Train or flight from Catania to Naples?

Train would be between 7.5 and 9 hours, however, probably less than $50. Even with a connection at FCO air would probably be shorter but more expensive. It depends which is more important for your trip-time or money.

Thanks you- that’s what we thought! Time is somewhat important, but not if it’s just a couple hours saved. Is the trip by train interesting in terms of geography? We have taken a ferry (Denmark) where the train boards it and crosses a body of water, so that experience has been crossed off our list!

What day are you flying? I see non-stops from Catania to Naples every day of the week in March. Of course, I only checked one week so maybe there's something unusual about the day you're looking at.

I don't know that they all run seven days a week, but Grimaldi Lines runs overnight ferries from Catania to Salerno. Travel time is 13 hours. Basic fare is very reasonable; I don't know what it would look like by the time you pay for a cabin, but perhaps not bad, given there are at least two of you.

Tirrenia and Grandi Navi Veloce have daytime ferries from Palermo to Naples. Running time is 10-1/2 to 11 hours.

There are additional options from Sicily to the Naples area. I used the DirectFerries.com website to check schedules. I believe it is often cheaper to buy ferry tickets well in advance, as is the case with trains.

Thanks- Wed., March 18. Yes, there are direct flights (EasyJet and Volotea) everyday in the late evening. We want a morning flight and on that particular day there is no direct morning flight. Morning flights that are direct seem to be primarily on Monday and Friday that time of year. We did, however, just see another airline listed on a Rick Steves blog and will check that out.

With one-way flights costing less than USD$25, and only taking 1+15 to get there, it would appear that flying would be the better option versus the train/ferry ... even accounting for the nickle and dime add-ons they charge for baggage, etc. Would save you most of a day's travel as well.
If there are no morning flights on the 18th you might consider just flying over on the evening of the 17th.

I can only think of a few reasons to not fly...

• If you have so much time on your trip that you effectively need to kill some (really - how common is that?)
• If you hate flying so much or love trains and ferries so much or have some other reason (you can't get a flight that works for you for some schedule issue or other logistical challenge) to not fly that you're willing to spend an entire day on this mini-journey

Otherwise, it's the ever-present time-versus-money tradeoff: Life is short. Most of our trips to Europe are VERY short. You can almost always find a little more money. It's generally impossible to create more time.

Thanks very much everyone for your thoughts on this- all taken into consideration!

Hi. In Aug 2019 my wife and I (in our 50s) rode the daytime train second-class from Taormina (one station after Catania) to Naples. It was a nice relaxing trip. During the 30 minute ferry crossing most people went up on deck. We were reluctant to leave our luggage, but I locked the handles of our Rick Steves roller bags together and put them between the backs of the seats of our booth and the adjoining booth; had no problem, and the crossing was pleasant. Note that there is no lunch available on train, so one needs to bring something to eat and water. (We, like most people, brought a sandwich.)

Important information, thank you!