How to get to Sicily from Nice by ferry?

Are you planning to visit Sicily this summer of 2019? Follow our guide to Sicily from Nice by ferry!

The largest island in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily is the largest region in Italy and is one of Europe’s main tourist destinations. If you plan to go to Sicily by ferry from Nice in the summer, know that the island is very busy , especially along the coastline, where the elders abound for the beauty of its beaches and historic towns and villages.

Peasted from the second millennium BC, the Sicily has seen many civilizations succeed in its history, including the history of Phoenicians , the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines and the Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish before being attached to the Italian state at the end of the 19th century.

The island houses two of the ten largest Italian cities – Catania and Palermo – and is populated by a little over 5 million inhabitants. Between the Etna, the ruins of Taormine and Agrigento, the superb Syracuse and the island of Ortygie, the peninsula of San Vito lo Cap, the Egades and Eolian islands, Marsala or the Madonies, the village of Cefalù or the sublime beaches of the coast, you will not miss things to see and do in Sicily.

The good news is that we can now reach Sicily from France by ferry. Here is our mini guide to book your ferry ticket.

The ferry companies linking Sicily to Nice

Until spring 2019, it was necessary to rally the cities of Cagliari (Sardaigne) Genoa , Naples , Salerno or Civitavecchia to go to Sicily by ferry. Since April 21, 2019, a company has opened routes to reach the island from the port of Nice: Corsica Ferries . With its expansion in the Mediterranean Sea, the shipping giant has spread a new road, like the new silk thread of a spider web: the Nice-Trapani line.

The ships perform three irregular rotations per week, two of which are from Toulon and one from Nice. Corsica Ferries should therefore satisfy the road-trip enthusiasts as the significant advantage of the ferry is to park its car in the cargo bay to be able to drive once to the destination with its own vehicle (runner to the Sicilian driving, very sporty). Once disembarked at the port of Trapani, you will be at 1h30 from the road to Palermo, the chief town of the island, close to the beautiful Egades Islands – Favignana, Marettimo, Levanzo –, the historic city of Marsala and the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento.

If the direct journey is not possible from Nice (e.g. incompatibility of schedules), it is always possible to from Toulon , or make a stopover Sardinia . Attention: on the official website of Corsica Ferries, there are few departures from the port of Nice. On the date of writing of this article, we find only two direct links there 8 and 10 June 2019 and a departure 13 and 26 August For the whole summer of 2019, the rest of the direct crossings are scheduled from Toulon.

Plan a ferry ride in Sicily with Direct Ferries

Plan a ferry trip from Nice to Sicily with Direct Ferries is very simple. This is a comparison of crossings to visit the Mediterranean islands. It’s a bit the Skyscanner of maritime transport. To obtain a fare on the Direct Ferries website, we must mention his travel dates, his desired departure time, the number of passengers and animals and his means of transport (mark, model). The site compares the prices and times of the crossings available according to your information embedded in the search engine.

The crossing of Nice in Trapani lasts 18:15, and the ships leave the port in the evening, to anchor at the port of Trapani in the early afternoon the following day. If the schedules and dates do not suit you, the company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) carries out a link to Trapani from Genoa. For information purposes, for a reservation on the drafting date of this article (May 23, 2019), a trip to Nice-Trapani for June 8 and the return on June 19 costs 101 € .

How to book your ferry trip to Sicily from Nice?

As with air transportation, ticket prices can fluctuate – shipping companies also practice it surbooking -, it is better not to wait too long when you see an interesting rate to go to Sicily from Nice by ferry. As soon as your preferences are registered on the site (dates, schedules, type and mark of the vehicle), you arrive on the selection page of the travel options.

You can book a seat, a 4-bed cabin with private bathroom, a meal (self-service) and a continental breakfast as well as a priority boarding and landing. These options will undoubtedly adjust your price upwards, but it is up to you to see according to the level of comfort that you would like to have during the 18:15 of travel: it would be a shame to arrive at the port of Trapani completely exhausted to have sleeped on the bridge for the sake of budgetary economy...

The site proposes to subscribe to a free cancellation insurance for an amount 31,35 € . Now it’s really up to you to see...