Train journeys in the South of Italy from Rome downwards towards Sicily are infamous for their slow pace and inefficiency. Yet the genuinely epic train ride from Rome to Naples, through the tale of the Italian Alps at Calabria should really be experienced at least once. At the final station on the peninsula at Villa San Giovanni, the carriages are loaded up onto the ferry and transported across the Strait of Messina is considered to be one of the most complicated and fascinating train journeys in the world. Unfortunately, this route is no longer a regular service, it is somewhat redundant and has become very unpopular as passengers cannot sleep on the ferry ride and are forced to wake up at ungodly hours to stay on the deck for the duration of the epic manoeuvre. 

Today people don’t have time to wait half a day and sometimes part of the night to meander down from Rome to Messina and prefer the speed and convenience of just catching a flight down from Rome which literally takes less than an hour. But once you are in Sicily, there are many train journeys which offer relaxing day trips through the island’s unique landscape coupled with many local sights and experiences.