thetrainfamilyThe trains in Sicily are fantastic (as in the rest of Italy). We traveled both with regional trains and intercity trains in Sicily and we highly recommend them.
The Train Lines We Travelled
The train lines that we traveled on were:
Messina-Milazzo
Milazzo-Palermo
Palermo-Messina
Messina- Catania
Catania-Siracusa
Siracusa-Messina
The Train Line Messina-Milazzo
Regional trains run on the Messina-Milazzo route. For the first part of the route, the train runs as an underground metro. Then it comes up above the ground. We took the train at 4pm and it was quite full. The train station in Milazzo was under reconstruction and the buses to the center ran very rarely in the evening. We therefore ended up walking, as a taxi cost 20 Euro. However, we didn’t get very far before a very nice man stopped and offered us a (free) lift!
The Train Line Milazzo-Palermo
On the Milazzo-Palermo route, we again traveled by regional train. It is a very beautiful route, which mostly runs along the azure sea. You can look across to the Aeolian Islands, of which Europe’s most active volcano Stromboli is a part. In fact, it was erupting when we drove by and we could see the smoke from its crater. See the picture.
The Train Line Palermo-Messina
Is covered in the descriptions above.
The Train Line Messina-Catania
With the Strait of Messina on the left and beautiful mountain formations on the right, the regional train snakes its way. It stops approximately every 5 minutes in small towns and comes max. up to 100 km/h between cities. Near Catania we could see the volcano Etna for the first time. It was a great experience, especially because a little smoke came up as a result of the activity that had been in the volcano a few days before. According to our train schedule, we were supposed to change trains in Catania, but a train employee walked through the train and said “Siracusa”, to which we agreed. She explained in English that we could simply stay on the train, as it was the same train which, after a short wait, continued on to Siracusa. Again a really good and friendly service on a trenitalia train.
The Train Line Siracusa-Messina
The last stretch we drove was the trip from Siracusa to Messina. Because we had to continue on to Naples, we took the intercity train. The train runs all the way from Syracuse to Rome. We had driven the line when we arrived, but it had gotten dark by the time we got to Catania and so we hadn’t seen that part of the train journey. It was a beautiful trip especially because we now had the opportunity to see Etna from a different angle AND because the volcano was now covered in snow! It wasn’t when we passed it a week ago. An incredibly beautiful sight. Imagine driving through orange groves with a view of a snow-covered giant volcano. Fantastic!
Train Travel on Sicily in General
Again a great recommendation for train travel in Italy and Sicily from us. The only downside was that we were an hour late when we arrived at the ferry in Messina. The reason was, among other things, that one of the train’s doors could not be closed, after which we had to wait for the regional trains on the route to pass our train. There will soon be a description of how the intercity train got on the ferry across the Strait of Messina, before we continued the journey to Naples. It was truly the highlight of the journey and unique as it is the only stretch left in Europe where trains come by ferry.
