The cheapest transportation between Rome and Milazzo is neither the plane nor the train nor the ferry: it's the old fashioned intercity bus!!!
Twice per week (currently Mondays and Fridays at 21:00), Interbus Lines has a direct coach from Roma Tiburtina to Milazzo, with onward service to Tindari, Sant'Agata di Militello, Cefalu, Palermo and Trapani, for a rock bottom fare of 17.50 Euros per seat. You arrive in Milazzo the following morning at 6:15. Service increases during the summer. Currently, you can book seats through the middle of May, 2010.
From Milazzo, you can take a morning hydrofoil or car ferry to Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands.
By contrast, the cheapest fare to travel by train (34 Euros with the "AMICA" promotional ticket) is on the Intercity Night train "Gattopardo", which takes 15 minutes longer than the bus to reach Milazzo from Roma Termini Station (yet costs double). [This fare is valid until 12/13/2009, and Trenitalia has not yet posted schedules and fares between Rome and Sicily for the period thereafter.]
The bus is actually more comfortable than the train, because you can recline your seat as on a Greyhound bus. You can even select your seat on the internet booking page.
Now, you could fly to Palermo, Catania or Reggio di Calabria, but it would take several hours to get to Milazzo by surface transportation, making the bus a pretty efficient method of transportation, although not the fastest.
www.interbus.it
www.onbus.it
www.ferroviedellostato.it
Twice per week (currently Mondays and Fridays at 21:00), Interbus Lines has a direct coach from Roma Tiburtina to Milazzo, with onward service to Tindari, Sant'Agata di Militello, Cefalu, Palermo and Trapani, for a rock bottom fare of 17.50 Euros per seat. You arrive in Milazzo the following morning at 6:15. Service increases during the summer. Currently, you can book seats through the middle of May, 2010.
From Milazzo, you can take a morning hydrofoil or car ferry to Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands.
By contrast, the cheapest fare to travel by train (34 Euros with the "AMICA" promotional ticket) is on the Intercity Night train "Gattopardo", which takes 15 minutes longer than the bus to reach Milazzo from Roma Termini Station (yet costs double). [This fare is valid until 12/13/2009, and Trenitalia has not yet posted schedules and fares between Rome and Sicily for the period thereafter.]
The bus is actually more comfortable than the train, because you can recline your seat as on a Greyhound bus. You can even select your seat on the internet booking page.
Now, you could fly to Palermo, Catania or Reggio di Calabria, but it would take several hours to get to Milazzo by surface transportation, making the bus a pretty efficient method of transportation, although not the fastest.
www.interbus.it
www.onbus.it
www.ferroviedellostato.it
GAC. I have been reading most of your posts but haven't gotten through all of them.
On a previous post, I asked for help in choosing between two vacation destinations one of which happens to include Sicily.
What I would like to ask you directly is your opinion of renting a car in Sicily. I know that you have demonstrated that sight-seeing really can be done by public transportation. And of course using a car part of the time for remote sights.
But I am having a more difficult time convincing Mr. Sher who is used to having a car to take off when he wants and to do things like go to a grocery store at a whim.
In your valued opinion, would you discourage someone from extensively driving in Sicily? And if so, could you explain why. Thank you very much.
On a previous post, I asked for help in choosing between two vacation destinations one of which happens to include Sicily.
What I would like to ask you directly is your opinion of renting a car in Sicily. I know that you have demonstrated that sight-seeing really can be done by public transportation. And of course using a car part of the time for remote sights.
But I am having a more difficult time convincing Mr. Sher who is used to having a car to take off when he wants and to do things like go to a grocery store at a whim.
In your valued opinion, would you discourage someone from extensively driving in Sicily? And if so, could you explain why. Thank you very much.
There are some destinations in Sicily where having a rented car would be a godsend. There are several other destinations where having a car would be useful but not essential. Then there are places (mainly the cities and larger towns) where a car would be a "maledizione" (a curse, a huge burden and headache).
That's because driving in the cities is stressful, and parking is very difficult to find and generally expensive. Plus, a car is completely useless (unless you live there full-time), because most people walk and/or take the local buses.
Now, depending on where you plan to go, the time of year, and the length of your stay, renting a car may or may not be necessary, desirable, or efficient.
That's because driving in the cities is stressful, and parking is very difficult to find and generally expensive. Plus, a car is completely useless (unless you live there full-time), because most people walk and/or take the local buses.
Now, depending on where you plan to go, the time of year, and the length of your stay, renting a car may or may not be necessary, desirable, or efficient.
I still have to do my homework and plan exactly where we are to go.
If we decide to go to Sicily, I think we will rent a car. I am not getting the impression from you that it would be a horror story. I just must plan so that if we pick one or two cities to stay in we do them at the beginning and end of our visit and use the car for the middle. That way we can avoid having to park and drive in the cities were that would be difficult.
I thought about one week in Sicily and one week divided between Sorrento and Rome. But from initial research, I am finding it difficult to trim Sicily to just one week, especially if we stay in more than one location which I think would make the stay more enjoyable.
Thank you for the time to answer and I hope to be able to pick your brain again.
Sherry
If we decide to go to Sicily, I think we will rent a car. I am not getting the impression from you that it would be a horror story. I just must plan so that if we pick one or two cities to stay in we do them at the beginning and end of our visit and use the car for the middle. That way we can avoid having to park and drive in the cities were that would be difficult.
I thought about one week in Sicily and one week divided between Sorrento and Rome. But from initial research, I am finding it difficult to trim Sicily to just one week, especially if we stay in more than one location which I think would make the stay more enjoyable.
Thank you for the time to answer and I hope to be able to pick your brain again.
Sherry
Well, it's all relative, of course, and each of us has unique priorities and tolerances, but ...
I can't imagine taking an overnight coach from Rome to Milazzo when, for not a great amount more, I can have a cabin and a bed and a shower on a ferry, and wake at dawn to watch the sun rising behind Stromboli. Magical! http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p37969650.html
There are ferries from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Palermo or from Naples to Milazzo. It's slower travel, to be sure, and more expensive, granted, but something I will remember with pleasure and a smile long after the memory of the cost has faded - I'm sure I wouldn't say the same about spending the night on a coach. http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p57074607.html
I'm not a bus-snob, I've ridden on a lot of long-distance coaches in my time, but for me the journey is just as important as the destination. And the journey by ferry through the Aeolians, calling in at those little ports, adds lovely memories to the anticipation of arriving in Sicily.
http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p57074601.html
http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p57074605.html
And if you're going to Lipari or another of the Aeolians anyway, you will save the expense of, as you write, "From Milazzo, you can take a morning hydrofoil or car ferry to Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands."
I can't imagine taking an overnight coach from Rome to Milazzo when, for not a great amount more, I can have a cabin and a bed and a shower on a ferry, and wake at dawn to watch the sun rising behind Stromboli. Magical! http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p37969650.html
There are ferries from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Palermo or from Naples to Milazzo. It's slower travel, to be sure, and more expensive, granted, but something I will remember with pleasure and a smile long after the memory of the cost has faded - I'm sure I wouldn't say the same about spending the night on a coach. http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p57074607.html
I'm not a bus-snob, I've ridden on a lot of long-distance coaches in my time, but for me the journey is just as important as the destination. And the journey by ferry through the Aeolians, calling in at those little ports, adds lovely memories to the anticipation of arriving in Sicily.
http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p57074601.html
http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p57074605.html
And if you're going to Lipari or another of the Aeolians anyway, you will save the expense of, as you write, "From Milazzo, you can take a morning hydrofoil or car ferry to Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands."
Point extremely well taken, Julia. I too have patronized the overnight SIREMAR ferry from Naples to Lipari, and do highly recommend it over the bus or the train (even though, as you note, it does cost more and takes longer to Milazzo).
And while foreigners would certainly prefer taking the "panoramic" route via the Aeolian Islands (and it is indeed breathtakingly gorgeous, as your photos capture so well), not all locals have this mindset, particularly if they've done it before.
Bear in mind, however, that the ferry crossings are on Tuesday and Friday evenings only, year-round. Often, travellers don't have the luxury of rearranging their schedules to be able to take the ferry. Consequently, they need to know the alternatives (primarily taking the train to Milazzo).
By contrast, the bus to Milazzo departs from Rome, does NOT stop in Naples, and currently leaves on Monday and Friday evenings. During the summer, there are more trips. The bus is clearly more "efficient" for those needing to travel between Rome and Milazzo itself.
Indeed, the bus is particularly useful for people needing to get to Milazzo or the other towns along the northern coast of Sicily all the way to Palermo and Trapani at an incredibly cheap fare (half that of the train), who are obviously not "pressed for time," and who don't mind a long and fairly boring overnight bus trip. The connection to the Aeolian Islands is coincidental.
Taking the bus also avoids the cost of one night in a hotel, although we all know well that a reclining seat can't be compared to a bed with sheets, blankets and pillows"!
Indeed, taking the overnight ferry from Naples is more efficient for anyone whose destination is the Aeolian Islands proper. But that was not the purpose of my posting. I have posted elsewhere on the ferry services to the Aeolian Islands.
And while foreigners would certainly prefer taking the "panoramic" route via the Aeolian Islands (and it is indeed breathtakingly gorgeous, as your photos capture so well), not all locals have this mindset, particularly if they've done it before.
Bear in mind, however, that the ferry crossings are on Tuesday and Friday evenings only, year-round. Often, travellers don't have the luxury of rearranging their schedules to be able to take the ferry. Consequently, they need to know the alternatives (primarily taking the train to Milazzo).
By contrast, the bus to Milazzo departs from Rome, does NOT stop in Naples, and currently leaves on Monday and Friday evenings. During the summer, there are more trips. The bus is clearly more "efficient" for those needing to travel between Rome and Milazzo itself.
Indeed, the bus is particularly useful for people needing to get to Milazzo or the other towns along the northern coast of Sicily all the way to Palermo and Trapani at an incredibly cheap fare (half that of the train), who are obviously not "pressed for time," and who don't mind a long and fairly boring overnight bus trip. The connection to the Aeolian Islands is coincidental.
Taking the bus also avoids the cost of one night in a hotel, although we all know well that a reclining seat can't be compared to a bed with sheets, blankets and pillows"!
Indeed, taking the overnight ferry from Naples is more efficient for anyone whose destination is the Aeolian Islands proper. But that was not the purpose of my posting. I have posted elsewhere on the ferry services to the Aeolian Islands.
GAC, I see now that you are giving reference information for alternative travel options, and thank you so much for doing it! This is great to have. Please excuse my tone in my reply, above - I thought you were simply replying to a question from another poster, who was asking about less expensive ways to get from Rome to Milazzo or the Aeolians. It just shows that I shouldn't peruse this (or any other) board when it's late and I've just returned home from a long and very tiring day at the office!
