Hi all. We have a double booking to get us from Rome/Naples to Palermo at the end of December. On one hand we have airline tickets on the morning of the 29th (Rome to Palermo) We have these because the flight was way cheaper buying tickets mco-fco/fco-pmo/pmo-mco than buying open jaw (mco-fco/pmo-mco). But we weren't really intending to use the Rome-Palermo portion.

We have a rental car from Rome to Palermo, with booking on SNAV Ferry from Naples to Palermo on the 28th, arriving on the 29th. It was cheaper to rent the car in Rome, returning to Palermo, with the ferry than to rent cars in 2 locations.

Therefore, we have the ability to get to Palermo using 2 different modes of transport, within a few hours of each other. The question is, what are the "normal" conditions for the coast of Italy at this time of year. If it is normally really rough, then we'll opt for the plane and 2 cars. If not, then do the ferry. Kind of looking forward to the ferry, but not if the normal sea conditions are like the North Atlantic.

Anyone have any generalized ideas on this. I know it is impossible to predict weather or sea conditions.

Dave

Just so you know, the "ferry" is a large ship that they just call a ferry. The sea conditions depend on the day. If it's a nice day, then the seas are normal. If it's windy and stormy they are rougher.....but as I mentioned before, SNAV is a large ship. The one we took (not SNAV but we did see the SNAV ship) from Palermo to Civitavecchia took 800 vehicles and a couple of thousand people. So it shouldn't be too bad even if it's rough. It is southern Italy so there aren't too many bad days.

I think you may have a different problem. If you don;t use the Rome-Palermo leg of the plane ticket don't they cancel the return portion? I think you might find yourself with no ticket home if you just ignore that leg.

One other thing you might check out. Some rental companies do not allow you to take their cars on ferries.

As to the tickets, they are just part of a multi-leg with different carriers on different days. Not going has no effect.

As to the car rental, I've already cleared that hurdle. However, this is kind of weird and I got it in writing to make sure it was kosher. The rental is from Rome to Palermo, hence you must take a ferry. The rule was "no ferry for the rental". So I call them up and say "How does one get from Rome to Palermo by car without going by ferry". It got a laugh from the agent and they sent me a written thing authorizing ferry transport to Sicily.

That's great! In writing and you can do as you like! We loved the overnight ferry. We took TTT lines from Naples to Catania and then Grand Navi Veloci from Palermo to Civitavecchia. SNAV is excellent, also. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time.