has anyone taken the train/ boat from Rome to Palermo? If so, how is it? We are traveling at the end of July and I am wondering if it might be an interesting option to flying.

My husband and I are traveling with our 2 sons, 9 & 12.

There are big overnight ferries every night from Napoli (www.tirrenia.it and www.snav.it) and three times a week from Civitavecchia (www.gnv.it). All have restaurants and a choice of cabins, but the GNV ship is probably the best - more of a cruise ship, with a swimming pool, etc.

the travel agent recommended Italia rail..? it supposedly starts as a train and then the cars board a board a ferry.(I am not sure where) have you heard of this? I can't find much info and her assistance stops there.
thanks

YD - It's a long ride by train - usually about 12 hours.

The train goes on the ferry at Villa S. Giovanni to cross to Messina.

It can also be done as an overnight. For details see:
www.trenitalia.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Fly ! It only costs about 75E each. Why waste a day on a train?

Which airline flies from Rome to Palermo for 75E ??

There are two:

www.flyairone.it
www.volawindjet.it

Windjet has a special on at the moment of 10 Euro plus taxes and surcharges.

Thank you for the websites.

Unfortunately, www.volawindjet.it is ONLY in Italian and I'm at a loss trying to decipher it.

Hi,
Try the web site again. There is a British flag in the upper left hand corner. That will give the English version.

thank you for that info. we will spend an extra day in Rome and then fly volawind jet for 30 euro.(1 hour flight) to Palermo. we had thought it might be fun for the kids but in the end, it is 12 plus hours of traveling.
Thanks again.

Just check the page of windjet, the tax and surcharges is much higher than air fare and the actual fare may be as high as 3 to 4 times of the basic fare!

What's the difference between fare basiw "DOW", "LOW" and "HOLIDAY" for flight schedule selection? The explanation is in Italian.

Is Windjet as reliable as Flyone?

Baby_Milos: By the time Yellowdot bought the fares, all the taxes, etc., would have been shown and included.

Windjet has fewer planes than AirOne, but it is generally considered reliable.

When I pick a EUR 15 ticket on Windjet, the all-in fare actually becomes EUR 60 after all taxes (EUR 19 surcharge + EUR 11 fuel surcharge + EUR 9 adult tax + etc), so the fare is actually 3 to 4 times more than it seems.

Can anyone explain to me which fare basis should I select for "DOW", "LOW" and "HOLIDAY", which is explained in Italian.

When I pick a EUR 15 ticket on Windjet, the all-in fare actually becomes EUR 60 after all taxes (EUR 19 surcharge + EUR 11 fuel surcharge + EUR 9 adult tax + etc), so the fare is actually 3 to 4 times more than it seems.

Can anyone explain to me which fare basis should I select for "DOW", "LOW" and "HOLIDAY", which is explained in Italian?

Baby_Milos: I don't think it matters what DOW, LOW and HOLIDAY mean.

When I punched in Rome to Palermo on one date, it offered DOW at 15 Euro (plus surcharges). On another date, it offered HOLIDAY at 10 Euro (plus surcharges).

I suspect it's just Windjet's own private language for their various fare levels.