight in Rome. You need to be at the airport 2 1/2 hours before your flight, since all direct flights to the US and Israel have an extra check point for obvious reasons.

I always fly Alitalia to/from Sicily because of their generous baggage allowances and there are many flights a day into both Catania and Palermo.

We have gone by train and we have driven to Sicily; in fact, we drove the coast road from Paestum to Sicily a couple of years ago in September, and it is not difficult at all. The roads are fine and we like having a car in Italy and Sicily. If you decide on a train, just backtrack to Naples and leave from there. It's a comfortable trip. Have fun.

Donna,

Thanks for the feedback on Palace Centrale. I looked it up on the web, and it looks lovely. Very stately and classically old world. We have already made reservations for Palermo. However I appreciate the tip.

Ciao,

Suzzana

Chloe, thanks for the feedback on your driving experience in Sicily. We have already decided on renting a car as we are interested in touring remote areas such as Caltanisetta, Piazza Amerina and hill towns in the south.

Cheers,

Suzzana

From Piazza Armerina you can get to the Villa Romana de Casale and Morgantina.