Getting There

By Plane

High season for most airlines' routes to Sicily is usually from June to the beginning of September. This is the most expensive and most crowded time to travel. Shoulder season is from April to May, early September to October, and December 15 to December 24. Low season is from November 1 to December 14 and December 25 to March 31.

From July to October, Eurofly (www.euroflyusa.com) flies direct to Palermo from JFK in New York twice a week. If you're flying in August, reserve well in advance because seats are very limited because of heavy demand. Most visitors fly first to Milan or Rome, and then take a connecting flight to Sicily, most often using Palermo as their gateway to the island.

In the western part of the island, planes arrive at the Aeroporto Punta Raisi, 31km (19 miles) west of Palermo at Punta Raisi. In the east, planes land at Catania's Aeroporto Fontanarossa, 7km (4 1/2 miles) south of the center of town. For Palermo airport information, call tel. 091-7020111 (www.gesap.it) daily between 5:30am and 9:30pm; and for the Catania airport, call tel. 095-7239111 (www.aeroporto.catania.it) daily between 8am and midnight.

Chances are you'll use Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730 in the U.S., or 8488-65643 for domestic flights within Italy; www.alitaliausa.com) for the Sicilian flights. For Alitalia flight information in Palermo, call tel. 091-7020313 daily between 5am and 7:30pm; in Catania, call tel. 095-252410 daily between 5am and 9pm.

Alitalia operates at least 17 flights a day from Rome to Palermo and about 13 from Milan. There is one direct flight a day from Turin to Palermo (far more if you stop over in Milan or Rome and make a connecting flight). For most visitors who are already in the south of Italy, the daily flight from Naples to Palermo is the most heavily booked. There are also six daily flights from Bologna to Palermo.

Alitalia also operates 12 daily flights from Rome to Catania. There are an additional eight flights a day that stop first in Naples. From Milan to Catania, there are 16 direct flights daily, or nine with stops in Rome. From Turin, Alitalia offers two direct flights to Catania (or 16 with stops in Rome). From Bologna, the airline flies three times daily to Catania, or 16 times with stops in Rome or Naples.

Meridiana (tel. 0789-52682 or 06-65953880 in Rome, or 091-6512587 in Palermo; www.meridiana.it) is the second major carrier serving Sicily. The airline shares some of its flights and reservations functions with Alitalia . Most of Meridiana's flights to Sicily operate between Rome and Palermo (four direct flights daily) and can be booked separately or as part of a transatlantic itinerary through Alitalia.

In addition to its flights from Rome to Palermo, Meridiana offers two direct daily flights from Milan to Catania; one direct daily flight from Bologna to Palermo (three direct flights from Bologna to Catania); and one direct flight from Verona to Palermo (two direct flights from Verona to Catania). Surprisingly, Meridiana doesn't fly from Rome to Catania or from Naples to Catania.

From late March to late October, Air Malta (tel. 356-21-662-227; www.airmalta.com) offers two daily flights from Malta to Palermo, with a flying time of 50 minutes, and five daily flights from Malta to Catania, with a flying time of 45 minutes.

A final carrier serving Sicily is Air One (tel. 199-207080 or 06-48880069; www.flyairone.it in Rome). It flies from Rome to Palermo five times a day, and from Rome to Catania five times a day. There are three daily flights from Milan to Palermo, and four flights from Milan to Catania. There is also a daily flight from Turin to Catania, and four flights daily from Turin to Palermo. From Pisa there are 20 flights daily: 10 to Palermo and 10 to Catania.

Cutting Air Costs -- Regardless of how you fly, it's cheaper for transatlantic passengers to have a flight to Palermo written into their overall ticket when booking a flight to Italy from North America. If you book a flight to Palermo once you've arrived in Italy, it will cost much more.

By Car

If you're already on the Continent, particularly in a neighboring country such as France or Austria, you may want to drive to Italy. However, you should make arrangements in advance with your car-rental company.

It's also possible to drive from London to Rome, a distance of 1,810km (1,125 miles), via Calais/Boulogne/Dunkirk, or 1,747km (1,086 miles) via Ostend/Zeebrugge, not counting channel crossings by hovercraft, ferry, or the Chunnel. Milan is some 644km (400 miles) closer to Britain than is Rome. If you cross over from England and arrive at one of the continental ports, you still face a 24-hour drive. Most drivers play it safe and budget 3 days for the journey.

Most of the roads from western Europe leading into Italy are toll-free, with some notable exceptions. If you use the Swiss superhighway network, you'll have to buy a special tax sticker at the frontier. You'll also pay to go through the St. Gotthard Tunnel into Italy. Crossings from France can be through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, for which you'll pay, or you can leave the French Riviera at Menton and drive directly into Italy along the Italian Riviera toward San Remo.

If you don't want to drive such distances, ask a travel agent to book you on a Motorail arrangement in which the train carries your car. This service, however, is good only to Milan, as no car and sleeper expresses run the 644km (400 miles) south to Rome.

Warning: You won't save a lot of money by driving to Sicily from another European country. Once you cross the frontier into Italy, you'll face a staggering number of tolls for riding the autostrade (express highways). Not only that, but gasoline costs are among the highest in Europe. Count on a lot of time, at least 17 hours of straight driving from the Swiss or French border to Villa San Giovanni, the point from which the car-carrying ferries sail to Messina in eastern Sicily.

By Train

For many visitors, this is the most convenient way to reach Sicily from the Italian mainland. Trains with connections from all over Europe, including Rome and Naples, arrive at the port of Villa San Giovanni, near Reggio di Calabria, in southern Italy.

Trains roll onto enormous barges for the 1-hour crossing into eastern Sicily. Passengers remain in their seats during the short voyage across the Straits of Messina, eventually rolling back onto the tracks once they reach Sicily. The trip from Rome to Palermo takes 11 to 13 hours, depending on the speed of the train. The trip from Naples to Palermo takes 10 hours.

For fares and information within Italy, call tel. 892021.

If you plan to travel a lot on the European or British railroads on your way to or from Sicily, you'd do well to secure the latest copy of the Thomas Cook European Timetable of Railroads. It's available online at www.thomascooktimetables.com.

New electric trains have made travel between France and Italy faster and more comfortable than ever. France's high-speed TGV trains have cut travel time between Paris and Turin from 7 to 5 1/2 hours and between Paris and Milan from 7 1/2 to 6 3/4 hours. Italy's ETR trains currently run between Milan and Lyon, a 5-hour ride, with a stop in Turin.

Rail Passes for North American Travelers -- Many travelers to Europe take advantage of one of the greatest travel bargains, the Eurailpass which permits unlimited first-class rail travel in any country in western Europe except the British Isles (good in Ireland). Passes are available for purchase online (www.eurail.com) and at various offices/agents around the world. Travel agents and railway agents in such cities as New York, Montreal, and Los Angeles sell Eurailpasses. You can purchase them at the North American offices of CIT Travel Service, the French National Railroads, the German Federal Railroads, and the Swiss Federal Railways. It is strongly recommended that you purchase passes before you leave home as not all passes are available in Europe; also, passes purchased in Europe will cost about 20% more. Numerous options are available for travel in France.

The Eurail Global Pass allows you unlimited travel in 20 Eurail-affiliated countries. You can travel on any of the days within the validity period, which is available for 15 days, 21 days, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, and some other possibilities as well. Prices for first-class adult travel are $745 for 15 days, $965 for 21 days, $1,199 for 1 month, $1,695 for 2 months, and $2,089 for 3 months. Children 4 to 11 pay half fare; those 3 and under travel for free.

A Eurail Global Pass Saver, also valid for first-class travel in 20 countries, offers a special deal for two or more people traveling together. This pass costs $629 for 15 days, $819 for 21 days, $1,019 for 1 month, $1,439 for 2 months, and $1,785 for 3 months.

A Eurail Global Youth Pass for those 12 to 25 allows second-class travel in 18 countries. This pass costs $485 for 15 days, $625 for 21 days, $779 for 1 month, $1,099 for 2 months, and $1,359 for 3 months.

The Eurail Select Pass offers unlimited travel on the national rail networks of any three, four, or five bordering countries out of the 22 Eurail nations linked by train or ship. Two or more passengers can travel together for big discounts, getting 5, 6, 8, 10, or 15 days of rail travel within any 2-month period on the national rail networks of any three, four, or five adjoining Eurail countries linked by train or ship. A sample fare: for 5 days in 2 months you pay $469 for three countries. Eurail Select Pass Youth for travelers 25 and under, allow second-class travel within the same guidelines as Eurail Selectpass, with fees starting at $305. Eurail Select Pass Saver offers discounts for two or more people traveling together, first-class travel within the same guidelines as Eurail Selectpass, with fees starting at $399.

Where to Buy Rail Passes -- Travel agents in all towns and railway agents in major North American cities sell all these tickets, but the biggest supplier is Rail Europe (tel. 877/272-RAIL [7245]; www.raileurope.com), which can also give you informational brochures.

Many different rail passes are available in the United Kingdom for travel in Britain and continental Europe. Stop in at the International Rail Centre, Victoria Station, London SWIV 1JY (tel. 0870/5848-848 in the U.K.). Some of the most popular passes, including InterRail and Euro Youth, are offered only to travelers 25 and under; these allow unlimited second-class travel through most European countries.

Rail Passes for British & Other European Travelers -- If you plan to do a lot of exploring by train, you might prefer one of the three passes designed for unlimited travel within a designated region during a predetermined number of days. These passes are sold in Britain and several other European countries.

The InterRail Pass (www.interrail.net) is available to passengers of any nationality, with some restrictions -- passengers must be able to prove at least 6 months of residency in a European or North African country (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) before buying the pass. It allows unlimited travel through Europe, except Albania and the republics of the former Soviet Union. Prices are complicated and vary depending on the countries you want to include. For pricing purposes, Europe is divided into eight zones; the cost depends on the number of zones you include. For those 25 and younger, the most expensive option (399€/$519) allows 1 month of unlimited travel in all eight zones and is known as a "global." The least expensive option (159€/$207) allows 5 days of travel within 10 days.

Passengers 25 and older can buy an InterRail Global Pass. The cost varies from 359€ to 489€ ($467-$636) for 10 days to 599€ to 809€ ($779-$1,052) for 1 month. Passengers must meet the same residency requirements that apply to the InterRail Pass.

For information on buying individual rail tickets or any of the aforementioned passes, contact National Rail Inquiries, Victoria Station, London (tel. 020/7278-5240 or 0845/748-4950; www.nationalrail.co.uk). tickets and passes are also available at any of the larger railway stations as well as select travel agencies throughout Britain and the rest of Europe.

By Boat & Ferry

As an island, Sicily is well linked via sea to mainland Italy. The major connection is from Villa San Giovanni in Calabria, the last mainland city approached before the ferry trip over to Messina, in eastern Sicily. Ferries (traghetti) depart frequently from Villa San Giovanni, making the trip of 12km (7 1/2 miles) across the straits. If you don't have a car, the fastest way to go is by hydrofoil from Reggio di Calabria.

If you're already in Naples, it's easy to go by sea from there to Palermo. SNAV (tel. 081-4285555; www.snav.it) operates hydrofoils that make 5-hour southern crossings to Sicily. There is also a car-carrying ferry service operated by Traghetti Lines (tel. 050-754492; www.traghetti.com), taking 11 hours to reach Palermo from Naples. Boat schedules are dependent on weather conditions.

If you're in the north of Italy, you can also sail to Palermo from Genoa. Grandi Navi Veloci, Via Milano 51 (tel. 010-2094591; www.gnv.it), runs daily service to Palermo from July to September (Mon-Sat otherwise). The journey takes 20 hours and costs 200€ ($260) for foot passengers or 284€ ($369) per person for those bringing a vehicle; these fares are round-trip. Ferries in Genoa depart from Nuovo Terminale Traghetti.

Grandi Navi Veloci, Varco Galvali (tel. 0586-409804), operates ferries to Palermo from the port of Livorno. Daily ferry departures make the 12-hour run. Foot passengers are charged 178€ ($231) round-trip; a person in a vehicle pays 260€ ($338), also round-trip.

By Bus

There is no direct bus service to Sicily from outside Italy. Europe's major bus carrier, Eurolines (tel. 0870/514-3219 in London; www.eurolines.com), has its main office at Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria, London SW1. It runs buses to Rome in 33 hours. After that, you can take an Italian bus to Sicily unless you're completely exhausted. Buses leave England on Wednesday and Friday, heading for Milan and Rome. The cost, round-trip, ranges from 124€ to 143€ ($161-$186).

If you're in Rome and want to travel overland by bus into Sicily, you can book tickets at Segesta, Piazza della Repubblica (tel. 0935-565111; www.interbus.it). It has two departures daily from Rome's Piazza Tiburtina to Palermo; the trip takes 12 hours. The line also goes to Syracuse in 11 hours.