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RS Sicily Tour-Question on how to get from Catania to Palermo Airport

Posted by (Walnut Creek, CA (Originally England)) on

I just booked the RS Sicily tour for June. The best flights I could get were round trip to Palermo, therefore when the tour ends I will need to get from the final hotel in Catania to Palermo Airport for a 12:15 pm flight the morning the tour ends.

Can anyone who has been on this tour let me know if the guide had options for going to Palermo and not Catania? I think there is a shuttle bus but not sure if I have to get it from the airport or if it connects in Palermo town. I will need to be at the airport at 10:00 am.

Thank you. I just booked my flight and have 24 hours to change it this isn't going to work!

Posted by
2168 posts

I doubt that you can get from Catania to Palermo Airport by 10:00 a.m. unless you leave at zero dark thirty (and I don't know if it's even possible to get transportation at the early hour you would need it). It's almost four hours by bus and longer by train between the two. I believe you will need to extend for a day or leave the tour a day early if you want to make that flight. Good luck!

Posted by
1103 posts

Getting to Sicily from the west coast of the US is challenging. We took this tour in 2016 and spent a couple of days in Rome before flying on to Palermo. At the end of the tour, we flew from Catania to Rome, spent one night, then flew home the next day.

It would also be nice not to have to leave early in the morning on the day the tour ends. Leaving early sort of breaks the magic spell surrounding the tour experience,

Posted by
6281 posts

We've taken this tour twice. The first time it began and ended in Palermo. The second time, it ended in Catania. We flew out to Rome from there, then spent a week in Sorrento. Can you fly out of Palermo the day after the tour? Or even a couple of days after?

Posted by
11136 posts

How late does a bus or train leave? Could you leave after the final dinner and spend the night in Palermo?

Only other thought is a one way car rental and a VERY early AM departure.

Posted by
97 posts

Thank you everyone. After a conversation with the RS office and your comments I have changed my flight home. Luckily I had only booked it a couple of hours earlier and could change without any fees. I'm flying from Palermo the day after the tour ends. I just couldn't pass up a $69 round trip flight from San Francisco to Palermo only using 75,000 United Airlines miles! I was about to pay $1,700 for the same flights! Extreme luck so now I will have a day to leisurely travel to Palermo and stay overnight in a hotel next to the airport!

My 4th RS trip and looking forward to it!

Posted by
2168 posts

Great decision, I think! Thanks for letting us know.

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