traveldk.com

British Airways and Ryan-air fly direct from London year-round. Some other carriers provide direct flights to Sicily during the summer. Out of season you need to connect at a mainland Italian airport, picking up flights with Alitalia or Meridiana.

There are no direct flights into Sicily from American airports. Flights from the Americas to Italy generally land in Milan or Rome, where connections can be made into Palermo or Catania.

There are no direct flights to Sicily. Fly into a major Italian airport such as Milan or Rome and make a connection to one of the Sicilian airports.

Tiny Palermo airport is equipped with a bank and car rental companies. It is located west of Palermo, about 40 minutes from the centre and an hour or so from Trapani or Castelvetrano. Prestia e Comandè runs a bus service between Punta Rais and the centre every half hour, with stops at the airport, the Piazza Politeama and the central train station. There is also a train once hourly.

Convenient for the eastern side of the island and just 20 minutes from Catania’s centre, tiny Fontanarossa is also equipped with a bank and car rental companies. The airport buses (Alibus) leave every 20 minutes stopping at the airport, via Etenea and the central train station.

Palermo and Catania may be small but they are the largest airports in Sicily. Charter flights may take advantage of smaller airports such as Birgi at Trapani. There are also airports on Pantelleria and Lampedusa serving flights from Trapani and Palermo.

Trains from mainland Italy are loaded onto boats and ferried across the straits of Messina, calling at Messina before making their way south to Catania or west to Palermo. Check with your travel agent for times and fares or directly with the Italian State Railway.

If you want to travel in your own car rather than renting one on the island, you can take a traghetto (ferry) to Sicily from Genoa, Livorno, Naples or Reggio di Calabria in southern Italy. From Reggio or nearby San Giovanni, take FS, Caronte or Meridiano across the Straits of Messina to Messina itself (30 minutes). Grandi Navi Veloci takes 20 hours from Genoa to Palermo or 18 hours from Livorno to Palermo. Tirrenia sails from Naples to Palermo in 16 hours. Siremar sails from Naples to the Aeolian Islands and Milazzo in 11 hours.

Ferry details are the same as if travelling by car, but if you are on foot you can take a much faster aliscafo (hydrofoil), with service offered by the same companies.

If you’re flying your own plane, land at any of the numerous small-craft airports (the website below has details) or choose the private airfield at Giubiliana near Ragusa.