Self-Launched Highlights of Southern Italy & Sicily: Rome to Palermo on Local Transport

Land or arrive into Rome and check into a hostel near Termini or in Monti, which puts you walkable to the historic centre. Spend the afternoon on a free DIY orientation loop: Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona, all free and all within 90 minutes of strolling. If you want a Vatican Museums skip-the-line entry, book it on GetYourGuide (about £17-20 plus the €20 official ticket) for a later date — the operator charges roughly $102 for the guided version, so this is a big saving. Eat dinner at a trattoria in Testaccio or Monti (cacio e pepe, £12-15).

🚌Airport train (Leonardo Express €14 / regional FL1 €8) or Terravision bus €7 into Termini

🛏Hostel dorm near Termini/Monti (e.g. The RomeHello or Alessandro Downtown), £22-30

• →Self-guided walk: Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona
• →Optional: Vatican Museums skip-the-line entry (book ahead online)
• →Evening food wander in Monti or Testaccio

Take an early Frecciarossa or Italo train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale (about 1h10, £15-25 booked in advance). Drop bags at Napoli Centrale left luggage, then take the Circumvesuviana local train to Pompei Scavi (about 35 mins, €3.30 return-ish). Buy your Pompeii entry direct from the official parcocolosseo/ticket site (€20) or a skip-the-line GetYourGuide entry with an archaeologist guide (about £25-30) — far less than a coach-tour add-on. In the late afternoon continue by regional train from Naples to Salerno (about 40 mins, £4) and check into a guesthouse near the old town. You'll glimpse Vesuvius from the train and from the ruins.

🚌Rome–Naples fast train ~£20; Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi €3.30; Naples–Salerno regional train ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Salerno old town, £25-35

• →Pompeii archaeological site with self-booked local guide
• →View of Mount Vesuvius from the ruins
• →Optional: evening stroll along Salerno's lungomare

Do the operator's optional Amalfi excursion independently and for far less. From Salerno, take the SITA bus or — much better in summer — the Travelmar ferry along the coast to Amalfi (about €8-10, 35 mins). Wander Amalfi's duomo and paper museum (Museo della Carta, €4.50), then hop the bus or ferry to Positano for the afternoon swim and the classic cliffside views. Visit a limoncello shop for a free tasting in Amalfi or Sorrento. Return to Salerno by ferry in the evening. Total transport for the day should land around £15-20.

🚌Travelmar ferry Salerno–Amalfi–Positano return ~£18, or SITA bus ~£8

🛏Same Salerno guesthouse, £25-35

• →Ferry along the Amalfi Coast to Amalfi and Positano
• →Amalfi Duomo and Museo della Carta (paper museum)
• →Limoncello tasting in a local shop
• →Swim at Positano's Spiaggia Grande

A long travel day, but doable. Take a regional train or FlixBus from Salerno to Matera (about 3-3.5 hrs, £12-18; the bus is often simpler than the train connections). Drop bags and spend three hours exploring the Sassi cave city on foot — entry to the cave dwellings and rock churches is free to wander, with individual sites charging €3-5. Then take a regional bus (FAL/Italobus, about 1h15, €5-8) across to Alberobello. Check into a trullo guesthouse or hostel in the UNESCO trulli district and eat orecchiette with cime di rapa for dinner.

🚌Salerno–Matera bus/train ~£15; Matera–Alberobello regional bus ~£6

🛏Trullo guesthouse or hostel in Alberobello, £30-40

• →Self-guided walk through Matera's Sassi cave district
• →Wander Alberobello's UNESCO trulli houses
• →Optional: Casa Grotta cave-house museum (€3-5)

Travel day with a memorable ferry crossing. Take a regional train from Alberobello to Bari (about 1h15, €5), then a Frecciarossa/Intercity down the Calabrian coast to Villa San Giovanni (about 5-6 hrs, £25-35 booked ahead). Roll your train onto the ferry across the Strait of Messina to Messina (the crossing is included in through rail tickets — a genuine bucket-list quirk of Italian travel), then take the regional train or Interbus up to Taormina-Giardini (about 45 mins, €4). Check in, then walk the Corso Umberto and have dinner with Etna smoking in the background.

🚌Alberobello–Bari €5; Bari–Villa San Giovanni ~£30 incl. ferry; Messina–Taormina ~£4

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in Taormina/Giardini Naxos, £30-40

• →Train-ferry crossing of the Strait of Messina
• →Evening stroll along Taormina's Corso Umberto
• →View of Mount Etna from Taormina

The headline optional on the coach tour becomes the highlight of your trip. Take the local AST bus from Taormina to Rifugio Sapienza (about €6 return, check seasonal timetable) or book a GetYourGuide Etna transfer-plus-cable-car package (about £60-75 including the Funivia cable car and 4x4 up to 2,900m with a volcanological guide). Bring a windproof layer — summit temps run 15-20°C colder than Taormina. Spend the evening recovering with granita and brioche in Taormina.

🚌AST bus or organised transfer to Rifugio Sapienza, £6-10

🛏Same Taormina/Giardini Naxos base, £30-40

• →Etna cable car and 4x4 to the summit craters with a local volcanological guide
• →Walk the Silvestri crater rim
• →Granita and brioche in Taormina

Take an early Interbus or train to Catania, then bus down to Syracuse (about 2h15 total, £10-12). Spend the morning on Ortigia island: the cathedral, the Fonte Aretusa, and the Neapolis Archaeological Park (€17 combo ticket, bookable via GetYourGuide for about £16). Then take the Interbus or SAIS bus across Sicily to Agrigento (about 3.5-4 hrs, £15-18). Check into a guesthouse in the modern town and walk down to the Valley of the Temples for the late-afternoon golden-hour light — tickets €13 direct, or about £20 on GetYourGuide with a guide. Sunset there is genuinely the best free show in Sicily.

🚌Taormina–Catania–Syracuse bus ~£11; Syracuse–Agrigento Interbus ~£16

🛏Guesthouse in Agrigento, £25-35

• →Ortigia island and Syracuse cathedral
• →Neapolis Archaeological Park (Greek theatre)
• →Valley of the Temples at golden hour

Morning bus from Agrigento to Palermo (SAIS, about 2h15, £10-12). Check into a hostel or B&B in the historic centre near the Quattro Canti — note the coach-tour reviews complained about hotels in unsafe outskirts, so book central and walk everywhere. Join a free-name-your-price Palermo walking tour (GuruWalk, tip £8-12) covering the Cathedral, Porta Nuova, Piazza Indipendenza and the Ballarò or Vucciria market. Dinner on street food: sfincione, pane e panelle, arancina — about £8.

🚌Agrigento–Palermo SAIS bus ~£11

🛏Central hostel or B&B in Palermo old town, £25-35

• →Palermo Cathedral and Porta Nuova
• →Piazza Indipendenza
• →GuruWalk free walking tour of the historic centre (tip-based)
• →Street food crawl in Ballarò or Vucciria market

Choose your own adventure: the operator's optional Cefalù day trip is easy to replicate — regional train from Palermo to Cefalù takes about 45-55 mins each way for €6-7 return, and the Norman cathedral and beach are both free (climb La Rocca for €6 for the best view on the north coast). Alternatively stay in Palermo for the Capuchin Catacombs (€3), the Palazzo dei Normanni and Cappella Palatina (about €19), and the Teatro Massimo opera house tour (€10-12). Finish with a proper Sicilian dinner — pasta con le sarde and a glass of Nero d'Avola, £18.

🚌Palermo–Cefalù regional train return ~£6

🛏Same central Palermo base, £25-35

• →Optional: train day trip to Cefalù (cathedral, La Rocca climb, beach)
• →Or: Capuchin Catacombs and Cappella Palatina in Palermo
• →Teatro Massimo guided tour

The coach tour drives all the way back to Rome (about 12 hours); you can do far better. Take a budget flight from Palermo Falcone-Borsellino to Rome Fiumicino (Ryanair/ITA, £25-45 booked a few weeks ahead, 1h10), or the overnight Intercity Notte train to Rome Termini (about 11 hrs, couchette from £35-50) if you prefer to save a night's accommodation. Add a final morning espresso and cannolo in Palermo before you go. Fly home from Rome, or extend with extra days in the Eternal City.

🚌Palermo–Rome budget flight ~£35, or Intercity Notte sleeper train ~£40

🛏None included (overnight train option replaces a hotel night)

• →Morning coffee and cannolo in Palermo
• →Optional extra time in Rome before flying home