ARRIVAL
BY PLANE
...to Palermo
The nearest airport is in Palermo. From the underground train station at the airport, you can quickly and easily reach the "S. Flavia - Solunto" train station, from where it's about a 20-minute walk towards the sea and Casa America. There are more connections, including direct trains without changing in Palermo, to the nearby town of Bagheria. We can arrange an affordable pick-up for up to two people with luggage.
...to Trapani
Several bus companies offer direct service from Trapani Airport to Palermo's main train station. The journey takes approximately two hours and, in our experience, has been comfortable, with four-seater benches, tables, and air conditioning. However, if you have the time, we recommend spending one or more nights in and around Trapani!
...to Catania
The city of Santa Flavia, located on the east coast of the largest island in the Mediterranean, is also accessible by air from several destinations, including Germany. It's rare, but when Europe's most active volcano is experiencing a major eruption, the airport may be closed for a few hours due to ash clouds. There are several daily train connections from Catania to Santa Flavia, with journey times between three and five hours.
Of course, the same applies here: if you are already here, it would be a shame not to spend a few days visiting Catania, Mount Etna, or the baroque cities of Syracuse and Noto before spending time in Porticello.
Details and current flight connections from Germany can be found here.
BY FERRY
There are many reasons to travel to Sicily by ferry! First and foremost, it's more climate-friendly, especially if you travel to the departure port by train or with a fully loaded car. Travelers with dogs often prefer the ferry to flying. We naturally used the ferry for our move from Germany, transporting a lot of furniture, and have since made two more trips with a fully packed car. If you have the time, it can also be very enjoyable to make the journey itself a trip, traveling through Switzerland or Austria and stopping in Italy. This way, you get a much better sense of how far Sicily actually is, from Germany, but also from Northern Italy (from the tripoint of Italy, Austria, and Switzerland to Palermo, it's about 1,150 kilometers as the crow flies and 1,700-1,900 kilometers by road).
A ferry service operated by GNV runs almost daily from Genoa to Palermo. Departure is usually in the evening (depending on the season and day of the week), and arrival after approximately 20 hours is in the late afternoon or early evening of the following day. From Livorno, Grimaldi Lines operates about 3 times a week, departing in the early evening and arriving in the early afternoon. Other departure ports from Italy to Sicily include: Naples or Salerno – Palermo or Catania (approximately 10–13 hours, departing in the morning or evening), Civitavecchia (near Rome) – Palermo (approximately 14 hours), or from the far south of Calabria to Messina, which offers 24-hour service in about 30 minutes.