Travel Made Easy: The Many Ways of Transportation Around Italy!

Planes, Trains, and Hydro-boats!

You have probably heard the saying "planes, trains, and automobiles," or the movie that has this title; but, in Italy it is more like "planes, trains, automobiles, hydro-boats, cable cars......." Got the idea right? Italy has multiple ways to travel around the country, including very unique modes of transportation. The plane is a given, as it is the fastest way to travel long distances across the ocean, and from Rome down to Sicily.

No matter where you go in this beautiful country, Italy has different transportation methods for all people. Walking is a tremendous aspect of Italian life, and is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the cities (not to mention the healthiest). When I was in Italy, especially the time spent in Rome, we would walk upwards of probably five to eight miles a day. With all of the architecture and activities that are constantly bringing the vibrant cities to life, walking is the easiest way to enjoy the culture and see more aspects of the area.

People walking around a piazza in Rome
by the Pantheon!

Driving in Italy is something that I will probably never experience...I think I would have way to much anxiety! There are so many people in the larger cities that the roadways are constantly busy with buses, cars, taxis, etc. Due to this, when traveling Italy you will see many motorized scooters/mopeds. This is a fantastic way to travel, and is fairly cheap for anyone looking for a quick way to get around the cities or countryside. It seemed that literally everywhere we went in Italy there were mopeds that people were driving; therefore, these seemed to be one of the most convenient ways to manage the roadways. This is because, the roads in places such as Rome can become very narrow in the alleyways, and the cobblestone streets that add countless amounts of history to the city are easily navigated by the scooters. Many people had baskets hooked onto the scooters so that they could go shopping...very convenient. Not to mention, you can usually fit at least two people onto the mopeds and they can get awesome gas mileage...again an easy way to save more money and endure more experiences.

Mopeds/scooters in Rome to rent.

Trains are also a huge part of the Italian culture. Almost every place that we visited had a train station, and it is something to see for someone like me who had never rode on one before. The Roman train station was busy day and night. For people traveling in Italy, the train is a very economical way to get around, as you can find train lines that connect all over the country. They run from the north all the way down into the south, and have lines in Sicily. I highly suggest taking the train, as it offers the chance to make many more day trips to different parts of the country on a budget. You can buy train and subway tickets the day of right in the stations!

Subway ticket

Now that I have mentioned some of the usual forms of transportation that you see in Italy, and many places in Europe for that matter, lets talk about some of the unique forms of transportation that the country has to offer visitors and citizens alike.

Hydro-boats are used to travel between many of the islands off the coast of Sicily. These boats come into the port and look like any other boat; however, once they take off in the water they are a sight to see. Hydro-boats have blades attached to the bottom that are easiest to compare to water skis. These help bring the boat onto the surface of the water; it is as if you are just skimming the top of the surface. Hydro-boats are very timely, and leave different ports at many periods of the day. We took hydro-boats from Trapani (Sicily) to the islands of Favignana and Levanzo. The only downside to these is that if it is windy, or there are rough seas, they cannot always hydroplane on top of the water...we had an instance where they had to slow down at least three times because of the wind. We used Ustica Lines, and they did a fantastic job! You can check their schedule on their website: www.usticalines.it/en

Hydro-boat coming into the harbor

Another unique form of transportation in Italy are cable cars. When traveling to the medieval town of Erice, you have the option to take cable cars to the top of the mountain where the town is situated. These are very unique, but the drawback is that they too are weather permitting. The original day that we went, the cable cars were not being used due to the wind. Once we got to ride the cable car a few days later, it was a very cool experience. The cars have windows on all sides, allowing you to see the amazing scenery below...something Italy is famous for. Cable cars are something we now normally only see in movies, but in Italy they continue adding more uniqueness to the traveling experience.

Cable cars to the medieval city of Erice
on top of this mountain!

Range Rover on the island of Levanzo

Other modes of transportation that are available to use on your trips include range rovers, which we took to around the island of Levanzo to a trail head to hike down to a historic cave. Also, open-top boats are used to travel between islands. For instance, we used these boats when traveling from Lipari to places such as Vulcano and Stromboli. These boats have a closed-in area with seating on the bottom level, and an area of seating on the upper level that is completely open to the outdoors. It is an unforgettable experience to ride on the top of one of these boats. I will never forget coming back from hiking the volcano of Stromboli in one of these boats on the Mediterranean at midnight, and seeing the island coastline from the sea. I highly recommend traveling these if you are on the islands. The crews we encountered were all very nice, and the schedule was pretty convenient.

View from the open seating of the
open-top boats!

Italy boasts numerous landscapes for all kinds of adventures! The transportation methods that you choose to use can make a tremendous difference in your experiences. Long days of traveling can be mundane, but choosing different ways to travel the country can add a lot of unique and unforgettable aspects to your travel! Why not enjoy the journey to your destination just as much as the adventure itself?

Please leave any comments or suggestions below! :)

Arrivederci! (See you later!)

My Italian Adventure

Who Am I and Why Am I Sharing My Italian Adventure?

Ciao (hello in Italian)! My name is Morganne and I am currently a senior marketing and management major. For my digital advertising class we are creating blogs, etc. to learn different aspects of building a personal brand. For me, I right away thought about my passion for traveling and the amazing trip I took this past summer to Italy.

Me on top of a volcano on the

 island of Vulcano in Southern Italy.

Anyway, I am from Iowa (yes more people now know where it is and that we are not Idaho because of The Bachelor) and have lived in the Midwest all of my life. The farthest I had ever traveled before this past summer was to North Carolina to for a tournament with my select soccer team, back when I was around 14 or 15 years old. You can definitely say that Italy was a huge jump for me.

I signed up for the study abroad program through my college, the University of Northern Iowa....GO PANTHERS! I knew that once I paid the fee, which was around $160 if I remember right, I wouldn't back out. So, I paid the fee and signed up for the best adventure of my life all in an afternoon and without knowing anyone going on the trip.

Sidebar here...study abroad is seriously one of the best things you can do. I encourage everyone to go on one if you have the opportunity.

Like I said, I did not know anybody going on the trip beforehand. All classwork was done through online worksheets before we left, and we only met as a group twice. So there I was about five months later, showing up to the Cedar Rapids airport ready to travel halfway around the world with 17 other people I couldn't even tell you the names of. Goodbye cornfields, HELLO ITALY, or so I thought.

Picture from the plane.

Our first adventure together was definitely one to remember. Our fight was delayed substantially due to a fire at the Chicago airport, where the only international flight to Italy was for two days. Finally about two or more hours after we were supposed to leave, we finally boarded the plane for takeoff. Ten minutes outside of Chicago they said there was not enough room on the runway to land, and turned the plane back around to Cedar Rapids where we got back off, waited a half hour, and boarded to take off again. Finally we reached the Chicago airport, where they had already delayed the international flight by over an hour for us. That's the end of the ordeal right? All jolly-good to head to Italy....WRONG! All 18 of us were sprinting across the entire Chicago O'Hare airport (I don't think I had ran in months so I was definitely sucking air). Just as we got to the gate, they closed the door and told us we could not board, as the plane was ready to leave.

Just our luck, finally having the chance to see the world and we miss a flight because they didn't have enough room to land a plane on the runway....isn't that one of the things that should be on the checklist before leaving?: Have somewhere for the plane to land -Check-

Finally, after begging the gate people and everyone just staring at us huffing-and-puffing with suitcases in hand, whispering about how sad it was we didn't make it, they let us on the plane. I think everyone in the entire terminal clapped.

This picture is of the plane that they weren't going to let us on.

Like seriously, we can see it....please let us go to Italy!

So off to Italy we go! I was about to embark on an 8 1/2 hour  international flight (first time over the ocean) and the next three weeks with 17 other people I did not know, but who would soon become some of the best people I have ever met.

The next blogs will be about:

• Rome
• The Vatican
• The different types of transportation in Italy (planes, trains, hydro boats, cable cars, etc. we took)
• Sicily
• The Egadi Islands
• The food in Italy (including octopus salad and gelato...don't worry, not mixed together)
• The Aeolian Islands
• Hiking an active volcano and standing about 100 feet from lava coming out
• And finally, coming home and the transition back to America.

Picture of us by the water on Levanzo,

an island on the Egadi Island chain.



Rome on our first day.

I hope you have enjoyed this little snippet about me and the beginning of the best adventure I have ever been on. Check back soon for more posts! :)

Andiamo! (let's go in Italian)