Page 129 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: PALERMO

BY PLANE

Falcone Borsellino airport, also known simply as Punta Raisi ( 800 541 880,

gesap.it), is at Punta Raisi, 31km west of the city. Buses (Prestia & Comandè, 091
580 457, prestiaecomande.it) run into Palermo (every 30min; 5am–midnight;
45min), and stop outside Politeama theatre, Stazione Marittima and at Stazione
Centrale; tickets are €6.10 on board, or €11 return via the website. For the return,
departures are at 4am, 5am and then every 30min until 11pm. Trains (€5.80) run from
the airport to Stazione Centrale at 5.54am, 7.20am, and then on the hour and at 20min

past the hour until 9.20pm, with the final departure at 10.05pm. From Stazione
Centrale they leave at 4.45am, 5.09am, 6.07am and then every 30min between 7.09am
and 8.09pm. The airport ticket office number is 091 704 4007.

BY TRAIN

All trains arrive at the Stazione Centrale at the southern end of Via Roma. Bus #101
runs from the station along Via Roma to Via della Libertà. It has its own priority lane,

so is much faster than most of the city’s other services. Even the linea gialla and linea
rossa, little buses that run through the centro storico, passing by the station, get
terribly snarled up in the traffic.

Destinations Agrigento (10 daily Mon–Sat, 7 daily Sun; 2hr 15min); Bagheria (2–3
hourly; 10min); Capaci (hourly; 40min); Carini (hourly; 45min); Castellammare del
Golfo (hourly; 1hr 30min); Castelvetrano via Alcamo (5–6 daily; 2hr 25min); Cefalù

(hourly; 45min–1hr); Isola delle Fémmine (hourly; 30–45min); Mazara del Vallo via
Alcamo (6 daily; 3hr); Milazzo (13 daily; 2hr 30min–3hr); Messina (13 daily; 3–4hr);
Solunto (1–2 hourly; 15min); Términi Imerese (2–3 hourly; 25–40min); Trapani (5
daily; 2hr 15min–3hr 45min).

BY BUS

The majority of country- and island-wide buses operate from the recently opened
Piazza Cairoli bus station alongside the train station.

Destinations Agrigento (5 daily; 2hr 30min); Bagheria (1–2 hourly Mon–Sat; 1hr
15min); Caccamo (4 daily Mon–Sat; 1hr); Caltagirone (1 daily except Sat; 3hr);
Caltanissetta (7–10 daily Mon–Sat, 5 daily Sun; 1hr 40min); Capaci (Mon–Sat 1–2
hourly; 1hr); Carini (Mon–Sat 1–2 hourly; 1hr–1hr 30min); Castelbuono (5 daily
Mon–Sat, 1 daily Sun; 1hr 40min–2hr 30min); Castellammare del Golfo (6 daily
Mon–Sat, 1–3 daily Sun; 50min); Catania (hourly; 2hr 40min); Cefalù (5 daily; 1hr);
Corleone (hourly Mon–Sat; 1hr 30min); Enna (5–7 daily; 1hr 35min–1hr 50min); Gela

(3–4 daily; 2hr 45min–3hr); Marsala (hourly; 2hr 30min); Messina (5 daily Mon–Sat;