Train On Ferry - Traversing The Strait Of Messina

Sounds like a good idea.

How does one buy tickets? On the Trenitalia website I don't think you
can.

October is still too far away. It is a train, so you can buy the tickets from Trenitalia.

And why, for only a 25 minute ride, do we have to leave the train car
and walk onto the ferry itself, then back onto the train car?!

This is pure speculation, but I assume there is some kind of safety regulation. E.g., should the unthinkable happen the passengers need to be no further than a certain distance from the life boats. And if the train deck is too far away, passengers can't stay there.

We took the train one way from Salerno to Sicily. We bought one ticket for the trip, from the Trenitalia web site.

When we got to the ferry crossing, the train was split into 2 sections and loaded onto the train ferry. We remained in the train car until it was secured on the ferry, at which time we had the choice of remaining in the train car for the ferry ride, or getting out and walking around the ferry while underway across the Straits of Messina. We were alerted when it was time to re-board the train car prior to docking in Sicily. Couldn't have been easier.

October tickets will go on sale on June 12.

On the Trenitalia website I don't think you can.

Of course you can, just pick a direct IC train from Rome to your final destination in Sicily and you'll get a through ticket that will let you board on the ferry together with your train.
Keep in mind that The direct "Ferry Option" takes more because they do not load Freccias on ferries: IC trains are slower between Rome and Villa S. Giovanni.

That's the reason Trenitalia has started selling combo tickets: Freccia+Ferry+IC. Save up to 2 hours, miss the experience of seeing a train loaded on a ferry. It won't last long, Trenitalia has been trying to stop doing it for decades.

do we have to leave the train car and walk onto the ferry itself, then back onto the train car?!

Enjoying the views from the ferry's deck is not mandatory, but it's nicer and safer; everybody does it after hours inside a train, but I think you could stay at your seat if you really wanted to.

My wife and I rode this route on the day train from Taormina to Naples in summer of 2019. It was a worthwhile experience. More information is in our trip report posted on the Rick Steves forum (part 2, last paragraph): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/italy-2019-sicily-sorrento-amalfi-pompeii-rome-orvieto-tuscany-siena-florence-cinque-terre-milan
One could stay on the train during the ferry crossing; however, like most passengers, after the train rolled onto the ferry we dismounted and went on deck. (We left our two suitcases in the train car, locked together at the handles and placed between the backs of two rows of seats that were facing away from each other.) Before docking and rolling off the ferry, passengers had to be back aboard the train.

i took the train from messina to napoli in the summer of 2021 precisely because i wanted to ride the train ferries. i am a bit of a transportation geek so it was not an experience i was going to miss. very smooth operation, after all, they have done this for decades. going topside once the coaches are secured onboard is a ritual that most people indulge in perhaps because the electricity is disconnected therefore no light or ac in the train cars. lovely view from the decks especially as the boat glides by the stele della madonna della lettera statue. you can also see the narrowest part of the straits with the two famous 'pylons'. for me, the 'crossing' was a wonderful coda to my sicily trip. the island and the mainland are the same country and physically so close yet sicily is a culture all its own. one note, though the actual 'voyage' is only about half an hour but the total time to transition from messina fs to continuing the journey onward from villa san giovanni is more like an hour and a half.

My wife and I traveled by Trenitalia direct IC train from Rome to Palermo in September and returned from Cefalù to Rome last month. We, too, are train aficionados. We packed sandwiches, other snacks and wine for the all-day journey (no food car on board). The unique ferry crossings were trip highlights, and snacks were available on the ferry. If you have the time, it's a fun experience, and the tickets are inexpensive if you book well in advance.

We took the ferry over and back. On the way over we were on the train and on the way back we had a car. They were different boats. The loading and unloading of both was fascinating.

I loved the train/loaded onto a boat crossing the sea and unloaded on the other side, it was a bit like being in the belly of the whale. Four of us traveling together, two loved it, one had a total panic attack and the other one was a neutral. On the way to Sicily we took a night ferry from Naples to Palermo. Also nice but we had to climb several storys high with our bags to board the ferry in the heat of the October sun. I do not think your allowed to stay in your car during a ferry ride anywhere, if memory serves you must leave your car even in the Seattle area. J

Thanks all, from Dario forward. Hadn't realized I was too far out to book, should have known.

If we do Taormina/Salerno on the first leg of our journey to Rome, counting the ferry it will be about 7 hours. Longer than I usually like to spend on a train, but as stated upthread, packing provisions for the trip in panini, Cric-crocs and water (maybe wine too) while watching the world go by sounds quite nice to me.

Friends of ours have stayed at the Hotel Plaza adjacent to the Salerno train/bus station, and find it a little spartan but perfectly serviceable. Having been to Salerno before, I find the Old Town charming, the lungomare walkway along the Tyrrhenian Sea gorgeous and the Napolitan pizza cheap & wonderful. We'll spend a couple nights there before heading the 3+ hours to Roma Termini, with a change at Napoli Centrale.

one had a total panic attack

Claustrophobic? I saw the same thing happening to a woman who was driving her own car inside a ferry.

Longer than I usually like to spend on a train

You could take the night IC train that departs from Taormina at 23 :05; it's a direct train so you'd see it loaded on the ferry under the moonlight. The downside is that You should find an hotel in Salerno where they allow an early check-in, like earlier than 9 AM.

I took that night train from Rome to Catania in 2015. I had a couchette berth. It was the most misderable night of my life, not counting times when I've been ill. The carriage jerked constantly from side to side and I got 0 minutes of sleep.

What’s difference in coming in to Messina maritime station and Messina centrale in train from Rome?