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Ferries and hydrofoils in Italy
The peninsular part of Italy, the part with similar aspect to a boot, is limited by the Tyrrhenian Sea on its west, the Adriatic Sea on the east and the Ionian Sea in the south. Sicily lying off its south western tip is bordered by the Mediterranean on its southern side. These geographic aspects alone give Italy an abundance of ports and ferry option to the visitor. Major ports on the east coast of Italy, Genoa, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, and Amalfi provide connections to Corsia, Sardinia and southern France. The west coast ports of Venice, Ravenna, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi provide connections to the Greek mainland and islands, as well as Albania, Turkey and Croatia. Sicily also has connections to Greece, but has further connections to ports in Tunisia as well.
The port of Brindisi has a long maritime story, having provided a natural port over the centuries for ships plying the Adriatic. These ferry operators specialise in transport to Greek mainland and islands: Blue Star Ferries, Agoudimos Lines, Med Link Lines, SNAV Aliscafi, Hellenic Mediterranean, Fragline and Superfast Ferries. The prime ports of call in Greece are Igoumenitsa, Corfu, and Patras, with sailings time of approximately 10 hours. Turkish Maritime Lines and Marmara Lines offer connections to Cesme in Turkey, principally once a week with a journey time of roughly 29 hours. In season there are regular departures to Greece throughout the day.
Italy has a developed network of ferries and hydrofoils operated by many different private companies. Large car ferries connect the major islands of Sardinia and Sicily with the mainland ports of Genoa, Livorno, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Fiumicino and Naples, while the smaller island groupings, the Tremiti islands, the Bay of Naples islands, the Pontine islands are usually linked to a number of nearby mainland towns. Fares are reasonable, although on some of the more popular services, to Sardinia, certainly, You must do a reservation beforehand in summer, generally if you're taking a vehicle across. Remember, too, that frequencies are drastically reduced outside the summer months, and some services stop altogether.
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