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Sicily Trip: Returning to Rome

Looking forward to the RS Sicily trip in April but trying to figure out how to return to Rome at trip end on a Wednesday morning. I realize Catania where the trip ends has an airport but it seems like to get a decent airfare I need to arrive and return from Palermo. I have been looking at Airitalia. Anyone have any experience with this?
Thank you

Posted by
7277 posts

Don't know whether traveling on the ground is an option for you, but 3 years ago, after flying from Rome to Palermo, we rented a car and drove it around Sicily, then took it by ferry onto mainland Italy, and drove north, eventually dropping the car off in Sorrento. We took the train from there to Rome. Calabria in extreme southern Italy was a joy to visit, and driving was easy. You can also go by train the whole way from Sicily to Rome (with a train ferry trip en route), but I can't tell you the cost or the time the journey would take.

Posted by
787 posts

When I took this tour in 2014, I bought a round-trip ticket to Rome and spent a few days in Rome before and after the tour. Separately, I bought tickets on Vueling (a Spanish discount airline) between Rome and Palermo. Checking a random Wednesday in April, I see one-way fares as low as 24 Euro. Add to that the fee if you're going to check luggage, it's still reasonably priced flight.

Posted by
1446 posts

Vueling does fly Catania to Rome, but it looks like no flights are scheduled past March 17th.

Alitalia shows more expensive flights on their US Dollar website, than their Italian website. Go to the Alitalia.it website, then select 'English' for the language and price out the tickets in Euros.

Alitalia includes the baggage in the ticket, but Vueling does not and it adds up. If a flight if available with Vueling, Iberia will also sell it and it will include baggage.

I trust that you are not connecting right away with your flight home the same day from Rome?

Trenitalia has both a daytime train and an overnight train. Use a Wednesday in November to check the times and fares. IMO, the overnight train, in Excelsior Doppio is a good deal. It pulls into Rome Termini's station around 7am or so.

If you really want to do it cheap, there's even a daytime fare of less than 20 euros total (if you book as soon as soon as reservations open). It's a fare class called Super Economy, which refers to the EBB fare restrictions, rather than seat or service per se. Super Economy is also available in Excelsior class, but you have to select it from the drop-down menu, if that fare class is not yet sold out.

Posted by
2119 posts

Take a look at Ryan Air. I'm not sure of your date, but I just checked Wednesday April 21 and they have flights from Catania to Rome as low as 26 euros. You'll probably have to pay extra for a checked bag (do this when you purchase your ticket) so it'll be a little more, but still decent.

With these low cost airlines, you have to read all the fine print. Make sure your checked and carry-on bags meet their weight and size requirements. Also, be sure to print your boarding passes before you come to the airport. You can do this as much as a week in advance (or even 30 days in advance if you pre-purchase your seat).

Last fall, we flew Ryan Air from Rome>Catania, and then Palermo>Rome. We carefully followed all instructions and had no problems at all.

Posted by
15560 posts

If you are staying on in Italy after the tour, consider flying a budget airline to another city. Use wikipedia's airport sites for Catania and Palermo. Each has a table showing all the airlines that use the airport and where they fly to.

If you are only flying to Rome for a flight home, look at Alitalia for open-jaw flights into Palermo and out of Catania. When I visited Sicily, I started with a flight into Palermo, connecting in Rome, then a budget flight from Catania to Bologna, spent more time in Italy and flew home from Rome. The difference in price for the Alitalia round-trip Rome vs. Palermo-Rome was less than a budget airline ticket Rome-Palermo.