Train to Catania

I went from Napoli to Catania by train a couple of years ago when Terminal 3 at FCO caught fire. I would fly. I haven't taken an overnight ferry for this route, but I did from Dubrovnik to Bari two years ago, and it was not fun.

Yes, I took that train (from Rome) in June 2015, and it was an absolutely miserable experience except for the 3 nice Italian ladies in my compartment. I took a fair number of night trains in the early 70s and was able to sleep pretty well, though somewhat fitfully, in a couchette berth. In 2015 I don't think I ever fell asleep. The train car jerked from side to side constantly. I urge you to try to fly. Even though there will be no jet lag, you've really gained nothing if you arrive so exhausted that you have to sleep away most of the arrival day.If you're trying to save money, you can find an inexpensive place to stay in Catania that will be far more comfortable than the train.

And oh, yes: We had about a 3-hour delay on the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina due to track work. You might Google to see if there's any information out there on whether that work continues.

Thank you. Why is Italy so hard??!! Looks like we will fly.

It's a cheap, one hour (give or take) flight from Naples to Catania...what makes that "hard"? You are crossing mainland to an island - so trains aren't exactly intuitive in this situation. In southern Italy, regional trains are slow due to underinvestment in infrastructure (you'll see this if you compare southern to northern Italy). I went from Malta to Sicily and, although there was a very early morning ferry, it was too inconvenient and not linked up well with buses, so I took a 40-minute flight instead.

Why is Italy so hard? It's not conforming to your itinerary? It often doesn't conform to mine, either.

I have learned the "hard" way that you don't manage Italy, Italy manages you. Just love her and she will love you back.

By the way, the train goes on the ferry to cross the Straits.

To those who think that Italy is hard to travel in, I'd like to remind that to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the largest metro areas in the US after NYC and Chicago (350 miles, i.e. the same distance as Milan to Rome), if you are not willing to fly, the train alternative takes 13 hours and there are only one or two trains a day. Driving is a boring experience on Interstate 5, which can take you anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on what time you go. If you drive on a holiday weekend it might exceed 10 hours.

If instead of traveling between these major cities, you choose to travel to mid size cities, like Fresno, Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, etc., it might be impossible to find flights and to even smaller places you have no alternatives but drive. The same apply to virtually every State in the USA, not just California cities.

On the other hand, virtually every place in Italy, even the smallest isolated village, can be reached with some form of public transportation. Many can be reached with train service that Amtrak can only dream of.

So, although some Italian locations are easier to reach than others, however compared to the United States, traveling in Italy is a walk in the park.