Train/Ferry to Sicily

airplane from naples to catania
bus from catania to taormina

What Andrea said. Keep in mind the baggage limits for domestic flights.

Jo-As the others have said, plane probably is the fastest/cheapest/most efficient. We had a slightly different itinerary last December, starting in Palermo and driving counter-clockwise around Sicilia to Taormia. We considered ferries but they would eat up too much time and not save money, and we decided against just looking out at seawater for hours and hours. We considered a train-ferry also at one point, with a different itinerary, but ruled that out. Jet from Roma to Palermo was our decision. After touring Sicilia, we used a car ferry to make the quick crossing back to the mainland and ultimately turned in the rental car in Sorrento.

Just did this trip in September, and also decided against the ferry because the flights are so inexpensive (especially to/from Palermo) and the ferry would just eat up precious vaca time. We flew into Catania and went to Taormina and rented an apartment and based there. Enjoyed Taormina which has its own Greek Ruins Teatro Greco, and day tripped to Syracusa and Mt. Etna. From Taormina we stopped in Cefalu absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful seaside, indulged ourselves in a beautiful seaside hotel, and from there Palermo. Flew into Rome. We flew Alitalia, they were only a few dollars more than the cut rate airlines, but there was no charge for bags. Since this was a three week trip, we did have one duffle and one carry-on. Keep in mind that the cutrate airlines consider EVERYTHING you carry on as a carry on and will charge. So, we needed to put our purses in our carry-ons and check one bag. This was no charge on Alitalia, but we bought our tickets more than 30 days in advance. If you want info on apartments to rent, PM me.