Car Hire in Catania - Getting to Catania

Catania is located midway down the eastern coast of the island of Sicily. The city is well connected by all forms of transportation, with an international airport and major motorway on the outskirts of the city, as well as a rail link right into the city centre.

Flights from across Italy arrive at Aeroporto Fontanarossa, located 7kms to the south of the city centre. There are major links from Palermo, Naples and Rome. Carriers flying into Catania include Alitalia and Air Europe. From the airport, a taxi into the centre of the city costs around €16.

Alternatively, you can take an Alibus to the Stazione Centrale in the heart of Catania. Bus departures are every 20 minutes from 17:00 to midnight. You can also catch a bus just outside the airport that will take you into Taormina in about an hour.

By car from Messina, which will probably be your gateway into Sicily, take the A18 south past Taormina and continue on to Catania. Coming from Palermo, follow the A19 east all the way to the city.

Catania is a 10-hour train ride from Rome, and there are four trains daily. The city also enjoys links with all the major cities of Sicily, including: Palermo (3 hours, 30 minutes), Agrigento (4 hours), Messina (2 hours) and Taormina (1 hour).

SAIS Autolinee runs 17 buses a day from Palermo (2 hours, 45 minutes) and 27 a day from Messina (1 hour, 30 minutes). Buses arrive at Stazione Centrale.

Most ferries from Naples arrive at Palermo, but also go to Catania. It's about 11 hours by overnight ferry and 4 hours by hydrofoil. Ferries make the short trip to and from Reggio di Catania several times a day, and there are daily sailings to and from Valletta in Malta, via Siracusa.