Villa San Giovanni - Messina

On the Sicilian side the ferry berths at Rada San Francesco, north of Messina's city centre. For the return crossing take the motorway exit Messina Boccetta, continue straight to the waterfront and follow the Caronte & Tourist signs for Villa San Giovanni. The vehicle and foot-passenger ticket offices are at the same pier.

Check-in and departure

There is no check-in in the usual sense. Every ticket carries a QR code that the crew scans as you board, on your phone or printed; a return ticket consists of two documents, each with its own code. If you have booked a discounted fare, show an ID as you board; when you buy, the operator asks for the name, date of birth and a telephone number of every traveller.

Ferries run around the clock, seven days a week: Caronte & Tourist guarantees at least one departure every 40 minutes, and between 06:00 and 18:00 about every 20 minutes. A particular sailing cannot be booked; the ticket is valid for the travel date. At the standard fare you can use it until 02:00 the following day; the night ticket is only valid between 22:00 and 04:00 and is sold from 15 September to 15 July. With a Telepass or UnipolMove device in the car you drive in without stopping at the ticket office, and the crossing is charged to the device.

On board

The Strait ferries carry deck passengers only: you take a seat in one of the lounges or outside, and seats are not assigned. The bar sells snacks, coffee, hot and cold drinks and Sicilian rotisserie food. The ships Telepass, Elio and P. Mondello also have a children's area and a small shop.

The vehicle deck is closed during the crossing and nobody may stay in the car, so take your valuables up with you. Travellers with reduced mobility contact the operator 48 hours in advance and are at the agreed meeting point 30 minutes before departure.

Vehicles, bikes and pets

The ferry carries cars, motorcycles and scooters, motorhomes, cars with caravans, coaches and bicycles; the car fare includes up to five people. Motorhomes up to nine metres pay the motorhome fare, longer ones the commercial-vehicle fare, a trailer of six metres or more counts as a car, and the maximum vehicle height is 4.20 metres. Gas-powered vehicles must be declared before boarding at the latest; the gas system stays switched off during the crossing.

Dogs and cats travel free of charge on the Strait. Dogs wear a muzzle and a lead for the whole crossing, pets may not stay in the vehicle on the vehicle deck, and they are welcome everywhere on board except the catering area. Dimensions and gas cylinders: Motorhome on the ferry; papers for entering Italy: Pets on the ferry.

Arrival and onward travel

From Rada San Francesco you are on the Viale della Libertà and the waterfront road into the centre of Messina within minutes. Heading south, the A18 passes Taormina on its way to Catania; heading west, the A20 runs via Milazzo and Cefalù to Palermo, and both motorways start on the edge of Messina.

If you continue on foot, the main railway station Messina Centrale at the southern end of the harbour is reached by city bus or tram. The return crossing, with directions in Messina and the evening interval, has its own page: Messina - Villa San Giovanni.

Tickets and fares

On the Strait there is no booking step with seasonal pricing but a published fixed fare per vehicle class, updated monthly with the fuel and ETS surcharges. You can choose a single, a same-day return, a return within three days or a return within 90 days; the return options are cheaper than two singles. The current rates are in the price overview.

Tickets are sold online and in the Caronte & Tourist app, at the ticket offices in Villa San Giovanni and Messina, in PuntoLis tobacconists throughout Italy and via Telepass or UnipolMove. A ticket cannot be changed; an unused or partly used vehicle ticket can be submitted for a refund until 31 January of the following year, and foot-passenger tickets are non-refundable.

The same route is also served by Bluferries, part of the FS group, around the clock to Messina Tremestieri in the south of the city; its tickets are sold only by the operator itself.