Island Life ... Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
This year it will be twelve years since we bought our Sicilian home and just over fifteen years since we first visited and fell in love with the island. In this time we have had many adventures involving planes, trains and automobiles.
It has been a while since I have written about our life in Sicily so in this post I have decided share some of our funny and sometimes scary adventures with transport.
Planes
In the winter season there are not as many direct flights from the UK to Catania as there are in the spring and summer seasons. When we were going through the process of buying our Sicilian home there were times when we would have to fly out last minute to sign papers, meet builders, etc etc. We purchased our house in winter so therefore sometimes we had to improvise by taking connecting flights.
The easiest connection for us from London was via Milan so we used to book the first flight out of London into Milan then the last flight out of Milan into Catania and vice versa, giving us enough time to take a high speed train into Milan's city centre for a spot of lunch and window shopping.
When I receive emails and messages about flights to Sicily I always mention about the possibilities of connections as it is a really nice experience to stop off for a few days somewhere on the mainland before heading to Sicily. We have also stopped off in Rome which is another great connection and we also have enjoyed an overnight stay in Venice.
I mentioned this to one of my Blog followers the other day and his reply was "Now you are really putting ideas into my head!!!!!!"
You will find that most main Italian airports will have flights to and from both Catania and Palermo.
Sometimes flying into Catania the aircraft can encounter 'cross winds'. A crosswind is a strong wind that can blow across the direction the aircraft is travelling in which can sometimes make it difficult for the aircraft to keep moving steadily forwards and can result in an aborted landing if the pilot thinks it is too windy to land. Cross winds can be caused by a mountainous area, ie; Mount Etna.
I have only experienced this twice, the first time we were on a direct flight from London and as the aircraft almost touched down it took back off again and we had to circle the island and try again.
No big deal.
The second time I was on a flight from Milan with my brother which was full of Sicilians.
As we approached the runway the aircraft pulled up again, my brother exclaimed "What is happening?" I explained that this had happened to me before, that is was nothing to worry about and that the pilot would attempt to land again. However on this occasion the pilot made an announcement to say that when this happens airlines are only allowed two more attempts and then they are diverted to another airport which in our case would be Palermo on the western side of Sicily.
He explained that as the aircraft would be on a quick turnaround there would not be enough fuel for two more attempts and also to be able to continue to its next destination. Therefore he advised us that instead we were going to fly to nearby Lamezia Airport on the mainland in Calabria where we would refuel and fly back to Catania and "if" there was still cross winds in Catania we would divert to Palermo where a bus would be put on to transfer us to Catania Airport.
My poor husband was in London watching our flights progress on a Flight Tracker and saw our flight disappear off the radar and then got a phone call from our friend who was meeting us at Catania airport to say that the flight had disappeared off the arrivals screen. Luckily it was only a short flight to Lamezia so I was able to call him as soon as we landed.
Our pilot reassured us that we were being refuelled and that we were waiting for a time slot to depart again for Catania. However all the Sicilians onboard by this point had convinced themselves that there was something wrong with the aircraft and that they were in danger. It was carnage onboard.
Our lovely pilot came out of the cockpit to calm down the passengers who were demanding to be let off the aircraft. "Please he said, there is nothing wrong with this aircraft, I will be flying us safely back to Catania where I will attempt two more landings but if I feel that we cannot land because it is too windy I will divert to Palermo where a bus will transport you to Catania. I promise you that there are no lives in danger!!!! You are welcome to disembark here in Lamezia at your own cost and I can tell you now that this airport has no bus transfer so it will be your responsibility to make alternative onward travel plans to Sicily".
The flight took off half full with the remaining passengers sat frozen to their seats making the sign of the cross for the short flight to Catania where we landed safe and sound on our first attempt.
Flying into Catania you get a most spectacular view of Mount Etna and the plains of Catania which boasts a bounty of citrus groves so it is always a good idea to pre-book a window seat for the best welcome to Sicily.
We have also flown into Palermo. You can take the airport train, which is a short journey into Palermo's main train station, where the bus terminal is located right next to the station and it is then easy to take a bus to other destinations on the island. There is a very reliable service direct to Catania airport and city.
We have only ever had one problem returning from Catania to Palermo by bus when there was an accident on the Catania-Palermo autostrada which resulted in us taking a rather long but very scenic diversion up into the Madonie Mountains and through its cute little towns and roads that were used for the Targa Florio, but more about that later.
We have also taken the train from Palermo airport to Messina then Messina to Taormina/Giardini Naxos station.
Leading onto …………..
Trains
In the 1700's Taormina was an unmissable stop on The Grand Tour. The city of Taormina decided it was necessary to build a train station to meet the demands of growing tourism. A railway line running between Messina and Catania was completed in 1866 and the Giardini-Taormina train station was completed in 1928 (see cover photo). There have been many Italian films shot here but it was made most famous when Francis Ford Coppola chose to set a scene from The Godfather Part III there with Al Pacino and Diane Keaton.
Our train journey there started from Palermo airport in the scorching August heat right smack bang in the middle of the Ferragosto holidays and there was no air conditioning apart from open windows.
We took the airport train to Palermo's main train station where we boarded our train to Messina. The train line runs along the northern coastline of the island where the sparkling Tyrrhenian Sea is on your left hand side with dramatic looming mountains on your right hand side and you get glimpses of the Aeolian Islands that appear out of the sea like mystical apparitions. It really is a picturesque train journey. As there are many seaside resorts and beaches along this coastline our train picked up many excited families with children along the way carrying picnic baskets heaving with Sicilian food, fishing rods and nets and inflatable toys and rubber dinghy's. All was going well until we were approaching Messina and the train came to a complete stand still in a tunnel. There was no lighting on the train and we were there for nearly an hour. We felt like we were in a scene out of an Agatha Christie novel and we had visions of coming out into the daylight and finding out that some of our fellow passengers had mysteriously disappeared in the dark. We finally arrived in Messina where we boarded our next train to Giardini Naxos. However this train broke down and we had to wait for another.
Four hours later after arriving in Palermo we arrived in Giardini Naxos. As I mentioned it was Ferragosto and the traffic outside the station was at a standstill which meant no taxis and no buses, so it was quicker to walk home in the searing Sicilian summer sun with our luggage. We were rewarded as we got home by the sight of our lovely neighbour sitting on the kerb outside who had been waiting patiently for us to arrive.
Do not be put off by our experience this was due to the midsummer madness of Ferragosto. A train is a lovely way to travel around Sicily. Tickets can be bought from the ticket office, from a self service machine or in some tour agency offices. The tickets in Italy are not marked for any particular time or train and become valid only when time-stamped at validation machines which you will find on the platform. Without this validation train operators assume that the passenger is trying to fare dodge or trying to reuse the ticket. So always remember to validate.
On the subject of trains a lovely way to experience Mount Etna is to take a ride on the Circumetnea which is a narrow gauge railway of 110km that circumnavigates the volcano. The little train passes through scenic and rural landscapes with Etna's summit forever visible throughout your journey. It is the perfect alternative way to enjoy Mount Etna's beauty.
Etna is also great to explore in a car
Leading onto …..
Automobiles
Some of the most memorable journeys I have experienced have been in cars, in a van and on a vespa.
Driving in Sicily can be like a white knuckle ride especially in the cities and on the autostrada. The rules of the road are basically none. We have learned not to loose your cool and just go with the flow. If someone flashes their head lights at you on the motorway it does not mean they are giving you right of way it means get the hell out of my way.
Parking the Sicilian way means parking your car even in the smallest space and if your car does not fit then you simply park your car with its bottom sticking out causing mass confusion and traffic jams, but that's ok we have all the time in the world in Sicily.
The back roads of Mount Etna can be very narrow. One year on our way to visiting a winery on Etna our Sat Nav decided to take us on a "quicker" route, it was just after the eruption in December 2013 and there was still small lava rocks on the road that are sharp like little shards of glass. The "quicker" route made us turn up a hill which was an unpaved road with a tractor coming down towards us, the road was so narrow that we could not open our doors without hitting ancient stone walls. Our wheels just kept turning and turning on the lava rocks with no movement and eventually we had to let our car slide down backwards on the lava in reverse and pray to the gods of Mount Etna. We certainly enjoyed our wine tasting experience after that.
However that was not to be the last of my experiences of driving on lava.
One year when my brother was visiting me my lovely friend Valentina thought it would be a great idea if we showed him The Godfather filming locations. When we were first introduced to her she was introduced by her nickname "Valentina Schumacher". We headed off to Savoca our first stop. As we drove through the seaside town of Santa Teresa di Riva we were talking so much, as is normal for us, that we missed the turn off for Savoca. Valentina put her foot on the brake in order to reverse back but the car would not stop and we ended up gliding for a good few more metres on small lava rocks from a recent eruption and nearly ended up on the beach. There is always an adventure to be had when with Valentina. One time she decided that she wanted to take us to an "amazing" pizzeria in Motta Camastra a hillside town located in the Alcantara Valley, which is reached via a one lane uphill road. Valentina's car decided that it did not like the uphill climb and broke down half way up with a dramatic ravine sweeping down from us on one side. We were starting to cause a downhill traffic jam and so yet again we had to let the car slide backwards praying. We have also broken down in traffic in Catania city centre and anyone who has visited Catania will understand how much of a drama this would have caused. Luckily she now has a lovely new car so no more dramas for us, maybe!
Some of the best experiences have been with our "adopted" Sicilian big brother.
Just to remind you how we met. We met one evening 12 years ago in a well known bar in Piazza Aprile IX in Taormina where he was working as a waiter. I placed an order for our drinks in the best Italian I could muster at that time and he returned with our order on a sparkling silver tray. As he put my glass of wine on the table in front of me he commented "Your Italian is S***!!!", my husband instantly burst into laughter and from that moment we became the best of friends and he got the role of being "My Sicilian Big Brother". Today he can still not believe that he actually said this to me. If it was not for him we would not have found our Sicilian home and yes we really do fight like a real brother and sister.
One evening after visiting him at work in Taormina we missed the last bus home to Giardini Naxos and had to take a taxi home. The next day when he saw us he said "I saw you taking a taxi, why did you not come back to me and I would have given you a lift home?" So I replied "What all three of us on your Vespa?" He replied "Siiiiiiiiiiii you can sit in the middle between me and your husband and I will wrap a chain around you to stop you falling off, next time we can do this".
Therefore on our next visit I experienced my first ride on a Vespa. He told me to hop on behind him and then my husband to hop on behind me and we set off wobbling a bit from our weight down the mountain towards Giardini Naxos and as anyone who has visited Taormina will know this is a very windy steep descent. As we wound down the mountain my Sicilian big brother was screaming with laughter all the way down whilst making the Vespa do kangaroo jumps to make me scream and then all the sudden Mount Etna started erupting. We had only just bought our house and I thought to myself "How insane is this, this is now our life. Three people on a Vespa riding down a mountain with a erupting volcano in the distance and a mad Sicilian laughing at the top of his voice".
Every evening after work in Taormina he would ride down to Giardini Naxos where he would leave his Vespa at his In-Laws house and he would drive his old van back to his house which was about a 20 minute drive away, sometimes stopping off for a cheeky beer at our house.
On one occasion my nieces were staying with us who were at that time 16 and 21 years old. Again we missed the last bus home from Taormina so we went back to him at work where he said "I will go down the mountain on the Vespa, pick up the van and drive back up and we can all travel back down together".
We waited at Porta Catania for him to return where hence some people came up to my nieces and asked them if they were ok. As the girls did not speak Italian I told them yes they are fine they are with us, at this point our Sicilian big brother arrived in his van.
Myself and my nieces jumped into the back where there was a bench to sit on and my husband got into the passenger seat in front then we started our descent down the mountain. As we reached the bottom and turned onto the road towards Giardini Naxos a police car came behind us, not unusual but we became suspicious when they followed us around the one way system and were still behind us as we pulled up outside our house. As we stopped they stopped too and got out their car and shone a torch into the back of the van where myself and my nieces must have looked like startled rabbits in headlights. They opened the doors and told us to get out and stand against our wall. They then went around to the front and told my husband and our Sicilian big brother to get out of the van and asked for our ID, our poor scared big brother had to promptly explain that we lived in the house and they were our nieces who were visiting us on holiday.
The police had been notified of two blond haired blue eyed foreign girls being bundled into the back of a van. Yes that's right they thought we were people smuggling. After confirming that we lived at that address and checking our passports they headed off and left us with some intrigued neighbours looking over their balconies wanting to know what the English people were doing.
On another occasion we were stopped by the police as we reached Giardini Naxos not because there were three people on the Vespa, which is not permitted, but because they explained that the dress I was wearing was too short and not suitable for being on a scooter. I always enjoy a Vespa ride with my big brother but it has often caused controversy. One day I was walking past where he was working in a hotel in Giardini Naxos and he was just finishing and offered me a lift home that would only take five minutes on the Vespa so I thought "Why not?". But by the time he dropped me off outside our house someone had seen me get on the back of the scooter and called his wife to say that they had just seen the English girl get on the back of her husbands Vespa, cue a very irate call from his wife to find out where he was.
Twice a year we embark on what we call "The Puppy Road Trip" from London to Giardini Naxos and vice versa. It is great to have our car with us in Sicily and it can cause quite a scene if my husband is driving alone with Daisy our dog as anyone seeing her sitting next to him in the car will think that a dog is driving because our steering wheel is on the opposite side to European cars, it can also cause much amusement at toll road booths when the attendant holds out their hand for the ticket to see a dog sitting there smiling.
As I mentioned earlier the Madone Mountains in the province of Catania set the scene for the famous Targa Florio.
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973. While the first races consisted of a whole tour of the island, the track length in the last decades was limited to the 45 miles of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie which lapped 11 times. The race was discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. I have heard stories that Grappa was added to the petrol to make the cars go faster.
I would highly recommend renting a car in Sicily so you can visit the islands many beautiful out of reach sites and towns.
My advice is to always get the GPS co-ordinates to where you are heading especially visiting places like wineries or you might end up like us stuck on Mount Etna on an unpaved road. On one occasion when we were visiting a citrus farm on the Catania Plain we took a wrong turning and ended up going in the completley wrong direction and got lost. We stopped at a very remote petrol station where my husband went in and asked if anyone knew the orange farmer that we were meeting, the old men drinking coffee inside starting asking my husband questions such as; "Is he tall or short?", "Does he wear glasses?", "Does he have a son or a daughter?" This situation seemed to start a debate amongst them of who the farmer might be and my husband retreated leaving them to debate in their Sicilian dialect, I do not think they even knew that he had left the building.
One of my lovely followers once reported back to me on travelling to Ragusa that they got lost in their hire car and could not find their accommodation. Like us they stopped at a little petrol station where a local farmer filling up instructed them to follow his truck where he then escorted them to the door of their hotel and then spent an untold amount of time telling them where to go and where to eat in the province of Ragusa where he had grown up.
When hiring a car in Sicily like anywhere in the world I would recommend checking your car before heading to your destination and if there are any scratches or dents go back to your car rental provider before you drive off.
I hope you have enjoyed my post about our adventures,
these are just a couple to name a few.
these are just a couple to name a few.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about transportation in Sicily.
If you enjoyed this Blog post then you might enjoy these ones too from my archive
"The Perfect Sicilian Road Trip"
"14 Things I Have Learned Living in Sicily"
and when in Sicily don't forget to drive
Daisy Style 😎
Daisy Style 😎
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Please note: I only recommend Local Contacts
with Local Inside Knowledge
Love Sarah and Daisy
✈🚂🚗
