Genoa - Sardinia - Sicily - Genoa ferry trip

Hi,

My fiancee and me are planning our honeymoon in Italy. We have from (Thursday) October 30th (after work) until (Sunday) November 9th and we've started liking the idea of travelling using overnight ferries. Here's what our current plan is like:

30th: fly to Milan (from Belgium, so we'll be there on time for the hotel/B&B)
alternative: fly to Milan and try to get to Genoa. If this is possible, we could spend the next day at Genoa instead of in trains.
worst case: fly to Milan and get a B&B near the airport
31st: get to Genoa or explore Genoa for a day
around 22:30, the ferry leaves for Sardinia (to Olbia)
1-2-3: explore Sardinia. We'll have to stick to one city and arrive in Cagliari on 2nd or 3rd (depending on how nice the other city is) because of lack of time. I was thinking Nuoro. Is another city that's better for staying 1-2 days ? We can also go to Cagliari immediately if it's the best there is. Also, a decent walk would be nice.
around 19:30: ferry to Sicily (Trapani)
4-5-6-7: explore Sicily. My fiancee wants to see Syracuse. Any other highlights ? This would be the perfect moment for a good walk. The ferry back to Genoa leaves from Palermo. So I guess it makes sence to get to Syracuse upon arrival and stay there until 6th ?
8-9: arrive in Genoa and another day there. Get to the airport and get back home

It'll be quite a rushed holiday already, so we'd like to stick to as few places as possible. I know Cinque Terres is close to Genoa, but that would mean even more running around, so we won't be going there. Hints & tips about Sardinia & Sicily are appreciated ! Also, our plan is to spend time in Genoa (where the ferry leaves) and not in Milan (where the plane arrives). Does that make sense ?

As for a guide book, we'll probably take only the Rough Guide to Italy, because we're covering quite a bit. I was considering the Rough Guides for Sicily + Sardinia, but then we don't have Genoa. Also, these books are possibly too extensive for our short stays.

Thanks for all your help

Peter.

Hi there Peter, after reading your schedule I've a bit of a headache....

You want to hike, but you don't have time for it, is my personal guess.
My suggestion is, that you skip Sardinia and put Cinque Terra and Napoli instead.

From Milan - after arrival - it's 1.30 hr to Genoa, perfect I think.
From Genoa you can train to Sestri Levante, ideal starting point for
some trips in Cinque Terra.

After that: train to Napoli within 6 hrs and from there take the ferry to Palermo.
From Palermo: explore Sicily. I should skip (again...) Siracusa and advise
Cefalu, Palermo and - if you have time - Catania or Taormina. Both last
towns are rather far from Palermo.

I suggest that you think about this schedule and after that we can communicate
about the details. Take a look at my travellerpoint picture gallery too!

Good luck!

Hi Gurt,

Thanks for the reply & lovely pictures you have ! Sorry about the headache, I guess I was trying to say too much at once. You make a good point that we probably won't have time to do extensive hiking. I was thinking of doing a walk of maybe 10km, starting from and returning to a pretty town. Not hiking between destinations

We were going for ferries because it saves us money and time. A night ferry Genoa-Sardinia or Sardinia-Sicily costs less than a night in a B&B and we don't waste our daytime on transportation. I also just like ferries I admit that just 3 days in Sardinia is not an in-depth holiday, but if we like it, we can always return.

I like your suggestions about Sicily. Cefalu looks quite pretty. Catania seems to be a town from the classical age. Why do you like it better than Syracuse ?

Peter.