Rome to Sicily, things to see/do?

How many days do you plan to travel prior to starting the Sicily tour?

If you’re just planning to travel from Rome to Palermo, I’d recommend flying.

Up to a week. We have seen most of the highlights of Rome on a prior RS tour.

Have you been to Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum? Salerno makes a good base for Paestum and has a direct train or ferry to Palermo or you can fly nonstop from Naples. You can also take the direct overnight train from Salerno to Pompeii.

When I looked at it, the stretch from Naples to Palermo by train is longer than I want to do in a day, and I dislike night trains.

I would certainly look at the Naples area, there is plenty to see, we spent 4 nights in Sorrento as a second trip in the area. If proceeding by train, we were looking at maybe a night or two in Tropea to break things up, but there were other nice looking towns in Calabria as well.

In the end, we flew Rome to Palermo, then returned, Catania to Naples by plane, then Naples to Rome by train. We also were not on the tour, just on our own.

Since you have only been to Rome one time, you could certainly find many things to see and do there. We love to return there.
The RS Sicily tour doesn’t give Palermo much time at all . I recommend you travel to Sicily several days ahead to be able to see the many important places there that aren’t covered in your tour. Fly Rome to Palermo, easy.

There have been many posts over the years about taking the train from Naples to Palermo. Here is a recent one.

Note it is a 12 hour trip and there is no food available on the train; it is BYO. My nephew and his then fiancé took it years ago and recommended against it, FWIW. We love trains but 12 hours is a long time. Consider at least breaking it up with stays along the Amalfi Coast and in Calabria.

i think rome to palermo is too long a journey via road or rail. in 2021 i flew to palermo from rome and it was a little over an hour. however, i took the train from messina to naples even though it was about 6 hours because i wanted to experience the train ferries that cross the straits.

Here's how I'd tackle it, because you can pretty much throw a dart and find somewhere appealing to go in Italy--it all comes down to travel style/logistics: Do you want to make one stop, then fly to Palermo? Or, do you want to do the long train journey and stop a few places? Or, do you want to just fly to Palermo and visit somewhere in Sicily while you wait for the tour to begin?
The long train journey would not be attractive to me over a week, but mileage varies, as they say! You could spend some time perusing the train line to see options. In March, Calabrian towns would likely be very very quiet.
Naples and the Amalfi Coast would be a super convenient and attractive stop, then you could fly NAP to PMO.
I would not consider bus or ferry.

My wife and I took the direct 12-hour Rome-Palermo day train in September (€35 each, booked early). Knowing there was no food service aboard, we took snacks and wine. It was a pleasant day. The transfer of train to ferry for the crossing to Messina was fun and allowed us to go topside on the ferry for the view and snack bar. We enjoyed coastal scenery much of the way. I realize that such a trip is not for everyone, but we like trains and are glad we took that one.

If you decide on the train, you can spend several days exploring Naples, Pompei and Amalfi area. I have not been there so cannot give specifics but lots of recommendations on the forum. Once the train crosses into Sicily you might stop and explore Milazzo or stop in Cefalù and spend the night since the RS tour does not include it. With an extra week you certainly have time to go by train and break up the journey along the way.

If you decide to fly over to Palermo, as stated there is much to see and do in and around Palermo and the tour does not have much time dedicated to Palermo itself. See more of Palermo. It is very walkable. Do a street food walking tour. See a puppet show. Visit the archeological museu,. Tons of churches to explore. Maybe attend an opera. Great daytrip options: Cefalu is an easy and very worthwhile daytrip or overnight stay. In that same direction you might consider a daytrip to either Castelbuono or Caccamo. Maybe a visit to Mondello or to the cave Sanctuary of Saint Rosalie, the patron saint of Palermo, on Mt. Pellegrino. If you get a driver you can go to Marsala and its vineyards with a stop in Scopello or Castellammare del Golfo on the way. Castellammare del Golfo is also reachable by train and is a picturesque small coastal town.

You’ve received great suggestions thus far.,

Consider going to Palermo a few days prior to the start of the tour, so you can explore on your own, and visit some of the great sites that may not be covered by the tour.
Don’t miss the Norman Palace and it’s magnificent Cappella Palatina covered in golden mosaics.

While in Palermo, you can take the one hour train ride to Cefalù, visit its beautiful cathedral, wander the narrow cobblestone streets, enjoy a delicious seafood lunch, check out the many shops (great souvenirs), then walk down to the sandy beach with a gelato in hand.
At least that’s what I did on my day trip to Cefalù!

Enjoy beautiful Sicily!