How to get around in Sicily lonelyplanet.com

All you need to know about trains, taxis, accessible travel and more. Chugging along the Tyrrhenian Coast by train between Palermo, Cefalù, Messina and Milazzo, and south from Messina to Catania on the Ionian Coast is a breeze – with breathtaking sea views to boot.

Trains operated by Trenitalia are frequent, cheap and dependable. Advance reservations aren’t necessary on slower Regionale (RV) trains – seats aren’t numbered, and ticket prices don’t fluctuate on availability, unlike faster Intercity (IC) trains, which require a seat reservation. Buy tickets before your train departs via the Trenitalia website or app. Old-school paper tickets purchased at the ticket counters and machines in train stations still need to be validated at yellow machines on platforms before boarding.

Little beats the parallel Mt Etna, and big blue vistas aboard private Ferrovia Circumetnea trains that trundle in a 110km-long loop around the base of Sicily’s feisty volcano via a narrow-gauge track constructed in the 1890s. The twice-weekly service is hands down the best way to visit wineries on Etna’s fertile slopes. Buy tickets (well in advance in summer) via the FCE Catania or DropTicke