Few questions regarding transportation in Sicily: <BR>1. How long is the flight from Rome to Catania and/or Palermo? <BR>2. Which airlines service that route? <BR>3. How is public transportation on the island (cost, service, reliability, access, etc.)? I'm trying to decide whether to rent a car or rely on trains, buses and taxis. <BR>Grazie!

Rome to Palermo or Catania by air is a scenic one hour flight. Alitalia is the main carrier, offering eleven daily flights to each. Flights are fairly punctual (you can verify real-time arrivals and departures on the internet sites for Fiumicino and Palermo airports). There is also a British Airways subsidiary which flies from Rome to Palermo six times a day. There is frequent and inexpensive bus transportation from both airports to the respective city centers. There are also several buses from the Catania airport to several cities in eastern Sicily, such as Taormina, Siracusa and Agrigento (avoiding the need to go into town). Public transportation generally (trains and buses) within Sicily is adequate to get around the major cities and towns and most tourist destinations, and is quite economical and generally reliable. You really don't need a rental car if you prefer not to drive. Parking is a real problem. I used trains and buses extensively when I was there last year, and encountered no problems whatsoever. However, schedules may be a bit inconvenient between certain cities (e.g. Trapani to Castelvetrano and Castelvetrano to Agrigento), and some lesser known archeological sites (e.g. Pantalica) are very difficult to reach without a car. There are plenty of buses from Palermo to Catania (also trains, which are slower), Palermo to Agrigento (also 10 trains per day), Catania to both Taormina and Siracusa (also trains), and Palermo to Trapani (also slow trains). There are also a few buses from Agrigento to Gela, Gela to Ragusa, Ragusa to Siracusa (passing through Noto: there are also trains), Palermo to Piazza Armerina, Piazza Armerina to Catania, Castelvetrano to Selinunte, Palermo to Segesta. Palermo to Messina is serviced mainly by trains, all stopping in Cefalu. Service on Sundays is generally reduced (I try to stay put on Sundays). There is also excellent local bus service to many points around Palermo and Catania (e.g. Palermo to Santa Flavia, Catania to Acireale).

That last reply seems a hard act to follow, so I will not try! If you would find it useful to have a folder of notes that I made after my holiday in Sicily this february, send me an e-mail. All public transport!

We mainly managed to get around Sicily via public transportation (we already had a train pass). However when we were in Siracusa and were headed to Agrigento, the people at our hotel told us there was no reasonable way to get there by train (or at least not with three changes and taking all day), so we rented a car just for the day. If we had it to do over again, we probably would have preferred to have a car there for the whole trip. We certainly would have made a couple more excursions on our own. We stayed in Taormina, Siracusa, Agrigento, and Palermo for two to four days each. Our trip from Palermo to Erice by train/bus took all day. The train missed the one bus connection and we had to wait something like three hours for the next bus. Again, the car would have allowed us to do a lot more.

Hello GAC! <BR> <BR>We rented a car last year in Palermo, the teeniest, cheapest car with manual transmission and it was less than $250 a week and just fine for 2 people with luggage. We enjoyed the freedom to go where we wanted and change plans if needed. For example, Taormina was crowded, & the streets so narrow, that the car actually got stuck on what turned out to be a dead end street (some locals helped us out, it took 1/2 hour. We got out of town (Taormina) and headed for Mt Etna. We ended up staying at the Refugio Sapienza, which I think has since been covered with lava.) Driving in Sicily is no problem, even if you are not used to driving in Italy. <BR> <BR>By the way, I went Meridiana Airlines from Florence&gt;Palermo. Sicily was great. Enjoy!

Patrick: the staff at the hotel in Siracusa were pulling your leg (maybe they hoped you would stay longer with them): you can travel to Agrigento from there is just four to five hours with a quick bus change in Catania! Buses run nearly every hour. From Palermo to Erice is better done by bus, with a change in Trapani. Buses to Trapani leave hourly. You are correct, however, that a car gives more freedom to see more sites (including places which are hard to reach by public transport).