In February 2025, I travelled from the UK to Sicily by train. While I’ve taken the train to the Alps and Dolomites before, this was by far my longest journey by train since Interrailing as a university student.

5 Day Interrail Pass

As it was such a long journey, and I knew I would need to take at least two days in each direction, I decided that an Interrail pass would again be the best option. I bought a 5 Day Flexible Pass from Rail Europe.

I also decided that as the difference in price was only €86, I would upgrade to First Class, at a total cost of €404. I should note that there are additional costs for reservations on certain trains on top of this. For me this totalled about €170 for first class reservations.  The second class cost would be about €60 less than this.

Day 1: London-Paris-Zurich-Milan-Rome

I could have made this day shorter by stopping at Milan overnight, but I’m going there later this year and I haven’t been to Rome for a while.

I also worked out that by travelling longer on day one, I wouldn’t have to start as early on day two, giving me time to do a sightseeing run around Rome that morning.

To get to Rome in a day, I needed to catch the first Eurostar out of London at 06:01, so I stayed in a good value hotel as close to St Pancras as possible.

The queue was surprisingly long and it took me 30 minutes to get through check in, security and passports, rather than the usual five minutes.

arriving at gare du nord, paris

Arriving at Gare du Nord, Paris

Crossing Paris

On arrival in Paris, the normal RER D line from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon [useful video if you are taking this option] was not in service.

RER paris

Crossing Paris on the RER

There was a huge army of volunteers on hand to help people with the changes required for their journey. Fortunately, it’s very straightforward to take the B Line, then change on the same platform at Chatelet des Halles on to Gare de Lyon. It’s still only two stops and took me no longer than usual.

 

Changing trains in Zurich

At Zurich, I only had 7 minutes to change trains, but thanks to announcements on the PA before arrival, I knew which platform to head to and had a comfortable four minutes in hand as I settled into my seat.

Some Zurich trains go straight through to Milan, but my timings required a change of trains in Lugano. This gave me a welcome chance to stretch my legs and stock up on supplies before heading to Milan.

views in Switzerland

Lake views in Switzerland

Frecciarossa! 

I had heard much about the famous Italian Frecciarossa trains before and I was not disappointed.

Not only was my First Class carriage completely empty, but even if it had been full, the seats are so large you have plenty of space. The wi-fi is fast and to top it off first class travellers are treated with a welcome pack, including cold and hot drink and snack.

I arrived into Rome at 21:41, walked to my hotel (picked for its proximity to the station) and was asleep at my ‘normal’ bedtime.

Day 2: Rome-Naples-Sicily

I started the day with a sightseeing run around Rome, taking in the main sites before most tourists had even started their day. After a shower and checking out from the hotel, I hopped on the 11:26 Intercity to Naples.

The main point to note here is that Intercity is not Frecciarossa. The two main issues is that it’s slower and there is no wi-fi. But who cares when you’re travelling down the west coast of Italy gazing over the Mediterranean…

London-Sicily by Train: Day 2Rome (dep 11:26) to Taormina in Sicily (arr 20:43) via Naples & a unique train ferry.Enough time for a run in Rome, to buy a pizza in Naples & enjoy the amazing crossing#Interrail #raileurope #traintravel #skiflightfree

— Skipedia (@skipedia.bsky.social) 2025-02-19T06:46:10.582Z

A train on a ferry…

The highlight of this journey is the unique ferry from Villa San Giovanni to Messina.

This is the only example of a train ferry in Europe. The carriages are very slowly shunted onto the ferry. You can then either stay on or stretch your legs and enjoy the views from the deck.

This is an incredible experience and I highly recommend it purely for the chance to try something completely different and new.

Bongiorno Sicilia! 

It’s just a twenty minute crossing to Messina, where the train is shunted off and then splits, either continuing to Siracuse and Palermo. I continued on to Taormina, where I met my brother to start our ski touring adventure on Mt Etna.

You can find out about that in Episode 239 of The Ski Podcast or in an article for The Telegraph later this year.

iain-ski-mt-etna

Iain skiing on Mt Etna

 

Day 3: Sicily-Rome-Florence

I wanted to get the most out of my Interrail and take advantage of the flexibility that it offers. With that in mind, I planned my return trip to include a stop in Florence.

This meant a ‘regular’ pedestrian ferry from Messina to Villa S. Giovanni (cost €2.50). This connected to another magnificent Frecciarossa which whisked me up the coast via Naples to Rome, where the twenty minutes I had between trains proved ample to buy some delicious pizza and arancini.

views over the med

Day 4: Florence-Empoli-Florence-Milan

I arrived in Florence at 21:17, checking in to another property within five minutes of the station. That gave me plenty of time to explore the city, leaving my bags at reception.

I even had enough time for a side trip to Empoli to catch some Italian football, before catching a train at the end of the day to Milan, ready for my final day of travel.

empoli football ground

Empoli football ground

Day 5: Milan-Zurich-Paris-London

Milano Centrale station is a stupendous structure. It’s worth travelling there just to see it.

My final day was very straightforward, on SBB trains that ran perfectly to time. The 7-minute transfer time in Zurich was just enough to get between platforms without rushing.

I’m writing this now en route between Zurich and Paris. If all goes well, I should arrive at London St Pancras at 18:30. What an adventure – I highly recommend it to anyone who loves travelling, rather then just getting from A-B.

Getting off the ferry from Sicily