Travel between Palermo & Catania

If you fly through Heathrow from the US there are direct flights from there to Palermo. Coming home you’d fly from Catania to Rome, then back to the US. You can get tickets with different airports at the destination. British Air has lots of options, probably other airlines, too.

We flew on a Delta ticket; PHX to JFK (Delta); JFK to Rome (ITA); Rome to Palermo (ITA). Going back, Catania to Rome (ITA); Rome to ATL (Delta); ATL to PHX (Delta). With no fast trains between Catania and Palermo, and each of the 3 major US airlines having partners that fly to both Palermo and Catania, I would recommend a multi-city ticket rather than taking a slow train between the two. It should be the simpler and more convenient choice. BTW, of the 3 Rick Steves tours we've taken, Sicily was my favorite.

What's wrong with a multi-city flight?

Hi Susanne,

Do you have to do a multi city flight leaving Sicily?
Arrive Palermo - leave Catania?

You don’t have too but it saves you from backtracking back to Palermo at the end of your tour.

I didn’t take the Sicily tour but traveled there independently and flew to Palermo and out of Catania.

You may consider flying to Milan, or Rome, for a couple of days before your tour starts.

I flew to Milan, stayed a couple of nights at the beginning (and at the end of my trip) then booked an Easyjet flight to Palermo, then back to Milan from Catania.
You can take a taxi, or a bus, from the city center to the Catania airport.