Sicily by boat

If you choose to travel to Sicily by ground transportation, be it your own vehicle, a bike, or a train, you will have to embark on a ferry since there are no bridges connecting the island to the mainland. There are several ports on the mainland of Italy, from which ferries depart to and from Sicily, some allowing cars, busses and trains to embark the ferries. It does however vary how many times a week the ferries depart to Sicily, so we suggest that you look for more information on ferries online before your holiday.

There are ferries departing from among others Genova, Naples, Livorno and Civitavecchia, and the crossing varies a lot in time due to the distance to Sicily, some taking 8 hours and others 28 hours.

If you hope for a crossing as short as possible, we suggest that you embark in Villa San Giovanni or Reggio Calabria, which are cities situated far south on the mainland of Italy. The crossing takes ½-1 hour.

To get there, those who make the trip from one of the regions of Northern Italy may take the A1 to Naples and then take the A3 to Reggio Calabria, which leads to Villa San Giovanni. If you are driving from the south or central part of Italy you can alternatively take the A14 to Taranto and continue along the coast and then rejoin the A3.